♪ judy: good evening. judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, 4 million dead. the world passes grim milestone inhe pandemic as governments prepare for a potential new wave of covid infections from the delta variant. ballot battle. the fight to vote reaches a crescendo in texas as the legislator renews debate over strict voting those. in canada conference the troubling past after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of former boarding schools for indigenous students. >> we survived the holocaust of

our people. now we look at the conditions of our communit this country and these churches, they need to be accountable. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> before we talk about your investments, what is new? >> andriy is expecting. >> twins. >> we will be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> ♪ at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. >> johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. consumer cellular. financial services firm raymond james. the kendeda fund.

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>> i am stephanie sy newshour west. we will return to judy woodruff and the full program after the latest headlines. the mission in afghanistan will officially conclude on august 31. president biden moved up the deadline today from september 11th and he defended the pullout in the face of taliban games the -- in the face of taliban g ains. the president said the u.s. did not go to afghanistan to nation-build and he pressed of gun leaders to prove their mettle. >> it is not a question of whether they have the capacity. they have the capacity. they have the forces. they have the equipment. stephanie: in afghanistan, government forces said they drove taliban fighters from a provincial capital in the north . other reports that the militants have now seized a key border

crossing with iran. in haiti tonight, the police chief said they have identified two haitian americans in the assassination of president jovenel moise. two of the alleged assailants were turned over to authorities by a crowd in port-au-prince today. seven others were killed after a gunfight with police. covid-19 has no killed more than 4 million people worldwide. that is based on official numbers compiled by johns hopkins university. the truth can't is believed to be even higher. in the u.s., public health leaders said today that most new deaths and infections are occurring where vaccination rates are low. we will return to this after the news summary. organizers of the mmer olympics banned japanese fans from the upcoming tokyo games in the face of surging covid

infections. foreign fans were already banned. the new announcement came as the government declared an emergency in tokyo lasting through the olympics. the head of the japanese olympic committee acknowledged the event will not be the same. >> the tokyo games were supposed to be a real opportunity to feel the power of sports and unite communities. i am very sorry for the fan and the local people. stephanie: the games are set to start in two weeks. today marks two weeks since a condominium tower collapsed in surfside, florida. the death toll now reached 64. another 76 people are still missing. on wednesday evening, emergency workers held a moment of silence as they transitioned from rescue to recovery. an earthquake struck the nevada-california border this evening. residents reported feeling the quake but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

meanwhile, the golden state called today for voluntary water conservation as the drought. residents are being asked to cut water usage by 15%. some of the reservoirs in the state are already at dangerously low levels. 15 states endorsed settlement with purdue pharma over the opiod epidemic. the maker of oxycontin and its owners, the sackler family, will release millions of documents and accelerate compensation to the states. the massachusetts attorney general praised the new term but let the company emerged from bankruptcy. >> today's resolution delivers the most important thing we have been fighting for, a reckoning that exposes the sackler supposed to feed misconduct, strips them of their power, and provides money that will be dedicated entirely to prevention, treatment, and recovery. stephanie: the u.sfood and drug administration reversed itself today on a new drug for

the memory-destroying disease simmers. it had initially approved drug use. now the biogen drug will be limited to patients with mild cognitive impairment. the europeannion cognitive -- michael avenatti previously represented stormy daniels in her fight with president trump. still to come, how the surfside collapse raises concerns about future investments in other buildings. texas republicans continue their push for restricted voting laws. boomers face complaints about the world they createdplus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington, and from the west, from the walter kwok right school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: now the staggering death

toll from covid-19. as we mark more than 4 million dead around the world, the actual number will likely never be known. and as the u.s. and other wealthy nations with relatively highaccination rates begin emerging from the pandemic, the disease then variants are accelerating in other parts of the world, killing more quickly than ever. nick schifrin begins our coverage. nick: has south africa walks through the valley of the shadow of death there iplenty of fear and little comfort. >> the debts are no not numbers on a new staon. these are people you know. it is family. it is let relatives. it is friends than colleagues. nick: the doctor is a physician and activist in johannesburg. he says that while the u.s. is normalizing, the world and africa are suggling because of vaccine shortages. >> if it stays like that, not only are we not safe, the road

