captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: tragic collapse. emergency crews continue searching the rubble for those still missing, as the surfside, florida community grieves the lives lost. then, leaving afghanistan. the withdrawal of u.s. troops paints a grim and uncertain future for the country, as afghan leaders meet with president biden. we talk to a taliban spokesperson. plus: >> i want to give my condolences to the floyd family. >> woodruff: sentenced. derek chauvin is given 22.5 years in prison for george floyd's murder, as the country continues to grapple with a racial reckoning.

>> my family and i have been given a life sentence. we will never be able to get george back. >> woodruff: and, it's friday. david brooks and jonathan capehart consider the administration's push to curtail violent crime, and the future of the bipartisan infrastructure deal. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ >> fidelity wealth management. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the john s. and james l.

knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.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. >> woodruff: it has been another long day of watching and waiting, just outside miami, where a residential building caved in early thursday. officials have confirmed four are dead, with 159 still unaccounted for-- leaving families clinging to hope.

stephanie sy has our report. >> sy: it's been over 24 hours since part of the 12-story champlain towers condominium collapsed in surfside, florida. search and rescue crews spent last night and all day today methodically combing through concrete and twisted metal, eyes and ears alert for potential survivors. miami-dade county mayor daniella levine cava says it's risky work. >> we are going to work as hard as we can to continue our search and rescue effort. that is our priority. that is where we're focused. and protecting our first responders who are on the scene. >> sy: the crews started in the flooded basement parking garage of the building, trying to tunnel upward, into the wreckage. the disaster has touched people from many countries and communities, united by hope that missing relatives will be found alive. >> it's unbelievable. everything comes to your mind,

except positive things. you just believe in god and let god guide to this. >> it's a struggle. we are praying every minute. we are hopeful that she's there alive and we're going to see her soon, be able to hold her hand and kiss her. and we love her so much and we're going to see her soon. >> sy: president biden commented on the situation, before commemorating pride month at the white house. >> we sent the best people from fema down there. we're going to stay with them, when the disaster declaration we made provides for everything from housing to, god forbid, whether there is a need for a moritoria, for the bodies to be placed. everything in between. it's a tough, tough time. there are so many people waiting. are they alive? are they-- what will happen? so, our hearts go out to them. >> sy: back in surfside, florida, governor ron desantis promised the cause of the building's collapse will be

identified. >> we ed a definitive explanation for how this could have happened, and that's an explanation that needs to be an accurate explanation. it's an explanation that we don't want to get wrong, obviously, but at the same time, i do think it's important that it's timely. >> sy: mayor charles burkett said they need answers-- but the more urgent priority is getting to possible survivors. >> those buildings should have never fallen down. buildings like that don't fall down in america. this is a first-world country. that doesn't happen here. there is something very wrong-- but that's for another day. today, we are going to save lives. that's what we are going to do. >> sy: and for the latest, i'm joined by patricia mazzei, miami bureau chief for the "new york times." she's in surfside, florida, covering the ongoing search and rescue operation. patricia, thank you for being with us. you know, governor desantis described the scene there as traumatic. you're on the ground. how would you describe it?

>> it is devastating to see. you don't expect a building to have half of its apartments sort of sheered off. it looks like an earthquake or a bomb. i mean, not the sort of thing you expect to happen, as one survivor put it, your building. this is the lady who saw the apartment next to her gone. she said everything up to my apartment, everything else was gone. they thought it was a earthquake, so they left the building and then they realized it was just part of their building that had fallen down. it's truly shocking. >> reporter: so fema were called in. what is currently going on with the search and rescue effort and how intense is it? >> it is massive in terms of the number of people we have seen roll in here, convoys of state emergency workers from the city of miami, from every local

municipality, from other counties in the state, the big task forces that fema runs. but there are limitations and challenges. when you are working in the tunnels, underground, and the drilling through concrete and then seeing how much more you can drill using specialized cameras to see where the space is to shore up the area, using specialistenning equipment to see if you can hear any kind of life, and that's not just voices, it's tapping, scratching, the movement of metal, any kind of movement that indicates someone might be in there. then you have to battle the element. it is not a nice day with an owns breeze. there have been intermittent thunderstorms that have hampered the ability of the crews. there's so much humidity, every time there is a fire, and we've seen several that happened when

