newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: questions of justice. attorney general william barr testifies before congress on the use of force against protesters, and allegations of the politicization of the justice departnt. then, counteracting coronavirus. congress struggles to find iemmon ground as the current round of covid ris set to expire. plus, rethinking college. covid-19 raises questions about the cost of living on campus amid lawsuits over full tuition >> we want colleges and universities to really rethink their business model rethink how they serve students, annrethink how they deliver education.

>> woodruff: all that and more, on tonight's p newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ >> since our beginning, our business has been people, andr thnancial wellbeing. that mission gives us purpose, and a way ndrward. today,lways. >> for 25 year consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless serhat helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service te can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> johnson & johnson. >> fidelity wealth management. j

>> then s. and james l. knight foundation. communities.formed and engaged more at kf.org. >> and with the ongog support of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for publ broadcasting. and by contributions to your pb statom viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: negots over another pandemic aid package are intensifying on capitol hill, with federal jobless benefits set to expire on friday. today's talks came as covid cases nationwide topped 4.3 million, with 148,000 deaths.us white hoe chief of staff mark meadows met wh senate republicans, but majority leader mitch mcconnell acknowleed

his caus is divided. >> there are some members who think we've already done enough. other members who think we need to do more. this is a complicated problem. we've done the best we can to develop a consensus among the broadest number of republican senators-- and that's just the starting place. it's just where we begin in dealing with the other side and with the administration. woodruff: later, president trump said that he "does not support parts of" the republican bill. he did not elaborate. meanwhile, mcconnell also said that he opposes including nearly $2 billion for a new f.b.i. headquarters near the trump hotel in washington. he said that the white house insisted on including it. there is word this evening that russia is using english- language websites to spread disinformation about the pandemic. the "new yk times" and the associated press say top russian atmilitary intelligence opes are targeting american and western audiences.

the reports ci u.s. government officials and newly declassified information. u.s. attorney general william barr defended his use of federal forc today.st civil unrest he told the use judiciary committee that "violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests." democrats charged that barr hasu misused thice department to defend president trump. we will get much more, after the news summary.or the mayor ofand, oregon, ted eeler, is pressing for a cease-fire and the removal of federal agents from his city. overnight, agents again used tear gasafter some protesters attacked a security fence at the federal courthouse. they have gathered near the sits for two mo the democratic presidential nominee-to-be, joe biden, called today for using economic aid to address racial inequities. it includes billions of dollars

for minority-owned businesses and a tax credit for home ownership. the former vice president spoke in wilmington, delaware, and contrasted his approach with president trump's. >> he's shown that he can't beat the pandemic and keep you safe. he can't turn the economy around and get america back to work.if and he is hongly-- and not surprisingly, intentionally stoking of division and racism in this country. >> woodruff: the proposals that have been highlighted today are part of laer economic plans that he began to lay out earlier. the trump administration will impose new curbs on daca, the program that bars porting people brought to the u.s. illegally as children. under revised rules, new applications will be denied, and renewals will be cut from two years to one. the administration is still mulling a way to end the program that will pass muster with the

u.s. supreme court. we will get much more, after the news summa. thousands of people filed past the u.s. capitol throughout this day, as congressman john lewis lay in state. lines well into thing, tostanced pay respects to the civil rights icon. lewis' funeral will be thursday in atlanta. there more economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. the business group conferencere boarrts that consumer confidence fell this month, as new infections surged. nde federal reserve has extended seven emergency g programs through year's end, to aid in economic recovery.he o d,iami marlins have cancelled their seball games through sunday, after 15 players tested positive. and on wall street today, weak corporate earnings weighed stocks down. the dow jones industrial average lost 205 points to close at

26,379. the nasdaq fell 134 points, andh s&p 500 slipped 21. still to come on the newshour: attorney general william barr testifies before congress on the use of force against protesters. congress struggles to find common ground as the current round of covid relief is set to expire. ouvid-19 raises questions the cost of living on campus ioid lawsuits over full tu for remoteearning. and, much more. >> woo delayed for four months because of the pandemic, attorney general william barr faced questions from the house judiciary committee, in a combative hearing that lasted t

mon four hours. in barr's first testimony in more than a year, democrats questioned him about protests ib portlandt roger stone's commuted prison sentence, the russia investigati., and much mo capitol hill correspondent lisa desjardins has our report. >> desjardins: at the capitol, a socially-distanc confrontation over justice itself, with hamocrats sharply charging attorney general william barr is a puppet forresident trump... >> in your time at the department, you have aided and abetted the worst failings of this president. >> desjardins: ...and with barre insisting ansions were his alone, not mr. trump's. >> he has told me from the start that he expects me to exercise my independent judgment, to make whatever call i think is right. and that is precisely what i have done. >> desjardins: the hearingwn covered well-klashpoints. among them, the case of president trump's friend and adviser, roger stone, convicted of obstructi and lying to

