♪ judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, the conflict continues, israel bombards gaza with artillery, and palestinian militants respond with rocket fire as the clashes spill over into the streets. then, face time. we explore questions around the new cdc mask guidelines and how to navigate this shift. plus, the fight to vote, texas is poised to become the latest state to severely restrict access to the ballot box on a party line vote. >> if the republican intent for voter integrity and cohesion

were true, they would create a system that was more accessible overall. judy: and it's friday. david brooks and jonathan capehart consider the new masking idelines, the shakeup in house republican leadership, and the u.s. role in the israel gaza conflict. all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour as been provided by -- ♪

moving our economy 4160 years, bnsf, the engine that connects us -- for 160 years, bnsf, the engine that connects us. ♪ >> consumer cellular, johnson & johnson, financial services firm raymond james. >> the john s and james all night foundation fostering more engaged communities. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by

contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: fighting has raged for a fifth day between israeli forces and hamas in gaza, and violence spread to the west bank as well. more than 120 palestinians have died in gaza, with nearly 1000 wounded. eight israelis have been killed. rockets were also launched at israel from neighboring syria, and protests sympathetic to the palestinians erupted in lebanon and jordan. amna nawaz has the story, and a warning: some images in this report may disturb viewers. reporter: palestinian protests today in the west bank, met by israeli army fire. a new front in the latest round of fighting in the region today, leaving at least 11 palestinians dead. that, after pre-dawn barrage over gaza marked israel's heaviest bombardment in five

days of fighting, responding to constant rocket fire from hamas more than 1 thousand in five days. lt. col. jonathan conricus is spokesperson for the israeli defense forces, or idf. >> it was aimed at hitting or striking one of the most important, strategic components, military components that hamas has and that's essentially an underground network of tunnels and bunkers and command posts. >> we've seen video after video of residential buildings also being struck by your air power. why are you targeting those? >> hamas, as a terrorist organization, like many other terrorist organizations, uses civilian infrastructure for their military purposes. whate made sure was that there were no civilians or noncombatants in any of those buildings before we struck it. reporter: palestinian homes have been hit in israeli strikes . today, families in gaza rummaged through the ruin, salvaging what they could. others near gaza's northern and eastern borders, sought shelter

in schools run by the united nations. hedaya maarouf and her family, among them. >> we were planning to leave during the night but israeli drones and jets kept bombarding us. at daylight we finally started moving and we ran to the schools. we could not believe the way our children were screaming, they wanted to leave and we were shaking for them. when we woke up we found everything behind us destroyed. reporter: dr mohammad abu selmia in gazaa's shifa hospital says over half the injuries he's seen are critical. >> most of the injuries coming to shifa, the largest hospital in gaza are serious, including women and children and old, from all age groups. mostly shrapnel wounds all over the body. there were also children who had legs or arms amputated, let alone those who came torn apart. >> you know civilians have been killed. you know children have been killed. so what is the acceptable level of civilian casualty for you at this stage? >> there's no ratio of

acceptable. evercivilian casualty is regrettable. we want to minimize that. but then on the other hand, you have to understand, israelis are under constant fire. we have 8 dead israeli civilians. reporter: at the white house today for a sec. jen psaki was asked about israel's use of force. >> i think the president believes that israel has a right to self defense. the loss of children's lives, the loss of family, family members' lives, whether it's palestinian lives or israeli lives, is incredibly tragic, it is horrific to watch. that is certainly why our focus is on de-escalating what is happening on the ground. reporter: three artillery and armored brigades are now positioned at the gaza border. last night the idf walked back a statement claiming ground operations had already begun. >> that's not in the interest of neither gaza -- definitely not the civilians there-- but neither hamas nor us. i hope that hamas stops firing. so if that ends, that will definitely be a step, a very important step, in the right

direction. reporter: when that step will occur remains unknown. for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz. ♪ reporter: we returned to judy richards and the full program after these headlines. updating our top story, the battle in israel and gaza continues unabated into saturday morning with israeli planes pounding gaza and militants responding by firing rockets into israel. the death toll rose to 132 in gaza. according to palestinian medical officials. the fighting sparked protests in the west bank with palestinians clashing with israeli troops leaving at least 11 people dead. mixed reactions have greeted this edc's new pandemic guidance

