♪ judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. ballot battle -- should voting be more or less accessible? the u.s .senate takes on election reform in a contentious fight then rebuilding iraq -- much of mosul remains in ruins amid sluggish reconstruction efforts, years after the battle to retake the city from isis. and rethinking college -- tribal universities begin to recover from the pandemic that exacerbated their unique struggles to reach students. >> we were far behind in terms of the underlying infrastructure, the operating infrastructure, because the federal government has never lived up to its responsibility to adequately fund our tribal colleges.

judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. caregiver. eclipse chaser. a raymondjames financial advisor taylor's advice to help you live your life. life well planned. >> for 25 years consumer cellular has provided while her service to help people communicate and connect. we offer no contract plans and a customer service plan that can help you find one that fits you. >> johnson & johnson. bnsf railroad. ♪

>> the john s foundation. fostering communities. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: a major battle over election reform is underway in the u.s. senate. this comes as republicans in

some states push to enact more restrictive voting laws, while democrats in the senate aim to override those efforts at the federal level. lisa desjardins is following tonight's senate vote on capitol hill. she and yamiche alcindor join me now. lisa, what is underway. tell us where everything stands. >> this is a procedural vote, a vote to start the debate on the idea of election and voting rights reform. the truth is we expect this vote to fail. it needs 60 votes but it only has 50. it is important it does have 50 because this issue, judy, i cannot stress enough is one that both sides believe is critical to our democracy itself. the future of voting rights in this country. who can vote and who decides who can vote. vice president harris is in the chair for the vote.

what democrats are rallying around, all 50 of them, is a compromise by west virginia senator joe manchin. and hei s proposing something i will show you and a graphic what he is proposing. he is saying that in his deal, in his proposal he would like voter i.d. to be required across the country. that could be something that includes even a utility bill or driver's license. 15 days of early voting. automatic registration of voting. and in addition to that, it would ban partisan gerrymandering. in that idea from senator manchin are things that both sides like. republicans like more voter identification requirements. but the democrats want to make sure those are not too stringent so they ban access especially to lower income people are marginalized. judy, here is the thing to understand. democrats are trying to work out their own agreement with manchin. we know this entire debate will

be blocked. then they have to figure out next steps. but what they are doing tonight is an important statement. they want to show that they believe that voting rights in this country are in trouble, and they want to show that republicans on the other side. judy: yamiche, president biden has taken a lot of interest in this issue. what are white house official tell you about this. >> they are stressing that this fight over voting rights is not over. no matter what happens at the president will do everything you possibly can to protect democracy and naming pushing back on the voting laws. that comes as progressive democrats have been pushing the president to do more. today the president just tweeted out a few urs ago, this photo of him speaking to the senate majority leader chuck schumer. show the photo if we can. this is the president in the oval office. he has a strategy call going on underscore the idea the president wants to be seen as engaged in this fight over this voting rights bill.

the biden administration also released a statement. it says " democracy is imperil here in america. this landmark legislation is needed to ensure the integrity of our election, repair and strengthen american democracy." i want to go back to this idea of the pressure the white house is facing. progressive democrats are saying president biden is not using his bully pulpit in a way that could have more impact. they want to see more speeches and more action. the white house says the president is doing all he can. he gave a speech in tulsa talking about voting rights. they are saying we are trying our best. on the other hand they've been talking to civil rights leaders all day. they want to see two things. first is the department of justice. we want to see them looking at those laws being passed by state legislatures and possibly take action. they also want to see president biden accelerate nominating

judicial nominees, judges on the courts because they see that as a first line of defense. all of this is happening for the white house is watching this closely. and still staying engaged the vice president and the president will be working with a lot of groups. judy: so, given that stance from the white house, lisa, what are democrats planning to do after they lose this vote, which they are expected to do, and what effect could this have on the senate rule called the filibuster which requires them to get 60 votes they do not have? lisa: this is the big question hanging over the senate and democrats now. first on the voting rights act, democrats are talking about potentially breaking it into smaller pieces, taking separate votes on different chunks of this very expensive -- extensive proposal. having their democrats vote yes and forcing republicans to vote no. republicans see this as a state versus federal issue. and federal overreach. but it is opening the door to a bigger conversation about the filibuster, which is also part

of the pressure on democrats. progressives think it is time for the filibuster to go. but, when you, talk to senate democrats , i did a survey, they're only 24 of the 50 democrats who openly say they will perform a filibuster. the rest are interested in it. and there are two important people opposed to it. senator joe manchin and senator sinema of arizona. without those two senators that has no chance. right now they are both hard no's. this is the opening salvo in a long conversation. judy: a long conversation, for sure. lisa from the capitol. thank you both. we turn now to two senators on either side of this debate. i spoke with them earlier this evening before the vote. and i began with senator john thune of south dakota. he is the second highest ranking republican in the senate.