congress. barr overruled prosecutors in the case to recommend a lower sentence than they had. barr told democrats it was the only time he's done that in this administration, but that it was because the original recommendati was way out of line with norms. >> the judge agreed wi the judge agreed with me. i'm not asking you that. i'm not asking whether-- >> i know you're not. >> and the issue here is-- the issue here is whether roger stone was treated di friends with the president. >> desjardins: democrats sometimes spoke over the attorney general, and often, republicans, like mike johnson of louisiana, gave him their time to answer af. defend hims >> i'm s president's enemies and helping his friends. what enemies have i indicted? who-- who-- could you point to one the department, that you feel is unmerited-that you feel olates the rule of law? >> desjardins: the hearing was not just about trump and politics, but also about the violence and policeotests,

confrontations, including the trump administration's response recently in portland, egon. and, more directly for barr, who was nearby, the use of force to clearut protesters near the white house on june 1. >> and the protesters aren't mobs. they are mothers and veterans and mayors. in this moment, real leadership would tail de-escalation, collaboration, and looking for ways to peacefdily resolve our erences. instead, you use pepper spray and truncheons on american citizens. now you are projecting fear and violence nationwide, in pursuit >> desjardins: barr defended the response as "necessary," pointing out that police and property have been harmed, and a federal building hastedly been targeted in portland. >> we are on the defense. we are not out looking for trouble. and if the state and the city would providthe law enforcement services, as other jurisdictions do, we would haveo no neeave additional marshalls in the courthouse.

>> desjardins: above it esl, a broader on about policing. >> and so i asked you this question: does the trump justice ysdepartme seek to end smic racism and racism in law enforcement? >> i don't agree that there is systemic racism in our police departments, or generally in this country. >> desjardins: but in a separtoe heariny, a d.c. national guard member spoke out against the federal police response to protests. major adam demarco told the house natural resources committee what he saw when authorities moved against the demonstration near the white house on june 1. >> for my observation, those demonstrators, our fellow american citizens, were engaged their first amendment rights, and yet they were subjected to an unprovoked escalation and excessive use of force. >> desjardins: that hearing's other witness, acting park police cef gregory monahan, testified that protesters had been combative for day and the decision to move on them was made by his officers, not by the white house, because they anticipated more violence. for the pbs newshour,in'm lisa desja

>> woodruff: the battle over the ergency federal unemployment benefits that millions of americans had been receiving on top of regular benefits are officially set to expire. democrats say that extra600 should be extended until at least the end of the year. the president, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, and many be lower.said it should they want the benefit lowered to $200 each week through part of the fall, and then taper it to 70% of a worker's salary before he or she tloir job. we are going to look at these ideas and the possanle impact. auoolsbee is the former head of the council of economic advisers under psident obama. he is now at the university of chicago. and michael strain is an economist with the americantu

enterprise ins. he has testified before congress and advised republicans. welcome, both you, to the "news hour." austan goolsbee ifou're there, i haven't seen you, but i think you're with us. the republicans are aring, most of them -- many of them -- that this $600 additional is something the government -- i'm told we don't have austan goolsbee. let me turn to you michael strain. what is the argument from going from $600 ditional to $200 a month. so many of these workers have lost their jobs. they haven't had the ack to work. that is a significant cut, isn't it? >> yeah, it is a significant cut. and that's an issue that congresshould address in a way other thany $6ntinuing the state-providedment to unemployment benefits. the argument against continuing them or the

argument for the cut is that as the economy continues to recover, and as the labor market continues to strengthen, paying people that much money in unemploymentfi be, that are conditioned on being unemployed, will keep people out of thend workforce,ill keep the unemployment rate would be.an it otherwise it will serve as a disincentive, and the reason for that is because at $600 a week in the federal supplement, average u.i. benefits are around $950 a week. that is more weekly income that most people who are receiving unemployment benefits would make if they went and got a job. so the incentive is to stay unemployed. >> woodruff: ll, i think ow have austan goolsbee. welcome to the "news hour." i don't know if you were able to hear michael strain, but his point is a lot of people just don't have an incentive to go back to work ebeca

