captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreivasan: on this edition for saturday, july 13: the gulf coast braces as tropical storm barry makes landfall in louiana. vice president pence visits the border ahead of scheduled ice raids. and, in our series "the future of food:" cell-based meat, grown solely in a lab. next, on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milstein family. e j.p.b. foundation.li ro p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. rporate funding is provided

by mutual of america-- designing customized individual and group retiremt products. that's why we're your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: oand by the corporaor public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. from the tisch wnet studios at lincoln center in new rerk, hariivasan. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thanks for joining us. barry brought its heavy rain to louisiana today as it moved very slowly out of the gulf of mexico and onto land, briefly becoming a hurricane before turning back into a tropical storm. the storm's winds reached 75 miles an hour, making it a category one and the first named hurricane of 2019. it was downgraded to a tropical storm within hours, as its wind speeds dropped after making landfa west of new orleans. but, it was the rain, not the wind speeds, that caused evacuations and preparations for days of possible flooding.

water flowed over the tops of some levees, but as of the afternoon, no levee breaches have been reported. this afternoon, officials said the mississippi river is now predicted to peak at 17.1 feet on monday, below the 20-foot levee height. but, governor john bel edwards continued to warn residents to stay home or go to shelters, telling them the first hours are "just the beginning." forecasts show as much as 25 inches of rain from barry could bring life-threatening flooding across eastern louisiana and mississippi. dre moreau is anchor and managing editor for louisiana public broadcasting's statewide news magazine show, "the state we're in." he joins me now from baton rouge. we're chatting saturday afternoon what do we know about this storm right now? >> well, we know that the storm has lived up to the frecast, soa far, but tht it's done it in its own sweet time. it's hours late but it did

become a minimal hurricane at 75 miles an much of the storm, though, is still offshore. t all e huge rainmaking clouds are offulshore in the of mexico, so, as it's coming in on shore and making its landfall, the drier part of the storm, but the real wet part of the storm, what people in baton rouge and new orleans, but baton rouge perhaps more so, are so fearful of bcause there are forecasts of rain, people are saying 10 to 20 inches, up two feet, and, if that happens anywhere in a short ount of time, you're going to be in trouble, and it's sort of like a harsh memory from the floods of 2016 when ere were 25inches of thraint fell in a day and a half and a lot of people have never gotten back in tmes that were destroyed from that time in metro baton rouge. >> sreenivasan: tell me about what happens in those fir o coupdays taf -- after the

rain when a theibutaries soak the water up and feed into rivers? >> what happens is that the water just rses and it can inundate homes, as it did in the flood of 2016. but, as you saw in other hurrices where flos have been the big story -- and that's what this big story for barry would be- it's theater, not so much the the wind, and that's the fear. bu you know, it's a matter of you can't do anything till thats water goown, and then the real trouble begins because you've got homes that have been soaked in water that s dangerouit has to be cleaned out, dry wall removed, if the home is hill one tat can be saved, and that's a process. it takes aong, long time. so it's something that people don't want to think about. you know, it's a horrie thi to think about. it's a reality in this pa the world, and it's something that i think people are prepared

for this time but are just hoping it doesn't get to that level but are ready for it. >> sreenivasan: speaking ofar the prions and speaking of how it's part of life there, how cuny people are eving just to get out of harm's way? how many people are deciding to de out the storm? how do the local authorities deal with that? >> well, they look at the most disaer-prone area, so ther are two parishes that have been out of mandatory evacuation, laquemines parish which feeds down thessissippi delta, the last part of louisiana where much of it isiminishing anyway, and then parts of jefferson parish. other parishes are under voluntary evacuations, though. so in terms of massivex eodus evacuation, you have not had that for th, t there are shelters set up in place in

