captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the trial coinues-- the second senate judgment of former president trump intensifies as democrats make their case over his incitement of the capitol insurrection. then, covid response-- we discuss the proposed changes to the vaccine campaign with a senior member of the white house pandemic team. and, the longest war-- afghan warlords and militias fill the security vacuum left by a weak central government and the withdrawal of u.s. forces. >> if a deal is done in doha between the afghan government and the taliban it'll be men like this, who have been targeted by the taliban for

years, who will get to decide whether or not they themselves are on board. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

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>> woodruff: the preliminaries are over, and the second impeachment trial of donald trump is now underway in earnest. the u.s. senate heard evidence today, some of it, never-before seen, that he fomented the storming of the u.s. capitol last month. white house correspondent yamiche alcindor begins our coverage. >> alcindor: in the case against former president trump, house democratic impeachment managers wasted no time. leading the way: maryland congressman jamie raskin >> the evidence will show you that ex-president trump was no bystander. the evidence will show that he clearly incited the january 6 insurrection. it will show trump surrendered his role as commander-in-chief and became “inciter in chief” of a dangerous insurrection. >> alcindor: it was the

beginning of their side's 16 hours of arguments. congressman raskin insisted that the former president must be held accountable for the assault on the u.s. capitol and congress itself. he stressed what happened was no accident. >> to us it may have felt like chaos and madness, but there was method in the madness that day. >> alcindor: instead, the house team argues that in the weeks before the capitol siege, former president trump built up momentum for trying to overthrow the election. they said it was clear that extremists were responding. >> there were cotless social media posts, news stories, and most importantly credible reports from the f.b.i. and capitol police that the thousands gathering for the president's save america march were violent, organized with weapons and were targeting the capitol. as they would later scream in these halls and as they posted on forums before the attack, they were sent here by the president.

>> alcindor: another impeachment manager, congressman joe neguse of colorado, argued the president's own words laid the crucial groundwork for the attack. >> alcindor: neguse played videos of president trump's post-election rallies, and specific remarks that democrats say fueled his supporters anger. >> we will never surrender, we will only win. now is not the time to retreat, now is the time to fight harder than ever before. we have to go all the way, we're going to fight like hell. (cheers) >> the president had every reason to know that this would happen. because he assembled the mob, he summoned the mob, and he incited the mob. >> alcindor: representative joaquin castro of texas pointed to the former president's frequent tweets and false claims that the election was rigged. >> rather than calmly saying let's count the votes, if he told his supporters he actually won the election and the whole thing was a fraud. he said that on november 4th and

has never recounted that statement since. >> alcindor: and, california congressman eric swalwell said that rhetoric escalated into“ combat terms.” he said that fueled real anger, including toward state election officials. >> he could have very easily told his supporters “stop threatening officials, stop going to their homes, stop it with the threats.” but each time he didn't. instead, in the face of escalating violence, he incited them further. >> alcindor: representatives madeleine dean and ted lieu cited many instances in which mr. trump pressured state election offials, senate and house lawmakers, and even his own vice president to help keep him in power. >> what you saw was a man so desperate to cling to power that he tried everything he could to keep it. >> alcindor: the prosetion

team also relied heavily on the previously unseen security camera footage showed just how dangerously close the angry mob >> as they moved up the stairs they were in 100 feet of where vice president mike pence was sheltering with his family. ultimately, this is all about trying to win the votes of 67 s ultimately, it's all about trying to win the votes of 67 senators. the means getting 17 republicans to vote to convict. yesterday, only one republican, louisiana senator bill cassidy, switched sides in voting to find that the trial is constitutional. in all, six republicans joined democrats in voting to proceed. republican senator mike braun of indiana and others said it's clear there's not enough support to convict president trump in the end. >> when you have one senator who changed point of view, i think that says a lot. i think that pretty well fixes in place what you might see as

the eventful outcome, even though all of us will listen, through the rest of the proceedings. >> alcindor: that has left president trump's lawyers feeling confident that he will be acquitted. tomorrow, the house impeachment managers wrap up their opening arguments. then, president trump's defense team will also get up to 16 hours to make their case. that will come as some of the president trump's republican supporters on tuesday criticized the trump lawyers' opening presentation and called into question their legal strategy. many said it lacked focus and was a missed opportunity. they pointed especially to attorney bruce castor's meandering remarks. sources close to president trump called them “awful.” meanwhile, once both teams wrap up their cases, the senators themselves will be allowed to question both sides for four hours. >> woodruff: yamiche joins us now along with lisa desjardins both of them watching all of this throughout the afternoon. lisa, to you first. you were in the chamber when two of the house managers, delegate

plaskett and congressman swalwell, were making their presentations. they were showing new video. tell us at that point, tell us what you saw and what you saw of the senators' reaction. >> much of this was video that no one had seen, including senators themselves. and it was video that was dramatic depicked of how close members of congress, including the senators watching it, came to encountering the mob as the democrats put it, bent on destruction of the chamber, and also of harming the senators themselves. i have to say, judy, i sat there watching senators observe their own lives, essentially, flash before their lives, as they saw silent video-- because it was security-cam video-- of protesters, as yamiche described it-- i should say rioters-- within 100 feet of the chambers. the senators were almost completely still, and it was so silent in that chamber, judy.

