JOHN YANG: Tonight on PBS News Weekend, Russia says a Ukrainian drone attack set a nuclear plant on fire as ceremonies in Kyiv mark three 34 years of independence.

Then, how sophisticated criminal networks are faking students identities to steal millions of dollars from U.S. colleges.

And three brothers from Scotland who are attempting to row 9,000 miles across the Pacific to raise money and awareness for clean water projects.

MAN: It's a real challenge in kind of resilience and not just your physical ability to do it, but I think, you know, mentally staying positive, keeping morale up.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: Good evening.

I'm John Yang.

Today, Ukraine marked 34 years since declaring its independence from the Soviet Union, even as its war to repel Russian invaders stretches on.

In Kyiv's Independence Square, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood with Ukrainian troops for a moment of silence to honor fallen fighters.

In St. Sophia Cathedral, Zelenskyy and faith leaders offered a prayer for peace.

Then he, his wife and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney placed flowers at a memorial wall dedicated to fallen soldiers.

Meanwhile, the path to peace remains uncertain.

On NBC's Meet the Press, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the said that President Vladimir Putin won't be sitting down with Zelenskyy anytime soon.

SERGEY LAVROV, Foreign Minister, Russia: Putin is ready to meet with Zelenskyy when the agenda would be ready for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all.

There are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted, including no NATO membership, including the discussion of territorial issues.

And Zelenskyy said no to everything.

JOHN YANG: Russia said an overnight Ukrainian drone attack started a fire at a nuclear power plant in Kursk.

Plant officials said there were no injuries and radiation levels are normal.

Despite the fighting, the two countries exchanged prisoners of war, 146 from each side.

To the war in Gaza, now, where the desperation to reach food aid is hitting a new high.

Witnesses said Israeli troops killed four people who are traveling through a military zone south of Gaza City on their way to a food distribution site.

And Gaza's Health Ministry reported eight deaths related to malnutrition, including a child, bringing the total to nearly 300.

There are reports that the Pentagon is planning a military deployment to Chicago as part of President Trump's crackdown on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration.

If approved, the mission would have parallels to deployments to Los Angeles and Washington, DC.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats, say sending troops is unwelcome and unwarranted.

On Friday, the president touted his intervention in Washington and suggested that Chicago could be next, followed by New York City.

And Vilnius, Lithuania was the center of the corgi cosmos this weekend as thousands gathered in the city's largest park to watch an international competition that drew 120 teams of the Welsh breed.

Corgis from across Europe battled in group races, solo sprints and costume challenges.

Lithuanian owned Mango won the solo race.

His owner said he knows what he did and he's really proud of himself.

Still to come on PBS News Weekend, how scammers create fake identities to steal college financial aid and three brothers rowing across the Pacific Ocean at world record pace.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: There's a rising threat U.S. colleges have to deal with.

Sophisticated criminal networks are using identity theft to disguise themselves as students.

They flood colleges with applications in order to siphon off tens of millions of dollars in financial aid.

What's more, they're taking up seats that real students need.

A series of recent reports reveal that these so called ghost students even go as far as turning in homework assignments so they don't get dropped from classes.

As colleges are set to begin a new academic year, Ali Rogan spoke with Amanda Gerut of Fortune, who's been reporting on this growing scam.

ALI ROGIN: Amanda, thanks so much for joining us.

Let's start with the basic question, which is what are ghost students and how do they operate?

AMANDA GERUT, West Coast Editor, Fortune: So go students are masses of synthetic or fake identities and they're used by these sophisticated criminal networks to flood college application and enrollment systems.

These are sophisticated fraud rings operating some overseas in places like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam.

And they are swarming community college systems.

They are applying, enrolling and getting into classes and requesting financial aid.

Sometimes it's a revenue generation scheme.

It's just about making money.

Other times it's about getting that dot edu email address.

And that email address, if you're a scammer, is like a gold bar.

You look like a legitimate college student and you can get discounts on laptops, software, streaming services.