they're being paid more than they were earning in the first place. >> yeah.t you hear t lot from the republicans. the only thing i can sa about that are, number one, that is not exactly how the unemployment system works, if you look at unemployment insurance. you can't quit your job and getmp uyment, and you have to be searching for work. you're offered a job and turn it down, you're no longer eligible for unemployme the second is: this is a mentality wch is coming from a norl time in the labor market. and this is emphatically labor market.time in the >> woodruff: and what do you mean -- >> the people who are out >> woodruff: go ahead. >> the virus is raging out of control. i think the evidence shows that there are not people -- if you look at the generosity of unemployment insurance, it is not a all correlated with the unemployment

rate. i don't think that is what is driving things. >> woodruff: michael strain, what about that point? we are in a very unusual situation, millions of people thrown out work, through no aion of their own. and this is a way to, frankly, keep them whole, keep them able to paynt their to provide what their families need. >> yeah. i would say two things to that. the first is that i agree with austan that the that the generosity ofsts unemployment benefits is not keeping on the unemployment rolls. but the policy question whether we should have the $60600 supplement in the inth of july, or whether we should have h in the months of may and june. the question is whether we should havet roughout the fall and into the winter, and to the end of calendar year 2020. and i think that as the economy continues to recover, as the labor

market continues to strengthen, we're going to be more and more in kind of a normal recession. in that event, the $600600 supplement would serve the purpose that it normall would, which is to keep people unemployed. i think you're right, judy, these benefits are really important r families, particularly low-income families. the generosity of theut benefit, i hope they find a different way to get low-income households the income support that they weak economy.his really but the choicebetween disincentivizing people and consumer spendin is a false choice. >> woodruff: let me comeba to you, because it sounds like michael sstrain ing that he expects the economy to get somewhat back on track, and will be in a, quote,

"more normal recession in the fall," and the normal unemploymentit ben should suffice. what about that? >> that is kind of thee hiin. my view is, if you want to put inma auc triggers that we start reducing the unemployment benefits once you t the unemployment rate down to something we should have als, fine. discussion like that. but what is happening here is you've got a microeconomic problem and a macro problem. the unemployment rate is double digits. these people lost their jobs through no fault of their own. they're not sitting at home because they want a vacation. and everybody recognizes that, and they're talking about some time in the future. themacro economic problem is this is aasve number of people who the evidence shows that this supplement toir t unemployment insurance is

the only thing maintaining their consumer spending. there is going to be a massive drop-off of the spending levels if these peop are cut off,nd probab millions will be evicted from their homes. i think that runs the risk of snowballing this into a deeper downturn, as a t suppos extending the downturn. >> woodruff: mouhael strain,e not concerned about that? >> i think it is a false choice. the choice isot between keeping in place a program that strongly disincentivizes people not to go back to work. you can reduce the generosity of unemployment b insurancefits and reduce the disincentive to back to work by increasing transfer to households, particularly low-income households. >> woodruff: you're saying provide money through a different channel. michael strain, lit me let me

asking you, you're assuming the economy is going toget better. i'm curious what you're basing that because right now ronavirus is raging for weeks on end. >> that's right. i think there is very little chance that we're going to see an economy that as bad as the ecomy was in march, april, and may. consensus forecasts suggest that the unemployment rate will be lower in decemb this year than it is now, that the economy will be stronger in december of this year than it is now. we may have a kind of stop and start economy in thell where, you know, we take three steps forward and one step back. that seems to b what has happened this summer. we took big steps forward in may and june. we may have taken a step i think the consensus -- >> woodruff: let me just interrupt you there. i'm sorry tonterrupt you. but i want to give austan goolsbee a chance here at the end to respond. because i think what hes

saying is he does expect >> yeah.omy to get better. look, and i hope he is right. and i appreciate that michael's argument is, if you're not going to give u.i. money, then we need to give money to ordinary people in some other form. that is not really what the argument is in washington right now. it's to reduce the amount toeople. and i think if the virus ing out of control again, we're going to have another downturn. and the thing tt is keeping people out of work now is that there is not demand. and this same mentality was with us ate tset of the crisis, when the same people argued thater should not be a national paid sick-leave workers because they said it would disincentivize them from going to work. i wish we would he had that policy because one of the major sources of its

section turned out to people with symptoms going to work because they needed the money and getting their co-workers sick. so i do think the virus is we've got to control this virus. once the virus is under control, then we can go back to a more normal labor market. but unl that happens, you've fot got to support people. >> woodruff: these are ersome of the same debates we kw they're having right now on capitol hill. i wanthao you both, strain, thank you. >> woodruff: the pandemic-- for now, away-- has upended the traditional model of higher education, and particularly for residential colleges. as many schools announce plans to charge full ttion while continuing with remote education, some are questioning what those tuition dollars are tually payinfor, and if it's worth it. hari sreenivasan reports now on