i had a felt-tipped pen, i was above them, the sounof my pen was noticeably loud. someone turned to me and heard my pen strokes. that was that silent during this video. i noticed senators having largest reactions to when depictions of staff being threatened, as speaker pelosi's staff barricaded, as the rioters stormed around them. i saw senator tom tuberville of alabama, shake his head in display. as we saw video of the rioters coming up to the senate chambers, and senators watching themselves evacuating-- including a close call for mitt romney. he shook his head. he said he had never seen that video before. and i saw senator bill cassidy, still as a stone, except for his pen when was moving in his fingers, as i think he perceived the threat that he actually faced on that day. now, i also have to say one other observation: in the press

area where i was there was a single police officer who was there to protect us and to make sure we were in our correct positions. he was behind us. i was the only one looking at him. judy, that police officer had tears in his eyes as he heard how his fellow police officers-- and perhaps he himself oorp brutalized that day. i saw him look to the sky and hold his hand together. it was a dfficult amount of video to watch. >> woodruff: capitol police certainly heros that day. if we didn't know it before now, we certainly know it after seeing and hearing all this. but, lisa, just quickly, there's still more to go. we haven't heard the president-- president trump's confidence yet. but what's your sense right now on conviction, the vote? >> reporter: right, does this emotion matter? we're hearing from senator lisa murkowski, who spoke to reporter a minute ago. she said she's disturbed and angry and the evidence is pretty damning. however, on the other side of this we are hearing from members like marco rubio who said, "this was powerful video but i don't

think it convicts." he still contends you cannot convict an expresident. >> woodruff: and quickly now to yamiche. yamiche, you've been following this story for a very long time. so much of what we heard today was about what the president has said over the past many months, what he's done. what's your sense of how that is playing out? >> reporter: well, democrats really put up a damning argument against president trump, and they were using his own words, and they were also using never-before-seen video of his perceived opponents, his targeted opponents, running for their lives. we heard from president trump over and over again. he,sh, is not going to be testifying in this 2r50eu8. legal experts are saying it was because he was scared he was going to perjure himself. what we saw was president trump at rallies and interviews over and over again saying this was an election that was rigged. this was an election that was

stolen from him. we know now, judy, none of that is true. what is also interesting, they were going back, the house impeachment managers, months and months back, to july, to make the case. of course there's also that video of so many of the president's targets running for their lives. let's remember that mitt romney was one of the few republicans who stood up to the president, vice president pence, his last act of crossing the president, why the president was twen tweeting at him on the day of january 6, angry at him, because he would not overturn the election for him. we saw people with symbols of president trump, going after lawmakers. it's stunning video president trump's lawyers are now going to have to contend with. they are very confident the president will be acquitted. they don't think all this emotion will change any minds. but it's something the president will have to contend with, and lisa murkowski said she doesn't see how the president will ever get reelected showing this video

and seeing this video. it tells us a bit whether or not the president being acquitted will actually matr for his political future. >> woodruff: we will see. so much yet to unfold. yamiche alcindor, lisa desjardins, thank you, both. >> you're welcome. >> thanks so much. >> woodruff: >> woodruff: and joining me now are two women who have worked senate impeachment trials before: elizabeth chryst is a 26-year veteran of the senate and served as the republicasenate secretary during the impeachment trial of president bill clinton. and melody barnes of the university of virginia's democracy initiative, miller center and law school. she was chief cosel to the late massachusetts senator edward kennedy when she helped broker the rules for president clinton's impeachment trial. it's very good to see both of you. thank you for joining me. elizabeth chryst, i'm going to start with you. the democrats started the day saying-- calling president-- former president trump the