thank you very much for joining us. what is your view of this new compromise voting rights measure, with so much input from senator joe manchin of west virginia, who's been working relentlessly to come up with something that republicans can support? senator thune: i give joe credit, judy. he is trying his best but it starts with a very difficult premise for republicans and that is that it requires the federal government essentially to take over elections from the states. and republicans i think, as you know, are very supportive of state sovereignty. elections have been conducted by the states since our country's inception. and we believe it works there. we believe this legislation is a solution in search of a problem. there isn't anything out there. highest turnout in 2020 since the year 1900. 120 years in american history.

and states are, as they always are, most years, looking for ways to improve and strengthen election integrity and security. some of those ways it sounds like are, are running against the grain of democrats in washington. but i think most states are in the mainstream and making changes consistent with their laws, trying to improve people's ability to vote. want to make sure every legal vote is counted and that everybody has the opportunity to vote. we want to make sure we try to prevent cheating and elections. judy: senator, there are number things you race and want to ask you about. doesn't the constitution give the federal government control over federal elections? s senator thune: reduce back to time, place and manner but in terms of conduct of the election states have always done that. we have deferred to them. it has worked well. i think throughout our nation's history. the argument here is that we need this massive sort of

federal expansion of, you know, when it comes to polling in this country, election. in fact what you're seeing is a lot of states across the country are trying to strengthen and improve their elections process, which is consistent with the way it has always been done. judy: what we know is going on in fighting goods -- voting rights groups point this out that you now have republican-controlled state legislatures around the country that are trying to tighten and deny access to voters based on the false claim that the 2020 election was fraudulent, that actually president trump won. we know that is not true. why not try to take steps that will undo a falsehood? senator thune: i don't view it, i guess, that way. i've never second-guessed the outcome of the 2020 election. there are voters across this country who, i believe, do based

on statement that the former president had made. it's created a lot of distrust of our elections. i don't think that passing a partisan bill that federalize his or consolidates power in washington over elections is going to lessen that mistrust in our elections. frankly, i think the only way we are going to do that, judy, is to maintain clean elections in this country. i don't know how having washington administer elections does that. judy: is it fair to say republicans believe in fewer people voter? democrats believe in more people voting? >> that is not true. we want everybody who can cast a ballot and encourage people to vote. we want those who are legal to vote legally. we want to discourage people from voting illegally or cheating in elections. but we want everybody to vote. this is not about fewer people voting for it i think the democrats do believe that if, if they, some of these changes that they are intending to make tip the playing field to their advantage, they create a

partisan advantage on the sec for example. they have taxpayer financing of elections. they require in some cases the irs to look at tax-exempt organizations and determine whether or not they agree with what their objectives are before they allow them to have the tax status that they would get under wise - -otherwise under the law. there are a lot of changes that are fundamentally designed to skew the playing field in favor democrats. judy: quickly. i want to ask about infrastructure. is it your sense that you are close to some kind of an agreement on that and how to pay for it? senator thune: i think we are close. this is an issue on which there is room for bipartisan agreement. this is an issue that should be bipartisan. the, located part is to pay for it. the details do matter. i think there is a structure out there that a number of republicans and democrats ha endorsed. directionally, i think it is moving in the right direction. but filling in the details is

going to be important. we're able to work with the white house. ultimately it has to be something the president will be willing to sign into law. i'm all for putting together a package that could attract a big vote in the senate and in the house, get signed by the president. i think infrastructure is something the american people do expect us to be working on. and frankly, would rather we would be working on that than an election bill that puts washington in charge of theirs elections in this country. judy: senator john thune. . good to have you with us and now for a democrats point of view, i'm joined by california senator alex padilla. he served as california's secretary of state during the 2020 presidential election. senator padilla welcome back to the "newshour." what do you say them to the main republican argument that this bill would be a federal takeover of elections?: >> nothing could be further from