the debris shifts, every time there's a fire, the smoke lingers and the rain comes down and affects breathing. so it's a compcated scene and not an optimal condition to be working in. >> reporter: what is the mood there, patricia? and as more time passes, without more survivors being rescued, have you seen that mood change? >> the relatives of the people who are missing have grown increasingly from you strayed. at first, they seemed frustrated because they couldn't visually see with the naked eye from afar the movement of the crews, that's because they were working underground. now there is more heavy machinery and more movement above ground. but u understand people who are desperate, they sort of wanted to go in themselves and move the rubble with their own bare hands. and what the authorities say is that it is very precarious and dangerous work and that it has to be done slowly and methodically. but, of course, as every hour

passes, people are less and less hopel. >> reporter: and we should say that the medical examer identified the first victim, a mother. patricia mazzei of the "new york times," what a wait for those folks. thank you for joining us with the latest. >> thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin is now facing 22.5 years in prison for the murder of george floyd. the 45-year-old chauvin was sentenced today in state court. he still faces a federal trial, on charges that he violated floyd's civil rights. we will return to this, later in the program. the u.s. justice department has gone to court, charging that georgia's new election law denies equal access to black voters.

attorney general merrick garland announced a federal lawsuit today. he said that officials are also analyzing similar laws being passed in republican-led states that tighten voting rules. >> this lawsuit is the first of many steps we are taking to ensure that all eligible voters can cast a vote, that all lawful votes are counted, and that every voter has access to accurate information. >> woodruff: georgia's republican governor, brian kemp, accused the biden administration of pushing "lies and misinformation." the u.s. supreme court ruled today that alaska natives are eligible for federal pandemic relief funds. some $8 billion has been earmarked for tribal governments the court found alaskan native corporations do qualify as indian tribes. they provide benefits and services to more than 100,000

people. a bipartisan infrastructure deal has hit a major road hazard. republicans doubled down today on charges that president biden reneged on the nearly $1 trillion compromise, right after he announced it. that is because he insisted he will not sign anything unless congress also passes his other priorities, worth $6 trillion. the white house says mr. biden always made clear that he wants both bills. vice president harris visited the u.s. southern border today, for the first time since taking office. she is overseeing the migrant issue, and has drawn criticism for not going to the border sooner. today, she toured a border patrol facility in el paso, texas, and later, she argued that the migrant problem are about much more than politics. >> we're talking about children, we're talking about families, we're talking about suffering. anour approach has to be thoughtful and effective. and we can take all of these

perspectives into account and have meaningful, good public policy, if we just stop the rhetoric and the finger-pointing and do what we need to do. reuters reported more than 1 million arrests of migrants at the border since october. the tally for this fiscal year will be the most since 2000. president biden marked pride president biden marked pride month today with a series of initiatives on l.g.b.t.q rights. he named a special state department envoy to focus on the subject. and, he signed a bill that designates the pulse, a gay nightclub in orlando, florida, as a national memorial. 49 people died there in a 2016 mass shooting. congress has approved reinstating limits on methane emissions from oil and gas drilling. democrats pushed it through the u.s. house of representatives today. it overturns president trump's roll-back of a 2016 regulation.

president biden is expected to sign the measure. a record-breaking heat wave gripped the pacific northwest today. parts of washington state and oregon could see temperatures soar up to 30 degrees above normal through the weekend. many in the region lack air conditioning on account of the normally mild summers. and on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained 237 points to close at 34,433. the nasdaq fell nine points, and the s&p 500 was up 14. for the week, the dow gained nearly 3.5%. the nasdaq rose 2%, and the s&p 500 added 2.7%. still to come on the newshour: the withdrawal of u.s. troops paints a grim and uncertain future for afghanistan. what derek chauvin's sentencing means for this moment of racial reckoning.

