wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ william: good evening. i'm william brangham. geoff bennett and amna nawaz are away. on the “newshour” tonight -- israel allegedly strikes back at iran, retaliating for last

weekend's unprecedented drone and missile attack. the house advances spending bills on foreign aid with bipartisan votes, but speaker mike johnson's cooperaton with democrats could cost him his job. and how people in recovery are helping a small town in kentucky bounce back from economic decline and the opioid epidemic. >> it was like i finally had found my purpose and my community. and when that happened, just doors opened that, you know, that i didn't even know i was knocking on. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour including jim and nancy.

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>> 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 at a by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. william: welcome to the newshour. there is an uneasy calm tonight across the middle east after both israeli and iranian officials had muted responses to israel's apparent retaliatory strike in central iran. the region had been on edge since an unprecedented iranian attack on israel, and israeli vows of revenge. nick schifrin has more -- correspondent: william, it is

not everyday that something explodes near anranian military base during a time of intense regional tension. but today, that is exactly what happened, and all sides are trying to downplay it. near the central city of isfahan this morning, iran's air defense targeted what iran called small drones. but former intelligence officials tells pbs newshour this was an israeli strike, near an islamic revolutionary guard base, and iran's nuclear technology center. by day, iranian state tv showed isfahan quiet, and a local iranian military commander said, there's nothing much to see here. >> the sound heard early in the morning today in isfahan was not an explosion, it was our powerful air defense firing at a suspicious object. it caused no damage or incident at all. correspondent: which apparently is how both iran and israel

wanted it. iranian officials did not blame israel. israeli officials refused to claim credit. the only exception was an indirect criticism -- far-right national security minister itamar ben gvir tweeted one word that best translates to “lame.” but in italy, after a meeting with secretary of state antony blinken, the italian foreign minister revealed this -- >> the u.s. was informed at the last minute, but there was no sharing by the u.s. it was mere information. but i think that what happened was also the result of the work of the g7. correspondent: for 6 days, the g7 and president biden urged israel to show restraint -- to iran's unprecedented april 14 attack. with more than 300 missiles and drones launched from iran toward israel. that was a response to israel's killing 7 senior iranian generals in an iranian consulate

building in syria. in public, all us officials would say today, the us didn't play any part. >> i am not going to speak to that, except to say that the united states has not been involved in any offensive operations. correspondent: and european leaders today urged more restraint. >> it is absolutely necessary that the region stays stable and that all sides refrain from further action. correspondent: at one point the u.s. was so concerned about further violence into restricted the movement of u.s. officials inside israel. for perspective, we now turn to suzanne maloney, vice president and director of foreign policy at the brookings institution -- a washington dc think tank -- whose work focuses on iran and the middle east. thank you very much, welcome back to the newshour. what do you think the message is that israel is sending to iran with the strike? >> thanks so much, i am glad to be here.

israelis were trying to demonstrate to iran they could penetrate iran's air system, and they are also trying to demonstrate the capabilities that the israeli military can bring to bear. it did so in a very calibrated and focused way in this attack last night, but the message with the level of sophistication from this operation from what we are learning from the press suggest that this is something that would pose a real threat to iran if, in fact, israel chose to attack iran's nuclear sites where the key elements of its military-industrial complex. william: i pointed out that this location is near a major islamic revolutionary guard of iran's in facilities, so why does that to get land well in tehran? >> for a long time iranians have

been concerned about an israeli strike on their infrastructure. they have taken a lot of steps to ensure that the israelis could not succeed in do so. the israelis demonstrated they could if they chose take out key nodes of the iranian program. to destroy the program as a whole would necessitate the involvement of the united states, this strike sent a message to iran, and i think the message was received. william: we saw a little bit of criticism from the israeli far right that this did not go far enough. this was not a direct mirroring. more than 300 drones and missiles fired from iran. nor did israel claim credit for this attack. why? >> i think of the israelis are reacting in a way that is

responsible in calibrated, and that is important to ensuring the they do not find themselves spiraling in an escalatory way out of control. the united states and g7 leaders have also been influential in helping to persuade israelis they have time and space to demonstrate to the iranians that there will be a time and place to pay for the attacks. the iranian attack was completely disproportionate to everything we have seen. it was unprecedented, and i suspect what we saw last night was the first of a number of steps israelis will take to ensure iran does not repeat that kind of attack again. william: why is a wrong -- is iran downplaying the attack? >> that is par for course. there have been a number of other incidents attributed to israel, the spearheading away of