a new effort trethink thelu and the cost, of the traditional four-year experiencr in the covid-1 his story is part of our" rethinking college" series. >> sreenivasan: before the pandemic, leaving home and moving into a college dorm was a rite of passage for many young adults. ♪ ♪ some students even took to experiences.hare their campus but, late night pizza runs, the freshman 15, studying on the quad... none of those things can happen easily online. ♪ ♪ stanford student cyan d'anjou is one of those w enjoyed documenting dorm life, and is now missing it.ti >> the residen experience, for myself and a lot of students thlike, around my age, it'

first time where we're starting to build new skills, build new aklationships, really have our independence anddecisions for ourselves. >> sreenivasan: now, as she heads into her junior year when most oher classes will be remote, d'anjou says she's questioning the value of that educational experience, and she may take some time off. >> when we're making this decision, whether the tuition we're paying is worth ithe yes,lasses are there, and they are valuable, but it's about e entire experience. it's about having a diverse class of people, diverse sets of interests that are talking to you. >> sreenivasan: while d'anjou and many other students around the country are debating how to approach this era of remotele ning, there is little debate that getting a four-year degree is generally worth ih significantly higher lifetime earnings for most. but the cost of those degrees has skyrocketed-- roughly doubling over e past several decades-- leading to more than $1.6 trillion in national studebtnt loan over the years, those costs and other factors have made the enresidential college expe inaccessible for many lower- income and students of color.

so now, in the new covid era, when so much is being upended in higher education, some are arguing there's no better time to rethink what college looks like after the pandemic. >> the model of higher education that we are delivering in the u.s., that we've been delivering, has been based onal this residenxperience. that costs about twice what an education costs in europe.en >> sasan: that's richard arum, dean of the school of education at the university of california, irvine. last september, he and his colleagues began a first-of-its- kind study to try to better a four-year liberal artsost of education where students often live on or near mpus and are exposed to a wide variety of subjects. >> we believe that there's something about the residential college experience thais useful for human development and growth for these stude whether that's worth $10,000,

$20,000, $40,000 a year, in addition, for four years, is an open question. >> sreenivasan: the study-- which isunded by the mellon foundation, also a newshr supporter-- is tracking a diverse cohort of 1,200 u.c.i. students over three years. to learn how they are learecng and what a of their education help them to succeed. arum says what makesroject so unique is the type of data being collected: about 100 different metrics are being used, ranging from weekly surveys on mental healthnd stress, to tracking time spent in online cl ises. hink it's possible, given the complexity of the data, toet attempt tot that. >> sreenivasan: on a recent afternoon, arum and his team me virtually toer new survey results. >> 62% recorded they do have new responsibilities. >> sreenivasan: their early data showed students were l engaged with online studies when they reported the lack of a qulyt study space and new fa responsibilities at home. that kind of information was

immediately helpful for michael dennin, the university's vice provost for teaching and learning. >> that really has to inform h we advise our faculty, how w train them this summer to think becauseheir teaching we're not used to thinking about all the other stuff that's going on outside their courses. >> sreenivasan: michooper is also thinking about the future. >> we want colleges and universities to really rethink their business model, rethink how they serve students, and rethink how they deliv an education. president ofhe institute for higher education policy and one of the leaders of a national group now studying t economic and non-economic returns of education after high school. cooper says there needs to be more awareness that the benefits of a residential college experience were not accessible to everyone. >> social capital that's provided through these sort of traditional brick-and-mortar y sidential colleges is something that mople have always known was there, butne r really talked about in a

very upfront and open way.s thatrtainly something that we have seen many low-income if you are attendiommunity college, and you go to school,k, go back to wou don't know where to often go to-- to establish those relationships with individuals who can help you get that leg up in employment. >> sreenivasan: that was thece experif walter ramirez, who became the first in his family to graduate from college in june. he spent several years at a community college before transferring to u.c.-irvine and living on campus. he says the connections he made there have ven him a big boost as he prepares to enter the workplace. >> here at u.c.-irvine, i learned how to talk to professors, and work with them on a research project, or ask if i could assist them with a research project. d that's how i started building relationships. eventually, they began to support me with letters of recommendation for scholarships, or internship opportunities, for even job application >> sreenivasan: for his part, richard arum says he hopes his

study will help students and colleges better understand what aspects of the residential college experience are imptotant reserve, and what could be tweaked to bring down costs and expand access-- issues that are more relevanthan ever. >> it's quite likely that the economy that comes out of this crisis will be structuralldi erent than the one we started with. so the post-secondary system is saing to be responsible not just for educating th number of students we have in the past, but dramatically morents. we need to experiment, we need kfto innovate, to ensure wce development and economic competitiveness for our society. >> sreenivasan: arum and his team plan to release initial from their study in the fall. mor the pbs newshour, hari sreenivasan.