the pentagon releases a report. and more. >> woodruff: today at the white house, president biden met with afghanistan's leaders, just weeks before the u.s. completes withdrawing almost all of its forces. there is a lot on the agenda: finalizing plans on how many u.s. troops to keep in the country, how to continue training afghan troops, and how to safely evacuate afghans who worked for the u.s. nick schifrin reports. >> schifrin: today at the white house, president biden vowed to keep fighting america's longest war-- just without u.s. troops. >> the partnership between afghanistan and the united states is not ending. it's going to be sustained. >> schifrin: flanked by afghan president ashraf ghani, and high council for national

reconciliation chairman dr. abdullah abdullah, president biden promised to confront afghanistan's third covid wave, by donating three million doses of johnson & johnson vaccine and badly-needed oxygen. and, he pledged support for afghanistan's government-- but with what an administration official called “tough love.” >> afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want. >> schifrin: president ghani compared today in afghanistan to the u.s. civil war. >> the afghan nation is an 1861 moment. like president lincoln. rallying to the defense of the republic, determined that the republic is defended. >> schifrin: but that's not going well. this week, afghan soldiers in multiple districts surrendered to the taliban, and taliban fighters have threatened two provincial capitals. the taliban also captured the tajikistan border crossing, and districts that could allow them to cut off the sole roads to kabul. on wednesday, the taliban released a statement declaring“ manifest victory and triumph.”

we interviewed taliban spokesman sohail shaheen earlier this week. do you believe that you've achieved victory? >> we are ending the war, and the afghans become as one, as one nation. so i think that is victory for the nation. but if you see at the angle that we and the united states achieved a solution through talks in the negotiation, that is, i think, a success for both sides. >> schifrin: the taliban say they still want a political settlement, in talks in doha. but the afghan government accuses the taliban of stalling, to try and win on the battlefield. there are taliban forces that got to the edge of kunduz city and maymana-- two provincial capitals. are you planning to try and seize those provincial capitals? >> right now, we do not have any intention of running those

capitals and taking them. a military takeover is not our policy. our policy is reaching a solution through talks and negotiation. >> schifrin: but afghan government negotiation members of the negotiating team, whom i speak to, accuse you of largely abandoning the talks and not taking them seriously. >> we say, come and please talk about the road map, political road map first, in order to reach a permanent solution. but they say we, first, we want a cease fire. they are rather interested in surrendering our side to them. but that is not a reconciliation. >> schifrin: are you willing to entertain a humanitarian ceasefire, especially with the third wave of covid killing so many afghans? >> it is it up to the negotiation team on both sides. >> schifrin: are you ready and willing to share power?

>> any solution can reach by both sides, they will be acceptable, acceptable to us. we want to enter a new phase of friendly relations with the u.s.a. in the reconstruction of afghanistan, and the reinvestment in the country. but if they still insist continuing the military approach, if they give them, this moribund administration, more money and ammunition, weapons, that means it will continue, will prolong the war. >> schifrin: why, if foreign forces have already agreed to leave, do the taliban continue to attack and kill your fellow afghans? >> those districts which have been falling to our forces in

the last few weeks, they are falling through negotiations, not through fighting. >> schifrin: but that's not true in all areas. just in the last few weeks, the taliban have killed dozens of u.s.-trained afghan commandos. when the taliban ruled afghanistan, they destroyed historic buddhist art, and hunted and executed minorities and women who didn't adhere to their version of islam. if the taliban were to come back into power, would you do that again? >> that is something for future, for the religious scholars. >> schifrin: and so that punishment could include public execution? >> so that will be seen. >> schifrin: the taliban have said more recently that you will allow some girls to go to school. what reassurance can you give the that you will follow through with that, when the taliban refused to allow that? >> all schools, that also includes girls schools, and all universities and offices, they

should remain open. so, that is clear they will have access to education. >> schifrin: the administration is currently negotiating with turkey, for turkish troops to secure the airport, initially with the assistance of u.s. soldiers. u.s. service members will also remain to guard the embassy. and the u.s. is completing plans on how to keep training afghan soldiers, and whether u.s. contractors will continue to help the afghan air force. the taliban reject the presence of all u.s. forces and contractors. >> if they remain or leave behind some forces, some residual forces, that means continuation of the occupation. >> schifrin: meanwhile thousands of afghans who have helped translate for and facilitate the u.s. war, are applying for u.s. visas. senior administration and congressional officials tell pbs newshour they are planning on evacuating some 17,000-- and perhaps more-- to u.s. territory. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: after president biden's meeting today with afghan leaders in the oval

office, we turn to our amna nawaz at the white house. so, hello, amna. what yore can you tell us about the president's meeting with these afghanistan leaders and how this administration is working through the security issues. >> reporter: well, judy, by all appearances, that meeting today between president biden and the president of afghanistan and the leader of the council abdullah abdullah, was all smiles, friendly atmosphere. president biden welcoming, as e called them, old friends to the white house. but it was tough because of underhiring issues because the u.s. negotiated the withdrawal with the taliban, not with those leaders. so the white house wanted to focus on the continuing support and what the enduring friendship with afghanistan looks like. they point to $260 million in humanitarianssistance, $3 billion in security assistance and 3 million doses to have the covid 19 vaccine also going to afghanistan, but the shadow over all this and the meeting to the white house is that deteriorating situation on