the iranian nuclear archives. i.e. iranians -- the iranians have suggested they have never taken place. they want to reassure their own population that they are fully in control, and i think there is a desire to avoid any sense that there is the potential of a larger military conflict. william: we saw yesterday a mid-level iranian commander suggesting that any further violence could change iran's nuclear posture. what impact could this latest violence have on the thinking of iranian leadership about possibly pursuing nuclear weapons? >> i think it is quite clear that the loan commitment and to commence the iranians have been invested in what they have paid in terms of their international isolation and sanctions suggest this is not a civil nuclear

objective that they have with respect to the nuclear program. everything that we know from the archives end of the sources suggest it is clearly designed for military purposes. they have not taken the final steps. there are other things iranians could do. they can move them closer today to nuclear weapons capabilities such as leaving the nonproliferation treaty or fully kicking out the international atomic energy agency, and there was a lot of trepidation in the international community about these moves. nobody wants to precipitate that kind of an outcome. william: you have pointed out that the current generation of iranian leaders is different than the previous generation of leaders they came to power in 1979 when the shah was overthrown, and the new generation is more dangerous and more unpredictable. how important is that? >> what we have seen over the

past decade is an increasingly risk tolerant leadership. those who have served on the front lines that have been deeply involved with the development of proxy network across the broader middle east went to use or are prepared to use it. they have engaged in the kind of behavior that has targeted former senior u.s. government officials such as that some of them are still under protective custody. they have also jumped on board with the russian war in ukraine in a way that no other country in the world has by way of supplying drones that have made a major difference in russia's effort here, so what you see is a leadership that is more prepared to engage emmaline behavior it feels insulated by its relationships with russia and china. ♪

>> i'm vanessa ruiz in for stephanie sy with newshour west. updating our top story -- late tonight there are reports of a major explosion at a base south of baghdad used by iranian-backed forces known as the pmf. the pmf is believed to have participated in iran's april 14th attack on israel. they have attacked u.s. troops in the past. a senior iraqi official says tonight's explosion is believed to be an israeli strike, but that hasn't been confirmed. iraqi officials say they'll investigate. a full jury has now been seated for former president donald trump's criminal hush money trial in new york city. opening statements are set to start on monday. and a man is in critical condition after setting himself on fire this afternoon in the park directly opposite the courthouse. emergency crews extinguished the flames and rushed him away on a stretcher. the police chief described the scene. >> court officers, members of

the police department, they run into the park. they make efforts to put him out. they use their coats, they use fire extinguishers. eventually, fdny responds. we're able to put the male, extinguish the fire. and from that point we remove him to a cornell burn unit where right now he's there in critical condition. william: ukraine's air force has shut down a strategic bonner -- bomber. the claim cannot not be verified. russian missiles pounded a region in central ukraine. at least eight people died and 30 others were injured. >> the house was burning, everything was falling down from the entrance, from the roof. it was dangerous to run out from the house, that's why many did not leave and stayed at home in hope that this will finish soon. but unfortunately this did not happen. >> to help counter such strikes,

ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky appealed to a special meeting of nato defense ministers today for at least seven air defense systems. nato allies agreed to provide more such systems, but secretary general jens stolenberg stopped short of saying how many they'd send. police in paris arrested a man at the iranian consulate today after he threatened to blow himself up. officers swarmed the building and cordoned off the site. they found no explosives. the unnamed suspect was convicted last year of trying to set a fire at the same location. paris is on high alert as it gears up to host the summer olympics. the biden administration added new sanctions today on groups accused of raising money for extremist israeli settlers in the west bank. the action also targets the leader of a far-right group known for violence against palestinians. the treasury department said those sanctioned, quote, “undermine the peace, security and stability of the west bank”" attacks on palestinians have

increased there since the war in gaza began. elections in the world's largest democracy got underway today. hundreds of millions of voters across india will head to the polls over the next six weeks. they'll choose 543 members for the lower house of parliament and decide whether to give prime minister narendra modi a third term. in chennai, lines formed hours before polling stations opened. some voters are hoping for a change from modi's hindu nationalist government. >> the first thing i came to vote for is to have a country without any religious disharmony. we've all come to vote. in tamil nadu, we're all together. hindus, muslims, christians, we're all together. william: -- >> if modi wins -- as most polls predict -- he would be only the second leader in india's history to win a third term. the white house also announced today new restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the alaskan wilderness. the rule limits development