"insighter in chief." how strong a case are they making to prove that case, do you think? >> well, i think they're making a very strong case, because the video was very-- it's a disgrace. it's horrible. the loss of life is sad. and i think everybody would agree the violent trespassing of our nation's capitol should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and it should never happen again. there is no doubt about that. but to say that it all falls on the feet of donald trump, i'm not sure they're making that case really well. and, again, i mentioned this earlier. they're talking to politicians. they're talking to men and women in the chamber that are-- seek reelection or seek election, and they understand that campaign rhetoric can be just that. it can be fiery. it can be a lot of things. and if you have a supporter or a group that supports you, and their fringe or they get off the

rails in some way, doesn't necessarily mean that you support what they do. so i'm not sure they're making that connection very well. but it was a horrific day. as you said, i worked in the capitol for 26 years. i can-- i can cry over seeing many, many, many of these clips. it was horrible. a sad, sad day. >> woodruff: melody barnes, how would you say they're doing it, making the case tht president trump was not only involved but he was the chief insciert of all this? >> judy, that's the case they have to make. i believe that they are doing a very method cat job of doing that. again, they've gone back many, many months, and they are connecting the dots between what happened prior uo november, prior to the election, pulling it all the way through that period, the former president's work in the courts, that was highly unu.n.s.c.ful, his

attattempts to badger and push other republicans, like georgia's secretary of state. when that failed, then he invited his supporters to washington, d.c., and as the house manager said, he knew that they were violent. he knew that they were armed. he knew that they were coming with the intention to do his bidding. they called themselves "the cavalry for the commander in chief." and they connected all those dots to show that en with that knowledge that the former president whipped them into a frenzy at this-- the rally, and then pointed them towards the capitol and using his words, using his tweets, using the video, they've built, i think, a very, very compelling case. and then, also said to the united states senate, what, would you have done?" asking them to compare their own actions, their convictions to what the former president of the united states did and the way

that they had to be protected by capitol police and law enforcement and how close many of them came to a really ugly, ugly demise. >> woodruff: and coming back to you, elizabeth chryst, and your point about politicians, members of the senate, think of themselves and words that they've used. but what we're talking about here is a series of actions, of statements, of... you know, pleadings, urgings by president trump. it wasn't just a comment here and comment there, as melody barnes said. they went back to a year ago when the president started talking about the election being fraudulent. but your point is that that still is likely not to be enough. >> correct. i don't believe it's enough. and, againgoing back to a year or a year and a half of statements, this is the way the president-- our former

president, that's the way he did his rallies. he did whip up his supporters. that's the nature of the rallies. so people say that's why they were so infectious to begin with. but, again, i think it's very hard to go from there to him approving and being pleased at what happened in the united states capitol. i cannot see naany way. and, again, it was such a disgrace, and we all, i'm sure, are confident that we hope it never, ever, ever happens again. >> woodruff: melody barnes, is there more that you know of that the managers could be doing to connect what president trump did, former president trump did to the events of january 6? >> well, i-- i disagree with elizabeth. i think they are showing in every way what the former president did and what he intended. up to and including the fact that even as this mob was overtaking the capitol, even as

members of the senate and the house were literally running for their lives, and their staff was barricading themselves in their office, that the president didn't do anythincn @&c @&cq)jzs mob to... go to the capitol because the vice president, his own partner, his running mate, wasn't doing what he wanted them to do. and they were up there, and they were chanting, you know, horrible things about the vice president, threatening his life. and, still, the president did nothing. and one of the things the house managers pointed out was that the-- this is a president who had every capability to say stop when he wanted to. he was saying, "stop the steal." he could have said, "stop the violence. stop the mob. stop the rioting." and there were crickets. and i think one of the questions for the republicans and i think the house managers have done a good job in putting this on the table, they pointed out that this is a former president who was coming for them-- meaning

coming for the g.o.p. a crowd chanting, you know, defeat the g.o.p. we're attacking the g.o.p. this is a republican party that has worked to brand itself as being pro law enforcement, patriotic, very religious, and what the house managers were showing were attacks on churches prior to this moment. they were showing attacks on law enforcement officers that were just unimaginable, with "blue lives matter" flags, while they were draped in the american flag. so i think the house managers are saying to them, do you want to protect a presint who has incited this kind of violence, who has undermined a constitutional act of counting electoral college votes when, in fact, this president is not with you? i think it's a question that they put in front of the g.o.p. to be of-- playing in the background as they look at this evidence and consider these

actions. >> woodruff: well, we are going to continue to look at, this but■ç we are going to haveo leave this conversation there. we thank both of you, melody barnes, elizabeth chryst. we appreciate it. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the democratic district attorney for atlanta, georgia opened a criminal investigation into efforts to influence the state's presidential vote count. the announcement did not mention any names. but, former president trump phoned georgia's secretary of state brad raffensperger in early january, appealing for enough votes to overturn the biden win in the state. raffensperger refused. on the pandemic, the c.d.c. now says wearing two face masks, or

