amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu calls on the u.s. to stand with israel in a speech to

congress that many democrats boycotted. amna: president biden addresses the nation for the first time since dropping out of the presidential race. geoff: as the country works to address its youth mental health crisis, another troubling trend emerges. more young black americans are attempting to take their own lives. amna: one of the primary reasons they've pointed to is feeling hopeless about the future. hopelessness on an individual level, but also hopelessness on a structural level. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, how may i help you? this is a pocket dial. thought i would let you know that with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. >> a successful business owner sells his company and restores

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contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu defended the war in gaza today in a speech to a joint meeting of congress, amid protests and partisan politics that led dozens of democrats to boycott the speech. amna: netanyahu disparaged protesters who clashed with police outside the u.s. capitol, and blamed hamas for the tens of thousands of palestinians killed in israel's nine-month war in gaza since the october 7th terrorist attack. nick schifrin reports. >> his excellently benjamin netanyahu, prime minister of israel. nick: no other foreign leader has delivered as many congressional addresses or received as much state of the union style applause, but no other invited foreign leader has driven such division. outside congress today, protesters burned israeli prime minister netanyahu in effigy and

spray-painted "hamas is coming." at one point police sprayed them and -- pepper spray demonstrators. some attendees did not stand. but republican lawmakers and many democrats shouted their support as netanyahu portrayed iran as a mutual enemy. >> when israel ask to prevent iran from -- acts to prevent iran from developing nuclear weapons that could threaten every american city, every city that you come from, we are not only protecting ourselves, we are protecting you. [applause] nick: as israeli soldiers continue to battle hamas fighters, netanyahu has resisted endorsing a plan for the day after the war. today he reiterated a vision that u.s. officials have previously described as unrealistic. >> gaza should have a civilian administration run by palestinians who do not seek to destroy israel. that is not too much to ask. it's a fundamental thing that we

have a right to demand and receive. nick: there is enormous pressure on netanyahu to agree to a deal that would release israeli hostages. congressional police detained some of the hostages family members today who rose during the speech to demand he "seal the deal." today netanyahu announced no breakthrough and vowed again to release all the hostages. >> we are actively engaged in intensive efforts to secure their release, and i'm confident that these efforts can succeed. some of them are taking place right now. nick: netanyahu has spoken to congress before in 1996, 2011, and 2015, when he criticized president obama's iran nuclear deal. >> it doesn't block iran's path to the bottom, it paves iran's path to the bottom. nick: but today he praised president biden. >> he came to israel to stand

with us during our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten. nick: as for the protesters, netanyahu denounced them as anti-semites, and disparaged them with a term usually reserved for pro-soviet stooges. >> you have officially become iran's useful idiots. nick: since october 7, palestinian health officials say more than 120,000 palestinians have been killed or wounded. today netanyahu blamed their deaths on hamas. >> for his real, every civilian -- israel, every civilian death is a tragedy. for hamas, it is a strategy. they want palestinian civilians to die so that israel will be smeared in the international media and be pressured to end the war before it is won. nick: nearly 6000 miles away, the war continues in khan you nis, now a shell of itself. gazans who were told it is safe to come back here are now forced again to drag their loved ones,

too frail to walk, desperate for a safety that is not to be found. >> we demand the leaders of the world to look at us. we are being targeted why we are being displaced. nick: on monday israel issued evacuation orders to 400,000 gazans in an previously -- in a previously designated safe zone. this week the world health organization warned of the spread of the poliovirus. the u.n. says nearly one third of those killed have been children, but somehow htis -- somehow this baby came to life, born after his mother died in an airstrike on their family home. geoff: after netanyahu's speech, a senior administration official told reporters a hostage deal is in "the closing stages," but this official acknowledged there is no agreement yet between israel and hamas on the transition from temporary to permanent ceasefire. to delve more into what netanyahu said and did not say, we are joined by tom malinowski,

a two-term democratic member of the house from new jersey, and a former top state department human rights official under barack obama. and kirsten fontenrose, who served on the trump national security council focused on the mid east, and also was an official in the state and defense departments. thanks very much to you both. kirsten, but you think of netanyahu's speech?> kirsten: he both thanked the biden for their support for his policy, which also makes it harder for a kamala harris campaign to deviate from that policy. he set the stage for what he hopes will be a successful meeting with former president trump this coming friday by thinking president trump for the work he did during his administration. he also linked his war in gaza against several floods -- sev eral fronts, making the point, our war is your war, we are