>> woodruff: throughout the pandemic, the president and his team are continuing to pursue policies cracking down on immigration. today, that it will try to find ways to that protects dreamers fromam deportation. dreamers are immigrants who arrived or remained in the u.s. illegally as children, and haven't lived most of their lives here. it is one of several moves of late. our amna nawaz, has been following all this closely.ow fog this and she joins me now. today what the administration has done, this is a program, f deferred actio childhood arrival, this is something that the administration has been trying to end for months. the supreme court has turned them down. so help us understand at exactly the administration is trying today?

>> reporter: well, the move today, judy, basically further undermines the program. it is currently shielding about 700,000 people from deportation. the trump administrationy announced to will no longer accept new applications for that daca program. it will limit renewals for one year, rather than the two-year standard, and all of this said while it, quote, unquote, reviewsog the m. the supreme court has said that the trump administration cannot end the dacaam pro not because they don't think the president has the authority to do , but they don't agree with the way they were going about doing it. today's move makes it tseem li president is not done trying. most people i talked to today said they arsure the will be more legal challenges ahead. another legal fight, ass you know, on another immigration front from this one is about roughly 100 children who are in immigration detention. a judge has ordered that these children be released. the deadline for that to

happen was last night. tell us what t latest is. >> reporter: that's right, judy. those 100 or so children are held in what is called family residential centers, run by i.c.e. there are three of them across both texas and pennsylvania. they're federal immigration detention. e judge did orderthose children to be released because the law says kids shouldn't be osin facilities longer than 20 days. mov of those children have been there much longe but the judge's order did not extend to the parents, d therein lies the problem. so they're saying sign a consent form, waive your child's rights and remain together in federal detention or voluntarily separate. allow us to take child and place that child with a family or government custody, and critics are callinghis family separation 2.0. i did ask for a response, and this is what they said we're unable to comment however, the most recent

decision from that judge paves the way for parties to continue to dialogue in anticipati of providing an update to the supreme court by august 5th. working with the judge to get more time to try to fire out how to handle those kids' cases and not release the families together, which they really don't want to do. judy? >> woodruff: suchnc ning report. and on still another concerning report, firstrt re by "the associated press", has to do with unaccompanied children being kept in hotels along the border. obviously there wasback. >> the kidsareack. transferred over to the government agency responsible for the care and custody of migrant children, and they have medical and legal and educational resources. the reportound thatng i.c.e. was kee custody, with a contractor holding children in hotels, and within days deporting them back to their home countries. w that washout any

evaluation to what they were sending the kids back to. number of levels.g on a i asked i.c.e. for a sponse to this, and they said this is in litigation, so they can't really talk about it. but any official i talked to today, including former officials, said it was concerning when it comes to child welfare. these i.c.e. contractorsar not trained to handle the care and custody of children in the same way the other government agency is. judy? >> woodruff: and finally, amna, when you step back anlook at what the administration is trying to do, whether they're talking about it add up to?at does this all >> judy, it is all in keeping with the president's ongoi efforts to limit immigration, both illegal and legal. i think most people are struck, however, by the facthat children -- children have typically been the exception, that any child seeking safe haven in the u.s. has been grand that, and that is no longer the case. i actually info-tec spoke to a r

official, who left the administration just about a ye ago. called the decision to house kids in hotels without due process abhorrent. and he said there are other waysthatfamilies in detention can be released together and still comply with the law. he said in his time i the office, they worked to make sure they were enforcing the nation's migration laws, but maintaining humanitarian standards. he told mes t seemingly went out the door with the current administration. judy? >> woodruff: so many important pieces of this story. one of the stories that hasn't gotten a lotf attention because of the pandemic and so much else going on. really important to be following this. amna, thank yo >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: the congo basin rainforest is the second-larst on earth, home to unique biodiversity. but even its remoteness cannotot t wildlife like gorillas and elephants from the threat of extinction from poaching. with the support of the pulitzer