one, tightly fitted mask, is more effective in blocking covid-19. new research released today showed exposure can be reduced by 95%, more than twice what a single mask achieves. the c.d.c. head, dr. rochelle walensky, spoke at a virtual briefing. >> the science is clear: everyone needs to be wearing a mask when they are in public, or when they are in their own home but with people who do not live in their household. this is especially true with our ongoing concern about new variants spreading in the united states. >> woodruff: the new advice on masks came as the nationwide death toll from covid-19 passed 470,000. president biden ordered sanctions today against military leaders in myanmar, for staging a coup and using violence against protesters. he said the moveould freeze $1 billion in the generals' u.s. assets. meanwhile, thousands of

protesters turd out again in cities across myanmar, despite the police crackdown and a ban on gatherings. saudi arabia has released a leading women's activist from prison. loujain al-hathloul pushed to end the kingdom's ban on women driving. she was sentenced under a counter-terrorism law and served nearly three years. her release comes as president biden has pledged to emphasize human rights in u.s./saudi relations. the white house is warning that, for now, the u.s. will continue turning back most migrants who enter illegally from mexico. press secretary jen psaki said today that officials need time to implement changes from trump- era policies that kept most migrants out. >> due to the pandemic and the fact that we have not had the time as an administration to put in place humane comprehensive process for processing individuals who are cong to

the border, now is not the time to come. and the vast majority of people will be turned away. >> woodruff: crossings at the southern border have been growing for months, and border patrol facilities are filling up. across europe, a cold wave kept much of the continent in the deep freeze today. in paris, layers of snow covered much of the city, disrupting travel in sub-zero weather. and off the normandy coast, the famed tidal island mont saint michel was surrounded snow and ice, a rarity. another new spacecraft has arrived at mars, this one from china. chinese animation showed the unmanned vessel going into orbit today. its goal is to land a rover, looking for underground water and signs of life from long ago. an orbiter from the united arab emirates reached the red planet on tuesday. an american rover arrives next week. and, on wall street, stocks had

a sluggish day. the dow jones industrial average gained 62 points, enough for a new record close at 31,437. but, the nasdaq fell 35 points, and, the s&p 500 slipped one point. and larry flynt, who founded "hustler" magazine has died. flint built a pornography empire, partly on images of violence against women, and fought several first amendment battles. during one case in 1978, he was shot by a gunman and left partially paralyzed. in 1988, he won a u.s. supreme court fight with the reverend jerry falwell, who had sued him over a parody. larry flynt was 78 years old. still to come on the newshour: we discuss the ongoing vaccine campaign with a senior member of the white house covid-19 response team. afghan warlords and militias fill the security vacuum left by

the withdrawal of united states forces. a major consulting firm settles million dollars for its role in the opioid crisis. plus, much more. >> woodruff: the white house said today the u.s. is on track to meet president biden's pledge of 100 million covid-19 vaccinations in his first 100 days. but as amna nawaz reports, demand is greater than the federal supply, frustration is building, and questions about and the equity of vaccine distribution persist. >> nawaz: judy, about 1.5 million americans are getting a shot of the covid vaccine each day and about 10% of the country has gotten at least one dose.

but the pace and supply remain far too low. andy slavitt has been at the center of the biden administration's efforts to increase those numbers. he is a white house senior adviser on the covid-19 response. he joins me now. andy slavitt, welcome back to the newshour, and thank you for making the time. i want to begin by asking you about the registration process to sign up to get those vaccines is a bit of a "hunger games" situation going on. if you can afford a smartphone and the time to sit and refresh your browser all the time, if you can afford to, you can get one of those slots. is there a federal fix to that process in the works or is this just the way it is? >> hi, amna, thank you for having me on the show. you're right, there are a couple of things we're concerned about right now, one is for the next little while we will be in an undersupply situation. that won't be the case forever, but that will be the case for the next at least few weeks, if not a couple of months. and while that's happened, one of the things that we are very

worried about is people with the savvy and the resources, whether it's their ability to smile and dial or use the internet or they have kids, they have transportation, but there are people who are clamoring for these vaccines, and we are worried that they will be able to get ahead of the people who are, quite frankly, at greater risk, the people in communities of color and low-income people, people who are essential workers. so we have a big effort, as you knownd as you talked about, to make sure we do things to combat that. one of those things is we announced yesterday, as we're going to be distributing vaccines in federally-qualified health centers, community health centers, setting up mobile health clinics. we just announced today five more federally funded clinics in low-income neighborhoods and low-income communities. and we're asking people also to reserve appointments for the people who live in these

