LISA DESJARDINS: Tonight on "PBS News Weekend," how surveillance cameras meant to fight crime are being used to punish the residents inside public housing projects.

MAN: Public housing authorities are referencing this footage and the footage is helping to persuade courts and the judges in order to remove these people from their homes.

LISA DESJARDINS: Then, it's not just magic, how a popular video game challenges gender roles in the real world and the story of a playwright and civil rights activist who gave voice to black, female and queer artists.

(BREAK) LISA DESJARDINS: Good evening.

I'm Lisa Desjardins.

John Yang is a way.

We begin tonight in Ukraine as its forces prepare to launch a counter offensive.

Russia is striking across the country in the eastern city of Dnipro strikes late Saturday killed a two-year-old child and wounded almost two dozen others.

Five more children were among the injured.

Top Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy now say that more than 500 children have been killed since Russia's invasion began.

In northern Afghanistan, nearly 80 young schoolgirls grades one to six were poisoned at two separate schools in a first of its kind attack since the Taliban takeover.

The girls have been hospitalized with unspecified injuries.

The person accused of planning the mass poisoning had a personal grudge an Afghan education officials said an investigation is ongoing.

Since the Taliban took power nearly two years ago, girls have been banned from education beyond the sixth grade.

In eastern India, the investigation into Friday night's train disaster found that an error in the signaling system is what led to the crash.

India's railway minister surveyed the scene today and said further investigation will determine whether the error was human technical or sabotage.

Over 275 people were killed in the crash.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling yesterday's rare shootout along its southern border with Egypt, a tragic terrorist attack.

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the incident and their attacker and Egyptian border guard was also killed in the return fire.

Netanyahu demanded accountability from Israel's neighbor and ally.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Prime Minister, Israel (through translator): The incident on the Egyptian border was serious and unusual, and it will be thoroughly examined.

Israel passed a clear message to the Egyptian government.

We expect the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough.

LISA DESJARDINS: Egypt has said its officer was chasing drug smugglers and that they will work with Israel to investigate.

Back here at home, though a financial crisis has been averted with a debt deal signed into law this weekend.

There are signs republicans who voted no could move against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

On CNN State of the Union today, Congressman Ken Buck of the House Freedom Caucus criticized McCarthy for agreeing to what Buck called a Democrat bill.

Buck wouldn't rule out action to vacate his speakership.

REP. KEN BUCK (R), Colorado: I do know that Speaker McCarthy has credibility issues, we continue to see the swamp the folks in Washington D.C. who want to spend more money winning and we continue to see the folks who want to spend less money and really act responsibly losing.

And so I think that Kevin McCarthy has an issue in a broader sense.

LISA DESJARDINS: Speaker McCarthy appearing today on Fox News defended the deal that a two-thirds majority of Republicans voted in favor of.

And in Iowa, the search continues for two missing men after recovery teams found the body of another today beneath the rubble of a collapsed apartment building.

A structural engineers report dated just four days before the collapse last week, warned that a wall of the century old building was at imminent risk of crumbling.

Other documents show city officials and the building's owner were warned for months.

Still to come on "PBS News Weekend," how a popular video game explores gender identity and the story of playwright and civil rights activist Lorraine Hansberry.

(BREAK) LISA DESJARDINS: American cities are facing two aggravating crises, affordable public housing is in short supply and violent crime is on the rise.

A growing dynamic overlaps both legions of cameras are being deployed in public housing areas.

Officials argue they are a 24/7 crime deterrent.

But what happens when the camera focus shifts from fighting crime to monitoring the people they were put in place to protect.

An investigation by the Washington Post found those eyes on the poor are being used to punish and evict residents, at times for miniscule missteps at others based on wrong assumptions.

Doug MacMillan is the reporter who led this investigation for The Washington Post.

And he joins us now, Doug, let's start right off the top here.

These cameras are often purchased using government grants meant for fighting crime.

But take us through what you found out about punishment for those who live in those areas.

DOUG MACMILLAN, The Washington Post: Yes, so crime and drugs are still a very, ever present problem in many of the public housing communities around the country.

Not all of them, but many of them.

And one of the ways that they are increasingly trying to fight this problem is with cameras.

And you know, they're arguing that they can cover more ground is often very budget conscious resource strapped, local government agencies are trying to cover more ground and watch more of their territory with these cameras.