fighting them here so you do not have to fight them at home. i think that resonates on both sides of the aisle. geoff: is israel's war the u.s.'s war? tom: the war against hamas was a fight that people all around the world were willing and happy to support israel in waging after the unspeakable evil of what hamas did to innocent israelis on that horrible day. but we often say that palestinians nev miss and opportunity to miss an opportunity. israel missed an opportunity. there was an opportunity to build a true anti-hamas coalition, but it would have required prime minister netanyahu to do something is unwilling to do, and that is to meet his potential allies halfway by presenting at least a pathway to a palestinian state, to a two state solution. what i heard today was he was

less partisan than he might have been, he was gracious to president biden. no forward progress on the hostage issue for the families that were waiting for something. and i heard a vision for the future of the middle east, the future of gaza, that is completely disconnected from reality. i could not help thinking, that, as he he was speaking, his own defense minister is telling us that netanyahu is moving, is sending israel into a very dark future. his own security establishment thinks he's placing his own political interests ahead of the interests of the security of israel. i feel like if you are as pro-israel as i am, how can you provide unconditional support and unconditional applause to a man who, according to his own security officials and most of the israeli people, is doing so much to hurt israel's own interests? geoff: is benjamin netanyahu, as his critics say, extending the war in order to extend his own political power? kirsten: i don't think it is up

to him. granted the knesset probably cannot dissolve his government while they are at session, which ends this sunday. this war is being extended by the parties on the others, as readily as it is by israel. you have the houthi who launched new attacks using drones. hezbollah sends about 150 rockets across that border every day. this war is being extended. it is being managed, but it is certainly already being extended. geoff: tom, the fact is has below opened fire itself on october 8 and has fired hundreds of thousands of rockets in israel. hamas continues to attack israelis in gaza and israel. netanyahu's defenders are saying they are doing what they have to do. tom: they love this situation. i agree with netanyahu that hamas does not care about palestinian lives. has below is happy to -- iran is happy to see this.

and this is why so many people inside israel, including members of netanyahu's own party who are responsible for the security of the state of israel, are urging him to take the opportunity to end the conflict is benefiting israel's enemies. i think he won't do it because there is a political dynamic at play and because he is ideologically against the one thing that is necessary to bring the world together to actually help him in gaza and to create a durable solution. geoff: let's talk about the hostage deal itself. six weeks would pause the war, that would be the first phase, and release more than 30 hostages. we did not hear from netanyahu what these hostage families wanted to hear, some kind of full throated endorsement of that deal. benny gantz the opposition leader today accused netanyahu of stalling and not wanting that

deal. why do you think netanyahu has not publicly endorsed this deal? amna: he mentioned, even while i'm speaking, actions are being taken towards this deal. he is sending people to negotiate again on thursday. some would say that is too many days away from now, but it is at least a negotiation. there are so many questions left unanswered. will that full withdrawal include the core door -- the cora door -- corridor? who will oversee the withdrawal? who will be holding each party accountable during this time period? a lot of these answers be provided by the international community and by israel and hamas. it is argued that hamas was the spoiler for some time and now israel is dragging its feet and there is truth to that, but i think it is probably because of some of these unanswered questions. he cannot full throated late --

[inaudible] otherwise he does not know what to tell his idf soldiers if he agrees to something that unequivocally pulls them at the end of what could be a definitive operation. geoff: let me ask about the protesters. netanyahu called them "useful idiots for iran." are they? tom: if you look at the protesters who are flying the hamas flag and burning the american flag. geoff: the palestinian -- tom: if netanyahu paid those protesters, they could not be more awful to him. he wants to go back to israel and -- could not be more helpful to him. he wants to go back to israel and not have to listen to the two thirds of the israeli public that would prefer a hostage deal.