the truth. the first thing i would say is let's speak the truth. with the passage of s.1 we're hoping to establish a baseline of voter protections and access to the ballot for all eligible voters in america. what the republicans are trying to suggest is that it's a federal takeover of election is not true. there would still be state and local governments responsible for administering elections but here's the big question -- what are they afraid of? today's vote is simply a procedural vote to allow for discussion for debate about voting rights. and people's participation in our democracy and they cannot even bring themselves to support that. judy: the argument they make repeatedly as we just heard from senator thune, the argument is that this would be a federal takeover, which they say is traditionally not the way the elections are run. but the other argument, we hear them making is that there was the biggest turn out ever for this last presidential election. why are democrats trying to make

it possible for so many more people to vote when so many have already voted as we sa last november? senator padilla: plenty of precedent for o congress to protect the integrity of elections. the national voter registration act and more. as far as, compared to 2020, which was by and large, a successful election but they cannot have it both ways. on the one hand they will say that things worked well in 2020. we do not need to change yet they stand by while state legislatures across the country are changing the rules to make it harder for eligible voters to register to vote, to stay register to vote and to actually cast their ballot. that's why we need these reforms. judy: senator we heard not just center thune -- senator thune, but republicans saying that this is all about democrats trying to make a partisan, democrats know

what you are trying to do by making it easier for some people to vote who may be marginally qualified or not, that you believe this will help democrats. in other words, you are driven by politics. c senator padilla: this is not about democrat versus republican. any eligible voters should be able to register, stay registered vote, not be purged, and be able to cast their ballot. one of the reasons i am passionate about this is because for the prior six years i served as california's secretary of state. the reforms we are asking for, online voter registration, automatic voter registration, same-day registration, more vote by mail are reforms i helped implement in in california. record turnout in 2020 despite the covid-19 pandemic and minimal, minimal administrative

issues and frankly zero evidence of massive voter fraud. this voter fraud concern as a pretext for republicans to make it harder for marginalized communities to be able to participate in our democracy. let the people vote. let us have a debate and stop favoring multinational corporations and the wealthy families of america. that is what the republican party is going to bat for. judy: let's talk in practical terms. even if you get every single democrat on board for this vote you have 50 votes. it looks as if all 50 republicans are against that. that means you do not pass. you need 60 votes according to the senate rules. you don't have that. what do democrats do once this go down -- goes down which it is expected to do? senator padilla: what are republicans afraid of? the people deserve to know which party it is which is going to bat for the fundamental right to vote in which one is trying to suppress the vote. the fight does not end today.

we will continue to try and discuss, trying to negotiate and find other ways to advance these proposals, because our right to vote is that important. in the meantime, thank the biden administration and the attorney general merrick garland for committing additional resources to litigate if necessary, to defend our right to vote and access to the ballot. judy: speaking of senate rules, it is known as the filibuster. in order to change that, democrats would have to come together, even democrats don't have enough votes right now to change the rule. my question again is where democrats go? if you cannot get this done in washington, are you looking at going state-by-state, or what? senator padilla: we may be another step closer to iminating or at least reforming the filibuster for the sake of our democracy. this is what has happened this year alone. earlier, after the deadly,

insurrection of january 6 republicans would not stand up to the very important notion of a peaceful transition of power. now they are ducking the debate about supporting a fundamental rights to vote. so, too much is at stake. we are going to keep pressing on. judy: senat padilla of california, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. ♪ stephanie: we turn to judy woodruff and the rest of the show after these headlines. updating our top story on voting rights, republicans have blocked democratic efforts in the u.s. senate to overhaul election and voting laws. the final vote was 50-50 with republicans united in opposition. in a statement this evening president biden called it "the suppression of the bill to end voter suppression and vowed the fight is not over.

the pentagon is one step closer to how -- to changing the way the military handles sexual assault cases. lloyd austin said his agency would work with congress to move prosecution of sex assault from the military chain of command. we will dig into the details later in the program. thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the u.s. will get a second chance. the houma security department says the shift affts at least 40,000 people whose claims were turned aside in the trump era. the associated press reports that starting tomorrow, they are eligible to wait in the u.s. -- instead of mexico -- while their cases are heard. the white house acknowledged today that president biden will miss his goal of vaccinating 70 percent of american adults -- with at least one shot -- by july fourth. instead, officials said they expect to hit that mark a few weeks later. the white house "covid" task force said younger people -- 18 to 26 years old -- are the biggest challenge. >> the reality is many younger

americans have felt like covid-19 is not something that impacts them and they've been less eager to get the shot. however with the delta variant now spreading across the country, and infecting younger people worldwide. it's more important than ever that they get vaccinated. stephanie: more than 16 states have vaccinated 70 percent of their adult populations. but many states, especially across the south and the midwest, are lagging. did more than 150 hospital employees have resigned or been fired after refusing to get the vaccine. a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over a vaccine requirement at houston methodist, a decision the hospital workers are appealing. the case is believed to be the first of its kind in the u.s. over whether hospitals can force workers to be vaccinated against covid. it turns out some 900 u.s. secret service employees tested positive for "covid-19" from march 2020 to march 2021.