that fully vaccinated americans may take off their masks in most situations. across the country, in stores and restaurants, many people embraced the change. but, some owners worried about how to enforce it. >> as a business owner, how do you know who's vaccinated and who is not? i do not want to get into carting people. >> if someone is adamant about i am not going to wear a mask who am i to say it you will? reporter: a number of major retailers from target to home depot said they will continue to require masks, but walmart and costco announced they will drop mask requirements for fully vaccinated staff and customers. republicans in the u.s. house of representatives elected at least a phonic -- elisa stefanik to the number three post. she replaces liz cheney ousted over her criticism of former president trump.

she is a former president trump supporter and reaffirmed his influence in the party. >> i believe voters determine the leader of the republican party and president trump is the leader they look to. i support trump, voters support trump. we look forward to working with him. reporter: she easily defeated a texas congressman who augured -- argued she was to moderate. stefa -- the race to mars heated up tonight with china at saying it has landed a spacecraft on the planet. according to chinese state media, the lender successfully touched down on the red planet. nasa's most recent lender perseverance landed on mars three months ago. month suffered a setback in court today, the ninth circuit court of appeals upheld a $25 million reward against the company in the lawsuit involving its roundup weed killer.

edwin hardeman argued decades of roundup led to his counselor. the jury initially rewarded him $80 million but a judge reduce that amount to $25 million. still to come, and how african migrants unite. the fight for a better life in italy. why texas is poised to become the latest date to restrict access to voting. david brooks and jonathan capehart consider the rift in the gop. a creative response to a massive spill of nike sneakers, plus much more. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from wta's to -- new studios in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism. judy: in many states fully

vaccinated americans can resume a large variety of activities without wearing a mask. the new guidance announced yesterday by the cdc was met with jubilation in many corners but there are concerns the changes for indoor masking are happening too quickly. we follow up on those questions. reporter: some of those concerns are tied to the country's vaccination rates. more than half of all americans are not yet fully vaccinated, and when you add americans under the age of 18 years old the nation is at just 36% fully vaccinated. and many places may not be ready to ditch their masking requirements yet. we look at these concerns with dr. ranit mishori. she is a professor of family medicine at georgetown university and senior medical adviser to physicians for human rights. for the record she is also an advisor to our parent company, bbt it. thank you so much for joining us. good to talk to you. let's start with these concerns over health.

what are you concerned about particularly about the indoor mask wearing or not? >> i think that many experts and americans are concerned that this may be premature, too early. only 36% of americans are fully vaccinated, and if you look at subgroups, 27% among blacks so this is becoming a vaccine equity issue. when you think about which populations have higher rates of vaccination those tend to be whites and affluent people. so the concern is it is not fair and those benefiting are those that do not need protection so much. reporter: the centers for disease control say the study shows people who are fully vaccinated are by and large strongly protected and they also

see study showing they are unlikely to be able to pass on the disease. taking that equity issue is there also a health issue or no? is it safe for people who are fully vaccinated? are they a threat to anyone else without their mess indoors? >> the vaccines are very effective and those studies are right, but at a time when we do not know who is fully vaccinated, the person in front of you, there are people who cannot get vaccinated, children who cannot get vaccinated so a lot of people are feeling unsafe and there are currently no ways of determining or asking people about their vaccination status. there is no local systems. perhaps it is not part of etiquette to ask the person in front of you at the checkout counter if you are fully vaccinated. we are hearing from a lot of people who are concerned about that.