alexandria, louisiana, for example, for people if they need to go there. they get ready cfor this beause they've goat through the drill so many times before and knows the drill so we're doing what we know how to do. >> srerenivasan: andre eau of louisiana public broadcasting, thank you so much. >> all right, than you. >> sreenivasan: for the latest on barry and its impact on the gulf coast, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: on a t border detention facilities yesterday, vice president mike p with hundreds of men being held in a concrete and chain-link enclosure in mcallen, texas. there were no cots or mats, haly mylar blankets, and the men shouted that thenot had showers for weeks. the agent in charge confirmed that many had not showered in ten to0 days because the facility only recently added a trailer th showers. many of the nearly 400 men were shirtless d reporters said the

room was hot and foul-smelling. after seeing the conditions, pence told reporters he was "not surprised" and that he knew hesy would see em that was overwhelmed. earlier, pence and his wife toured a facility for children and families in donna, texas, where he praboed customs and er protection agents in their care for families. after the trip, pence tweeted that he toured the facilities to show that the migrant crisis "is overwhelming our system," and blamed democratsor the situation, saying that the men were "in a temporary holding area because democrats in congress have refused to fund additional bed space border officials said the longest any man was held in the overrowded concrete and chain-link pen was 3. thousands of people turned out last night and today to protest immigration and customs enforcement raids planned for tomorrow. in chicago, immigration activists held a rallyng proteshe raids. in colorado, near denver, which is one of the nine cities wheret immin raids are expected

tomorrow, demonstrators gathered outside an ice detention facility. and downtown los angeles, thousands of people held a r ndlelight vigil. the group "lights berty" organized the event, and an estimated 800 other candlelight protests across the country. the trump administration won a legal victory in its eorts to crack down on sanctuary cities yesterday. in a two-to-one decision, the ninth circuit court of appeals upheld a justice department decision to givereferential treatment to cities that cooperate with immigration authorities when it awlids community ng grants. the city of los angeles, which is a sanctuary city, sued wh it did not receive grant money, and a federal judge issued an injunction, which the appeals court overturned. supporters of sanctuary cities say encouraginlocal police to participate in federal immigration enforcement makes people less likelyo report crimes because they fear they will be deported. demonstrations in hong konged tu violent today, as marchers battled with police. osthe protest was against s- border trading, in an area

popular with tourists and traders o buy goods in hong kong to resell in mainland china.io the demonstrn began peacefully, but clashes broke out after police used pepper spray and batons to try and disperse the crowds. hong kong has been the scene of a series of protests over the past month against the semi- autonomous territory's government and its relationship with mainland china. in somalia, the islamic extremist grp al-shabab killed more than two dozen people and injured more than 50 others in a ack on a hotel overnight. the attack began with a suicide car bombing at the entrance to te building, which allowed at least three gunmen to enter the awmakersere somali were meeting. the battle between the al-shabad gunmenomali security forces lasted more than 14 hours and ended when all of the attackers were shot dead. the victs of the bombing included two americans, a prominent soma-canadian journalist, a somali politician, and a u.n. agency stf member. a u.s. service member was killed in afghastan today.

officials have not yet released details or identified the service member. also today, in northwestern afghanistan, three afghan police officers died in a gun battle with militants who attacked a government compound. two of the militants were killed, and others arrested. there s no claim of responsibility, but a spokesman for the taliban said his groups hind the killing of the u.s. service member. peace talks between thu.s. and taliban to discuss possible withdrawal of troops and an en to the 18-year war wrapped up earlier this week. serena williams will have to wait for her chance to tie the record for most grand slam singles titles. romania's simona halep defeated williams today in the women's singles fina at wimbledon. it took only 56 minutes for halep to win in straight sets with a final score of 6-2, 6-2. today marked the 37-year-old williams third grand slam final loss irow. her last tournament win was the australian open in 2017. the victory was halep's first at the all-england club. williams will get another shot