communities and not allow people to swoop in. >> nawaz: i think folks would agree that's a lot to ask of people. you talked about getting the vaccines to the directly health community center, that serve poor communities, communities of color. that will begin next week. when you look at where the vaccines are going so far. the c.d.c. has shown the federal government has only gathered race and ethnicity center for 52% of the people vaccinated so hard, just over half. and limited data shows it has gone overwhelmingly to white americans. even if you put the vaccines into these community health centers, as you say, how do you make sure people from wealthy communities don't come in and get those slots, especially if you're not tracking right now? >> i will give you an example. in north carolina, there was an event at panther stadium, and the people who put on the event, atriumph hospital, honeywell,

the state of north carolina-- they reserved appointments for people in communities of color early in the morning, and they were-- they located themselveses on a bus line and made sure there was adequate transportation. if people make the effort and those folks are writing up a playbook on how they did it, because they oversampled. they had twice as much participation from communities of color than had been going on than was the state's population. but the key here is you have to make an effort. because you said it exactly right-- if you do nothing, then you can just assume-- and you need to just assume that you're going-- your distribution is going to be inequitable. when i talked about reserving appointment times, it wasn't that i was asking individuals. we've been talking to pharmacys. we've been talking to hospitals. we've been talking to others who have vaccine supply. and what we're suggesting to them is they have to make sure if they want to continue to get increase in doses, they're not only efficiently moving out

vaccines but also equitably. and over time, the places that are going to get more and more doses are places that are both efficient and equitable. >> nawaz: i hear you saying you are suggesting to states and pharmacies that they put those tracking mechasms into place. let me ask you about the supply. the biden administration has been able to increase the supply that's going to states. the state leaders we talked to say they welcome everything they could get, but they could be doing more. when you look at the map across the country right now, every state, except kansas, has administered at least 60% of the allocated vaccine. 10 states have already administered more than 75% of their vaccines. and some folks say they could be doing or three or four or five-"x" times what they're doing now. you talk to the pharma companies regularly. when is that supply going to meet the capacity to deliver? >> yeah, and they can. i think for quite a while, we'll be able to get the vaccines more and more efficiently to people as we get-- as we increase that

supply. so far, we' been here three weeks, and as you said, we increased the vaccinations going to states by 28%. that doesn't count the additional vaccine that they're able to get out of the pfizer tubes, now that we enclosedded the ability to get the sixth dose that people may have heard about out. we also just started this week the retail pharmacy program. we're starting the federally qualified health center program, and these community health clinics. so we are getting both more places more vaccinators and more vaccines. i think, you know, we will see over the next weeks us-- we feel confident-- be able to continue to take that up. and we will get to take that up more and more. and i think at some point, we will be out of the situation where we have people chasing vaccines, and we'll be into a situation-- it's hard to imagine today-- but where vaccines are chasing people and we will be talking about people whore unsure if they want to--

>> nawaz: andy, if i can, i'm sorry, i have a few seconds left. when will that be? when will we have more vaccine than we need? >> i think over the spring, i expect most states will be able to invite people from across the state to come in and get vaccines. and i think by the end of the summer, we believe we'll have enough to get all americans vaccinated, and we're going to do everything we can to beat that, but we're not goingo over-promise things we haven't been able to do yet. >> nawaz: andy slavitt, senior adviser to the white house covid-19 task force. thank you so much for being with us. >> thank you for having me, amna. >> woodruff: we return to our series on the longest war, in afghanistan. afghan security rces are strained to the limit and unable to stop rampant violence fracturing the country.

warlords, a mainstay of power and force, are stepping into that breach again. special correspondent jane ferguson and producer- cinematographer emily kassie have oureport. >> reporter: these gunmen are the rule of law in this remote, mountainous region in the center of afghanistan. groups of fighters patrol and protect these communities, entirely independent of the kabul government. instead, they serve under this man, abdul ghani alipur, known as ¡commander sword'. >> ( translated ): 20 years ago there was a sense of hope in afghanistan. but unfortunately, the situation is getting worse. the government was not able to establish itself in the way people had expected. the democracy that we were establishing never took much of a foothold. >> reporter: and so, he says, the rise of militias and their leaders, is inevitable, with security deteriorating across the country. >> ( translated ): when a nation moves towards destruction, every