across more than 13 million acres -- or roughly half -- of the national petroleum reserve. it also blocks plans for a road that would have cut through a national park to reach a copper mine. white house official spoke about the measure today. >> this administration will continue to take ambitious action to meet the urgency of the climate crisis, protect america's lands and waters and fulfill our responsibility to the next generations of americans. >> fossil fuel companies and alaskan lawmakers warn the rule will have a negative economic impact. the epa has designated two so-called forever chemicals as hazardous substances. known as pfas, the compounds are used in many products, including cookware, carpets, and firefighting foams. the designation doesn't ban them, but it requires that their release into nature be reported to authorities -- for spills to be cleaned up -- and that those responsible pay for their removal.

the announcement follows the epa's decision last week to require water utilities to cut similar pfas chemicals in drinking water to near-zero levels. the federal aviation administration is requiring longer rest times between shifts for air traffic controllers. the changes come amid growing concern over fatigue, following a series of close-calls at airports. the faa is investigating one such incident at reagan national airport in washington yesterday. two passenger jets came within 400 feet of each other on the tarmac before controllers told the pilots to stop. still to come on the “newshour” -- the biden administration releases updated title nine protections against harassment, discrimination, and sexual assault on college campuses. and, david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on this week's political headlines. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from

weta's judi gatson washington d.c. and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. william: on capitol hill today -- one of the most significant votes of the year. in the house, the leaders of both parties worked together to oppose the most fiery voices in their caucuses, pushing aid for ukraine and other allies over a key hurdle. lisa desjardins joins me now. >> william, this was a massive win for ukraine and a loss for those who fear more involvement there. but it was also a day where we saw the house move away from the most conservative and liberal voices -- a rare day to see that action at the capitol is not always about the shouting. you could have missed it -- looking at the silent capitol steps and gray sky this morning. but inside -- a defining day for this congress -- and u.s. allies. >> now is the moment. history has its eyes on this chamber. >> today we are at an inflection

point. >> there is a lot at stake in this moment. correspondent: the high-stakes vote was procedural, whether to tee up the four foreign aid bills. as dozens of republicans voted against their own party lay process wife the democratic column on the left for a rare shift, democratics moved en masse to vote yes, saving the bills and potentially speaker johnson. >> even though it is not perfect legislation, this is the best possible product we can get out of these circumstances to take care of these were the important obligations. correspondent: but within minutes signs for johnson. georgia congresswoman marjorie taylor greene went online to say she is working to get more votes to oust him. >> if you are a republican voter or republican donor, they should really give you pause to ask what exactly is happening to the

republican party right now. correspondent: the package of four bills at the heart of this is a big dollars, $95 billion, with a far reach. the most muscle goes to two countries. ukraine come the peace that divides republicans the most, accounts for nearly $61 billion. that includes over 20 begin dollars to replenish u.s. stockpiles and $14 billion for weapons. for israel $26.4 billion -- that is a large increase over the original senate bill, and it contains no additional conditions on israel aid -- a raw issue for many on the left. some hardliners are considering ousting johnson now. >> we have to turn this around immediately. >> my position is that i'm open. i am not going to tell you guys what i'm going to do. we will see if that materializes, whether the trigger is pulled on this. i am definitely frustrated like

a lot of the conference. correspondent: others point to a new push, vote johnson in the fall. >> i don't know that michael wanted after what he is been through, and to his credit he stepped up to the job. >> i think we ought to love a contest in november. [indiscernible] i don't think it will be a wise course of action right now. correspondent: but others pushed back. >> the vast majority of the majority are sick and tired of them. >> chuck schumer seems to be in charge right now and that's frustrating for me. you want mike johnson to stay if it's not mike johnson, then who we got deep into the bench? correspondent: many democrats defended their move as an easy choice. >> we have to make sure that the chaos caucus, which is the republican party cannot continue to stand in the way of absolutely vital ukraine,

israel, and taiwan military assistance. correspondent: whatever happens to johnson, democrats see someone else involved. >> i think trump plays a big role in this. trump is somewhat of an isolationist, a nationalist, has sent negative messages to the international community since 2016. correspondent: those four foreign aid bills are on track for passage tomorrow in the house. they will go to the senate as a package, where they are expected to pass but the timing there is not yet clear. william: this was as you see a procedural vote, but can you remind us why this was so pivotal? correspondent: in the trump arab therapy and questions about identity including the republican party. you could look at what happened today do something that could set the objection for political and global direction. let's look at some of the things