the ground, the government forces on the back foot and dire predictions about what could be ahead for the afghan government. i ask white house press secrsecretary general psaki thay continued troop presence would be seen as violation of the commitment to them. in a text message to our colleagues last night, it said even diplomatic presence would be seen as a violation and prolong war. the president has been very clear about this in public and negotiators have been very clear with the taliban in private. the u.s. intends to have an ongoing diplomatic presence and they will do whatever is necessary to secure it. judy. >> woodruff: amna, you're following another story today, vice president kamala harris, her trip to starn border as we reported after being criticized for not going there. how has the trip gone? >> we know part of her portfolio is to oversee the root causes

and address those coming from the three central american families. she's been fueling questions about when she was going to the border from journalists and criticism from republicans about why she had not been. her office said last night she always planned to go but because foreport follow has a foreign policy lens she wanted to go to guatemalay to look at the the causes. the troop to the border takes a closer look. she we wanted to the fort of entry, the process center. she spoke with agents, spoke with migrants, we should note, judy, she did not visit fort bliss which is now one of the emergency intake shelters that was stood up very quickly to address the influx of unaccompanied children that was coming across the border in earlier months. that facility can hold up to about 5,000 children and was the subject of concerns because of disturbing reports about conditions inside. i asked the white house about this and a white house official told me she may not have visited

the facility but met with the managing attorney who oversees legal services for children there and this remains a concern for them. the shelter is getting more resources. i should also mention i spoke with veronica escobar who accompanied vice president harris on the trip, the congresswoman to have the district. she invited vice president harris, posted an op-ed saying this is what we need to do at the border and part of the backstory of how this trip came to be today. >> woodruff: back to afghanistan, the other issue outstanding is what's going to happen to american hostages that are still being held in afghanistan. what do we know about that. >> reporter: that's right, judy. i asked the white house press secretary about the case of mark furyk we reported on, held by the taliban for over a year. jen psaki said we will continue to work to release any detained americans overseas. mark furyk's names has been mentioned by the lead u.s. negotiate to the taliban in recent discussions but the

family i spoke with today, a source close to them says they remain concern that as u.s. sources continue to leave they will lose leverage to have their loved one freed. judy. >> woodruff: amna nawaz, reporting on it from the white house. thank you. we turn >> woodruff: we turn now to a man at the center of negotiations for afghanistan, both with e u.s. and the taliban. dr. abdullah abdullah is chairman of the high council for national reconciliation. dr. abdullah, thank you very much for joining us. did you hear today from president biden -- you've just come from the white house -- what you wanted to hear? >> absolutely. we are grateful to the president of the united states told to the president of afghanistan in our delegation, while the troops are withdrawing, and that's a decision that is has been made,

the commitment of the united states for an enuring partnership with afghanistan in terms of supporting the afghan people, supporting afghanistan with $3.3 billion of assistances for the security forces, humanitarian assistances, diplomatic support, and all of that will continue. meanwhile, in our part, of course, we own the sacrifices with the united states have made alongside our people with us and remember those fallen and we express our gratitude for those who have served in afghanistan, but, meanwhile, i think it's good news. we knew it, but we heard it from the administration today, we heard it from the congress today and yesterday, so that will be good news for the people of

afghanistan. >> woodruff: i'm asking because the word from the white house to reporters was that president biden was going to deliver what they call tough love, at he was going to say there's not enough unity in your government right now. how do you see you -- can you u? >> absolutely. that's the moment for afghanistan, where the allies or our partnership with allies transitions into a new chapter, and we as afghans, we need to do what we can do, president promised to support the allies but at the same time expressed underneath for the unity which is what the people of afghanistan expect and that's a must. >> woodruff: my colleague nick schifrin spoke to a taliban spokesman who denied that the taliban are attacking afghan military forces. he said the afghan forms are surrendering to them. he also said the taliban intends

to treat women and minorities with respect. do you take them at their word? >> oh, i wish those were true, especially their treatment of the women. no, unfortunately, it's obvious that the taliban have thought in their thinking that they can take advantage of the current situation, and that's a miscalculation. if they think that's not true, then i think let's get serious around the negotiating table, put everything on the table, and by learning from the history of afghanistan, that you cannot impose a military solution upon the people. taliban should know that there is an opportunity to talk, and they may seize it if they're not intending -- if all these things which are happening is not their work. so let's why not get serious around the negotiating table?