records show about half were agents protecting the president and vice president, their families and other officials. the group "citizens for responsibility and ethics in washington" obtained the records. polls have close to new york city where voters cast ballots today in primary elections for mayor. the campaign focused largely on crime and recovery from the pandemic. democrats chose from among 13 candidates, while republicans had two. winners will face off in the general election this fall. it could be july before the democratic nominee emerges -- due in part to a new, ranked-choice voting system. in california a federal appeals court panel has blocked a lower court ruling that overturned the state's ban on assault weapons. monday's appeals court action means the assault weapons ban remains in effect as legal proceedings continue. the chair of the federal reserve acknowledged today that inflation is running hotter than expected -- but he said again, it is likely to recede.

it is likely to be temporary. jerome powell appeared at a hearing of the u.s. house oversight committee, and argued again, the spike is temporary. >> these are factors that will wane over time and then inflation will move down toward our goals. we'll be monitoring that carefully. of course, we're prepared to use our tools as appropriate if that turns out not to be the case, to guide inflation to 2%. stephanie: the fed is now predicting a3-point-4 percent increase in prices for this year. the united states today seized and took down roughly 3 dozen websites linked to iran. the justice department confirmed the seizures tied to disinformation and first -- efforts and included the arabic and english language state tv channels, among others. regulators in the european union have launched a new anti-trust investigation into google. they're looking at whether the company favors its own ad-buying services and restricts rivals. the e.u. already fined google

nearly $10 billion dollars in 3 other cases. australia says it will oppose listing the "great barrier reef" -- off its northeast coast -- as endangered. a u.n. committee proposed that change monday, citing climate change. any downgrade of the reef's status could cut tourism revenue. still to come on the "newshour", tribal universities begin a long recovery from the pandemic. what it means to see the first openly gay active nfl player and more. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour west. from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: it has been seven years since the islamic state declared

its so-called "caliphate" from a mosque in mosul, iraq's second largest city. a punishing iraqi and american military campaign routed isis from there in 2017, while leveling large swathes of the city. now, special correspondent leila molana-allen and videographer adrian hartrick look at the slow and agonizing task of rebuilding mosul. >> centuries of history, annihilated in a few short months. it was from this spot in mosul's 12th century al-nuri mosque that isis leader abu bakr al-baghdadi announced the group's self-proclaimed caliphate seven years ago. their reign of terror here and the fight to defeat them claimed thousands of lives and would leave the ancient city pounded into dust. four yea aftrs the battle to retake the city, much of west mosul remains in ruins, an unknown number of bodies beneath the rubble, exactly how many people died in the assault here is still unclear. part of the city is starting to get back on its feet, with work focused on the old city's historic sites. the mosque complex is being rebuilt, as is the neighbouring

square that's home to four ancient churches; a reminder that mosul was once famed as a safe haven of religious diversity. this square became famous when the pope came here to preach of renaissance from amidst the ruins. but it also put a spotlight on how much work there still is to be done. these moslawis, working with unesco, the u.n. agency that works to preserve culture, are doing everything they can to restore their home to its former glory, and save as much history as possible, starting with nearly 3,000 original stones gathered from the ruins of al-tahera church. so you're collecting these and trying to save as many of these stones as you can to build them back into the church? anas: exactly. >> isis used this historic christian complex as the headquarters of the al hisbah, the religious police. the armenian church became a jail, with prisoners put on

trial by the syriac catholic altar for breaking their draconian laws here. now those rebuilding the city hope they can bring back peaceful coexistence too. imad el-ahad fled before isis even arrived, when al qaeda blew up his local church more than a decade ago. now he's one of the first christians hoping to return to the city where he was born and raised. imad: it's evident by the pope's visit that security here got better. hopefully, christians will no longer be persecuted. >> around the corner, the reconstructed old city market is coming back to life too. mohammad abou saad has run this coffee stand for a decade. as the souq's old stone alleys regain their buzz, he has customers again, though with the city's economy struggling, they've little to spend. mohammad: the market is doing alright, it's developing bit by bit. in time, it'll be how it was. people are still penniless, so it's taking time.