And fraudsters want a piece of that action.

ALI ROGIN: And the financial element for those that are operating strictly out of a profit motive, how does that work?

They're getting, is that right?

AMANDA GERUT: They're applying for financial aid, applying for student loans, and they're using usually stolen identities to do so.

So the victims are not just the colleges themselves, but people who have nothing to do with it.

So people are having their identities stolen and then they're having financial aid taken out in their names.

ALI ROGIN: And what do we know right now about the scale of this problem?

AMANDA GERUT: The scale of the problem is really difficult to put your arms around because these scammers are stealing legitimate people's identities.

So it usually takes a person noticing that someone has taken out a student loan in their name.

So right now the Department of Education has identified $150 million that's been dispersed to ineligible students and $30 million of that went to people who were dead who had their identities stolen.

And then we know, like in California, community colleges have been hit by very hard.

But it's not just a California problem.

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, New Jersey, some of the largest districts are vulnerable to this.

And then some of the super small rural community colleges are also being hit.

ALI ROGIN: Why is it that these rings are targeting those schools as opposed to four year universities that might have more money?

AMANDA GERUT: So community colleges are so vulnerable to this because they are meant to be open access institutions.

You can take a class whenever you want at a very affordable price.

They're meant to be a community resource.

And so they're open.

And they're also typically required by statute to accept any eligible student.

So fraudsters know that and they're exploiting that by the way that they're flooding those systems.

ALI ROGIN: And certainly the people whose identities are being stolen are losing money.

But there's also a downside for the students and for the teachers that are legitimately trying to operate within the community college system.

AMANDA GERUT: Okay, so for real students, every dollar that goes to a go student is one less dollar for a legitimate student.

So, real students are losing out on the opportunity to get financial aid to pay for their classes.

They're locked out of classes that they need to graduate, delaying their plans to graduate.

They're locked out of courses they've planned to take.

And then for teachers and faculty, there's excitement over your class suddenly being full to the brim.

Maybe you need to add new sections.

And then nobody shows up on the first day.

So you have this wasted time, all this wasted energy going towards these AI generated ghost students when, you know, all the energy at a community college is typically focused on getting people educated.

ALI ROGIN: And the community colleges are the ones responsible for making sure that the students that are registered are in fact human when they go and ask the state for money.

So what burden remains on these colleges?

And what does that look like?

AMANDA GERUT: Right now, they're doing hand to hand combat right now.

Some of them are doing manual application reviews.

They're asking students to go to a notary to verify their identity.

They're asking them to come in.

And the more barriers that you put in front of students to getting educated, the less able they are to access those resources.

So that's part of the pain point here, is how much friction do you put in the system for, you know, making people able to get into community college.

ALI ROGIN: Amanda Gerut with Fortune.

Thank you so much.

AMANDA GERUT: Thank you for having me.

JOHN YANG: Now a story about three brothers, a boat and thousands of miles of ocean.

The brothers are the McLean's from Scotland, and they're in the final stretch of their attempt to row nonstop across the Pacific from Peru to Australia.

They're going for more than just a world record.

They're raising money for clean water projects in East Africa.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): In April, brothers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan MacLean set off from Lima, their destination, the east coast of Australia.

9,000 miles across the Pacific without stopping and without any support.

No sails, no engine, just oars.

And they're not using just any rowboat.

They helped design the 600 pound vessel which uses Formula One racing technology.

They named it Rose Emily to honor their sister who was lost during pregnancy.

When they're not rowing, their routines include fishing, cooking.

FLEA, Red Hot Chili Peppers: Hey, hi, Jamie.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): And holding virtual dinners with celebrities like Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and actors Ewan McGregor.

EWAN MCGREGOR, Actor: I'm sure where you are right now is as close to being like at the pinnacle of adventure as you could ever be.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): And Mark Wahlberg.

MARK WAHLBERG, Actor: I could play you in a movie.

MAN: They are crossing 9,000 miles.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): They even made a virtual appearance at a rock concert in San Diego.