What my reporting has showed is when they put these cameras up, a lot of times they will begin turning them on residence and using them to catch violations of their lease agreements that you and me and many of our viewers here would probably not classify as crimes.

LISA DESJARDINS: What are some specifics?

DOUG MACMILLAN: So monitoring people for smoking in the wrong place.

Catching one woman was in her eviction proceedings in court contained a picture of her removing a laundry basket from the communal laundry room, you know ... LISA DESJARDINS: And she was evicted for that?

DOUG MACMILLAN: She wasn't evicted for that.

But that was part of the record that was brought before in court.

And the lawyers that I'm talking to who helped people who are dealing with these evictions say that more and more often, evictions that they are seeing from public housing authorities are referencing this footage.

And the footage is helping to persuade the courts and the judges in order to remove these people from their homes.

LISA DESJARDINS: What do the residents tell you about this?

Are they aware of these cameras?

And what do they see as the trade-offs here and their lives?

DOUG MACMILLAN: Yes, many residents actually want more cameras, many residents in public housing do fear for their lives and fear for the kind of crime and drug problems that are around them.

But a lot of times when the cameras go up, many of them kind of have a different experience.

And a different story about the cameras are, a lot of times they do not say that the cameras are being used to capture the problems that are the most severe for them.

For example, the daily occurrences of packages being stolen from their doorstep or a car being hit in front of their, their door.

A lot of times when these kinds of things happen what they tell me is that they will go to the housing authority asked for the footage to help them kind of solve those problems.

And in many times they say they're being told that the footage is not available or that they can't be used for that purpose.

So the question that you have to ask is, are these cameras being used to help the community that they're being put in to help or are they being used to watch that community.

LISA DESJARDINS: How widespread is this and how widespread is the use also, facial recognition here?

DOUG MACMILLAN: Yes, they're the cameras themselves are increasingly widespread.

I mean, most public housing authorities have some kind of surveillance system.

But what's happened in the past few years is they've gotten increasingly sophisticated.

And with these federal grants at the Department of Housing and Urban Development makes about $10 million annually available to public housing agencies.

And increasingly, that money is going further.

So in the past two or three years now that money that you leaves to get you a basic camera setup can now get you things like facial recognition, or cameras that have software baked into them that can recognize what's going on the screen, in some cases, make determinations about what's going on in the screen and determinations about what it thinks is suspicious.

LISA DESJARDINS: Wow, so that's really sort of a big brother factor what everyone's doing and when in that community?

DOUG MACMILLAN: Well, it's this question about automating policing and automating, you know, letting the camera and an algorithm decide what is suspicious.

And researchers have shown that facial recognition, for example, has been biased towards people of color and women, many cases have been misidentified by facial recognition cameras.

So am I reporting a show that and some not many yet, I think it's still very early, but in some public housing, authorities are beginning to use facial recognition to do things like enforce banned lists to identify people who have been banned from the property and alert authorities when they see -- when the cameras see them enter this properties.

LISA DESJARDINS: What are some of the ultimate consequences you found here?

Can folks who face eviction from this appeal these decisions?

And is there any dialogue either from your reporting with officials or for residents who say we don't like this?

How does that work?

DOUG MACMILLAN: Well, in many cases, I've found the residents are not aware of the cameras or any kind of policies around them.

And most of the cases I found the housing authorities haven't really kind of laid out policies around how they are going to use these cameras.

So I think what you could see for going forward is more of a dialogue about, you know, what should we allow these cameras abused for with should they not be allowed to use for.

But yes, the consequences can be very severe when people lose their home in public housing.

Oftentimes, they end up homeless because public housing, they're often at the end of the rope, and they don't have any other options.

That's why they are living in government subsidized housing.

And when they are evicted from their home, they often not only are homeless, but their future opportunities for employment and housing are severely diminished.

LISA DESJARDINS: You featured a woman who is on her sister's couch I think right now.

DOUG MACMILLAN: Yes, a woman who was kicked out of her housing for smoking outside of the property, among other reasons.

And she's living her sister's couch.

And she told me that when she's applying for housing now, when she goes to kind of apply for the next stop, she keeps getting into this barrier of they're running a reference check.

And they're rejecting her based on her eviction from public housing.

And so, you know, one instance like that of the cameras catching you doing something wrong could end up having lifetime consequences for you.

LISA DESJARDINS: I could hear some people saying, these folks are breaking rules, they're in public housing.

Is there any context on whether other kinds of landlords outside of public housing could evict people for these sorts of things?