>> woodruff: dr. abdullah, can your government survive after most u.s. troops are out of the country? >> god will, absolutely. it's the people of afghanistan want absolute majority one piece. it's the taliban which has been the obstacle so far and we are encouraged and called upon them time and again to return to the negotiating table with a clear determination and general sense of getting to a inclusive political settlement. on the other side, the people of afghanistan don't want to return to the old days, and we have not just the institutions in the afghanistan national security and defense forces, and the people of afghanistan are standing by their own forces. >> woodruff: and just quickly, of the u.s. pledge to help

thousands of afghan citizens who helped u.s. troops during the war get out of the country, is that something you welcome? >> that's something which is in the policy of the united states. i'm not aware of the details. the solution is not to get out but to stand down. but if there are situations that we cannot address or we cannot protect, some individuals, and there is an opportunity for them, i think that's okay. >> woodruff: dr. abdullah abdullah, we thank you very much for speaking with us today. >> you are welcome. >> woodruff: more than a year after george floyd's murder set off national protests and a racial reckoning, the former police officer found guilty in his death, derek chauvin, was sentenced by a minnesota judge

today to 22.5 years in prison. in a moment, william brangham looks at the sentence, and the continuing reverberations of this case. but first, special correspondent fred de sam lazaro reports from minneapolis on the sentence and >> i'm not going to attempt to be profound or clever, because it's not the appropriate time. >> reporter: judge peter cahill said his sentence was bad strictly on specific facts of the case and the law-- not on public opinion, not to send any message-- though he had a personal one... >> i want to acknowledge the deep and tremendous pain that all the families are feeling, especially the floyd family. you have our sympathies. >> reporter: that pain was emotionally on display as proceedings began this afternoon, with victim statements from george floyd's family, recalling the impact of his death. in video captured by a bystander, chauvin held his knee on floyd's neck for more than nine minutes as floyd pleaded that he couldn't breathe.

>> if you could say anything to your daddy right now, what would it be? >> it would be, i miss him, and i love him. >> reporter: following seven- year-old daughter gianna, the court heard from his brothers, terrance and philonise floyd. >> i wanted to know from the man himself-- why? what were you thinking? what was going through your head when you had your knee on my brother's neck? why-- when you knew that he posed no threat anymore, that he was handcuffed, why you didn't at least get up? why you stayed there? >> my family and i have been given a life sentence. we will never be able to get george back. daddies are a daughter's first love.

he will never be able to walk gianna down the aisle at her wedding, attend the magical moments of her life. >> reporter: for the first time in this case, the court heard also from a member of chauvin's family. >> when you sentence my son, you'll also be sentencing me. >> reporter: carolyn pawlenty called her son a "good man,” dedicated to his work. >> derek is a quiet, thoughtful, honorable, and self-- selfless man. he has a big heart, and he has always put others before his own. the public will never know the loving and caring man he is. >> reporter: that theme was picked up by chauvin's attorney, eric nelson. >> he was a solid police officer that he did his job. that, if someone asked him to do he was decorated as a police officer, multiple life-saving awards. he was decorated for valor.

and he, too, is-- is a son, brother, father, and a friend. >> reporter: cahill's sentence of 22.5 years is ten years more than state guidelines; the judge citing several aggravating factors, including particular cruelty shown to floyd. in a brief statement, chauvin himself stopped short of an apology. >> at this time, due to some additional legal matters at hand, i'm not able to give a full, formal statement at this time. but, briefly though, i want to give my condolences to the floyd family. >> reporter: the 45-year-old former officer faces more legal challenges, including federal civil rights charges in this and another case from 2017. his next trial, as well as state and federal proceedings against three other former officers charged in the floyd case, will begin in coming months.