people who are immuno compromised or cannot mount a full response, children and other vulnerable people may actually have to continue wearing the mask so it defeats the purpose. reporter: i note you are not just thinking about these in an academic or philosophical sense. you work at georgetown university and you are helping advise them on what to do with patients in their facilities. we heard from folks earlier in the broadcast about the dilemma a lot of businesses are in. what are your concerns for who enforces this or not when it comes to regular run-of-the-mill activity? >> i think you are right and we are not unique. all businesses and institutions are in a chaotic situation. it is confusing because it is sadly up to us, up to individual businesses, institutions to decide whether they will endorse

cdc recommendations. it is up to states, municipalities so this is causing confusion and people in the segment you should do before, business owners have said what is going to happen when people en masse are going to come in? am i going to feel safe going into a place that does not require masking or mri as a business owner, a person leading an institution have the right to ask people to step outside or show them that show me their vaccination record. it will cause confusion and it will make it messy to know how to behave in different settings. reporter: a confusing time but one of hope. thank you for helping us put our hands around where we are right now. >> thank you so much. ♪

judy: some 13,000 migrants, mainly from africa, have landed in italy so far this year three times the number from the same period in 2020. the struggle for migrants does not end when they reach european shores. our senior producer adam raney reports from southern italy on how, amid the pandemic, migrant farmworkers are fighting for visibility and better working conditions. reporter: after working 13 years in italy's fields, this is what nigerian farmworker rita godwin has to show for it - a one room shack in a rural slum in southern italy. there is no running water, electricity, or trash removal. and after fetching water she treats it by boiling it with herbs. >> if we do not do this we will fall sick every blessed day. we boil it, we drink it so we don't fall sick. reporter: in 2008 rita made the

risky sea crossing to italy. she left two children behind and sends money when she can. working in the fields leaves her little for anything else. do you feel stuck? >> yes, because, you know, in my country, i have never lived in this kind of environment. reporter: farmworker abdulai issmail came from ghana thinking life would be better in italy, the country of his dreams -- of soccer, food and fashion. >> i always feel shame when anybody calls me from outside. i do not like vehicles because of the place i'm living. it is very shameful for meor someone to see where i am living. reporter: there are more than 80 settlements like this across italy. some 2,000 people live in this camp alone. the people we spoke to say they feel stuck because they do not have access to legal work documents which keeps them from getting better paying jobs and makes it very hard for them to afford a place of their own. another migrant, sadio, from senegal, takes us on a tour of

the shantytown or ghetto as they call it. my fear is inhumane. this is not a humane life. look around. the truth is many people here live in extremely difficult conditions. reporter: sadio told us most migrant farmworkers, only make around 35 euros a day and that is before paying a mafia middle man 5-10 euros to secure work in the field. the fight for dignified, legal work free for a mafia control came to the fore independently. last spring during italy's first rate lock down farmworkers were deemed essential workers, but without workpapers, they had no documents to show police patrols enforcing the lockdown, so they were not allowed to leave the shanty towns to go out to work in the fields - precisely at a time when italy needed more of them. a charismatic leader, aboubakar soumahoro, has led protests up and down italy throughout the pandemic.

a former farmworker from ivory coast, he called attention to the self-proclaimed invisibles - -- invisibles, migrants toiling in the fields out of sight and out of mind to most italians race, he says is clearly a factor in their treatment. >> the workers are often paid a low wage based on the color of their skin or because the countries they came from. it is the immigration laws that create this exploitative situation because work contracts are tied to resident permits. if you refuse what they are offering you will not get a contract so workers are squeezed and have to accept the conditions. reporter: savvy on social media, soumahoro led strikes and called for systemic change. he communicates daily with hundreds of thousands of followers. >> there are no rights. there is no dignity. there are just workers to be

exploited, to be enslaved. reporter: migrants had the backing of pope francis and soumahoro managed to meet then prime minister giuseppe conte. last fearing food and labor may, shortages, italy passed a law intended to legalize more than 200,000 undocumented migrants, offering them contracts or temporary work permits. but the law was seen by many as a failure. more than 85% of the people it benefited domestic workers, not farmworkers. tired of waiting for true reform, some migrants are now taking a different route. complete with a jingle one group launch their own line of canned tomatoes. ♪ a product that is at the root of italy's pasta-based cuisine. it is the first such italian product made by migrants themselves. the name - riaccolto - is a play on the words harvest and