he does not have to listen to the most pro-israel american president in history, joe biden, who has been trying to help him out of the situation. that said, i think he was unfairly disdainful to the many people in the united states, including people who are deeply committed to the defense of israel, who have legitimate concerns about the humanitarian situation. geoff: you brought up vice president harris. today she was not there. her staff said she has a scheduling conflict. but she has been ahead of president biden in the past on her criticism of israel. let's take a listen to something she said in march. v.p. harris: people in gaza are starving. the conditions are inhumane, and our common humanity compels us to act and given the immense

scale of suffering in gaza, there must be an immediate cease-fire. [applause] geoff: kirsten, israelis believe harris would push an end for the war in gaza more than president biden would. there will be a difference between harris and biden. kirsten: i think they are right she might push for that, but even then president harris could only do so if she tied support for u.s. military activities to that. geoff: thanks very much. ♪ geoff: capitol hill is also where we start our other headlines of the day. fbi director chris wray revealed during congressional testimony today that the gunman who tried to assassinate former president

donald trump searched for information on the killing of president john f. kennedy a week earlier. wray was speaking during a house judiciary committee hearing, as lawmakers from both parties pressed for answers on why the july 13th shooting in butler pennyslvania had not been prevented. he said the timing of the suspect's online search was significant. >> analysis of a laptop that the investigation ties to the shooter reveals that on july 6 he did a google search for quote, "how far away was oswald from kennedy?" that is the same day that it appears that he registered for the butler rally. geoff: new bodycam footage from the aftermath of the shooting shows law enforcement on the roof where the 20-year-old gunman was killed by snipers. fbi director wray said the bureau believes he acted alone.

and while his motive is unclear, wray says the gunman was interested in public figures more broadly. climate scientists say this past monday was earth's hottest day ever, breaking the record set ju a day earlier. according to the european climate service "copernicus', the global average temperature on monday was 62.87 degrees fahrenheit. that was 0.1 degree higher than sunday. scientists say the timing of these records is especially troubling, given that the "el nino" climate pattern -- which warms the central pacific ocean -- ended earlier this year. >> we've seen the signal come back to neutral and almost la nina actually. a la nina means there's substantial cooling happening. and so then we would really expect the temperatures to come down. and so if that is not happening, then it means there's really, really, really something wrong happening in our planet. geoff: the heatwave has fanned the flames of summer wildfires, especially in the west.

the largest blaze in the country is in oregon, which has burned nearly 400 square miles. other fires are scorching parts of california, washington and canada. authorities in nepal are investigating why an airlines flight crashed shortly after taking off from kathmandu airport today. 18 people were killed. the pilot was the lone survivor. rescuers rushed to the scene. airport officials say most of the passengers were mechanics or airline employees. witnesses described the moment of the crash. >> i came out and saw a plane had crashed and there was huge plume of smoke and fire coming out. there was chaos and confusion. we couldn't even go near the plane to help because there was so much fire and even explosions. geoff: authorities say the aircraft was on its way to another nepalese city for maintenance. cybersecurity company "crowdstrike" is blaming a bug in an update for last week's global tech outage. it says the bug pushed out bad

cybersecurity data to millions of windows computers, causing crashes that disabled airlines, hospitals, retailers and more. to prevent future outages, crowdstrike says it will stagger rollouts of updates, give customers more control over installations, and provide more details about future updates. among the most affected was delta airlines, with more than 6000 flight cancellations since last friday. the carrier's ceo said today that operations should return to normal by tomorrow. on wall street today, stocks plummeted, after some underwhelming tech earnings. the dow industrials fell 500 points, dropping well below the 40,000 point level. the nasdaq posted its worst session since late 2022, falling more than 650 points. the s&p 500 also tumbled, for its fifth drop in the last six sessions. and, olympic officials have announced the hosts for the next two winter games -- just days before the summer olympics in paris officially kick off.