group is forced to take their security into their own hands. they cannot leave their people behind. this is everyone's right. >> reporter: these fighters' long-persecuted ethnic community, the hazaras, have been the target of the taliban for decades, alipur says the government doesn't protect them. >> ( translated ): hazaras have always been left behind. we can never ensure our rights will be respected. >> reporter: but that fear is felt by many across afghanistan right now, from the various ethnic groups to civil society, and women, as the american military prepareto leave the country. fighting has intensified between government forces and the taliban, despite both sides technically negotiating in tar, and the kabul authorities are less and less able to provide realecurity to civilian populations. the state's security forces arrested alipur in 2018, accusing him of leading a criminal gang of fighters, but violent protests in the capital forced his release. now he sticks to his own

stronghold in the mountains. alipur won't let us come to where he normally hides out. he is after all a wanted man by both the taliban and the government. so he ahs agreed to meet us here at this very remote and extraordinary beautiful mountainous area at the very center of afghanistan. the intense security surrounding him is reflection of this fracturing war. as each group entrenches, men like him have many enemies. his followers say they are providing a service to the community that the government simply doesn't, without security, people cannot live decent lives. >> ( translated ): at one point even schools had to close here. and people didn't have the ability to get on with dly life. with alipur's movement our people now live in security and they can return to school, boys and girls, men and women. >> reporter: they were keen to show us those schools, alipur himself giving us a tour. here on this snowy mountain top, a remarkable site-- boys and

girls sitting side by side taking extra classes in calculus, as state schools close for winter break. but the reality is, this is no the image of afghanistan's future either the afghan people or the international community pictured 20 years ago. local militias patrolling their own communities, fighting off other litant groups. as america prepares to withdraw its troops under a february 2020 deal with the taliban, talks between the afghan government and the taliban have stalled. if that peace process fails, there is a serious risk of the country's war splintering, and smaller conflicts between fighting groups erupting for control of territory. >> reporter: the afghan civil war of the early 90s, after the soviet retreat, was devastating, with gangs of fighters plundering the country. that chaos was what eventually led to the taliban's rise and popularity, as communities begged for order. hopes to avoid repeating history

lie with current talks on doha between the afghan government and the taliban. but even if a deal happens, there is no guarantee that variou ethnic and social groups in afghanistan would support it. the hazara community is predominantly made up of shia muslims, making them a target for the taliban's sunni extremism. it's communities like these that feel they have the most to potentially lose from a u.s. several hours away from alipur's hideout, in rural bamiyan province, people live in the shadow of a visceral symbol of the country's culture, and it's destructive war. the famous 2000 year old giant buddha statues, carved from these cliffs and once a marker of the area's ancient buddhist communities were blown up by the taliban during their rule. and they continue to hold these communities in fear. hussein razayee makes a living

as a taxi driver between bamiyan and the capital kabul. it's one of the few jobs going in this part of the country. but to do it, he has to travel through areas controlled by the taliban. >> ( translated ): if they decide they don't like something about me, or with my passengers if there is a government emoyee with documents, they might beat me. if a passenger is taken fromy vehicles and is arrested by the taliban the government will say i am involved. both sides would accuse me, the taliban and the government. all i could do is beg the mullah to please release the passengers, but they wouldn't. they don't respect us. >> reporter: now, he says the immediate area is safer because of alipur and his men. >> ( translated ): alipur's presence is very good for the people who are using this road. he is doing a good job. before he came, people were arrested by the taliban who were from this area, because there was no one to protect them, even >> reporter: despite the peace talks, the realities on the ground of entrenched fighting, and a rapid u.s. withdrawal,

leave few here like him confident the next generation will inherit a nation at peace. >> ( translated ): i hope so but i'm not optimistic. we might have peace one day, but not soon. if fighting breaks out, i won't participate. for thlast 35 years i've never touched a weapon. i'm not a violent person. i just want to live as ordinary a life as i can. i just want a simple life. >> reporter: that's a sentiment echoed across this country, by e millions who aren't armed, who are exhausted from war, asking for only a peaceful, dignified life. yet, as fear sets in that the balance of power is being upended with a u.s. exit, strong men many call war lords, may inherit some of that power once again. >> ( translated ): the government is weak. they are not able to defend the people, they cannot defend the country, they cannot move the war forward. when there is destruction and

the system deteriorates, everyone ends up looking out for the themselves. no one's intention is to start a civil war. everyone knows that civil war is an awful phenomenon. but if people feel unsafe then they are forced to defend themselves. >> reporter: america's withdrawal from afghanistan will be the ultimate test of its government's ability to rule the country and hold central power. the fear for so many afghans is that it will not, and what divides the country could prevail over what unites it, leaving people with no choice but to look to their own for survival. for the pbs newshour, i'm jane ferguson in bamiyan, afghanistan. >> woodruff: the opioids crisis that has taken hundreds of thousands of american lives has gotten less attention during the pandemic. but it's no less dangerous. in fact, the c.d.c. says drug