welcome. the label plays on the product's fair trade appeal. a black hand holds the most traditional of italian foods a , tomato above the phrase land of freedom -- a nod to the migrants feeling liberated after years of working in what many of them call slave-like conditions. papa latyr faye, one of ghetto out's founders, is from senegal . >> you have to understand the story behind this product, because our main goal was not just a can of tomatoes but to show immigrants have arrived on the scene and should be seen in a different light. reporter: faye says this is just the first of many migrant-led projects he hopes to launch. >> so we took the reins ourselves. we realized that only we could solve our problems working together. reporter: with a vision in hand ghetto out needed a partner. theyound it in co-op, a chain

of cooperative supermarkets that agreed to sell the product across italy. >> we would like it to become the model of tomorrow. reporter: carmelo rollo is a regional president for the cooperative. >> we are showing that immigrants are extraordinarily important for the life of a country and therefore there is dignity giving people the opportunity to grow. this is an intrinsic value for co-op which sees them as ideal players to shape their own future. reporter: ghetto out has also built its own camp providing housing and services for 500 migrants, many of whom used to live in the slums. they also help migrant secure residency permits. ghetto out has had success working in the system receiving land use grants and funding from the regional government and the european union. it is still a small leech and it comes with a price.

their products might appeal to consumer's ethics but not their pocketbooks. riaccolto is more than twice as expensive as many other canned tomatoes in the supermarket. a cell and a deep recession. italian food and agriculture is a at $500 billion business that brings italy's produce to the world's most refined tables. it is also one of small profit margins with big supermarket chains squeezing costs and workers to maximize profit. the people who come up short are those at the bottom. fabio ciconte is the director of terra, a nonprofit focused on agribusiness and environmental issues. he sees some positive signs. >> if we combined the fight of the migrants with fight for an ethical supply chain i think we can win the fight for justice. reporter: leaders like aboubakar soumahoro acknowledge they have

a long way to go, but say they have forced italy to finally confront racism and injustice in the fields. >> if today italy is talking about the conditions of the farmworkers it is because we have forced it on the country's agenda. no one has given us anything. reporter: a year into the pandemic, migrants are paving the way. yet as harvest season approaches rita's salon keeps growing making space for migrants with few other places to go. i adam raney in puglia, italy. am♪ judy: the current fight over voting access happening on capitol hill and in state legislatures will determine how americans choose our leaders for decades to come. yamiche alcindor has this report on texas, where republican

lawmakers are currently working to pass a new, restrictive elections bill. reporter: texas, the latest battleground in a nationwide gop effort to pass new laws restricting voting access. the push comes as many in the party continue to falsely claim the 2020 election was rigged. >> the integrity of elections in 2020 were questioned right here in harris county. reporter: texas republican governor greg abbott and republicans controlled the state legislature and state legislature say changes are needed to ensure election security. they are gearing up to pass new legislation that have signed into law will lead to sweeping changes for how texans can vote. it especially affects diverse urban counties and expanded voting options. >> we must pass laws to prevent election officials from jeopardizing the election process. reporter: democts and texas-based businesses including

american airlines and dell technologies are opposing the bills. young activists in texas are trying to push back. one of them is a philia alonso from the organization texas rising. she drove six hours from her home to austin to speak out. >> it is telling them your voter participation was so good that you are getting punished for it. reporter: the legislation follows a record high early voter turnout in large metro areas like houston. that was after election officials added measures to make voting easier including 24 hours and drive through voting. legislation passed by the state senate without law expanded voting options. 28-year-old sierra cooper, an organizer, registers voters in her community of south dallas are predominantly-like

neighborhoods already like resources for voting infrastructure. >> south dallas cannot stand it. as of formerly incarcerated black woman cooper is concerned about enhanced penalties for voting offenses. >> it is hard as a person of these committees to be an active voter. reporter: legislation would make it a felony for elected officials or organizers to send out unsolicited applications to vote by mail. at the same time under gop bills partisan poll watchers would get more access to voting places. it became a flashpoint in the aftermath of the 2020 elections. after former president trump falsely claimed election it was stolen from him a number of poll watchers who were trump supporters stormed election facilities. republicans say the legislation is in part about creating fairness. they argue higher populated

counties should not get more time to vote then rural countie who tend to vote republicans. alonso rejects that argument. >> if the republican intent for voter integrity and cohesion were true they would create a system that was more accessible overall. >> the passage of senate bill seven. reporter: a republican senator co-authored one of the texas bills known as senate bill seven. what do you say to someone who think that this bill is based on a lie and do you think the election was fraudulent? >> text elections in 2020 went much better than in other states. we did not have near the problem is that a number of states had. reporter: do you believe the 2020 election was fair? president biden was legitimately elected? >> president biden is the president. he did not win in texas.