the international olympic committee said today that the 2030 games will be held in the french alps. and, in utah, crowds rejoiced pafter news that the olympics will return in the year 2034. salt lake city hosted the games in 2002. also today -- >> you have the honor of wearing this jacket during the opening ceremony and being the flag bearer with lebron james. [applause] geoff: team usa selected tennis phenom coco gauff to be a flag-bearer at friday's opening ceremony in paris. the reigning u.s. open champ had to sit out the tokyo games after testing positive for covid. at 20 years old, gauff will be the youngest american to carry the flag at an opening ceremony. and still on the news hour, covid infections spike nationwide, raising concerns of yet another summer surge. and christine brennan previews the major athletes to watch in the paris olympics. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour

from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: a covid summer wave has spread across much of the u.s. and western states are seeing particularly high numbers of infections. geoff: with more people traveling for the summer, and gathering in large groups, public health officials are concerned these numbers won't be going down anytime soon. william brangham has the latest. william: across 45 states and territories, covid infections are rising. according to the latest data from the cdc, more than half of those regions are showing high wastewater samples. this rise is partly due to a number of new variants with particular mutations that make it easier for the virus to spread. for more on what can we expect for the rest of this summer, we're joined by epidemiologist katelynn jetelina. she's the author of the invaluable substack column

called "your local epidemiologist." so nice to have you back on the program. help us explain this uptick. is it new variants? is it our summer behaviors? what is driving this? katelynn: there is a combination of three things that drive our summer waves. one his behavior change. it is really hot outside. people move indoors. viruses love to spread indoors. two, covid just keeps mutating. it is mutating about twice as fast as the flu. every time a virus mutates, it finds a way to start chipping away at our immunity wall. three is waning immunity. there is this gradual decrease and protection at about six months after a vaccine or previous infection. all three of these things means the virus has found plenty of people to infect this summer. geoff: in addition to the number of infections about, is this

wave driving hospitalizations and driving deaths? what is happening with wave? katelynn: right now the wave of infections is higher than we saw last summer. we saw a pretty big wave of infections right now. thankfully, while severe disease like hospitalizations and deaths are increasing they are starting at low levels, and not increasing as quickly as infections. this is thanks to population level immunity. the disease rates are not as high as we saw last summer, even the summer before. william: let's talk more about that vaccination issue. does the current booster available protect against these new variants? if people have not gone one in a long time, should they consider that or should they wait? katelynn: covid vaccines continue to provide additional protection every year. right when you get the vaccine, they are imperfect and

suboptimal, maybe about 20% additional production. the big bang for the buck is severe disease. that wanes over time. what we see, especially those over 65 and immunocompromised, if they have not gotten a vaccine in the past six months, you may want to consider one right now. i would get one pretty quickly, because the fall is coming. we will have an updated vaccine, and we want at least four months between each vaccine dose to work it's best. william: let's say somebody does get infected. are the current tests available in drugstores accurately able to identify current infections, and what about the rules vis-a-vis isolation? katelynn: covid-19 at home antigen test's are still a really great tool. they are very good at telling

you when you are very infectious. what i think antigen test are the best at is telling us when we leave isolation when we are not infectious anymore. according to the cdc, you can leave isolation before hours after your fever and your symptoms are improving. but after that time period, then it is recommended for about five more days, you still wear our mask, you still test, because there is definitely some infectious virus that may still be hanging around. william: anecdotally, a lot of people i know have, and it seems this new variant is making them quite a bit sicker than it was in past. -- in past variants. it seems people are treating this as a passing cold. from your perspective, is that okay that people are starting to

view covid this way? katelynn: i think it is a good sign. it is great that our hospitals are not overwhelming. it was exhausting back then. it is important to realize that covid-19 is still more severe, more deadly than the flu. about 30% to 40% higher. i really worry about those that are older or over 65, even over 70, those with a lot of comorbidities, because among those, your immune system is weaker. when your immune systems are weaker, it is harder to fight. we are still approaching with this as it is best to prevent infection in the first place through masks, through ventilation, but if you do get infected, to really isolate so you don't continue spreading it to other people in your community. william: katelynn jetelina. always good to hear from you. thanks so much. katelynn: thanks for having me.