at a grand slam next month at the u.s. open. >> reenivasan: as part of our ongoing series, "the future of food," we're taking a closer look at cell-based meali best-sel author and food expert mark bittman hosts the series, and has more on that story. >> bittman: with all the concerns about the ethics, environmental impact and sustainability of meat production, many people are looking for alternativ by now, you've probably heard about the surge in populity in burgers made solely from plants. even burger king plans to serve one in all of its restaurants. but could it be possible to grow what amounts to real beef or chicken in labs with no animals killedn the process? and could such a process actually be sustainable? it may sound like science fiction, but megan thompson

traveled to california, where a few companies were working to get lab-raised meat on your plate in the very near future. this report is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center.>> eporter: in 2005, uma valeti was an up-and-coming cardiologist in st. paul, minnesota. he'd just finished a prestigious fellowship at the mayo clinic and was treating patients with serious heart conditions, all while conducting cutting-edge research. >> in my practice in cardiology, i started working on this clinical study that took stem cells of patients that had larga heart s or cardiac arrest. and we would take those cells and inject them into patients' arts to regrow the heart muscle. that led me to start thinking, can u just grow food from cells? and once the idea got into my head, it was really impossible to get it out. >> reporter: valeti started researching the idea of creating meat in a lab. he'd always been bothered by t environmental impacts of meat production, and also the fact that billions of animals arer slaughtered at each year. >> it really started dawning on

mehat all the pieces of wh we needed to do existed in the world. and we had to put it togppher for thiscation of growing food. >> reporter: valeti walked ay from his promising cardiology career and moved his family to the san francisco bay area to pursue the idea of creating what's known as "cell-based meat." in 2015, valeti launched memphis meats, one of the first private companies in the world focused on the technology. the next year, memphis meats debuted its first product. >> it tastes like a meatball. >> reporter: valeti's lab-grown meatballs take only a few weeks produce. a beef cow, by comparison, takes around 18 months to get to market. leti believes his fast-growing meat could help address the issue of increasing demand. with the middle class growing around the world, global demand for meat will double b, according to the u.n. >> we're at a breaking point where i think if this demand for meat continues in the way it is, there just isn't enough resources for it. that's kind of why i think the

the whole thing requires massive innovation. >> reporter: valeti also talks about one day creating healthier meats less likely to cause the heart disease he saw in so many of his patients. today, memphis meats has closeee to 40 empland is working on duck and chicken, which vale gave me a sample of. okay, here i go. >> go for it. >> reporter: it's very tender. yeah, there's definitely no way at i would, if you hadn' told me, that i would know this was grown in a lab and that it c didne from a conventionally-raised chicken.go it taste, and it even had the fibers you'd expect. but the consistency was a little soft. turns out, growing animal cells is one thing; but reproducing the structure of fats, collagen and blood vessels that give meat its texture is a big technological challenge. scientists are still experimenting with "scaffolds," as they're called, to give the meat structure. and there's another challenge. t when you ssomebody, "here's a piece of meat that was

grown completely in a lab," somp might say, "eh, i'm not so sure about that." how do you... how do you get beyond that?nk >> i te should be realistic, and the industry should be realistic, that wexp just can'tt everybody to say, "yes, i'm behind it." te's going to take time. >> reporter: deshe hurdles, memphis has attracted more tn $20 million of vestment from big-name backers like bill gates, richard branson and rge food giant l. tyson foods, one of the biggest meat producers in the world, has a minority stake in the company. executive vice president amy tu oversees tyson's venapital fund. >> our focus is on ourna traditbusinesses, but we can't ignore the fact that the consumers are demanding different types of products. we want to be at the forefront of the future of food. so, in order to do that, we may be looking at areas that may have been uncomfsttable in the >> reporter: memphis meats is not the only company now trying to make cell-based meat a commerci reality.in just the last few years, several start-ups have launched