a lot of people were unhappy. republicans did great in texas in the 2020 election. we held the texas house, the senate, every seat in congress so if we were concerned about that this would not be an issue. this is about making a system we do this every time the legislature meets. reporter: the bill prevents a number of polling places and only a handful of counties in texas with populations of at least one million people. went to his aid to the criticism that regardless of the intent of this law it will make it harder for some people including people of color, black people, disabled people to vote? >> i hear that generalization but no one is showing any evidence of it. this bill says that in urban counties appalling places have to be distributed evenly across the county and that is fairness based on where the voters live regardless of their race, their party, their ethnic background, their religion.

pres. biden: what i am worried about is how un-american this initiative is. it is a. reporter: democrats including president biden have spoken out across the country. courteney cox, a civil right activist, helped lead the right -- fight for voting rights across the south. back then she was an organizer with a nonviolent coordinating committee. she says one of the most concerning dreads is an attempt -- trends is an attempt to disqualify votes after they are cast. -- trump's push to push out tens of millions of voting ballots during the 2020 election. cox calls it nullification. >> at the end of the day they will try to say that is not legal. this cannot stand and we will do whatever it is to make sure that

if you win we will nullify your votes. reporter: if the texas legislation passes organizers like a philia alonso will have to pivot from protesting to helping voters navigate the changes to make sure their votes are not thrown out. >> i think it will take a huge push, collective push from a lot of our partners in cameron county to break down what these bills mean, what they will do. reporter: texas republicans still need to merge their house and senate bills in the coming days. the final bill will then go to the governor who is expected to sign it. ♪ judy: it has been a week marked

by critical moments, tensions turning toward full out war in the middle east, a new milestone when it comes to wearing mess in the fight against covid-19 and a contentious shakeup in the republican party. thankfully we have brooks and capehart to make sense of it all. new york times columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, columnist for the washington post. it is good to see you on this friday night. there is a lot to talk about. let's start with the new mask guidelines. this comes after we have seen a 30% drop in new cases, most people reacting positively, some people saying it is confusing, it may be too soon. is this thing that has a political effect on the president, on him? >> it does, and great to see you.

the president made coronavirus and his response to the pandemic his number one priority so much show -- so that the american rescue plan where he talked a lot about bipartisanship but in the end got it done with just democratic votes, that is our urgent getting a handle on the pandemic was for the president, and so getting people back to a semblance of normalcy, part of that is making it possible for people to get rid of the mass, and the only way to do that is if you got people vaccinated which is why the president made vaccination such a big deal, and now vaccinations of children 12 years and up, that is all about getting kids back in school in time for the fall. the fact that people can now no longer wear a mask especially if they are vaccinated and outside and everything is going to inure to the president's benefit. if we were talking about a downside of all of this, if this

were a negative story, the blame would be on the president so he should be able to bask in the good news of all of this. judy: clearly the main effect we are focusing on is the health effect, but one naturally is going to be asking, what does this mean for the president and for what he is trying to do overall? > first she will get credit for a good job getting the vaccine into people's arms. that was an effective operation, but second there will be a zeitgeist change. i think we will underestimate how different it will feel when it is back to normal. i am promising myself i would appreciate everything. all of the things i used to like i will love. not being able to get a credit bar -- bartender's attention at a credit bar will feel fantastic. there will be a sweeping sense this is great. the economy by all regard should be great.