♪ geoff: tonight, president biden will address the nation from the oval office and explain his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. amna: meanwhile, bidens vice president kamala harris is moving closer to locking up her party's nomination for president. all as she navigates a high-stakes visit from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. our white house correspondent, laura barron-lopez joins us now laura, the vice president has been in indianapolis on official duty today, but her campaign has really hit the ground running. they are breaking fundraising records, forging ahead with rallies and events. what is the latest on those efforts? laura: today vice president harris spoke to a historically black sorority, telling them they can make history with their vote this year, and focusing her attacks on trump, specifically

talking about the threats of his second term. >> we must also recognize there are those who are trying to take us backward. you may have seen their agenda. part of it is called project 2025. let's be clear, this represents an outright attack on our children, our families, and our future. these extremists want to take us back, but we are not going back. we are not going back. [applause] laura: you can hear her making her case against donald trump, trying to sharpen her message. and she's also been racking up a lot of endorsements from the leading democrats, including hillary clinton, who in the new york times today highlighted harris's actions on abortion access, saying "as we saw in the 202 midterms -- 2022 midterms,

abortion bands are galvanizing women voters like never before -- bans are galvanizing women voters like never before." also today, adding to her momentum, the dnc rules committee voted that they will have their virtual vote to name their democratic nominee by august 7, and that if anyone wants to challenge vice president harris for the nomination, they need to declare their intent in a matter of three days. amna: we also know the vice president did not attend that address to congress by israeli prime minister netanyahu today. we have seen this issue divide the democratic party. how is vice president harris never getting this, and how could it impact -- navigating this, and how could it impact her run? laura: harris will meet separately with netanyahu tomorrow. this is a delicate dance for the vice president. she is closely aligned with president biden on israel and gaza, and she is going to be trying to help him as he attempts to close a deal during

the remainder of his residency. -- his presidency. the white house is saying they are close to a cease-fire deal. my producer and i caught up with one of the leaders of those uncommitted voters in states like michigan, one says harris at the top of the ticket could turn the page on the war in gaza, and she has the ability to rebuild trust with a lot of these young voters who are upset with president biden's position on the war. amna: as we saw in our latest pbs news/npr/marist polling, some 9% of voters say they are undecided. how is harris's campaign looking at them and how will they try to persuade them? laura: just like our poll, the focus groups we have sat in on with swing voters say a lot of those voters do not know much about vice president harris. in a memo sent by the campaign

chair who has stayed on for chair as harris's campaign, she said this dynamic could help democrats grow their map, saying in a highly polarized environment, this shift in the race opens up persuadable voters. the vice president is well-known but less well-known than both trump and bryden -- and biden, particularly among dem leaning constituencies. she's saying the universe is more wide open for the types of voters that harris could win, and harris is racking up notable endorsements from former republicans like jeff duncan, who told me he is fully behind her and will campaign for her. amna: we know we expect to hear from president biden tonight, speaking from the oval office, the first time since he decided to end his be election bid. -- his reelection bid. laura: the president is expected to talk about this influx and point for the country. according to excerpts for

planned remarks we have, he is expected to say that the defense of democracy is more important than any title he might hold, that the great thing about america is that here kings and dictators do not rule, the people rule. he will say history is in the public's hands and that america lies in their hands. he says ultimately he decided the best way forward is to pass the torch. and his press secretary today said his decision was not based on his health at all and the president did feel he can serve out his second term. amna: we will have full special coverage around the president's remarks later tonight. laura, thank you. geoff: and for more analysis on the rapidly changing state of the presidential race, we're joined by democratic strategist faiz shakir and republican strategist kevin madden.

v.p. harris could have hardly hoped for a better start in establishing herself among democrats after president biden abandoned his bid for the 2024 election. judging from her historic fundraising haul and the apparent level of enthusiasm, what is your assessment of this handing of the baton? faiz: it has gone smoothly, and as a campaign manager, you have to feel good. you have all the tactics lined up for a aggressive race against donald trump. at the end of the day, voters decide this race. as much money as you want, the voters will decide. when you look at the electoral map, she has to think about wisconsin, north carolina, nevada, arizona, georgia. those will be critical. the map is starting to change. the persuadable voter universe could be large for. you can either think of her as obama 3.0. in 2008, he wins places like

north carolina, indiana. why? because he got a lot of young voters, new voters. you can think of her as hillary 2.0. here is a person who is also well-known, loses michigan, loses wisconsin by small margins. and how you see her, is she closer to obama or hillary, would assess the challenges you are trying to address. i would say you need to think about the fact that a lot of the voters are still not sold on her and she has to think as if she's playing from behind and she has to have a pitch to these voters to get them enthusiastic beyond the core democratic base. geoff: how does the trump campaign pivot? they had a specific strategy calibrated for joe biden. how do they make that move now, especially if kamala harris if competitive in states where joe biden wasn't? kevin: first, they have to move more quickly. you would have expected with the developments over the last month