will also not be safe. nick: on the day like today, is difficult to comprehend, 4 million. equal to the victims of every war everywhere for the last 40 years. equal to the entire population of los angeles, equal to the entire population of georgia. back in johannesburg, these covid patients are the lucky ones. they have beds and clinics set up a medics. south african public hospitals are overflowing. health care workers are overwhelmed. a covid wave is driven by an third expanding delta variant and shrinking vaccine supply . >> that is our single biggest challenge right now. but a lot of western governments have stockpiles of vaccine. let us release those to where they are needed right now and increase production of vaccines globally. nick: south africa's story is a global one, as delta spreads in countries with few vaccines,

hospitalizations and deaths are at new highs. it took nine months for one million today. but the death toll from 3 million to 4 million in just 2.5 months. in the u.s., the delta variant is quickly spreading. in some areas, it counts for 80% of cases. cdc director michel lenski said said today -- >> this rapid rise is troubling. we know that the delta variant has increased transmissibility and it is currently surging and pockets of the country with low vaccination rates. nick: at least much of the u.s. is vaccinated. much of the world governments cannot vaccinate their own people, and at this point, vaccines are the only way out. as white house climate coordinator submitted today. >> it is another life protected, and other community that is safer, and another step for putting this pandemic behind us that has suddenly taken more

than 600,000 lives here at home. nick:'s and the 2.5 minutes since this story began, another 15 people died of covid. for the pbs newshour, i nick am schifrin. judy: dr. jennifer nazo is an epidemiologist who watches this closely at the johns hopkins university center for global heal security. dr. nazo, welcome back to the newshour. as someone who has watched this closely from the beginning, what is the significance to you of this 4 million milestone? >> it is an absolutely staggering, grim milestone to reach, and it is terrible to think we have lost 4 million human beings but also knowing that is probably an undercurrent because being able to diagnose infection and can't debts is a luxury a lot of places in the

world don't have the ability to do. i reflect on covid in 20 and i think about the fact that we now have -- in 2021, and i think about the fact that we have vaccines, tools that can prevent these deaths. the fact that we have added more deaths since the invention of vaccines for covid than we have beforehand, it is an utter tragedy. these deaths cld be prevented if we were able to get vaccines where they need to go. judy: as we saw in that report from nick schifrin the picture in the rest of the world is utterly grim. the w.h.o. was saying today that the continent of africa, this past week was its worst ever. dr. nazo: i think in the beginning part of this pandemic there was a false-negative that this was a virus only affecting rich countries and that there were certain countries in parts of the world that were largely

spared. we are now seeing that that was a false assumption and it took off some of the pressure to make sure that we not only developed vaccines, but that we developed operational lands to make sure we shared the vaccines that we do produce. we are seeing this virus ravage all purse of the globe and really any country that as of now has not been able to vaccinate large parts of its population remains perilously at risk. we are seeing the virus surging in parts of the world where they had previously successful in containing the spread, but these new variants outpace those efforts. it is hard to keep up with the traditional health methods countries have been using, and the only pathway to the preventionf loss-of-life and to return to normal for the globe is to ensure all countries have access to the vaccine. judy: how do you get that done? we've heard the doctor said that

in the rest of the world, there is a stockpile of vaccine. the u.s. is shaping, what, half a billion plus doses. some countries are shaping some vaccines to countries? dr. nuzzo: a number of countries have alleged vaccines, which is really important. the g7 came up with a 2 billion vaccine pledge. that is important, i don't want to undersell what an incredible achievement that is, but the estimates are that we need 5.5 billion vaccines. we need to figure out how to make more and make more quickly. the other thing we need to do is make sure these pledges turn into actual vaccines shipped to where they need to be going. unfortunately, those efforts are falling behind schedule. we have a very narrow window of time to act. if i see a proposal for sharing vaccines or making vaccines that stretches beyond a year, i have to question how much of an