MAN: They can hear you, man.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): Joining the band the All American Rejects, featuring Jamie on bagpipes.

Light moments that offer a respite from the dangers they face.

MAN: Recording a storm.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): While their bodies have taken a beating, their spirits have been buoyed by the thousands of people around the world who are following their journey on social media and contributing toward their goal of raising more than a million dollars to provide clean water for 40,000 people in Madagascar.

JOHN YANG: I spoke with the brothers when they were about 500 miles from Australia.

Lachlan kept rowing while Jamie and Ewan explained how the idea to cross the Pacific came to them five years ago while they were rowing across The Atlantic.

EWAN MACLEAN: Whilst were out at sea on the Atlantic, I think we already knew that we wanted to do another row.

I think that the three of us, we got a bit of a bug for it.

We set up the charity to kind of raise more funds for clean water projects.

And we kind of, I think about two years ago we looked at each other and thought, you know, I think it's time for another big one.

How do we fundraise the best way we know how.

And we came up with the biggest ocean that's out there.

So aim for the Pacific.

JOHN YANG: Yeah, the biggest ocean.

Tell me, what's an average day like for you guys?

Well, tell us an average day on board the boat.

JAMIE MACLEAN: Everyone's up at about half five, six o' clock am.

There's always someone on the oars.

Generally speaking, we go straight into a two one off routine.

So it'll be an hour on the oars, half an hour off and then in that 30-minute off break.

It's not really a break, to be honest.

You're constantly having to do work, whether that's fuel yourself, rehydrate, do boat jobs, clean, do some media things and then you're back on the oars before you know it.

That's been our routine for 132 days.

JOHN YANG: The original plan was to hit Australia on day 120.

What happened and how have you had to adjust your plans?

JAMIE MACLEAN: The Last kind of 2,000 nautical miles have been particularly difficult and we've been hit with just weather system after weather system.

The main result of that was we just got pushed north and north and we're having to duck behind islands to hide from these storms, from these weather systems that wanted to push us backwards.

And so little by little, Sydney slowly slipped out of our grass and we had to make the call, you know, a few weeks ago that it was just untenable.

It wasn't physically going to be possible to push as far south as Sydney.

So we did, we upped it to Brisbane and then we got hit by another cyclone and so we've landed on Cairns and we think Cairns is doable.

We're on a good line at the moment.

We're on a good course.

JOHN YANG: You referred to the physical exertion, the physical strain of this.

How did you guys prepare?

EWAN MACLEAN: There was about a year and a half of kind of physical preparation.

And that was really -- that program was put together by a lady called Chloe Lanthier, who.

She usually designs programs for astronauts spending time in zero gravity for six months and works a lot with big football teams and that sort of thing.

You can't quite experience conditions like this.

You know, big rolling seas on the west coast of Scotland, but time on the oars, definitely, you know, that all adds up.

And then it's kind of a couple hours in the gym each day, and then quite a lot of kind of mental preparation as well.

It's a real challenge in kind of resilience and not just your, you know, your physical ability to do it, but I think, you know, mentally staying positive, keeping morale up.

JOHN YANG: What's been your worst day so far?

JAMIE MACLEAN: We got hit by this anti cyclone, and the seas were huge.

Every 10th wave would hit us side on, and we got just absolutely battered by this weather system.

LACHLAN MACLEAN: So I saw this wave, like a wall of water, like 25 feet, sort of, you know, veering up over the boat, and it was barreling.

It was just as -- it was cresting into the boat.

We were very near, quite near Tonga at the time, and I think it was like being spear tackled by a Tongan rugby player.

You know, I just -- it just totally overwhelmed me.

Pushed me over to the starboard side of the boat, and my kind of upper half went over, and my legs just flipped, and it was like -- so it was like a backwards somersault.

And then I was into.

Into darkness, you know, I was -- I didn't know what had happened.

I didn't know if the boat had capsized.

Fortunately, I was tethered onto the boat that saved my life.