when you get a zeitgeist shift you get an economy shift. the president benefits. i think there will be a rosy glow around the second half of this year. judy: we know you spend a lot of your time in crowded bars. it is where we imagine you every night. >> you would be surprised. judy: maybe we would. let's talk about the republicans. to examine this week, as expected as republicans did vote to evict liz cheney from her leadership role. they replaced her with congresswoman stafanik, and loyal supporter of president trump. do we now know what the republican party stands for? >> we do not. we do not know what the republican party stands for and i'm comfortable saying that because the republican party that i -- the republican party

that i learned about growing up, smaller government, reverence for the constitution, low taxes or no taxes, that party is gone, so i do not know what stefanik is going to do is conference chair. i do not know what else minority leader mccarthy's goals are other than taking the majority. i do not know what their policy proposals are, what their substances, and quite frankly i wonder if those leaders in the republican party itself, the ones in league with former president trump whether they know substantively what they stand for. judy: david, you can clarify this for us. >> sure, when i started covering this world and was in the world of conservative ideas if you were a young republican staffer

you were wearing a necktie. you had your intellectual heroes on your necktie if you were a man and that was the self conception the republican party had at that point. it was an ideological movement, a conservative ideological movement. that reagan paradigm faded away, and you would think it would have been replaced by another paradigm but it has not. it was replaced by a party that is not ideological particularly anymore and trump made it work by making the party a bit of an identity party, a culture party, so it is organized around a set of ideas that are no longer a political philosophy. i do not know if you can do that but trump and even now is doing it adequately. newest data from the 2020 election keeps coming out, and the thing that really struck me, what if it was that every nonwhite group went in the

republican direction, it was 16% in latinos. so where there is a party there but someone has to define it. with ideology or some set of ideas. right now it is a man and a lifestyle but no idea. judy: i do not know, jonathan, if you want to comment on that but there is the statement from kevin mccarthy saying the republican party not doubt that joe biden won the election legitimately, and yet that is the thesis of what president trump is basically talking about every day. >> and that is the case in point. here is the house minority leader in league with the former president who says that the election was stolen, that he is no longer president because of fraud that did not happen, and yet he comes out of a meeting with the legitimately elected president of the united states, comes out to the microphone and

says he is legitimately elected. i do not know what is meant, what leader mccarthy stands for. i do not know what he is about except for snatching the speaker's gavel from speaker pelosi and that right there is a case in point of proving what david said earlier. what is the ideology except for power? that is all i know that they stand for now. judy: that comes back to your point. this out and out contradiction between what mccarthy is saying and what president trump is saying even though they are very much in alignment. >> the pickle is this. if they critique trump they get the cheney treatment that they are out. if you look at the latest gallup poll trump's approval rating dropped 10%, down to 39.

we learned in the course of the cheney thing republican party officials were hiding from their members pull data -- poll data about how trump is down in certain districts. they are changeable person fading in popularity but they cannot criticize them. judy: the last thing i went to as the two of you about is this terrible escalating conflict between the israelis and lestinians. the civilian casualties are climbing. we know the united states is working with other countries to try to broker some kind of cease fire but you had jen psaki saying israel has a right to self-defense and bernie sanders putting out a call in today saying the administration needs to be more of an honest broker and not an apologist for israel. how do you see the political pressures on president biden right now when it comes to the

situation between israel and the palestinians? >> you see it there with senator sanders'comments and folks on the house size -- side, cortez and ayanna pressley pressing the president from the left and terms of the american response but the american people and certainly at one point the world look to the american president to be omnipresent and to be the honest broker when it comes to the conflict in the middle east between israelis and palestinians, but the american president and all of these other countries getting involved trying to broker a deal, i am thinking of egypt herethey are only going to be as successful as the israelis and palestinians, and i am talking about leadership here, not the people being bombed on both sides but the leadership here. the talks to try to program a deal will only be as successful

as those leaders want them to be, and in the end, there must be peace, but then get back on the road to try to get to a two state solution. in the end that is the solution that all parties should be working toward. judy: how do you see the u.s. role in this, david? >> i do not think we have much of a role frankly. i have covered a lot of these regulated conflicts in the middle east. hamas decided its position so it does something, israelis do something else, often an overreaction. in this case hamas said missiles toward jerusalem. israelis overreacted by going into gaza and usually take it regulated enough by saying we made our point, and that is happened repeatedly. two things here. there are more power -- there is more power in the streets than