DOUG MACMILLAN: Definitely, my reporting didn't really focus on this, but the cameras and surveillance equipment is growing focus for private developers all around the country.

And I think they're actually, you know, more opportunities for them to use sophisticated surveillance methods because they're not beholden to any federal agency or any local government agency, and the kinds of policies and scrutiny that might result from that.

LISA DESJARDINS: Doug MacMillan, a fascinating, important area that we might not have known about except for your reporting.

Thank you for the Washington Post joining us.

DOUG MACMILLAN: Thanks, Lisa.

LISA DESJARDINS: The latest video game and Nintendo's critically acclaimed Legend of Zelda series has smashed sales records since its released several weeks ago.

It even boasts a Guinness world record for the fastest selling Nintendo video game of all time.

But the game's influence goes beyond its commercial success.

Ali Rogin has more.

ALI ROGIN: The Legend of Zelda video game has been around since 1987.

It's one of Nintendo's most successful franchises created by the same man responsible for the Super Mario Brothers.

Over the decades the game has evolved, becoming more vast, immersive and imaginative.

Zelda is also one of the gaming world's most notable examples of gender fluidity, prompting gamers to think about and discuss gender and identity.

Our digital video producer Casey Kuhn has been immersing herself in this latest Zelda installment.

And she joins me now.

Casey, thank you so much for being here.

CASEY KUHN: Thank you for having me.

ALI ROGIN: So for those who aren't familiar with the game, tell me what is The Legend of Zelda.

CASEY KUHN: So the Legend of Zelda is an action adventure game.

But what does that really mean?

Right?

So you play as the main protagonist, Link.

And Link goes through a series of adventures typically to save the Princess Zelda, hence the name, The Legend of Zelda, from sort of the forces of evil.

So you go through quests, you defeat bad guys, and you solve puzzles kind of all along this journey.

These games have kind of been in different iterations.

Over the years, this latest game Tears of the Kingdom is particularly notable.

It's been a very large commercial success and critical success in the way that you can play the game.

ALI ROGIN: And what makes this video game unique compared to a lot of the other games out there.

I mean, as we said, it's been around since 1987.

It's as old as I am.

So what's unique about it?

CASEY KUHN: So the way Legend of Zelda has been built sort of over the years is to make it a really, like you said immersive game.

The way that this game is created there are three worlds essentially stacked on top of each other.

So there Is three different worlds to discover and learn about with planes and deserts and mountains and weather.

So it's a game that you can constantly kind of play and discover new things.

But this game also has a physics setup that it's kind of hard to explain.

But you can use like wooden boards to make giant machines that defeat your enemies.

And you can basically do an infinite amount of this sort of play as you progress through the game.

ALI ROGIN: And the main protagonist is this character called Link and the game's creators have said Link represents sort of this Peter Pan elfin character, but he can also be perceived as gender neutral.

So tell me about the impact that Link has had among gamers and among the LGBTQ plus community.

CASEY KUHN: So the games developers actually did say in an interview that they didn't want Link to be perceived as either a boy or a girl.

Now, of course, Link has he him pronouns in the game.

So yes, he is a boy.

But even the name Link is meant to represent a link between the player and the game.

So the idea is that Link is this sort of silent character, right, he never speaks in any of the games, actually.

And you are meant to be this character.

So you are projecting how you see yourself onto this character.

And the way Link sort of avatar has evolved over the years is become much more customizable.

So you can get all these sorts of head dresses and tunics and things like that, and really create the character that you want to see.

And that's really important to the LGBTQ plus gaming community.

And for someone maybe who doesn't know what gender they want to represent themselves as that can be a journey as well for them.

I've read several reports of people who have gone through that journey themselves playing.

And I think that's why it is such an important part of the LGBTQ plus gaming community.

ALI ROGIN: And there are also some other gender dynamics going on there.

Tell me about some of the other representation that's notable about this game.

CASEY KUHN: In a lot of the games, you know, you basically kind of play through as just Link, right.

But the characters that you meet along the way, for example, Zelda, she's a main character, of course, in Ocarina of Time, which is one of my favorite Zelda games, you meet a character named Sheikh, and it's a male represented character, sort of like a ninja type character that helps you defeat this certain quest.

Later, it turns out that was Princess Zelda the whole time.

In the 2017 Breath of the Wild Game, there's a quest where Link has to dress up as one of these, they're called Garuda.