in the u.s. and around the world. the interest is spurred, in part, by growing concerns abouta sustainabilimeat production requires more resources than other foods. about one-quarter of the world's ice-free land is used for livestock grazing; about a third of our cropland is used to grow livestock feed. and, according to the u.n., livestock production contributes almost 15% of the world's greenhouse gases, about the same as transportion. >> more people will eat meat tomorrow than they are today,it an a big issue. >> reporter: josh tetrick is the c.e.o. of san francisco-based, food compast, inc. s e company began launching vegan food produ 2013. its novel items, like eggless eggs made from mung beans, are available across the u.s. just, inc., is now trying its hand at cell-based meat. if there are so many issues with eating meat, tn why continue to promote it? >> people like eating meat, you know. it's just the way it is. if we can figure out a way toem

allow o eat all the meat they want, just a different kind of better meat without all the issues, i just think that's the most pragmatic way to fix the problem. >> so, this is our early research lab for our cultured meat project. >> reporter: biomedical engineer vitor santo is just, inc.'s director of what's known as cellular agriculture. he explained, the process starts with a small biopsy of an animal. >> it can be from a tiny piece of tissue, a small blood collection. >> reporter: and the athen walks away. >> exactly. so, in this container, whave some of our chicken cells. >> reporter: the chicken cells feed on a cocktail of proteins, sugars and vitamins. the process also requires a substance to spur cell growth, often made from the blood of fetal cows. obtaining this "fetal bovine serum" is a huge obstacle to scaling up production. it's usually used in medical research, and it's expensive and controversial. it comes from slaughtered pregnant cows-- which means, for now, some of the cell-based

meats made by just, inc. and other companies aren't actually slaughter-free. just, inc. is working to create a new, plant-based alternative. >>fe really want to get rid it for ethical reasons and also because it's very expensive. >>eporter: using the curre process, it takes santo about two weeks to pduce this. >> so, this is our ground chicken meat, freshly harvested from the tank, the bioreactor where we are growing it. >> reporter: the meat is used in just, inc.'s crispy icken nugget. another challenge here is the pric this nugget cost about $100 to produce. >> try it! you've got to try it. >> reporter: but c.e.o. josh tetrick says the price is falling quickly and that he'll be ready to launch his chicken nugget soon. the issue now is that it hn't been approved by the government. the u.s. food and drug administration and the department of agriculture have agreed to jointly oversee cell-based meats.wa >> and w to be true world leaders on this topic, as we have a challenge to feed the world. >> reporter: but the government

has not yet decided how it will approve the products, inspect facilities, or what the rules will be for package labeli. and cell-based meat companies aren't the only ones concerned with that.e' >> w not against technology whatsoever. we want them just to play by the same rules. >>eporter: cattle rancher kevin kester says he wants to see the same government inspections of cell-based meat labs that traditional meat facilities get. and he wants it made clear on labels that the meat came from a lab, not from a ranch. >> we want a level and fair playing field to wheabeling claims and marketing claims are accurate and it doesn't confuse the consumers. >> reporter: kester is a fifth generation rancher raising more than 2,000 head of cattle on abo 22,000 rolling acres in central california. kester's alsserved as president of the national cattlemen's beef association. he bristles at thenvironmental claims that supporters of cell- based meats make about the beef industry a lot of people say, you know, it's really resource-intensive

it uses a lot of water and a lot of land. what do you say? >> a huge amount of that land is not viable for any other production. >> reporter: le the land on his ranch, which is steep and rocky. >> so, the highest and best use is for cattle. >> reporter: according to the u.s.d.a., american cattle production only contributes about 3% of u.s. greenhouse gas emissions. and kester says the industry is improvg sustainability and efficiency through better breeding and feeds. >> with less cattle, i can produce 33% additional pounds of beef because we've improved through technology and genetics what we... what it takes toof produce a pouneef. >> reporter: do you think that they'll ever be able to grow aur har like this in a lab? >> i think, given enough time and research and development, yes. i do. >> reporter: and you're okay with that. >> i can... sure. it'll be a long mame before the rity of at least the