infected will have, because we need vaccines now. this virus is moving across the planet really quickly so it is essential that we get back into arms as quickly as possible, and the next few months will be absolutely critical. judy: you are talking policy changes at the highest levels, in the united states and other countries. today we had the announcement from pfizer that it may be within a few weeks of seeking u.s. authorization for a booster, a third shot, which presumably would be in big demand here in the united states. dr. nuzzo: we need to have tough conversations about how we will use the vaccines in the planet. about 75% of the roads vaccines have been used by only a handful of countries, all high income countries. when talking about using vaccines in low-priority populations, when thinking about possibly giving a third booster, we have to have a hard look at

whether that is an ethical thing to do, or if that is something we can do later after the world has had the opportunity to at least protect their health care workers who put their lives on the line every day. if we let countries put their health care workers at risk and they lose those health care workers, those countries will not be ready for future events. the fact that all of us had to sit home at various points through the pandemic, is because we were concerned about the ability of health systems to respond to surges. if we allow health-care workers to be affected and not care for patients, those countries will be absolutely crippled by that. we need to have a look at how weird is in the vaccines in existence now and, in, my view talk about a booster except in some limited populations that we don't think have mounted an immune response to the vaccines whave to date. the majority of the world has not even had access to one-shot. judy: some very tough trade-offs that certainly deserve

addressing. dr. jennifer nuzzo, with the johns hopkins center for global health security, thank you very much. dr. nuzzo: thank you. ♪ judy: now that workers are searching the rumble of the surfside condominium, now that they have shifted from rescue to recovery, more attention is being turned to decisions made before the buildin collapse. part of the inquiry will focus on decisions made by the people who own units there. stephanie: in 20, a report found major structural damage the concrete, requesting up to $9 million in upgrades and repairs. but it stalled asembers of the board disagreed on how it would

be done. when the building collapsed last month, the price tag had risen to $50 million. our guest teaches political science and law at the university of chicago. he is the author of two books. mr. mckenzie, thank you for joining "the newshour." what is the larger problem that you think this condo collapse highlights? mr. mckenzie: i think the larger problem is we have condo associations around the country, tens of millions of people living in them, and their finances are not sufficiently regulated. nobody knows what their financial needs are, how many of them are in financial distress, and nobody knows how many of them will probably need millions more dollars that than they actually have access to. stephanie: are you saying there should be state mandated requirements for these condo boards, requirements for keeping enough money in reserve for

repairs, because that is what is believed partly led to the delay in repairs in this building? mr. mckenzie: definitely. the state of florida does not even require condo associations and hoa's to obtain professional advice on what their reserve funds should be, they can just decide what it should be themselves without even having a professional review the situation in their building. unfortunately, that is the case in almost all condo associations in the country. these financial decisions are unregulated and almost all secret. the public doesn't even know what the situation is in these condos as they go shopping for housing. stephanie: i know that one of the former board members had said to the media that he did not believe there was imminent danger. the governor of florida, ron desantis said he doesn't see, state action playing a role at this point to look at these older buildings. beyond that, you point out that

condo boards, which are voluntary, are not qualified or experienced enough to make some of the decisions on maintenance and repair of old buildings. so who do you put the onus on? mr. mckenzie: the most basic function of state and local government since the founding of the country have been public safety and control over land use, such as building streets and roads. the intersection of that is right here, where buildings are unsafe and collapse and fall down and kill people. that is a fundamental function of local government, to make sure things like that never happened. i don't know what governor desantis thinks local government is for, if not for protecting people against these risks. these volunteer directors have no qualification that is required by law other than just being a unit owner. that is it. they don't have any support, or very little support from anyone, except whatever property managers and lawyers they can afford to hire. there needs to be a great deal more oversight from government

. it doesn't have to be intrusive, but it should be supportive and regulatory and it should keep them on a path that will safeguard all the owners against catastrophes like this. stephanie: you wrote an opinion piece recently for the washington post. it framed the problem of getting safety as a climate change problem, becauseuctures like this one in surfside, for example, may face rising sea levels how can these condo boards prepare for these impacts? mr. mckenzie: the core problem here is that, just ain't taking care of routine maintenance issues, we know that a huge percentage of associations are not even up to speed on that, on knowing what where and tear is going to their building -- going to do to their building. if there are costs due to climate change that no unanticipated -- the rising seas, landslide risks from heavy rains, wildfires, and othe things, they are much higher risks than before.