that were involved in this procedure will vote today that it told us. this keeps us on track for current policy in ukraine and israel, major issues of public debate. in addition one of these bills contains what would amount to a tiktok ban or forcing the company to sell. there also happened today a loss for the republican hardliners. we have told her audience, and everyone knows, those of the group that spent this entire congress saying we will not compromise. today was almost one of their last real stands this time in congress. there is not a lot of time left for this congress to do business. these votes are one of the lesser big items on the agenda. this was a victory for speaker johnson. and his approach has been slower and quieter, and yet he emerged today as the winner. william: you mentioned to me

earlier that you could not find another example in modern congressional history where the minority party saved the majority party in this case. why did the democrats do this? correspondent: part of it is obvious, issues of ukraine and israel. there are many members who support one or both. the party has become more security hawks than republicans, but there were high-level talks from democrats to republicans saying over the past week that if indeed you bring this full ukraine aid to the floor, we will support you. we will make sure you are not ousted, and while i do not have reporting to the test of the accepted the deal, that is what we see on the floor in operation here. it really was a win-win for

democrats, it shows that republicans need them to govern, and the republican base is very concerned about this happening. many of these republicans will go home to their base and have to explain what happened, and speaker johnson's position with his own base is weakened. william: thank you so much for all this great reporting. ♪ the biden administration put out new title nine rules today that will increase protections for lgbtq plus students and change how schools handle cases of campus sexual assault. these moves reversed several changes made by the trump administration. among them sex discrimination will now clearly include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. they fundamentally changed the way schools conduct assault investigations, removing the

trump era requirement that victims be cross examined and that they hold in person hearings. the new rules sidestepped the controversial issue of transgender athletes, saying that that was still under review. for more on these changes, i am joined by the washington post's laura meckler who has been following all of this closely, laura, thank you so much for being here. so these rules go into effect starting in august. on this issue of lgbtq plus students, it now says that it is illegal very specifically to discriminate against those students. that was not the case before? >> well, actually, they biden administration has long held that it was the case before. they say that title nine, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex has always also included sexual orientation and gender identity as part of that, that is a way essentially to discriminate on the basis of sex. so that's how they've been

acting and that's how they've been adjudicating cases. but what this regulation does is essentially gives that more heft by putting it into a formal regulation that has gone through the full rulemaking process. that says this is the official federal government's interpretation of what title nine says. william: on this issue of changing the rules with regards to how investigations are handled about sexual assault explain to me what the situation was and what these new rules do? >> so you know, with the question of sexual assault and sexual harassment campus has been a huge one for you know, for many years now, well over a decade has this been a hot topic, and the obama administration tried to address this with its own set of guidelines, and then the trump administration came, tossed out the obama rules and wrote their own regulations. and they said, i was a system that was sort of a court-like procedure where there would be a separate investigator who would be different from the person who made the judgment and you would

have sort of a cross examination opportunity and a hearing and it was a very high, higher burden of proof for what exactly would be considered sexual discrimination or sexual harassment under the law, so they had this system that was different in a couple of ways. it was both sort of a more formal court-like system, and it was also a higher bar for proving your case. and so now with this spine administration rule does essentially revise is that system with one of its own and makes tweaks in both of those and sort of gives schools more flexibility. they don't have to use these hearings, they don't have to have cross examination if they don't want to end it also has a broader definition of what sexual harassment is. william: help me understand what the biden administration is trying to solve their? what was the concern with the previous regime? >> well, there were a number of

concerns. from the point of view of sexual assault survivors. they were concerned that if you mandate a cross examination type situation that it would be essentially re traumatizing for them. of course, people on the other side would say that this is how you get at the truth. the other issue is that colleges themselves did not like being put into the position where they were essentially becoming a defacto court that they said that's not what we do. that's not our job. we don't feel comfortable with it. so that was another problem and then in terms of the burden of proof and how difficult it is to prove your case that's really sort of where you want those sort of scales of justice to hang. are you going to make it a little bit easier for people who are alleging these crimes happen or not? william: there has been a good deal of pushback on this. congresswoman virginia foxx, who heads the house education