that the trump campaign would have had the job of saying, if this is not going to be joe biden and we will potentially face the undercard on the ticket, kamala harris, and we have to immediately be prepared to go out and put a frame around kamala harris. tie her to this administration's record on immigration, tie it to the ministry should's record on -- the administration's record on economy and immigration. i think they were somewhat slow in doing that. you saw more of a stunted message that is being competitive depending on which republicans you have heard from. dave mccormick in pennsylvania put out an ad yesterday that did draw that harsh contrast frame around kamala harris. everything from the economy to energy to health care to national security. they have to make sure they do that relentlessly over the next

100 days of this campaign because you do not want to allow kamala harris and that campaign to take this momentum and reintroduce herself to these voters. they want to make sure they do that before she does. geoff: how does her selection of a vice presidential candidate affect things, and who among the reported shortlist do you think has the best shot? faiz: i'm not sure that vice presidents swing elections. i think the battlegrounds we know exist, so when you think of these people like mark kelly from arizona, gretchen whitmer from michigan, they make sense because those of the states you must have. that said, i would think more importantly about the issues of what is the frame she wants to tell voters about who she is? she was onto the frame of she is a prosecutor. it is a good framework to think

about how you will hold government accountable, are you going to prosecute things on the economy to improve people's lives? who is that person who is riding cockpit who both emphasizes those qualities and balances it out -- a governor, who has had to be at the top of legislating. i imagine that is the way she is thinking about it. i could not tell you is the best person at this moment. geoff: as vice president harris seeks to define herself as the likely nominee, she is facing a barrage of attacks, some of which have been racist and sexist on their face, republicans referring to her as a dei hire. the most frequent lines i've heard from a publicans is to say she is a san francisco liberal -- from replicans is to say she is a san francisco liberal.

mr. trump: for three and a half years, lying kamala harris has been the ultraliberal driving force between -- force behind every biden catastrophe. she is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country if she ever gets the chance to get into office. we are not going to let that happen. geoff: does that resonate with independent potential swing voters? kevin: i think the issues that will resonate with those voters. what we know about these swing voters is that they do care about immigration, the economy. they are particularly worried things like housing and inflation. presenting kamala harris as someone who is outside the mainstream on those issues, totally fair game. i actually think the messenger is the wrong messenger. donald trump at the top of the ticket should not be focused on the negative message as much as j.d. vance should.

he has to carry that harder edged message for the president so he can talk directly to these voter concerns about the economy, about inflation, about immigration, and in a way that will be more persuasive for those swing voters. geoff: we saw progressives circle the wagon around resident biden when other democrats were calling for him to exit, namely bernie sanders and alexandria ocasio-cortez. senator sanders has not yet endorsed vp harris. faiz: we need to know what she's going to run on. substance matters. when you think about build back better, the rescue plan, stimulus, where did those come from? where did we get cancel student debt from? the progressive movement. it has been the role of the movement to say, elections, yes, do something with power. you see senator sanders and others saying, tell me what you stand for, i want to go back to people and say you are the right

choice, i want to vote for you because you will do x as president. whether it is gaza, the economy, she's got opportunities to fill in the blank for people. geoff: appreciate it. tonight you can watch our live coverage of president biden's address to the nation right here on pbs. that starts at 8:00 p.m. eastern. ♪ for years, experts have warned about a growing mental health crisis among america's young people. but within that trend, there are important signals about racial disparities. between 2018 and 2022, the suicide rate among black youth rose by more than 50%, for the first time surpassing white

youth, who saw a 17% decline. special correspondent fred de sam lazaro has this story from chicago, the first of two reports. it's part of our race matters coverage. and a warning: this story discusses topics of suicide that may difficult for some viewers. >> he had a personality that was so contagious. he was so in love with being a good person. fred: from an early age, jamal clay wanted to be helpful. >> some of my fondest memories of jamal is remember him waking me up early in the morning so we can get to school a little bit before the kids so he could take the chairs off the desk and help the teachers, you know, prepare for school. fred: he looked everyone in the eye and gave them his undivided attention. as time went on, however, rafiah maxie-cole noticed changes in her son. he drew into himself, grew quieter, spent more time alone.