I would have been lost 100 percent JAMIE MACLEAN: Ewan was on the oars.

He jumps up, pulls Lachlan back on board, and thankfully, everyone was okay.

But I think that was -- it was a bit of a rude awakening of just how at the mercy of the ocean we are out here and how vigilant we have to be with our safety equipment.

JOHN YANG: There are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who are following your progress on social media.

What does that mean to you?

JAMIE MACLEAN: We weren't sure whether the strategy that were going to implement to share the story was going to work, whether people were going to get behind it and whether people were going to get behind the cause that we so like -- so wholeheartedly believe in.

And it's just been incredible to see that following gently build and messages of support and then of course you know that translating into donations to then feel the support from people all over the world.

It really does, it really does help you get through some really tough days out on the ocean.

JOHN YANG: What have you missed about being on land?

JAMIE MACLEAN: It's really like homely comforts that you miss the most out here.

I mean we're -- we live our day to day lives out here are pretty uncomfortable.

I'm really looking forward to my first pizza on land.

Pizza and a beer and then a warm shower.

That'll be the order.

Pizza, beer, warm shower and then I'll tuck myself into bed.

JOHN YANG: That sounds pretty good.

Do you think there's going to be something you're going to miss about being on the boat, being out on the ocean?

JAMIE MACLEAN: I think definitely, yeah.

There's always going to be a small part of it that sort of belongs out here and yearns for this sort of adventure.

The isolation can be a positive thing and with that comes this sort of clarity that you don't have on land.

You're not constantly being pestered by people texting you, emailing you.

You're not being bombarded by social media or, but you know, it's quite a peaceful existence.

We'll miss the simple, you know that - - the simple aspect of life out here for sure.

JOHN YANG: So now you've crossed the Atlantic, you will have crossed the Pacific in a few days.

What challenges left?

EWAN MACLEAN: We're really involved with the aid side so we'll be going out to Madagascar, working with our partner charity out there.

And you know, that's a huge project in itself.

About 130 different sites where we're looking at developing access to clean water.

So that'll be an amazing thing to be involved in.

I think that'll be our focus coming out of this.

I think after that, you know, we're, you know, we've loved this experience.

I think, you know, there's been really tough times.

I think our girlfriends would be pretty upset with us if we decide to spend another six months away.

So I think we'll do some smaller things.

But there's certainly going to be more to come, that's for sure.

JOHN YANG: Ewan MacLean, Jamie MacLean and Lachlan back there doing all the work.

Thank you very much, and good luck in the days ahead.

EWAN MACLEAN: John, thank you so much for having us on.

Really appreciate it.

JAMIE MACLEAN: It's been a pleasure.

JOHN YANG: Finally tonight, the benefits of music education for children are well documented.

It can boost mental health, enhance creativity, and even improve cognitive functioning.

A summer camp program in South Dakota and Minnesota aims to bring all that and more to a special group of campers.

And as special correspondent Megan Thompson tells us, there's a little rock star treatment thrown in.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): The sound of drums, guitars and keys drift from a building on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota.

But peek inside and you'll see this is no ordinary garage band.

This is Rock the Rez, a summer camp for indigenous girls and gender diverse kids.

APRIL MATSON, Rock the Rez Executive Director: We want them to feel strong and let them know that they have a voice.

Get the snare going and then we'll get the hi hat going.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): April Matson, who was Sachongu Lakota and Atha Baskin has been the executive director here since 2019.

APRIL MATSON: Indigenous two spirit LGBTQ girls.

They're so overlooked and representation is low to none.

And so this is our way of helping them to take up space and hopefully they take that courage and they put it into everything that they do.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): 10 campers from around the Twin Cities attended the session we visited in August.

MAUREEN O'BRIEN, Rock the Rez Camp Coordinator: Could you hear yourself better?

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): Maureen O'Brien was teaching kindergarten on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota when she came up with the idea to start the camp in 2016.