committee conservative have said that some of these rules are basically redefining sex and gender in america. what is the argument that they're making there? >> well, this is an argument that conservatives are making all over the country and, in fact, legislating based on that , they essentially do not accept the idea that you can change your gender, that you can be born a boy and then decide you're a girl is how they would put it. of course, other people would say that no, there are people who internally really feel like they are, in fact the other gender and that, um, acknowledging that and accommodating that is the right thing to do. but if from a conservative point of view, and this is like i said, legislation dealing with this all over the place in conservative states, what they are really trying to say ishi is a threat to other girls and women. they don't want somebody who was born a boy showing up in the girls' locker room, for instance. they take great issue, and i got a lot of response today from conservatives, saying essentially that the administration was going too far and taking out what they view as a radical position on gender.

william: lastly, as i mentioned this does not address this very controversial issue of transgender athletes. why did the administration say that they pushed off that decision? >> well, what they officially say is that a separate regulation that addresses sports is not ready yet, but what people tell me who are familiar with the administration's thinking is that really it's the politics and that they don't want to be talking about this question of trans women competing and girls' and women's sports teams in the middle of an election year. william: thank you so much for being here. ♪ >> thank you so much for having me. ♪ william: democrats helped speaker johnson get a foreign aid package over a key hurdle, but he still faces backlash from far-right members in his own

conference. on that and the other political stories shaping the week, we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that's new york times columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post. so nice to see you both. david, if someone arrived in washington d.c. from outside the beltway and they had seen what went down, which is a bipartisan group of people voting on something that they all agreed upon and that thing moving forward, they would think that is ostensibly what opening looks like, but here it is viewed is this unusual thing. >> kudos to speaker johnson. to his credit he has hung in there and to get us wavered and weaved to keep his job, but in the end i think he did the right thing for the country in the world, and it wasn't just as others have said. it is important to respect

democracy more than the power of an angry minority, and when you have a broad majority of people not only in the house in the country including 69% of republicans who think putin should not be allowed to take more land in ukraine, and this broad majority should prevail over and angry minority. the problem is over the last multiple years angry minorities have ruled and reasonable majorities have been pared down. william: on this issue of the angry minority that has been the talk about speaker johnson, at that key is to them and cannot dare cross them, and yet today he did. it sounds like governing. do you think that this development today reduces the damocles over his head, otherwise known as marjorie taylor greene that the pressure is let off a little? >> no,

because three weeks ago we talked about marjorie taylor greene submitting a motion to vacate. then this week congressman massey said i have a motion to vacate. today another republican said, i have a motion to vacate, so that damocles is hanging over his head and gotten lower, but i agree with david that it is fantastic finally speaker johnson has put aside his own professional considerations in favor of the broad national security interest, but the key question for me is wednesday vote on this thing, because we are still not there yet, once that is done in these motions to vacate are acted upon, what do democrats do? and if they do save speaker johnson, is a rino speaker?

i do not mean it in terms of the slur republicans use it. she would be speaker and a republican, but the democrats would be the ones running the chamber. >> lisa just reported she has off the record that john said was offered some -- if you bring these, we will protect you if it comes to that. do you think that will materialize? >> it absolutely should, because when johnson got the speakership he made concessions to the further right. he had to put people on the rules committee. if i'm a democrat i'm thinking republicans still have a majority. if it is not johnson it will be someone else who makes more concessions to the marjorie taylor greenes of the world, and that will make my life worse. it is very much in the interest of democrat st. john's it is our best shot grabbing a more

reasonable congress. i am looking at chip roy, it is one of the smartest people in the house and certainly on the far right action, i am looking to see which way he goes, because he would carry a lot of votes and that could threaten them, but if democrats do not hold up johnson i think they would be betraying the house, betraying the kind of thing that was accomplished today, and it would be a gross mistake. >> i do not think you will get to that point, and the reason speaker johnson is bringing up these bills right now, i think it is also because of democratic consist into that if you do this , we will come to your rescue, but not until after you get ukraine aid over the finish line, until after you get these foreign aid bills over the finish line. william: let's turn to what is happening in the middle east.