overdoses and deaths have grown substantially since the pandemic began. now, one of the world's most powerful corporate consulting firms has agreed to a major settlement for its role and trying to "turbocharge" sales of painkillers. stephanie sy has our update >> sy: judy, the settlement holds mckinsey & company financially accountable for its extensive work with purdue pharma, and other drug makers, to aggressively market highly addictive painkillers. the agreement allocates $573 million to 47 stes, the district of columbia and five u.s. territories to fund opioid treatment, recovery and prevention programs. massachusetts attorney general maura healey has been leading the legal battles against mckinsey and purdue pharma, and joins me now. madam attorney general it's a pleasure having you on the newshour. i want to dive right in. the velocity, the breadth of the

opioid epidemic,s a, and how may american lives it has devastated is astounding. how much of that would you ascribe to mckinsey consultant strategies to sell more. >> in ct, mckinsey was right at the heart of things. mckinsey, to be clear, what our investigation uncovered was consulting with the sacklers and purdue. they were instructing them on how to boost oxycontin sales. how to get doctors to prescribe more and more to patients. mckinsey consultants rode along with, went with sales reps to doctors' offices here in massachusetts to critique them on how effective they were at selling oxycontin. mckinsey advised purdue how to avoid f.d.a. and pharmacy

restrictions. they later advised purdue on how to enter the market for opioid reshue and treatment medications, because mckinsey knew people were overdosing and dying and getting sick from oxycontin. so mckinsey's fingers are all over this. it's why we came together as states. this is e first multistate resolution that will return, importantly, millions and millions of dollars to our states right away that we're going to use directly for treatment. and also importantly, stephanie, we did something for the first time-- set up an online document repository, where in month's time, everyone in the country-- researchers the press, the public-- will be able to see mckinsey's emails, memos, and the individuals who were involved in this effort. >> one of the more egregious tactics that the complaint alleges was proposed by mckinsey consultants was

giving the idea to give rebase to pharmacies when their pharmacies overdosed on oxycontin. now, there's no evidence that that was actually enacted, but, madam attorney general, what does that tell you about these entities' desire for profit at all costs? >> it's exactly that-- profit at all costs. mckinsey consultants were about the business of advising their clients on how to make as much money as possible from this deadly epidemic. it shows a callousness that really is beyond the pale, and it's why mckinsey needs to be held accountable. the fact that they knew-- i mean, they knew how dangerous these opioids were, that they went so far as to try to propose to perdue how it could pay insurance companies rebase for every patient who o.d.'d on oxycontin is gross. it's disturbing. and, you know, today there is a reckoning and an accountability that our families, stephanie, in

massachusetts and all across this country deserve. those who engaged in acts and perpetrated such wrong against so many families need to be held accountable. and mckinsey was right there part of it. >> and we should say that mckinsey issued a rare apology, saying, "we recognize thate did not adequately acknowledge the epidemic unfolding in our communities. we want to be part of the solution." however, they never explicitly acknowledged any wrongdoing or illegality. so i want to ask you, are you planning any further complaints, criminal complaints against mckinsey■ç individuals? >> well, stephanie, our agreement does not release any criminal claims. and i cannot speak to the status of any criminal investigations. what i will say, though, is that this agreement-- remember, we filed a complaint in every state in this country. we filed a consent judgment in

the state. and you will see in time, with the documents, it will be very clear to the public exactly what mckinsey did. so the apology is a little too late for the families who lost loved ones to this disease, to this epidemic and the families who are struggling every day. yes, we have covid, and that is, understandably, you know, taking the front pages, but this crisis, this opioid crise has not gone away. it's gotten worse in fact. mckinsey needs to pay up. they're paying up big time with this nearly $600 million consent judgment, where that money will go right into our state swe can use that money to help treat people, to help with the recovery effort. but i hope it sends a message loud and clear, you know, to those entities out there who are willing, it seems, all too willing to put profits ahead of people. there's a price for that. and i'm proud of the work-- >> yeah, and i know, attorney

general, that you are continng to pursue a case against purdue pharma as well. we'll have to leave it there. but maura healey, the continual, from the great state of massachusetts, thank you so much for joining us. >> good to be with you, stephanie. thank you.■ç >> woodruff: now to a marriage of science and art, onstage and in real life, from a leading playwright and pioneering researcher into the causes and effects of pandemics. jeffrey brown has the story for our ongoing arts and culture seriescanvas. >> all right, okay. what... what is this? >> brown: what is it? a play, in the time of pandemic, about how pandemics happen. >> i try to predict new pandemics. if you can predict them you can try to prevent them. >> brown: a story of a scientist thrilled by discovery.