population of the u.s. would want to eat a lab-grown product. >> reporter: even so, some experts say we need to starter getting annow to questions about the safety of these new products. >> this is a very disruptive technology, and what are the ticipated risks? we should be thinking about those now rather than being reactive later on and trying to. respond to t >> reporter: barbara kowalcyk is a food safety expe at ohio state university and sits on the f.d.a.'s science board. kowalcyk's not opposed to cell- based meat but says there are a lot of questions the government needs to get answered before it approves the meat for market. kowalcyk says we can't rule out the possibility of food-borne illness, and she wonders about the long-term health effects ofu the substancd to make the meat. >> and those might be chronic health effects. so, they might not emerge until someone's consumed it on a repeated basis. and so, it may be years before

we would actually be able to see a health impact. u. reporter: the problem, she says, is that ths. doesn't systematically track the health effects of new food productsr afey're introduced. she thinks cell-based meats should be regulated as biologic drugs. their approval requires a lot pmore up-front and follow research about their safety. >> we haven't stepped back and said, "before we embrace this, let's look at the unintended consequences." >> reporter: memphis meats c.e.o. uma valeti acknowledges the concerns but points out conventional meat is one of the biggest sources illness, and it's often contaminated during the slaughtering process. >> because we're detaching slaughter from meat production, we are dramatically reducing the chances of contamination happening, therefore making food safer. >> reporter: in the meantime, valeti's charging ahead with his bold vision. >>g.ltimately, this is comin this is inevitable. >> reporter: he's hoping to get thgreen light from the government soon.

>> this is "pbs newshour weekend," saturday. >> sreenivasan: in new york city, a modern-day version of stonehenge is a delight for residents and visitors alike. it's aptly called manhattanhenge, and it lasts for just a few minutes if the weather cooperates, which this year it did. thousands run out onto the busy streets of new york city to try and capture a rare and dazzling moment. it happens only four days a year, when the sunset aligns with manhattan's street grid, turning the city's high rises into canyon walls with a sunsetl perfin the center. the goal for those out in the streets is that perfeco. rs it is almost spiritual. i've waited 20 yo see that, and it actually sets exactly in the middlof the street i didn't expect that, but it was... it was very, very nice. n >> sreenivasan: more tha0 years ago, the architects whott designed manha's streets

decided to use a grid system, with avenues running north and south, and streets east to west. as the earth tilts along its axis, the sun eventually is positioned in the perfect place for a sunset view on somof the city's widest street astrophysicist neil degrasse tyson came up with a name for what happens every year, similar to the annual solstice sighting at england's stonehenge. he dubbed it "manhattanhenge." >> since we learned about the phenomenon, since neil degrasse tyson named it, we've been following it. and so, we've been tto time trips to be here when it happens. >> sreenivasan: this yt r's view did sappoint. >> we were here three years ago, and didn't get a successful sunset. it was just cloudy right at the... right at the last moment. but tonight, it was pretty good. >> sreenivasan: the next manhattanhenge won't occur until the spring of 2020, weather permitting.

>> sreenivasan: finally tonight, for the first time since 1965, ypt opened two of its oldest pyramids to visitors today. the two pyramids are parof a world heritage site about 25 miles south of cairo. archaeologists say they also recently uncovered evidence of hidden tombs there, and plan to begin new excavations next month. that's a for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. have a good night. io cang sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by:

bernard d irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america-- g customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporaon for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. be more. pbs.

masters: long before sandy koufax threw dodger stadium's e first pitch and even befe first residents moved into chavez ravine, there were the byelysian hills. raised u tectonic forces and carved intoh deep ravines bancient precursor of the l.a. river, these hills have meant manyny things to eople. thousands of years ago, they were a refuge from floods for the regi's native tongva indians. later, they were a source of timber for the pobladores of los angeles then a source of quarried stones soon after the city became american. in this episode, "lost l.a." explores the various waysr southecalifornia's inhabitants have used the hills around dodger stadium. we'llk lt an old, lithographic view of l.a., the vanished neighborhood of chavez ravine, and a massive construction project that reshaped the land. much of los angeles' past is lost to history.n ladmarks that once graced