iran shucked everyone with the extent of the attack on israel. israel, even though they do not admit it, retaliated against that. do you believe that this tit for tat is now stopped temporarily? >> before the iran attack, israel's reputation was in freefall around the world, and now you see israel is effective at things. all sorts of countries in the region like saudi arabia are rallying around israel, france, u.k., u.s., so subtly world opinion is back on israel's side. israel had to respond in some way. they have to reestablish current power, so they have had to prove they can reach right into the middle of a run -- of iran, but

they did it in a restrained way and i have to give credit to the biden administration for the pressure, because there were a lot of people in the netanyahu administration that wanted massive retaliation. iran's response was muted. it leads me to believe that there is a week of de-escalation. william: how do you see friends's and in the use of american soft and hard power here? >> i would amplify would david said. i will give the biden administration credit. how many times have we said at this table were we talked about the fact that the biden administration from the president on down counseling the prime minister to not do this, not do that, do this or do that, and have the prime minister left in the president's face? over the last month and out it

seems as though the come to jesus phone called the president and the prime minister had, ever since then it appears the prime minister has been listening and heeding the council and the warning coming from the administration about all sorts of things it was going to do whether it is the invasion of rafah or pleading for them not to respond in a massive way against the iranian attack, so the fruit is blaring out on the painstaking quiet and public diplomacy. william: do you agree that is what is happening here, that biden is able to speak and netanyahu in a way -- >> israel will do what is in its interests. it would be a disaster for israel and the region long-term if hamas were about to survive. i am confident they will go into rafah, the question is how they

would do it. it is not in israel's interest to have a multi-front war right now. suddenly you were looking at a hezbollah assault, and that is not in israel's interest, so they were influenced by president biden, but they will do the things they need to do, so this was a case where the u.s. and israeli interests were aligned. william: biden is on this political tight rope because he has said we stand behind israel and if they need to go after hamas, we are with them. how much they are against at the humanitarian disaster unfolding in gaza is a problem. there is a clear political problem, not just columbia university students protesting democratic base voters across

the country turning against the policy. how do you see him navigating that as this election gets closer? >> it is tough, because what you have is a situation with the president to as a massive foreign policy experience and credentials dealing with the prime minister he has known for about 50 years who is running a country where the president says there is no daylight between israel and the united states. he is doing everything she can to solve all the crises on the ground over there. at the same time, all of his work here is not to his benefit at him, and as you were just describing lots of democratic constituencies angry with the president, and i take the administration at its word.

i believe the administration when they say their considerations about how they are handling the war, there are no political considerations involved in that, and i think that is one of the reason so many people are upset. if the president were playing politics with the situation key would be doing all sorts of things to try to please the people demonstrating, doing encampments at universities, but i would say to the people protesting and the young people and all of the people upset, i keep thinking about the president that obama -- i keep thinking about the thing president obama said to the people who were upset with him for not doing more on racial issues. he said i need you to keep protesting on the outside, because that puts pressure on me on the inside to keep getting

things done. william: the same thing lbj told mlk, which is keeping the fire under my feet and i will deliver for you. do you believe that the politics are not getting into this, this is biden's core belief? >> no human being acts like that. they are influenced by their self-interest, so i do not leave that. i think the american people believe a couple things in a complicated way. they believe that biden is right when he said israel has gone a little over the top. they are also pro israel. one senator is doing well in pennsylvania. william: with a very strong israel must defend itself at all costs.

>> i think there is a market for saying israel is over the top, but what joe biden is saying, we have israel's back. as for the practice i would distinguish by people who are honestly appalled by what is going on there, but there are fridges, and some of the columbia protesters were part of it who has eric adams said arcade filled and bigoted, and when i saw some of the pictures coming out of columbia i thought about chicago this summer. we will all go to the convention and just like in 1968 there is going to be a lot of rioting, and it will get ugly. william: history is leading us in that direction. nice to see you both. ♪

for years the story coming out of appalachia whole country have been grim, addiction and economic decline, but a new story is emerging, one where people in recovery are helping their communities recover. jeffrey brown reports from hazard, kentucky. correspondent: 42-year-old manny has long dreamed of having a place where she and fellow readers get together. it was not until january 2028 that her dream became a reality when she opened the small bookstore in downtown hazard. >> access to a bookstore was two hours away, so i knew there were other people who would buy into this idea. correspondent: what made you think it could work? >> that is what my husband said.