covid-19-- special correspondent monica villamizar and videographer phil caller traveled to dzanga-sangha wildlife reserve in central african republic to riin indigenousl hunters, who have turned gamekeepris to protect 's most endangered wildlife. >> reporter: bonda blaise is following animal trackrough the forest. he is a member of the bayaka men and women hunt together, encircling therea with nets. they don't use firearms-- which are illegal to use forg huntinthin the park-- only machetes and spears. theyre looking for small animals and edible plants. all are expert trackers and imitate animal noises ey drive their owards the nets. this isn't a sport, it's survival, and each day, they must go further into the forest for the hunt. anslated ): our fores are being emptied of animals by poachers, who hunt completely irresponsibly, without following

the rules. >> reporter: the bayaka believe the forest is sacred. this chant is a ritual asking for good luck. they are one of the last hunter/gatherer communities in the world. their diet is made up of plants and nuts they collect from thefo st, and their source of protein comes from wild animals they hunt. if they fail to catch anything, their village will go without meat. after four hours of hard work in the humid jungle, some of the women have managed to trap a porcupine in its den. they dig carefully, knowing that if it escapes, all of their efforts will be for nothing. it does not. bd celebration follows. back at the villise shows us his home. his community was traditionally nomadic, but now lives in a settlement at the edge of the forest. they have few employment prospects, a are seen as the lowest class of ethnic groups in the area.

>> ( translated ): i live here with my wife and five children. morrow morning, i'll lea home early to go to my job as a park ranger. >> reporter: working as a park ranger is one of the fobs on offer to the bayaka. the park is divided into areas. most of it is off-limits to loggers and all types of hunters, sport hunters and poachers. but, a fewreas have been designated for "traditional hunt," which means hunting for stenance. dzanga-sangha is one of the remaining saectuaries for s like the forest elephant, pangolins and gorillas, all highly pzed by poachers. protecting these animals is the park rangers' main task, and they have a fight on their hands. col christian ndadet, one of thn chief rangers the park, says poaching has caused major damage to the animal population. and seizures of ivory, pangolinc es and illegal weapons have gone up 80% in the last five years.

poaching is carried out by both by well-organized armed criminal gangs, and by local villagers trying to make a fast buck. does it trap the gorillas by their hands? >> ( translated ): yes, it can catch gorillas and other large it's very dangerous, as it doesn't discriminate, between females or infants. whatever the size, the animal is caught in the trap and can't escape.te >> repor gorillas are poached for their meat and body parts, which arenased in traditmedicine or sold as ophies. >> (anslated ): all of these tusks are from forest elephants. our park rangers is the only guarantee the natuchness of this area. >> repter: the rangers program is o of the first to incorporate local community members like the bayaka. it's a multi-agency partnershipg the ras are employed by the government, and supported by the world wildlife fund and an anti-poaching noprofit called chengetta. the founder, rory young, recently introduced dutc ttrained cocker spaniels,o detect ivory, weapons, and illegal bushmeat.

the sniffer dogs can adapt and >> they know that means they are going to go to work, which to them is play, so they are going to run there like, let's go, let's go. >> reporter: todayblaise's unit and the two dogs, bobby and mitch, are searcing for contraband at a checkpoint. the rangers are the local police in the park, and they carefully check their weapons. each bullet is precious. there is limited ammo to go around, and they have to share the three assault rifles. blaise and his unit have come under fire by poachers several times. it is a high-risk job. freddy the dog handler practices the search before the real work begins. >> i love my work here. this job helps me feed my family. my parents are really proud. >> reporter: the dogs help thera ers a lot, but they also have a psychological effect, bertuse the community will s speaking and it will spread by word of mouth that there are these trained animals that can detect illegal goods, and this dissuades people from poaching.

each ranger makes $150 u.s. w dollars a montch is three times the average salary in the central african republic. i dethe dzanga-sangha forest are the critically endangered lowland gorillas. bayaka trackers are helping scientists study the gorillas, with their local knowledge of the forest and their ability to locate the elusive ptes. the exact number of these animals left in the wild is unknown, but scientists estimate that hunting, logging andip disease have out more than 60% of the population in the last 20 years.a >> it'rfect storm of destruction facing not only the gorillas but elephants, but otr species, and the forest as a whole. >> reporter: from now on, we