for the pbs newshour, i'm fred de sam lazaro in minneapolis. >> brangham: we get reaction and insight into today's sentencing from tracey meares. she is a professor of law and co-founder of the justice collaboratory at yale law school. tracey meares, great to have you back on the "newshour". 22-plus years for derek chauvin for the murder of george floyd. given this crime, what is your reaction to the sentence. >> my reaction when watching the hearing was that the judge landed on a sentence that many of us expected, given that the average sentence was 12.5 years, a ten-year upward departure, based on a finding of two aggravated circumstances was basically what i was expecting, even though it wasn't the 30 years that the prosecution asked for. >> reporter: so was it your sense -- we knew that the max was possibly 40, and in felt

that there should have been even more of a sentence. is it your sense, though, that this was the right, fair decision? >> i think (indiscernible) to shape a judge's discretion and the the prosecution made specific arguments based on four aggravating factors, the judge relied on two of them, abuse of authority and excessive cruelty -- at least that's what the judge said in court. i haven't read the 22-page memorandum. but i think those watching or reading about the sentence should understand it's a very serious sentence for there to be ten years above a 12.5 year average sentence for second-degree murder. >> reporter: so going forward, i think the larger question is does chauvin's c conviction and

now sentence actually change police behavior going forward? >> that is the question everybody is thinking about. i think it was incredibly important for the judge to listen to people who have said that, in the past, courts have not taken this behavior seriously by imposing a serious sentence ten years above the 12.5-year average. i also think folks are right to settle on an opinion that, just looking at an individual case, even an incredibly egregious factual circumstance like this, is not going to, buy itself, be a signal that's going to change belief in who, something that's not going to get us into the kind of support for safety that many people are asking for that looks beyond this carceral

approach that police take today. >> reporter: all right, tracey meares of yale law school, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> i welcome the opportunity, william. >> woodruff: it is one of the most enduring questions of humanity-- are we alone in the universe? today, a highly anticipated report from u.s. intelligence zeros in on unidentified aerial phenomenon, or u.a.p.s, commonly known as u.f.o.s. it comes from the office of the director of national intelligence. it concludes that these unidentified objects clearly pose a risk to flight, and a national security threat to the u.s. but the larger question-- is this alien life?-- remains unanswered. john yang has the story. >> yang: judy, here to help

>> reporter: nine page report says there is not enough high quality information to draw conclusions about the intent of the uaps. the report says representative andre carson, d.m. of indiana, member of the house intelligence committee which commissioned this report. mr. carson, you said in a statement earlier today that this represents a much-needed shift on this issue. what do you mean by that? >> well, you know, as you just mentioned, today's report still leaves many of us with a lot of unanswered questions. it does not rule out all that many potential scenarios that we've come up with. so when we're talking about uaps, we could still be dealing with a lot of varying scenarios or potentialities. but the report goes a long way in terms of prioritization. so it goes a long way in terms of bringing credibility to the issue. however, since coming to congress, i have been fascinated by thessue, as have been my colleagues, and i am pleased to see that our approach has been

taken more seriously now. so it's a taboo topic, but i think there's much more work to do. >> reporter: and coming from the intelligence committee which aks for this report, clearly there is a belief that there could be a national security threat? >> well, i think that that is always a consideration. you know, the immediate concern is very twofold. one, this is a technology that we don't completely understand, and it seems to be defying our understanding of physics. it appears to be more advanced than our own technology, but that's never a good thing from a strategic point of view. there is an expectation among americans that we stay on top of advancements in technology and, secondly, whoever's operating or behind these aerial phenomena seems to be keenly interested in our military capabilities. >> reporter: and is that why the intelligence committee -- i

mean, it was the intelligence committee that asked for this report? >> certainly, but it is effectively a response to the scores of inquiries that we get daily not only from our offices which that the committee gets and, you know, there's a tendency for the uap sightings and developments to occur around our assets especially our naval assets. that's why we need to have more information and a better understanding. we know enough now, but that's not necessarily important. there are still many unknowns. but we're honing in on this issue very rappedly. >> reporter: you're talking about needing more information. the report spells south or sets goals about sort of more research, more gathering of information about the uaps. what is the next step? >> you know, compared to other nanational security issues and issues critical to our defense,

we still suffer from a very limited understanding of these phenomena. a part is we have a very limited data set. there is only a number of sightings, data and observable phenomena. the quality to have the information can sometimes be subpar. i think the next part will be breaking down the stigma that exists especially amongst legislators, particularly amongst pilots outside congress. but i think the next step is to do a deeper dive. i want to hold a public hearing as well, but we're not going to get the information we really need initially until we have classified briefings, and my hope is that it's not another nation who has a strategic and technological advance, and it's not from the private sector. my hope is that we can contain this matter and, hopefully, it stays within the good old united states of america. >> reporter: and you are going to get more briefings from the intelligence community?