>> a few steps away, it's easy to see why -- a jarring contrast to the shiny new souq, much of the old city still lies in ruins. a flurry of action in anticipation of the pope's visit saw rubble that had lined the streets for years finally swept away. but frustrated locals say as soon as the papal convoy left, so did the authorities. imad khudra: there's no reconstruction in mosul, it's all just promises. they claim they'll rebuild, and nothing. >> imad and his family fled their home in the old city after years under isis rule, when his son was injured by shrapnel from a mortar during the battle. his son is too traumatised to go back to their ruined neighbourhood, where they'd live amongst rubble; imad now works 15-hour days in a pizza parlour to pay the rent on a house in east mosul. imad khudra: i can never take my son back to that area again or else he'd breakdown. >> the old city suffered some of the worst destruction in the battle to rid mosul of isis.

a lot of time, money and effort was put in to level this place to the ground. but many who live here say the same can't be said for the efforts to rebuild it. laith still lives amidst the battered stones and broken bodies of the community his has lived in and loved all his life. the fall of the destruction is the result of airstrikes. laith: all of it due to airstrikes, mortars, and cannons, all of it. leila: do you believe there are dead bodies here? laith: absolutely, i unearthed a few corpses myself. >> laith and his family, as well as seven other families they took in, only survived the seven month long siege and assault that flattened his neighbourhood thanks to the solid stones of this ancient cellar. they nearly starved, and they were all badly injured when rockets pounded the house, but unlike so many others here, they lived. laith returned home 3years ago,

after an ngo helped him rebuild his house. he says little has changed here since then, and any work that has been done is by charities and locals, with no help from the authorities. laith: it's been four years since we were liberated, four years since isis left, and the government hasn't been here for us. we're all enraged by the government because it's criminal, shameful. >> reconstruction is just one of the many challenges isis' short but devastating occupation of mosul has left in its wake. while the group may have been pushed out, they left a deadly trail behind them. the u.n. estimates it could take up to a decade to clear all the explosives isis planted behind them as they left. wayne lomax is an international demining expert who's been training local teams to clear leftover explosives. what's the risk as time goes on? wayne: how long can a battery last? a lot of the ied's i pull out of the ground still have perfectly viable batteries. one thing we know about isis is they were very clever in their ied manufacturing.

>> the team says this site is a pinprick in the overall land area they need to clear; it's a painstaking process. but people here, already struggling to rebuild their lives after years of fear and pain, can't wait. they need to return to their homes and livelihoods. families have been maimed and killed by hidden ieds while picking up the pieces of their destroyed houses, and at work, too. agriculture is the main form of employment in the district, and that leaves workers vulnerable moving over large open spaces perfect for hiding explosives. basel knows what explosives like these can do to the human body. three years ago his truck drove over an ied planted by isis on the road to his crop fields. basel: i was in a complete daze after we got to the hospital, i still didn't realize they had had to amputate my legs. >> he can't walk far on his painful prosthetic legs. unable to work, he can't support his three young children. they survive on handouts from the community. much of the area still hasn't been cleared. knowing the

danger, farmers here only go to their fields when absolutely necessary. the risk is high, but what other choice do they have? basel: yes there is fear, because isis remnants are still all around and waiting to blow up any second. it's so dangerous when you have to go to the field, you can't guarantee you'll make it out alive. >> and those remnants are almost everywhere. it took the u.n. demining agency 18 months to clear hundreds of abandoned artillery and explosives just from this one site, al shifaa hospital which was once the country's second most advanced. >> theatre some of the explosives were removed from here. >> the explosive threat makes every aspect of reconstruction slow going; including bringing back essential basic services like water and electricity. >> it's an enemy that will never sleep, that will continue to be

theruntil removed by someone. >> rebuilding has now been happening for longer than isis held the area, but there is so much left to do. laith isn't sure his home can ever be what it was. laith: it's a horrible sight, it brings tears to your eyes. you used to open the front door and your neighbor would pop up in front of you, your brother here, your cousin there. there's no neighborhood anymore, we reminisce about everyone who used to sit out here on these streets. reminisce about the faces of those who died. our days are just are 24 long hours of memories. >> after so much pain, he is home, such as it is. laith knows he'll never leave again. with no help in sight, his memories will have to be enough. for the pbs newshour, i'm leila molana-allen in mosul, iraq. ♪ judy: tribal colleges and universities are often located in remote areas and are more likely to serve older and