on social media so it is not clear if the leaders can standdown. then we are not a one of these temporary stages. at that point the uss to think about getting involved and finding some way to quiet things down without this perpetual escalation we have seen over the last few days. judy: what are the risks, jonathan, if the president takes a move that does not sit well with his political constituents? >> the risk is failure, lots of stature among his face. that is the risk. i have to agree with david. the administration to just do not jump into something because you feel you need to jump into something. it is the right way to go and clearly something they are

doing. judy: david? >> a democratic politician when israel came to mind, that is no longer an easy position for a democrat. israel's standing in the democratic party has become a more --. judy: not a quiet end to this week we are so grateful to you two. david brooks. jonathan gave her. ♪ -- capehart. ♪ judy: well this week did bring hopeful signs with the end of pandemic and easing of restrictions hundreds of thousands of families are still feeling the loss of a loved one over the past 15 months. we pause again to remember some of their stories. ♪

to some in carrollton, texas, he was coach mathews, while to others, he was mr. mathews, or even school board president mathews. 73-year-old john mathews served his local school district for more than half a century whether it wass a teacher, administrator, coach, or stadium announcer. he was so well-known in the community it was as if more people knew him then did not. his wife said. he was always a happy guy, and loved to meet people. 51-year-old syvie robertson brought her take charge spirit every day to her work as a licensed practical nurse, her daughter told us. the virginian and grandmother of four was one of several family members who worked in the medical field. it was work that she loved, her daughter added even though it came with long hours some days, and more risks during the pandemic. before syvie died, she had been going back to school to add to

her nursing credentials. earlier this month, syvie's college granted her an honorary degree, posthumously. fernando abenoza got his first glimpse into the art of jewelry-making while growing up omicron columbia. guest: -- in columbia. after he moved to the los angeles area in 1970, he made a living out of it. jewelry was his life, his daughter said. she described sitting with him when she was a child, as he designed and worked on pieces with great care and precision. he also loved tango music and tango dancing. but above all, his daughter told us, fernando loved to make people laugh and smile. he was 79 years old. irene cornish thompson devoted her life to helping others overcome personal challenges, or heal from trauma. for most of her career, irene was a therapist in private practice. a long-time colleague told us that she had a particular skill

for defusing situations, and for connecting with everyone in a way that made them feel special. the 78-year-old california resident also loved to travel all over the world, her daughter said, and cherished time with her grandchildren. bishop omar jahwar followed in his parents' footsteps and in the process, became a community leader in his own right. when his father retired as pastor of his dallas church, omar took over his ministry. the 47-year-old was also an activist, like his mother, launching efforts to curb violence in cities, and encourage reforms to policing. when he died, he was on the cusp of launching a new restaurant that he had hoped would be a positive social hub for the community, his sister said. she is now at the helm, to carry out his vision. judy: we are grateful to family

members for sharing these stories. our hearts go out to you as they do to everyone who was lost a loved one in this pandemic. ♪ it was the great choose bill of 1990. do you recall? tens of thousands of nike shoes fell into the pacific. it lead to some scientific discoveries, and now whimsical , art packed with an eco friendly message. william brangham plunges in to an exhibit called overboard part , of our arts and culture series, canvas. reporter: at first glance, it looks like a stinker showroom with what seem to be 200 nike air jordans along the walls. a candy shop of sorts for the

so-called snekaerheads -- sneakerheads who collect all manner of brands as a passion, and sometimes for profit. but look more closely: these are no ordinary shoes. they are intricately sculpted replicas fashioned out of everyday garbage, escorted boxes, bags, and posters. >> it is really fun to sort of take a nantucket sleigh ride and just latch yourself onto those graphics and also the brand recognition and the nostalgia that people feel for those brands. and again it is drawing them in. reporter: conceptual artist andy yoder crafted these objects, following his similar eye grabbing installations like these massive paper airplanes aloft in the cleveland airport, or this model of planet earth, built from 300,000 wooden matches, or these are normal issues seven feet long made of licorice. for these handmade sneakers, all size 13, yoder says each took