>> reporter: gorilla meat is sold in the local markets. some people think it will give them the animal's strength. ghislain malegbade used to believe one of the gorilla researchers. >> ( translated ): i've discovered that gorillas are just like human beings. before i srted working here, i didn't know that gorillas act exactly like we do. >> reporter: scientists andra ers collect data on the ground and send it to st. louis, missouri, to dr. odean serrano. a former nasa scientist, she plots on a map the information satellites and dat g.p.s.ather collars placed on elephants and gorillas. >> the novelty is th correlation between wildlife trficking and intelligence gathering and execution. >> reporter:his research is helping to predict where poachers are likelto strike, allowing the rangers to better after a several hoek through dense jungle and across rivers, the forest gives way to "village oelephants." unlike their savannah cousin,

the forest elephants have denser tusks, which fetches a higher price on the black market. they have come to dzanga bai to access mineral salts in the mud to prevent dehydraon. there can be hundreds of elephants in the bai at any given time. >> elephants are keystone species, so many other species depend on them being in the forests, and then we depend on these forests. the air we breathe comes from these trees. >> reporter: poachers sell these tusks for up to $2,000 a gram. the coveted pink ivory is mostly destined for markets in asia, the u.s. and europe. young warns that if poaching is allowed to contie unchecked, the rainforest can be completelf emptieildlife. >> with an empty forestn' syndrome, you have any animals. you just have the trees. you get thick undergrowth, and it becomes hard to get animals back into the forests. >> reporter: last year, poaching trends started to decrease

thks to the ranger program, according tooung. but it's a constant battle to stay one step heead of the po. for the pbs newshour, i'm monica villamizar, in the central african republic. >> woodruff: she is one of our most acclaimed poets, a two-time pulitzer prize for herhe collection, "native guard." now, natasha trethewey has written a memoir of her childhood, the murder of her mother, and her own calling a poet. the book is published today, and jeffrey brown has this conversation for our ongoing arts a culture series, "canvas." >> "three weeks gone my mother came to me in a dream her body whole again but for one perfect wound..." >> brown: in the poem

"articulation," natasha trethewey writes of the violent death of her mother, and how that forever shaped her life and work. " w then could i not answer her life with mine, she who sed me with hers? and how could i not, bathed in the light of her wound, find my calling the?" >> brown: natasha trethewey was born to a black mother, gwendolyn turnbough, and white father, eric trethewey. it was 1966, in mississippi. mixed-raced marriages had only recently been legalized, but jim crow customs continued in 1972, her parents divorced. her father, who became a poet and english professor, died in 2014. the young nasha spent her teenage years in atlanta, where her mother met and marriedhe anman, joel grimmette, who would beat, abuse, and,

in 1985, murder her. natasha was 19 at the time. now, at 54, she's written" memorial drive: a daughter memoir." >> i am trying to pay homage to her, but also trying to remember her, trying to get back a little bit of what i buried and tried to forget for so many years, because parts of iinwere l. >> brown: you write about how at certain point you realize that abuse was taking place, that she was being beaten. and you write abt kning it, not wanting to know it. >> that's the kind of way that trauma can divide you. you can be conscious of something, but try so hard to ry it, so as not to feel the pain of it. i think that's what i was tryino to do, tryinive with a smile on my face, as if that

weren't the story behind it. >> brown: and then you describe yourself sort of shutting down for years on end, right? kind of losing years, turning away, trying to forget. but of course, never really forgetting. >> i think that the body doesno let you forget. trauma waits to remind you that it still exists inside, in myriad ways. and it kept finding me. >> when make her mother's killing almost a kind of footnote. >> and i ts ught if that ing to continue to happen, i needed to be the hereason that i am a as >> bro: over tears, taking notes on legal pads and in notebooks, she pieced together memories, dreams, police andco t documents, and more-- all incorporated into the book. at one point, she even writes in the second person, addressing

her younger self. >> the second person was about split in my mind t talkedind of about earlier, trying to divide myself from the self that's t experiencit trauma. and so i wanted to enact that in the prose, by speaking to the self. and that section ends, you know! "look at y even now, you're trying to distance yourself from that." "ask yourself what's iyour heart, that reliquary..." >> brown: as her moir makes clear, there's no distance between the trauma and the writer natasha became. and we saw it up close-- the empathy and focus on how storie- impact livn the year-long newshour series, "where poetry lives," when our travels with natasha-- then poet laureate-- took us to a brooklyn dementia..

progra ...a seattle writing workshop for troubled teens... ...a detroit elementary school. >> we all tell ourselves stories about our lives, whether we're writers or not. that's the way that we give meaning and purpose and shape th seems chaotic, to what might seem random. being able to do that, to tell a story,o tell one's own story, i think is empowering. >> brown: you write of how eventually it's story, it's metaph poetry.ually it's those are the things that helped you come to understand what had happened andow you, in fact, rvived. >> the facts sometimes arean difficulbanal, but seeing them through the lens of mephor helped me see that what seemed merely senseless is what if i think about my own calling, to be a writer is.