>> brown: and pained by loss. it's called “the catastrophist." playwright lauren gunderson: >> it was a story that i knew i could tell. but the question was, should you? >> brown: the reason? the subject is her husband, nathan wolfe. >> but it felt like now is an obvious time to go into the back story, the passion behind scientists who study what nathan studies, virology pandemic experts. >> brown: and how did the subject himself feel? >> the truth of the matter is, if you're married to one of the most prolific playwrights in the world, especially someone who focuses on science, you learn that the various characters in her plays, you shouldn't extrapolate or see yourself in those characters. of course, i had to change my viewpoint a little bit for this particular play. >> brown: wolfe, now 50, is a

virologist known for his work tracing how viruses jump from animals to humans. he worked in africa for many years and was on "time" magazine's 2011 list of 100 most influential people. >> brown: that same year he was featured on the newshour after his book, “the viral storm: the dawn of a new pandemic age”, predicted the kind of event we're living through now. 39-year-old lauren gunderson is prolific, and successful. according to the trade magazin“" american theatre,” she's the most produced playwright in the country, with many works that explore science and scientists of the past. she wrote “the catastrophist” during the pandemic, commissioned by marin theatre in california, directed by its artistic director jasson minadakis, and co-produced with round house theater in maryland. actor william demeritt plays a character besotted with science and the search for the unknown. >> we made the decision that this is not an imitation of

nathan, it's an artistic synthesis of nathan. i also do have to say that it is absolutely true that nathan is besotted with science. i can confirm that is true. brown: gunderson and wolfe live in san francisco and have two young sons. the play delvedeeply into wolfe becoming aather while losing his own; a man obsessed with mapping future catastrophes while unable to foresee those in front of him. >> how doethe futurist not see e future? how does the catastrophist not plan for his own catastrophe? >> brown: it's a personal story. but also, for gunderson and her collaborators, about the power of art, especially now. >> we believe in theater. we believe it never stops. we believe it's necessary, especially in timeof crisis. we believe in science. we believe that the stories of science and scientists life up new heroes andew ways that are we believe in empathy and how that is a unifying force, and it happens to be one of theater's superpowers. >> brown: wolfe's focus these days is assessing the risks of pandemics.

his company creates models for government agencies and corporations to help mitigate potential damage. of course, as a recent cover story on him in "wired" magazine suggests: we humans aren't very good at planning ahead. i asked if anything about this pandemic has surprised him. >> in some ways what is unexpected is the nuance, the small features, you know, that you won't model. you know, the impact of twitter, the way that communication and miscommunication has played a role. >> brown: still, he says: >> i tend to be an optimist. and let's just say it this way: i no longer have to spend the first ten minutes when i'm talking to somebody, the c.e.o. of a larger corporation, explaining the potential impact of pandemics. >> brown: in their own personal lives, gunderson and wolfe say their rk as writer and scientist feeds the other. and they see a deeper connection in the disciplines. >> i think that science and art a lot closer than they are often portrayed.

because at heart you are trying to innovate, you are trying to investigate, you are trying to create. >> people don't, they think of scientists in a particular way, laboring in the lab. but at its fundamental core, science is attempting to understand features of the universe. and in order to sort of really make important strides in science, you have to see something and be willing to believe something which others don't. and that's the part of science that i love. >> see! he makes a great character! (laughing) >> brown: oh yeah? you see a character you could use in a play. >> i love it. this is what i write about. no wonder. i kept waking up next to a character and it took me ten years to write it! >> brown: as the character in the play says: >> there's a risk being married to a playwright. they usually get the last word. >> brown: “the catastrophist” is streaming through february 28 by the round house and marin theater companies.

for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: it's fascinating. and a and a reminder that we are carrying gavel to gavel coverage of the senate's second impeachment trial of former president trump. it continues this evening; check you local pbs station. and you can always find it online on our website and our newshour social media pages. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay fe, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: we offer a variety of no- contract wireless plans for people who use their phone a little, a lot, or anything in between. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> consumer cellular understands

>> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> 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. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. >> every senator, democrat and republican, has to approach this trial with the gravity it deserves. >> for the first time in history, a president faces senate trial twice. former republican senator bob corker joins me about holdi trump accountable. also ahead. >> mrs. robinson, you're trying to seduce me. >> i have a head for business, and a bod for -- >> the golden touch of director mike nichols, biographer mike harris tells me how the jewish refugee from germany scaled the hollywood heights. then. >> this is not the first time we have come to a place where the republican party has slid toward a forum of