it does require professional opinion. what they have to do initially is get experts in building to conduct reserve studies, tell them what they need, and to take into account the impact of climate change on their community. i also think that they need external help. they are going to need funding from other levels of government to get them the funds they need because i don't think they have it themselves. stephanie: but we are talking about thousands and thousands of buildings just on that coastline there, and we know some of the delay in repairs in this case came down to cost. some people did not necessarily want to pay for repairs until it is too late, and some people cannot afford to. this board is basically a democracy. so what is the solution? mr. mckenzie: that's the problem right there condo boards and their members control their own assessment lels and they can decide to not said enough money aside. i think the way to do it is to

first mandate that reserve studies be done every three years, and then to publicize the outcome. i think that these research studies should be public it , they should be available to the public to see, and we should know what percentage of the proper reserves at each association has, so that when we go shopping for condos, there's some market pressure and sort of a reward on condo boards and their owners to have the proper reserves. when people see that they are in good financial shape, they will not be worried about buying there. but if a building is underfunded, people will know in advance. and we can do that easily seven mckenzie of the. stephanie:. mr. mckenzie: -- stephanie: evan mckenzie, of the university of illinois at chicago, thank you very much. mr. mckenzie: thank you. judy: that texas legislature gambled back into order today for a special session to address

a laundry burst of priorities undone when lawmakers left austin in may. chief among them, and update of the state's voting laws. lisa desjardins has the story. lisa: democrats in texas blocked the last bill by walking out of the chamber. now republicans are back with a new version, house bill 3. it includes a ban on 24 hour and drive through voting. this version drops some serious ideas to limit sunday voting. the debate over voting rights remains hot. vice president harris weighed in today doing a speech in washington. v.p. harris: you know what is going on in texas right now. this all is designed, i believe, to make it harder for you to vote so that you don't vote yair lapid. >> but republicans including the bills original sponsor rejected that argument.

here is state senator brian hughes. >> no one has shown me any evidence of it. this bill says that in the urban counties, the polling places have to be distributed evenly across the county. that is straight up fairness based on where the voters live, regardless of their race or party or ethnic background or religion. this is about making the system fair for all voters. lisa: state representative crist turner is chair of the texas house democratic caucus and led the walkout in may that block that other voting bills. republicans say they are determined to pass new voting laws. can you block them this time, and how? for audience lacks specifics. rep. turner: as you know, democrats were successful in blocking the same voter legislation at the end of our regular session. what i can tell you is that today on the first day of this special session, that the democrats in the house and the

senate here in texas we are more unified than ever, more determined than ever to do what we can to block republican attempts to make it more difficult to vote in texas, a state that is already very difficult to vote in, because we already have very restrictive voting laws on the books. we are going to fight every step of the way. we are going to leave no stone unturned, and our mission to defend the rights of our constituents to cast ballots in a free and safe and secure election, and we are going to take it a day at a time. republicans can expect a big fight from us on these bills. lisa: since you walked out the supreme court has ruled in favor of republicans and some restrictions they want to voting laws in other states. there is also more conservative pressure on your republican governor. could it be that republicans may be more -- now on loading

limits? rep. turner: our governor is reacting to his 2022 primary election were he already has two opponents in the republican primary. he is simply in the race to the bottom with not only his primary votes but i think at the reblican leaders in the country, in trying to appeal to and placate donald trump and the donald trump base, which essentially now is the republican party. that is a real factor that we have to, ctend with because republicans control all levers of government in texas presently. but i think that with respect to the court decision, while that was obviously n a decision any of us waed to see, it was very important for republicans to remember, section ii of the voting rights act remains intact. the court decision did not anyone nullified section two like they do with section 5

70 years ago. so we still have a constitution in this country. we still have section two of the voting rights act. an republican texas shamefully have a trk record of passing laws that have been found by federal courts to be intentionally discriminatory against african-american and hispanic voters in texas under both the voting rights act and the constitution. whether that is was districting plans of the last decade, or the photo border ideal of. the secretary of state two years ago attempted a voter purge that federal courts had to stop. so there is a track record in texas of republicans violating the voting rights act in the constitution. there is a track record o defending and pushing back on those republican attempts, so they ought to be cautious. lisa: final question. the speaker of the house in texas has the power to compel state troopers to force members back into the chamber trying to avoid what you did last time.