low-income american indian students, ma of whom lack access to basic necessities like internet and running water. that's made learning during the pandemic especially difficult. and as stephanie sy reports, it's forced school administrators to find new ways of meeting their students' needs. this is part of our ongoing series, "rethinking college." >> sometimes i'll have lte through here. stephanie: 34-year-old dee james and i are on the hunt for a cell phone connection in northwest new mexico near her home on the navajo nation. >> i got one bar, but you get nothing there. no. steph: definitely not enough for a zoom call. how long are we without signal now? dee: until we get a little further up. stephanie: this drive has become routine for james since the beginning of the pandemic, when navajo technical university, where she studies business

administrationâclosed its campus and moved classes online. steph: just right here off off the side of the road at a park. all right. she pulls up to the side of the road, not for the view, but for the signal strength, enough to do her online homework and join zoom calls. dee: i've got two bars. steph: and that's money for you. dee: and that's, yep. stephanie: digital dead zones are a common problem in the remote navajo nation. over 50% of residents lack broadband internet altogether and those that have it, pay between 20 and 40 dollars more per month than in other parts of the country. james' home internet only works half the time. and one day last year, it all felt like too much. dee: i was on my way to work and i got to the stop sign down here. i had called my sister and i told her i'm done. i can't do this, i'm tired. stephanie: james' problems are common among the nearly 22 thousand tribal college students in the u.s. in addition to not having internet, half work to support

themselves and their families while going to school. a majority are food insecure and more than two-thirds were housing insecure even before the pandemic. that instability contributes to tribal colleges' low graduation rate -- just 19%. add in the pandemic, and tribal colleges have seen an 11 percent drop in freshmen enrollment, with more rural schools seeing drops as high as 30%. dr. guy: it was a challenge. it was sad. stephanie: elmer guy is the president of navajo tech in crownpoint, new mexico, one of the largest of the 37 tribal colleges and universities in the u.s. he says when the pandemic hit, the administration gave students federal aid for to pay for food and transportation. it also scrambled to keep students plugged in. dr. guy: we were trying to figure out ways to keep our students connected we paid for their internet for three months. we made a deal with the telecoms, they gave us a

discount. stephanie: they've since installed hotspots in parking lots like this one. students can drive here and log onto their zoom classes in their cars. some students drive hours just to get reliable internet. tribal colleges across the country have been making similar changes. nebraska indian community college used covid-19 funding to set up wifi towers across two reservations. red lake nation college in minnesota gave its students cell phones and hotspots. and dine college in arizona is building microsites off the main campus as way to reach more students where they are. billy: we were far behind in terms of the underlying infrastructure, the operating infrastructure, because the federal government has never lived up to its responsibility to adequately fund our tribal colleges. stephanie: carrie billy, a member of the navajo nation, is the president and ceo of the american indian higher education consortium. she says pandemic relief funding--including 1 billion dollars earmarked for

expanding broadband infrastructure in native communities--has been a boon for tribal colleges, but it doesn't close the gap. billy: without that sustained investment assistance, families, individual students aren't going to be able to afford internet at home. but there also needs to be an investment in infrastructure and facilities, in dorms and cafeterias and in health centers. stephanie: with many students and staff now vaccinated, science labs, the innovative vet tech program and other hands-on learning are restarting at navajo tech, as are some of the traditional gatherings that make native colleges about more than academics. navajo tech recently brought back small healing ceremonies for students. on the campus "hooghan," which in navajo means home, a staff member and medicine woman guides twila largo in prayer.

during a chaotic time, these ceremonies offer students like largo an opportunity to reestablish harmony with the world around them -- a key tenet of navajo culture. twila: you can't think negative when you're in a ceremony. [00:08:51] you feel that peace, you feel that comfort in your heart. stephanie: navajo technical university provost colleen bowman says this is what makes tribal colleges unique. bowman: we're responding to the needs of the community. and as diverse as our navajo communities are, there's brilliance everywhere. there's struggle everywhere. we take it all. stephanie: as for dee james' struggles, she persevered, and now that she's able to go to campus more often to work and study, she's confident she'll complete her degree later this year. she also knows some things will never return to the way they were. dee: we did lose my uncle to covid unfortunately.