It's an all-female tribe, and they don't let men in.

So to get into the tribe to defeat this quest, he has to drop by dress up as a woman.

And by pushing these sort of traditional gender roles, not boxing them in I think, is a really interesting aspect of the video game.

ALI ROGIN: And the world in Tears of the Kingdom, as you mentioned, it's vast, you can do so many things.

There's really no limits.

Are there any crossover impacts in how gamers approach their real lives?

CASEY KUHN: Yes, so one of the gaming developers, Shigeru Miyamoto, who also created Super Mario Brothers, like you said, he was inspired by his childhood in Kyoto, Japan, exploring the forests to create this sort of game.

And if you've played Zelda, or any game, I think you'll realize discovering new things is like the main part of the game, right?

If you're discovering secret passageways, you're riding a horse, which is my personal favorite part.

But that sense of discovery, I think, is really important.

And going back to the gender discussion, I think people that sort of discovery within the game can mirror the discovery you're sort of seeing in yourself the progression of this character.

For a lot of transgender people that I've read about seeing that, seeing Link's progression, you know, throughout the game mirrors how they feel in their transition -- to their transition.

And that's not to say that Link is a trans character, but I think he is a very important avatar for people to see themselves in that discovery process.

ALI ROGIN: And Casey, this game has become so popular that some people are taking time off work to play it.

Now, you got to play it for work.

And I wonder what else stood out to you in terms of the game's popularity and longevity?

CASEY KUHN: It was a blast to learn more about this game that I've played my whole life.

I've played the original Zelda, and on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with my mom.

And you know, what I was reporting on this story and tweeting about it or talking to my friends and colleagues about it, I heard a lot of people who play the new game with their kids, right, but also played the original game at the same time.

So they're kind of continuing this tradition of playing video games together.

And I think that that is just one great example of I think the games continuing popularity, and let's be honest, it's just really fun.

ALI ROGIN: And the fruits of your extensive research into this can be read and watched online on the PBS NewsHour website.

Our very own Casey Kuhn, thank you so much for joining us/ CASEY KUHN: Thanks for having me.

LISA DESJARDINS: For this Pride Month as part of our series hidden histories, Ali Rogin is back with a look at a playwright and civil rights activist who gave new voice to countless marginalized artists who were women black and queer.

ALI ROGIN: Her plays told stories of black life hidden in plain sight, and her life continues to inspire LGBTQ writers all across the theater world.

Lorraine Hansberry's magnum opus, A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway in 1959 when she was just 28 years old, making her the first black woman playwright ever to reach Broadway.

MAN: All you got to do is sit down with her one morning.

ALI ROGIN: The seminal work was also made into a 1961 film starring Sidney Poitier.

MAN: I'm choking to death and obviously the music these eggs.

ALI ROGIN: The author James Baldwin once wrote of the production never before in the entire history of the American theater has so much of the truth of black people's lives been seen on the stage, and the play was based on Hansberry's own experiences.

Like her characters, The Youngers, she grew up in a middle class black family in Chicago.

They moved into an all-white neighborhood and were persecuted for it.

Hansberry was born in 1930 on the city south side into a family deeply involved in the fight for civil rights.

Her father was a successful realtor who fought for better black housing.

He won a case before the Supreme Court that helped end some discriminatory real estate practices, like the ones they endured.

In 1950, Hansberry dropped out of college and moved to Harlem where she continued her family's legacy of activism.

She called herself a revolutionary.

She spoke at protests gatherings, marched on picket lines, and wrote for a progressive publication called freedom.

But while Hansberry was outspoken on racial justice in America, she reckoned with her sexuality in private.

For nine years, she was married to a man Robert Nemeroff, and though she was never out publicly Hansberry privately identified as a lesbian at a time when homosexuality was illegal in New York City, and gays and lesbians were demonized.

She also wrote anonymously to a lesbian magazine, The Ladder.

In January 1965 at just 34 years old, Lorraine Hansberry died of cancer.

Months before her death, she spoke to six teenage winners of a national Creative Writing Contest.

She told them, you are young, gifted and black.

I, for one, can think of no more dynamic combination that a person might be, words that Hans Berry's friend, musician Nina Simone would immortalize into song.

LISA DESJARDINS: And that's our program for tonight.

I'm Lisa Desjardins.

For all of my colleagues in studio and outside the studio, thanks for joining us.

See you tomorrow.