this is a serious question. is this issue worth yourself moving to another state or hiding out to avoid that? rep. turner: the speaker has a right to compel a quorum. it is depletable how you can go about doing that or how any speaker can go about doing that. but the speaker does have the authority to compel. what i would say is that those discussions would be premature right now to speculate. we are never going to take anything off the table. at the same time, it is a 30 day session. it will go quickly. we will take it a day at a time and make the best decisions we can day-by-day. lisa:. lisa: i did not hear a no there. represented turner, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. ♪

judy: coming, canada confronts the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at a former indigenous school. and japan prepares to host the olympics under the shadow of covid-19. now we continue our look at generational tensions in our country over economic disparities. the covid-19 shutdown and recession may have exacerbated an already growing division in popular culture between mienials and baby boomers. tonight we hear from that older generation, and fr our economics correspondent, paul solman. >> no matter what you accomplish and feel like you accomplish, you don't feel like you are moving forward in life. paul: that millenials lament. we heard it last night. >> 2020 came, still had no income. we were living with my parents still feel like. >> i am behind the eight ball. >>. paul: the pandemic has only made it worse. even for this group of college

grads. >> renting is basically all i see from my wife and i for the foreseeable future. paul: so, who's to blame? more and more these days, it is ok boomer. ♪ paul: that is the baby boom, most of are born between the end of world war ii and 1964, fingered as the culprit. professor lenny stein horn wrote "the greater generation" in defense of the baby boom legacy 15 years ago, when bloom was already being assigned. >> you see all these essays and articles and people going on to be criticizing baby boomers as if they are somehow singularly selfish or narcissistic and all of that. so i wanted to correct the

record, correct the history and put it in historical context. paul: part of the context, he says, is pure luck. growing up in the booming economy. as a group of economists we assembled did. like this high school teacher in massachusetts. >> when i left school, i had no debt on my shoulders. the total amount after my second graduate degree that i head in that was a thousand dollar personal loan. paul: he was a classmate of mine , become a lawyer and founded the american antitrust institute. >> when it came time to get jobs in college, the government was hiring. we had that advantage because of a growing economy, a booming economy. paul: norma mckay from the chicago suburbs, a retired software engineer. >> i had five job offers without doing any work. . i got offers from ibm, bad

laboratories, sand microsystems. i got to reject ibm. that was really something. paul: allison, a 60 two-year-old community college professor in orlando, florida. >> i bought my first house at 24. paul: how much did it cost? >> 54,000. paul: that home has tripled in value. by contrast -- >> you have to lower your expectations. paul: when we were their age, there was less inequality, middle class was stronger, taxes on the wealthy higher. climate, of sourcing, offshoring? no issue. so did our panelists feel guilty about what happened on our watch? >> i want to apologize, because i don't feel that we are leaving a better world for them. i guess we shoulder all the blame, because we are the people that were in charge. >> i feel somewhat guilty. we dropped the ball. paul: the other half of the panel, however, disagree. >> i don't feel guilty, because

i believe it was just circumstance that put us at that time period. i feel responsible. i don't feel guilty. >> i don't buy this generational guilt at all. i think we were lucky. we were on a ladder that was going up with no help from us. the ladder meant that assets were increasing in value in ways that they are not today. paul: so you don't feel guilty about the tax cuts, the offshoring, the things that you think have put millenials at a disadvantage? >> i probably oppose all those things in the last 40 years. so i don't feel guilty about it. i feel frustrated. i wanted to leave a better world for my kids and grandkids. paul: but boomers voted for the folks who push these policies, no? >> politically, you have a diverse country, and people vote