MAUREEN O'BRIEN: Music really wasn't like an extracurricular very much, at least at the school that I was at.

So like music wasn't as accessible.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): O'Brien, a self-taught musician, also wanted to promote the idea that anyone can pick up an instrument and jam.

MAUREEN O'BRIEN: So it's kind of like breaking down the third wall of you can't do this.

Maybe you don't see folks that look like you or you're not trained classically.

I liked that.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): There are now five Rock the Rez camps, including three new camps in Minnesota that this summer.

The program is free of charge, thanks to grants and donations, and the band coaches are mostly volunteers.

APRIL MATSON: Most of the campers who come in have no music experience or they've played another instrument, but they've never played this instrument.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): The campers we met formed two bands and spent a few hours each day learning the instruments and parts they chose, working up to a public concert at the end of the week.

REINA SPEARS, Rock the Rez Camper: Well, a little bit scary, but it's more fun actually.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): Raina Spears, who was Ojibwe in Dakota, was the lead singer of the younger band, which called itself Little Rockers with Spirit.

REINA SPEARS: I just get sometimes too excited that I try to go really fast, but I know I have to follow the other instruments, and they have to follow me too.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): Spears wrote the lyrics for her band's song.

REINA SPEARS: Got to write how I get into the light.

And what I mean by that is, got to write how I get, like, courage so you can, like, show who you really are.

ALEYHA HANSON, Rock the Rez Campter: Three, four.

We're kind, like, fighting for our voices to be heard and for a change.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): Aliyah Hanson, who is read like Ojibwe, led her band called Kamimila, which means butterfly, in Dakota.

Their song was filled with historical and social messages.

ALEYHA HANSON: This is where it started.

We are taken from our homes.

When we come back, we have nowhere to go.

Frame us as addicts, blame us and laugh.

But when the white man leaves, you better hope he don't come back.

Nick is very powerful, and it goes very deep in today's culture.

WOMAN: I wrote some things down.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): The songs were written collaboratively by the campers.

The band coaches encouraged and facilitated, but otherwise got out of the way.

ELYSSIA SALAZAR, Rock the Rez Campter: We all are seen equally, and we're all respected.

I'm an introvert, so it's hard speaking up, but here I think I'm pretty loud here, and I like that I get to, like, actually interact with people and not feel afraid.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): This is the only urban Rock the Rez camp.

The others are held on or near reservations.

So some of these campers come from communities where there aren't a lot of other native kids.

REINA SPEARS: At school, I just feel kind of left out on my culture.

So here I feel like I belong more.

ELYSSIA SALAZAR: When people think of native, they think of, like, those, like, old photos that are, like, yellow and, like, wearing, and it's some chief guy.

But we're not that anymore.

We're still here, you know?

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): Workshops held each day like this Dakota language lesson gave the kids a chance to dive deeper into indigenous cultures.

And there were musical performances every day after lunch.

Lakota recording artist Tiana Spotted Thunder sang the day were there.

TIANA SPOTTED THUNDER, Artist: Showcase your skills.

Showcase your talent.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): Then, after a week of pep talks and practicing, the final day arrived.

The campers got themselves and each other all glammed up and headed to a park down the street to perform the final showcase for their friends, family, and community.

APRIL MATSON: Welcome to the Rock the Rez Showcase.

REINA SPEARS: The name of our song is Singing to Our Hearts.

WOMAN: Empowerment's a huge part of it.

I hope that they are proud of themselves and feel like accomplished by the end of it, because it's a pretty big feat to write a song and perform it in a matter of one week.

WOMAN: Being lost in history, being cheated on our treaties.

WOMAN: And if anything, they can look back and say, oh, I performed in front of a bunch of people because it can be really scary, but they are being so brave.

WOMAN: Thank you for coming.

MEGAN THOMPSON (voice-over): For PBS News Weekend, I'm Megan Thompson in St. Paul, Minnesota.

JOHN YANG: And that is PBS News Weekend for this Sunday.

I'm John Yang.

For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us.

Have a good week.