maxie-cole knew clay was teased at school over his body type. at one point he tried to take his own life and was rushed to the hospital. >> a social worker, mother, traumatized, trying to figure out which role i had while my 12-year-old is in an isolation unit. fred: he was released from the hospital, but his struggles widened. >> many of the struggles my son dealt with was of course being a product of a single-parent and not having the closest relationship with his father. trying to be the man of the house, because there was no male and not knowing how that goes. i remember him telling me "i learned how to tie my tie, mom, by going on youtube." and that broke my heart. fred: on may 27th, 2020, jamal clay died by suicide at the age of 19. >> it rocked my whole

foundation. how do you go to work when one of your main jobs is to keep people safe, and you ain't got nobody safe your home? i have so many questions that he has all the answers. fred: between 2015 and 2021, more than 60 black people died by suicide in chicago. according to a study, the trends in that time largely mirrored what happened nationally. black residents were the only group to experience significant increases in suicides among both men and women. meanwhile, suicides decreased among white men and women. there was also a higher proportion of suicide deaths among black teens. and the youngest person to die by suicide was an eight year old black boy. professor janelle goodwill co-authored that research at the university of chicago.

dr. goodwill: i have had the opportunity to directly ask people, particularly black young adults, why they've considered ending their life. and one of the primary reasons they've pointed to is feeling hopeless about the future. hopelessness on an individual level, but also hopelessness on a structural level. fred: chicago has been called one of america's most segregated cities and the disparities are striking. even though blacks account for less than a third of the city's population, they make up nearly half of those living in poverty , 70% of people living in jail and about three-quarters of gun violence victims. how much of those contributing factors, how much of those are at the baseline of, you know, the cumulative problem that you have? dr. goodwill: i think it's a really important word that you use is cumulative. there's rarely one reason that leads someone to consider suicide. there are these larger systemic or structural level factors that are shaping an individual's ability to have access to clean air, to quality schools, to adequate health care. do they have access to quality

foods? and do they have a strong social safety net and support? there -- and support? fred: in 2019, the congressional black caucus released a report on the national crisis with recommendations for tackling it -- including increased funds to research the rise in black youth suicide. the national institute of mental health has since granted millions of dollars for the effort. >> as a black person, as a youth , you must have these blinders on, just like a horse in a race. because you can't look left or right. you just have to keep forward. fred: maxie-cole notes her son died just two days after george floyd was murdered by police in minneapolis. she says living in a society rife with systemic and structural racism is like having a headache that never goes away. and, she says, a stereotype of endless resilience within the black community can be taxing. >> i'm so sick and tired of being black and got to be strong. be black and be a strong woman.

you could survive. i'm tired. everything in this house represents struggle. it represents somebody who came from up and under. and i get that. i lean on that. but sometimes you get mad because it feels unfair. it's like, my child is dead. well, i still gotta be strong, you know? fred: after her son's death, maxie-cole created an organization, "soul survivors of chicago." she advocates for suicide prevention and mental health awareness -- hoping to tackle what she sees as enduring stigma in the community. "soul survivors" also provides support for people of color who've lost loved ones to suicide. >> welcome to the show. breaking the silence provided by soul survivors of chicago.

fred: maxie-cole hosts a public access talk show, where she speaks to guests about mental health. >> you can see my life and what i'm doing with it. to normalize the conversation about this happening and what happens when this happens and what we feel. i take on the charge and wave the flag. does it hurt? hell, yes. do i like it? not always, but i'm here to say i will stand in that place so that you don't have to imagine. fred: earlier this year, on an episode of "breaking the silence," maxie-cole interviewed noah boynton, a 17 year old from chicago's south side. boynton spoke about his own mental health struggles and the help he eventually received. tomorrow night, we will share boynton's story and explore how a shortage of mental health providers is exacerbating this crisis. for the pbs news hour, i'm fred