roughly six hours to construct. and his raw materials? they often came out of garbage cans, alleyways, and dumpsters. no material was ruled out, no place off limits. he found the scraps for one shoe out behind his local chinese restaurant. >> and then in the dumpster along with these other packages, i found this jigsaw puzzle of a tiger and i just thought "that is a great combination here!" reporter: someone had assembled the puzzle and checked it? >> they did. right next to salvatore ferragamo, you've got special k cereal or veuve clicquot right next to hot wheels. so it is that juxtaposition that slamming together of things from high culture, low culture, all those different things kind of bumping up against each other. reporter: but this is about more than just a chaotic collision of color. yoder hopes we can learn something new from the things we cast away very much like the three-decade old event that

inspired this work. in 1990 the container ship the hansa carrier was traveling from korea to north america when it hit rough water. the storm threw overboard several containers full of roughly 80,000 nike shoes. adrift on the pacific, thousands of those sneakers washed at short months later. >> it turned out that every shoe has a serial number like a message in a bottle. reporter: so you could track each identity, not not just the whole containers full, but each individual shoe? >> correct. reporter: oceanographer curt ebbesmeyer studied that small sneaker flotilla. hea™s been -- he has been dubbed in the world's expert on flotsam -- the floating debris spilled from cargo ships. ebbesmeyer has tracked everything from spilled rubber duckies to floating hockey gloves. this 1990 shs bill and many others like it have helped researchers understand the

behavior of what are called gyres which are huge, circular , ocean currents. by tracking thousands of objects from different spills as they drift, scientists can now better predict how something like an oil spill might travel, and where it might end up. the original like he specifically taught ebbesmeyer this odd fact: left shoes tend to drift in one direction, and right anothe that is the striking thing about this, is that it's a fun and charming story that we hear, but these sneakers going into the ocean did lead to some real scientific understanding. >> i would call it serendipity science. it forces you to ask questions you may never have thought about, which is really good. the ocean i think speaks to us and what i call flotsam tom, and i am here -- tom -- tongue, and i am here to read it. it is like ancient hieroglyphs on the pyramids. so there is a lot to be learned

and i think these containers bills have a lot to teach us. reporter: the overboard exhibit is not coincidentally displayed in a 40-foot shipping container in southeastwashington d.c. artist yoder and scientist ebbesemeyer share the same fascination with the 1990 spill, and admire each other's work but have not met. yoder displays his shoes with a nod to ebbemeyer's findings -- left shoes on one side, right shoes on the other. he swears there is no political messaging there and he ies to keep the same out of his art. >> everybody knows on some level, no matter what side of these issues you're on, that things are not in good shape. so how do we come at that issue in a fresh way. reporter: kristi maiselman is the executive director of the arts organization cultural d.c.. she dreamt up the idea of showcasing yoder's art in a

shippi container which she is able to move around the city to bring art to the public. -- >> we have been watching zoom to get her and our doors but it is not the same. we could not have come out of the pandemic with a more perfect venue anymore perfect platform because it is small and a manageable space where we know we can keep things safe and really let people enjoy and immerse themselves in a way they cannot and other places. reporter: the exhibit continues through the end of june. and, yes, the art is for sale, $750 for shoe. judy: a great thing we look forward to as we get out of the house. i'd make sure to stay with pbs. yamiche alcindor and her panel get the details that drove the headlines on washington week. that is the newshour for

tonight. i am judy woodruff. join us online and again monday evening. from all of us have a great weekend. please stay safe. have a good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ consumer cellular, johnson & johnson, bnsf railway, financial services firm raymond james, the william and flora hewlett foundation for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. >> supporting social educators and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems, school foundation.org, and with

the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ this is pbs newshour west from w eta studios washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

>> "the king's gambit," this week on "firing line." a soviet-schooled chess prodigy who became the king of the game. >> kasparov wins. brilliant. the king's gambit unfurling. a soviet school chess prodigy who became king of the game. the world's number 1 player for two decades but lost to a supercomputer named deep blue. a pro democracy advocate. >> they arrest people everywhere start calling out vladimir putin and authoritarians around the world. >> i am a roaming target. >> now living in the united states as russia flexes military muscle, what does garry kasparov say now firing line with margaret hoover is made possible in part by: the margaret and daniel loeb foundation;