>> without question. you know, as a chairman overthat committe my hope is to have a series of hearings, and one of them being a public hearing, so we can at least provide the information to the american public to the degree that will not compromise our national security to give them some kind of resolve, and i think quell their thirst for this wonderful phenomenon we have been talking about and movies have been made about for the past seven or eight decades. >> reporter: representative andre carson of indiana, thump. >> what an honor. thank you. >> woodruff: now at the end of a full week of news, we have the analysis of brooks and capehart. that is "new york times" columnist david brooks, and jonathan capehart, columnist for the "washington post." it is very good to see both of you. >> great to see you. >> woodruff: as it is on every friday. a lot happened this week in

washington, jont. i do want to start with this, do we have one or do we not have an infrastructure deal? yesterday, the president kind of made the unprecedented move of coming out on the driveway with a group of of -- democrats and republicans announced an agreement, then a couple of hours later said only agreement from democrats if i get from congress the spending. >> there's a lot of consternation clearly right now within the republican party and particularly among those senators about what happened. but the deal, such as it is, is, last i saw, is still holding. it's still there. i think, you know, you've had senators like senator blount, senator portman and senator minority leader mitch mcconnell who, in the past, said, you know, we want a hard infrastructure deal, but we see that the president will probably go reconciliation for these other things, and that's fine. the rub is the president and the speaker of the house both

saying, okay, we'll go for this deal, but you've got to do reconciliation, also. that's why the republicans are angry. but everybody needs a deal. the president wants one, the republicans want one because they need something to go back to their constituents and say, look, this is what we've delivered for you. >> woodruff: and, david, the white house, the president, they're saying, well, the president made it clear all along that he's going to want this but it seems to be a little fuzzy. >> sort of. everyone knew there were going to be two bills. the white house to their credit worked really hard to get this bipartisan compromise, all the calls and meetings, it looked like rale legislation, the kind of stuff joe biden was born for. so we get this deal aagainst all odds, it was unexpected. the reps knew there was going to be a reconciliation deal. what they didn't know, i think, is he was going to threaten to veto the compromise if he didn't get the second. so it was that linkage, i think, that took a lot of republicans by surprise, and not only the ones who believe in the deal,

the rob portmans of the world and like that. so they are right to feel a little aggrieved, from what we know. will they walk out on this? they haven't walked out on the deal after conversations. lindsey graham and others have shown willingness to walk out on the deal and if they do that, you don't have ten republicans and can't pass the deal. but they're hanging in there and there's strategy about how to sink the reconciliation later, a strategist's dream. but so far they've damaged but haven't killed the deal. >> woodruff: and your sense is it's going to hold. >> yes, i think it's going to hold. does anyone think republicans will vote in favor of the reconciliation deal? the reconciliation deal it's a

given the 50 reps won't vote for it. what it's about is holding new start manchin and sinema and other democrats to ensure they vote for reconciliation so that everybody's happy. >> and the reps are trying to get manchin and sinema to break the linkage and say we won't sign on unless you do this alone. to me the fun will be when the democrats fight amongst themselves. if this passes, the progressives want this big thing, manchin wants less than 2 trillion. they agree on the taxes but not where the spending should go and that's how the bigger thing could fall apart. >> woodruff: senator manchin played a critical role in another issue this week. it was only monday, when voting rights came up in the senate and the reps blocked what the democrats were trying to do, this is after senator manchin,

same joe manchin who's involved in infrastructure, said he was on board with a kind of a compromise. i guess my question is now here, today, you have the department of justice saying it's going to sue the state of georgia over vong laws. where are we over voting rights in this country? >> i think right now where we are on voting rights is there's not going to be any quick legislative fix. everyone was focused on the for-the-people act as the immediate thing that could be done to stop or blunt things happening in states like georgia. the john lewis voting rights act hasn't even been introduced, so that's way down the road. i think right now the focus is going to be on what can the justice department do? what can the administration do to blunt the impact of georgia and these other states. so that's what we saw today, the justice department suing georgia to stop its law. i think that's where the action