he said people do not read physical books anymore. i said i do and i know people who do. correspondent: bookstore is not only survived, but derived first of a major flood and then the pandemic. >> as far as appellation literature, silas house, someone originally from hazard. correspondent: made to more remarkable by her own story. >> i was probably a junior in high school the first time i saw oxycontin, and from that point on, from the very first one i knew that this is what i needed. correspondent: after several years of daily opioid use she kicked a prediction in 2005, and opening the bookstore is given her life a new meaning. >> i finally found my purpose in my community, and when that happened, doors opened that i

did not even know i was knocking on. >> i could not believe there was a bookstore in hazard, kentucky. correspondent: is a story that is becoming more common areas as this journalist to his two books about the nation's ongoing opioid crisis. he also reported on hazard, it town of about 5000. >> i knew of hazard kentucky on the as a place of durable deposition due to the opioid epidemic. correspondent: more than 100,000 americans still die every year from drug overdose fueled by fentanyl. it continues to plague towns like hazard across kentucky, a state with some of the highest overdose death rates in the nation coupled with the collapse of coal mining. he said he was expecting to write a different story when he came to town. >> i began to see some things i

did not expect to see, which is tiny businesses started by local people, a lot of business owners in the recovery from pain pill addiction, and a lot of employees are also in the recovery. correspondent: didn't feel counterintuitive to you in a way? >> it did not at all. recovering addicts are like fossil fuels, energy rising from decay, and if you find ways of utilizing that energy can benefit your business, but also your town and your community, and that is the story of hazard, kentucky. >> we have had 68 businesses open over the last five years. correspondent: this woman says many buildings that one sat empty have not been filled. it did stores, local coffee and kendall jobs and new restaurants

line main street. it is growth spurred in part by people in recovery who hold 25% of jobs here. >> when you have this population who for 20 years that were locked out of being able to do these things, and now as they get clean they are taking it and running with it. correspondent: that includes 45-year-old stephanie callahan. >> hot mess. i am a mess. correspondent: she said it is and it came she picked up from friends and family dating back to her days battling opioid addiction in her 20's. she kicked at addiction when her son was born. she quit her full-time job and opened this clothing and fashion story. >> there is nowhere in hazard to

shop. i am a big girl, so i need a place. after the call left -- coal left we lost our stories. correspondent: what did people say to you. >> they told me i was crazy. i probably am, i had three men tell me and one day that i will never make it. i will show you. correspondent: three years later callahan has shown them. it is often packed with customers and a few weeks ago she opened a second store offering men's clothing. it is a testament to how far she entered her home town of calm. >> people started coming in, and it just took off, but i think people are tired of nothing being here. into my addiction i would get bored and just go get high. we can come down and shop and eat. correspondent: not only business

is slowly coming back, so are some former residents. today luca davis teaches guitar and serves as director of operations at an art center in downtown hazard, in itself a sign of the new signs. for years she toured across the nation as a professional musician based in nashville. david said he knew he needed to change. >> my life was completely unmanageable. i could not stand me, people could not stand me. the idea was to come home and figure out a way to get clean. correspondent: the recovery community has been crucial to him staying sober, and he once to rebuild what has been lost. >> i spent so much time and drain that it is very gratifying to contribute something and be of value to my community.

correspondent: still economic progress in hazard and across apple remains uneven as drug addiction rages on. even still, sam believes hazard has a fighting chance and offers a model for other small towns. >> this attitude that we need to find some big solution, those factories are not coming here. if they come here, they will be mostly whereabouts anyway. it is this idea that you can find a path forward using local energies, local creativity, and finding ways to nurture that. correspondent: but how far can self-reliance or small really take you? >> it is a great question. i am not sure i know the answer to how far it can go. i know what is happening here opens up a pathway toward the future that they never imagined. correspondent: mindy hopes the

books in her story can help hazard's next-generation find that path. >> if there are kids who can see there were through these books in this literature, and that keeps them from using, that is it for me. that drives me every day. ♪ william: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm william brangham. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you so much for joining us. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> it was like an aha moment. this is what i love doing.

they have this energy that energizes me. these are people trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs, it is the same thing. i am driving by helping others every day. people who know know bdo. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. >> certified planner professionals are proud to support pbs newshour committed to acting in their client's best interest. more information at let smakeaplan.org. >> the william and floor she foundation, advancing ideas and

supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlet.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. >> this is pbs newshour west from weta studios and washington, d.c. and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at the arizona state university. ♪

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wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. >> it is a truism in washington that you cannot survive as speaker of the house without friends. mike johnson is learning that friends can appear in unlikely places, including the democratic caucus. we will discuss all of