it redeems what uld otherwise be senseless, gives it meaning and purpose. >> brownso you see a direct line from all of this in becoming a writer, becoming thet writt you became. >> absolutely.k i don't thd be a writer without that existential wound. in trying to heal the wound that never heals lieshe strangeness in an artist work, that kind of awareness of death that can make something, not just beautiful, but something also meaningful in a different way. i think at 19, in that dream, i was telling myself that i had experienced that wound, and that hii would have to make som of it. and as rumi said, the wound is the place where the light enters you. and it did. >> brownfor the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown.

>> woodruff: now, to a very different story. cannabidiol, or c.b.d., products are everywre right now, and the growing trend isn't only fashionable, it's also big business. it can be derived from both hemp and cannabis, with t hemp extraction used to produce fabrics, oils and food. from the cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university, marcella baietto before the pandemic, who hasho jumped at this growing business opportunity, but some within his own tribe are saying, "not so fast." >> reporter: in the heart of the navajo nation, not far from thee four corners-- arizona, new mexico, colorado and utah meet-- millions of hemp plants are growing, many of them ready to be harvested. it's theirst time this kind of plant is being grown on such a massive scale on the navajo

nation. hemp plants contain less than 3% of t.h.c., so they cannot get u high, but dineh benally says the crop provides his community with a natural health andne we product.s >> doing toject, i really got to know what our people are really made of, what type of skill sets and what kind of issues we're dealing with-- alcoholism, methamphetamines, opiate abuse. >> reporter: harlan joe is a manager on the farm, and he's struggd with substance abuse. he says fe on the farm has given him a second chance at life. >> i used to be an alcoholic, too.o i used on the streets drinking around shiprock. and when denih told me to take over, it changed my life, you know.in >> just gethe buds. >> reporter: the farm is providing job opportunities for nearly 100 employees like delbert aticitty in a community that has high unemployment. >> we're actually standing here

and doing this right here because we believe in something that couldn't be done. >> reporter: this hemp will eventually become the main ingredient in navajo gold products, the c.b.d. company benally started in early october. the new harvesting and processing of the hemp all takes ace on the navajo nation. hemp plants like these are turned into lotions, oils and even edibles... >> it doesn't have to be smokeable. >> reporter: ...with c.b.d. oil, a substance derived from hemps thatt intoxicating but which many believe helps with medical issues like arthritis and anxiety. navajo gold employee anthony lee calls himself a plant health advocate, and says the najo nation is an ideal place to grow >> we have land and we have water. for instance, we only use about 20% of the farmlg d located ale san juan river. >> reporter: on his 300 acres, benally and his farmers can grow up to 2.5 million hemp plants. but, this crop comes wits.some cave the u.s. agriculture department and tribal lands have new regulations around the farming hemp. these include sample testing of

the plants to ensureheir t.h.c. levels are low enough to be considered hemp, and a plan to dispose of any plants that test too high. and navajo leaders, like president jonathan nez, say benally must follow the new federal rules and get permissiot from then to raise a hem crop. >> we just want to be able to do it correctly and protect our navajo people who want to utilize th product on our lytion. >> reporter: benays he will work to ensure he is meeting the new federal and tribal guidelines, and hers unnds cooperation ensures success. >> we have to work together, i realize, to get this going and take it to the next level. >> reporter: and benally hopes that next level means seeing more of this green across the red sandstone of the navajo nation. marcella baietto with cronkite news in shiprock, new mexico. >> woodruff: and on the newshour online, we have more takeaways

and key moments from today's hearing with attoriay general wibarr. that is on our website, www.pbs.org/newshour. and that is the newshour for tonight.i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, we'll see you soonand >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> when the world gets cated, a lot goes throug your mind. with fidelity wealth management, advice and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancementn of interna peace and security. at carnegie.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.u. thank captioning sponsored by c newshour productions, captioned by mediaccess group at wgbh access.wgbh.org .

hello, everyone and welcome. here is what's coming up. a violent election campaign, as federal vcee deployed against protesters and coronavirus runs rampant. jerry brown joins us. then, can germany's post-war example contain lessons for u.s. police reform? a frank conversation with a professor at their polic university. plus -- >> we are seeing an incredibl shrinkage a agage of the local sy >> a crisis in local news