i mean, it really impacted me and my family. stephanie: the navajo nation became an epicenter during the pandemic and students and staff here at navajo technical university were trying to stay on track even as they faced incalculable losses to the tribe. in the final weeks of the spring semester, navajo tech students, including james, gathered to remember the loved ones they lost to the virus, writing their names on white balloons, then, releasing them. dee: at some point in time, when you lose someone, you know, you can't hold onto them forever. you have to be able to let them go. stephanie: provost bowman al still grieving the loss of several family members says the hardships have only fortified the mission of tribal colleges. bowman: it may have hurt us, knocked the wind out of us for a while, but we're still here. and through education, that's

the only way that we're going to get better and understand what happened to us and try to prevent it from happening again. all across the country, all tribal colleges and universities have that. they have that power. the've had it all along. stephanie: always the power to survive -- now, with an infusion of funding and attention, perhaps, a chance to thrive. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy in crownpoint, new mexico. ♪ judy: the pentagon is embracing a major reform aimed at stamping out sexual assault in the military. tonight defense secretary lloyd austin issued a statement endorsing a change recommended by victim advocates -- that would reduce commanders' influence over the decision to

prosecute service members accused of sexual assault. nick schifrin has more. >> the pentagon estimates there could be as many as 20-thousand sexual assaults in the military every year. right now, military commanders decide whether service members under their command, should be prosecuted. an independent commission recommended removing the chain of command from that decision making process. but until tonight, the defense department resisted that. for more on secretary austin's endorsement of that recommendation, we turn to retired colonel don christenson, who had a 23 year career as an air force lawyer, and is now president of protect our defenders, an advocacy group. welcome back to "newshour". how to begin is this announcement? >> this is the first time in the history of the american military they have recognized that they are failing at addressing assault. that is a command issue. and that we need to take prox accused and away from

commanders. >> as you well know, this has been resisted by members of the military at the most senior levels for many years. i have here the same from military members as well. what changed and why was that resistance so common? >> well, what is changes there has been a decade of failure. for the last 10 years, the military has promise commanders will address the issue. but the numbers have not gotten better, they have gotten worse. sexual assault remains above 20,000 every year. the number of convictions have plummeted. i think the murder of vanessa -- really highlighted the problems that men and women are facing in the military when it comes to getting justice. >> this recommendation applies for questions for prosecution of sex assault as well as domestic abuse. there is congressional legislation that calls for the removal of the cheney command for felonies.

is that distinction important? >> well, it's important in the sense that we recommend, you have to remember the i.r.c. did not look at anything beyond those issues. we should take it with a grain of salt. independent commission did not look at other issues such as murder and armed robbery. but i think it is not in consistent with what senator gillibrand and representative spear have been pushing to have all selling level cases taken outside the chain of command. nick: the statement from secretary austin says they will work with congress to reform the rules. as you mentioned before, the number of prosecutions is a fraction of the number of cases. is this likely to increase the number of prosecutions? >> well,i believe it will. prosecuting and understanding

how to prosecute sexual assault is a complex area. it takes so many years as a prosecutor to understand, the best way to evaluate evidence the best cases to bring forward. the current system of having commanders decide -- jags is not getting the right cases to trial. i think this will be a culture shift and illegal shift that results in more people going to trial in more convictions. nick: that cultural shift, that legal shift. i wonder if you can respond to what many commanders argue. in the past, which is that they and only they are the best people to judge what is happening in their units? >> well, you have to understand that the vast majority of commanders do not have prosecution authority anyway. the ability to send a felony level case is vested in a small fraction of commanders. there are 14,500 commanders. only about 140 send cases to felony level courts.