is. until the filibuster is done away with. you know, senate majority leader chuck schumer comes along and says this is for the people act again, can pass by a simple majority, that bill's not going anywhere, so it's imperative for the justice department to weigh in. >> woodruff: how do you see it? >> i guess i see it that way. why can't people in congress scale back. some seem overbroad. manchin and tim scott has a proposed, maybe something could be scaled barks nobody seems to be talking about that. we seem to be going to the courts. i guess a supreme court ruling in arizona voting next week. >> woodruff: soon. i'm fine with that. we heard such different things about the georgia, joe biden called it the new jim crow, brad raffensperger totally disagreed. so if the courts decide it does

discriminate against african-americans, i'm happy to make that decision. i hate having the federal government involved in state voting procedures, but if one party is trying to disenfranchise a race of people, i think american history established this is when the federal government gets involved. so i'm happy to see, let the courts make a determination, was there intent to discriminate here. >> woodruff: and jonathan, d.m.s are arguing that reps are trying to deny people. >> right. >> woodruff: on a massi scale. >> on a massive scale, which is why attorney general merrick garland and the justice department is taking the action that it took today. >> woodruff: and i guess my question, though, is whatever the supreme court rules, it looks like this is something that's frozen in the congress. it's not going anywhere. >> yeah, no. it's completely frozen, until the filibuster -- something is done about the filibuster. >> woodruff: our favorite senate maneuver, the official burts. >> until it's reformed or

eliminated, what have you, that bill the for the people act will not go anywhere. >> woodruff: david, we talked act what a busy week. this is also the week president biden rolled out his plan for addressing in a number of different ways gun crime, violent crime, the homicide rate is way up. last year over the year before, and this year way up again. does this look like -- i mean it's a multi-pronged approach, a lot of different initiatives they're laying out there, but does it look like something that could make a difference? >> it's tough for a republican to control crime but it's going to be a big voting issue. we've seen that in the new york democratic primary, in places like minimum naps, portland, they're saying this has become a crisis level. people have different explanations for why it's covid, economic stress, police fullback. so i think this makes an imperative act.

i give the biden administration a b minus, i'm not sure it's a crime measure. i'm glad they're using covid to allow police forces to increase the number of officers. there's clear evidence if you increase the number of police you get less crime, but that has to be accompanied by police reform, so you've got to do a bunch of things all at once to have a just way to reduce crime that's not penalty on the local communities. and that takes involvement on multiple fronts, and i thought this was a vague gesture who are than that kind of intense involvement. >> woodruff: a vague gesture? i don't know about vague gesture. i mean, you are right, presidents have no impact whatsoever on state and local -- excuse me -- state and local crime issues, but people look to the president to do something, and i agree with david, you know, the $350 billion from the america cares act to localities to do something related to crime

is a very good thing, but we have to remember that, yes, crime has ticked up this year over last year, and last year over the year before, but we are way, way down from the bad years of the '90s. let me just give you, quickly - new york city murders in 1990, 2262, in 2020 there's 468. robberies in 1990, 100,280. 2020, robberies in, no 13,108, an 86.9 reduction. so, yes, crime is ticking up over the last couple of years, but we are nowhere near where we were 30 years ago when it was really bad. >> woodruff: and i should clarify, homicides are way up, violent crimes a little. >> right. >> woodruff: and other crime, it's more of a mixed picture. but, david, people keep asking, as you say, even though the

president can't reach in and control what goes on in handling the crime in individual cities, what example is he setting? what is he saying to lead us? >> i think he's made some progress. i think we both lived through new york. crime was terrible there. it was something we all lived with and endured. i think one of the things he's done to take us away from last summer's belief that there was such a thing as a free lunch, you could defund or reduce the police and not have some aftereffect. when a party says there's no free lunch, on any policy, they're almost always wrong. so if you just let the police pull back, you're going to get more crime. so we've got to do two things at once. >> woodruff: we're going to leave it there. come back and see you guys next friday. >> all right. >> woodruff: david brooks, jonathan capehart, thank you both. >> thank you. and be sure to tune in later tonight to "beyond the canvas,"

where host amna nawaz showcases african american artists who share a belief in the power of music. the episode features common, rhiannon ghiddens, gary clark, jr., and more. that's tonight on pbs. check your local listings. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, have a great weekend. thank you, and good night. please stay safe. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been proded by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> 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 www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org.

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