de sam lazaro in chicago. geoff: fred's reporting is a partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. ♪ amna: the 2024 paris olympics are here. the opening ceremony isn't until friday, but events are officially underway today, including men's soccer and rugby. millions of fans will descend on the city, as will athletes from around the globe, including american superstars like simone biles, sha'carri richardson, lebron james, coco gauff, and katie ledecky. to preview the summer games, i'm joined from paris by christine brennan, columnist for usa today. great to see you. thanks for joining us. before we dive into this game, i have to ask you about some olympics related news today. the international olympic

committee announced that the 2034 winter games will be hosted by salt lake city, but there has been controversy around that decision. explain that to us. christine: salt lake city is really the only city that wanted the 2024 -- 2034 games. we expected this to be a slamdunk. instead the ioc, several members brought up a demand, demanding the local officials in utah and select city, including the governor, cede to their wishes to shut down the federal investigation that is going on involving the chinese doping controversy that i am sure many remember involving swimming. the fbi is investigating. there is a law that allows the united states to investigate doping schemes that affect u.s. athletes, which this one certainly does, and may be deprives them of medals.

shockingly, the u.s. officials said yes, we will sign this agreement with the knowledge that we have now been told by the ioc that we should try to shut down an investigation that would impact the ioc, because if they come into the country, as has been the case with one official, these international a big committee people think they -- olympic committee people think they are untouchable and don't want to deal with u.s. laws. truly stunning development that they caved into the ioc. amna: not the headline they wanted to kick off these games. let's turn to the summer events. we are featuring some of the biggest u.s. stars, including gymnast simone biles, truly the goat. team usa took the silver last olympics. biles had to pull out amid extreme stress that was putting her in physical risk. how do we expect her to do and the team this year? christine: this is the story of

the olympics for u.s. fans. simone biles is a survivor of the worst sexual abuse case and scandal in olympic and sports history, the larry nassar saga. she has been so vocal in supporting others, those hundreds of women who were horrifically abused. she's a survivor. she's the greatest of all time, as you said. she is coming back after a terrific olympics in rio eight years ago, and a difficult olympics three years ago in tokyo. she withdrew to take care of that, physically and mentally, ones the bronze medal -- won the bronze medal in the balance beam. i would not be surprised if she wins the gold and team u.s. gets that goldbach and she's able to -- gold back and she's able to win in balance beam, in vault as well. she's 27, but she's on top of

her game. she's feels -- she feels great coming into these olympics and will be the one to watch over the next 10 days. amna: also one to watch is katie ledecky. she swing in her fourth olympic games -- swimming in her fourth olympic games. what should we watch for here? christine: i think she will win two more individual gold medals in the 800 and 1500. the longer she swims, the better she does. she is great at those distances and has dominated the mile, the 1500 and 800. the 400 will kickoff the olympic competition on saturday. there is an australian who won the gold three years ago. katie won gold, silver, and now the question is will she win a medal at all? there is great competition, all these young swimmers that grew up idolizing katie ledecky are competing with her.

she and simone biles were born in the same week in 1997. katie is such a superb athlete, so good, and loves this so much. i would not be surprised to see her when four medal -- win four medals, with gold in those last two events. amna: what about track and field? we know superstar names. how is team usa expected to do? christine: this is one of the marquee events and it is the second week of the olympics after swimming is done. americans love their sprinters. going back to jesse owens, to carl lewis -- i'm sure people remember the positive drug test for marijuana. it broke everyone's heart, but

it is a banned substance so she did not go to the tokyo effects. i think she can potentially win the 100 meters. noah liles on the men's side, the sprints, the 100 and 200, he won the bronze in tokyo and has been dominating at world championships. those names i mentioned earlier, we always look for the next one, that next superstar in the sprints. i think richardson and liles are going to fit the bill. i think they are ready to do it. amna: christine joining us from paris, covering the olympic games. thank you so much. we will check-in back with you soon. christine: take care. ♪ geoff: 40 million people depend on the colorado river, which irrigates some of the nation's most productive agricultural land. but that vital resource is in peril.

amna: science correspondent miles o'brien looks at the problem and some solutions in a special livestream tonight that you can watch. "tipping point: colorado river reckoning" at 7 pm eastern on our youtube page. that is the news hour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. have a good evening. >> major funding for the pbs new or have -- the pbs news hour has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the news hour. the robert and virginia schiller foundation. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. ♪ >>

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