the other thing you have to remember is that senior jags have been making the decisions are career military officers who have served in units, who understand what a unit is facing. they are officers just as much as a commander is. nick: don christiansen tonight on a major announcement from the secretary of defense. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. ♪ judy: it may be surprising to realize in 2021 that carl nassib's decision to come out yesterday makes him the first active player in the nfl's history to do so. but, as amna nawaz tells us, that tells us something about what some athletes have faced until now. >> judy, other nfl players have come out before but after they retired or left the game. some years ago, draft pick michael sam announced he was gay

before he made the team, but was cut at the end of training camp. carl nassib, however, is a five-year veteran defensive lineman of the league. he plays for the las vegas raiders. here is part of how he chose to let people know carl nassib: i just want to take a quick moment to say that i'm gay. i've been meaning to do this for a while now. but i finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest. i just think that representation and visibility are so important. i actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary. >> let's talk about the signficance of what nassib has done and what others have faced. lz granderson is a sports columnist with the los angeles times, a contributor to e-s-p-n and the host of podcast on abc, "life out loud". lz welcome back and thanks for bein ghere. when you heard it what was your reaction i started crying. >> i've been telling everyone. i was working out, changing song

on my phone and saw bulleting. -- i saw a bulletin. i did a search to make sure not a joke and wasn't hacked and once i confirmed, i cried. >> i do you think you had such a strong reaction? >> that's what humans are supposed to do when dreams ocme -- come true. i was expressing tears of joy. i related to a lot of people seeing harris elected in terms of those dealing with sexism racism, for those of us in intersection of sports orientation and politics. we've all been waiting for a man to come out in big 4 sports so i wept when i heard

because my dreams came true. >> we have to mention michael sam. it was just seven years ago. did not end up having a career. very late in the draft as i remember. when he left, see -- he said there was too much of a mental health burden. coming out and trying to have a career. would we have carl nassib today if we had not had michael sam seven years ago? >> it's hard to tell. everyone likes to use phrase we're standing on shoulders of giants. but we are not all standing on the same shoulders. we don't know if sam created space that made carl feel better, might've been someone in a different walk of life. and he just felt compelled to come out because of the individual for a different walk of life. we don't know if came across a book from the 1970's. i believe the first nfl player to come out in retirement.

and enough that he was -- and announced he was gay in his book. without talking to him we do not actually really know which path that led him to this space. but to larger point takes a lot of tiny steps to get to equality. >> there are others -- rohrer asked him about his reaction. >> i thought it was amazingly well said and spoken, very compelling. being the first active player to come out in the nfl is a huge step for all of america actually. it's a very very macho sport and he is helping tear down a wall that's been there f the history, for the history of the nfl. >> he is calling it macho sport

says he's tearing down wall do you agree? >> i think the construction of wall and tearing down is still a work in progress. remember, this is the all s season. we still need training camp. he still needs to go on road, be part of games in which they lose nad fans maybe respond in a different way. i'm not trying to downplay but to put in context. this was very important, i was emotional, but i also know that beyond getting through door is stay in the building. we need to speak -- to be supportive to make sure he stays there. >> lgbt identification is up in

america. a new high of 5.6% of all american adults. when you compare that to where attitudes are in the sports world, where are they? >> it depends on which gender you are referring to. it depends on which sport you're talking about. i'm not trying to split hairs or duck question but reality is we tend to be way more accepting of women who come out than men. we expect men in certain sports to be straight more so than in other sports. to use a stereotype. if a figure skater were to come out we wouldn't have same response as a nfl or nba player comes out. so it's still on a case by case -- let's you know how varied acceptance may be in sports and how misogyny plays out. >> mention there is an uncertain road ahead. what do you think the impact of

carl nassib's message is on the broader male sports world? >> first of all, he is got me cheering for raiders for first time. when you juxtapose his coming out to 250 anti lgbt what you are realizing is that this fight for equality is is far form over. i'm very hopfeul that more will join him but shouldn't be misconstrued as watershed moment and now we can move on. it's another step in a long journey >> thank you so much. host of the podcast life out loud. always good to see you.

judy: that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online. for all of us of the pbs newshour, stay safe and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. financial services firm raymond james. bnsf railway. carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovationsn education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. the target foundation. committed to advancing racial equity and creating the change required to shift systems and accelerate equitable economic opportunities. and with the ongoing support of

these institutions. 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 weta studios in 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.]

>> pati narrates: there's something so romantic about travelling by train, isn't there? the sounds of the tracks, the swaying cars, watching the scenery change through the window. years ago, when my boys were really little boys, we took one of our all-time- favorite family vacations: a ride on the rails on the chepe express, a one week journey from the breathtaking copper canyon to the end of the line, los mochis, sinaloa. today i'm going to relive a part of that ride and i'm taking you with me. one of my favorite parts of that trip was the food on that train, especially the breakfast. from the fresh-squeezed orange juice to the pressed coffee, to the crispy chilaquiles. >> alan: this is so good! >> pati narrates: so in honor of the chepe,