for any number of reasons at at particular point in time. paul: since the 1980's boomers have, by and large split evenly in presidential elections. half of those voted for tax cuts and free markets, half, not. half the panel feels guilty, half, not. >> economic change is often beyond the control of a generation because you are living through it. you are managing, you are trying to raise a family, trying to support yourself, trying to put a roof over your head and food on the table and have a meaningful, if you can, livelihood. paul: instead of feeling guilty, he argues that baby boomers have plenty to be proud of. >>. >> the baby boom generation took on the outdated norms of the generation before and began to transform america. paul:. paul: sure, the greatest generation survived the depression, but that is not theiwhole legacy. >> they were the ones who chose to move into the levittowns, and

exclude black people from the suburbs. they continued to deny the rights of women. to force gay people to go through a therapy because they did not fit in. so the baby boom generation saw that and fundamentally changed it. paul: civ rights, feminism lgbtq and disability rights no panelist felt guilty about this history. >> i am very proud. demonstrations on campus, i was there every day at lunch time. >> we may not have brought it to fruition, but we started a lot of it. i as a baby boomer will take credit for that as i take some blame for the other stuff as well. paul: what about the existential threat millenials will face after we are long gone? global warming? >> and her baby boomers watch, did this happen? sure. but this has been going on since the dawn of the industrial era, and we are fully realizing the consequences of that now.

so to say that one generation is responsible, that is a historical. paul: please don't forget, he says. >> it was the baby boom generation that motivated earth day and jumpstarted the environmental movement. paul: so how valid is it to generalize about one generation at all? >> you have to look at history as a far more complex phenomenon than the generational divide that is really artificial, the framing right now. why are we pitting a generation against each other, when in fact all they are basically doing is pointing a finger at baby boomers for a few bad mistakes that took place during those years, not recognizing how society has transformed since the 19's in fundameal, deep, institutional, personal and interpersonal ways? >> you cannot blame one generation, because one generation and never has, power at least not for much time. paul: allison?

>> i agree. you cannot group any group of people together and say that they all think alike. paul: but as a member of the population that popularized the phrase "don't trust anyone over 30," there is one part of the millennial critique leonard steinhorn applauds? >> any generation should stick their thumb in the eye of their elders and poked and prodded them and say ok, stop giving us your wisdom. it is our turn now and we are going to do it. paul: handing off the baton with some relief, then. for the pbs newshour, paul solman ♪ judy: the shocking discoveries of several hundred unmarked graves at former boarding schools for indigenous children in western canada has focused

attention on a dark chapter of that nation's history. as john yang reports, it is the story of forced assimilation and physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. john: judy, for more than a century, the children of canadian native communities including what's known as the first nations, were taken from their families and sent to christian boarding schools run for the government. about 70% of them run by the tholic church. 100 50,000 children passed through these schools before they were closed in 1996. they were banned from speaking the languages for practicing their traditions. children died and their families were never told, their bodies never returned. after the discovery of these graves in the last six weeks, indigenous leaders have demanded an investigation into what they call, "a crime against humanity." heather baer is the vice chief of the federation of

sovereign indigenous first nations which represent 74 first nations in saskatchewan. she joins us from prince albert. vice chief, thanks for being with us. i understand you went to those schools. what can you tell us about your experience? heather: it has shaken first nations, government leaders and professionals, and every corner of our country has now been impacted with this new awareness that is not new. . this has always been, these stories have always been told. what is coming out with this is the real story and we need to change that legacy because it is a very dark legacy, a dark history of first nations, when we talk about the abuse and the horrendous crimes against children. at the time i went it was after 1972.

indian control of indian education, that was something that happened. the transition was happening where first nations were starting to operate these schools and the church's were transitioning out. however, there was still that lonely, heavy feeling that you can't really explain it, you have to be there. also tied to that was the oral tradition, the stories, the whispers, what the students and teachers would talk about in terms of what had happened at those schools, and the huntings -- the hauntings. it was a very hunting experience. you look outside the window and there is a cemetery. i remember the swing set in the playground just a few steps away, you were looking at a cemetery. so i asked the question, how many schools do you see with cemeteries in their yards?

they should have been playgrounds. john: you talk about the legacy of this, and i imagine with these new discoveries these past several weeks, it is sort of re- traumatizing. what is the impact on generations and generations of indigenous people in canada? heather: i could sit here for 100 years and not be able to explain or talk about the impacts because they are so huge. and they are at different levels. you have your survivors who are directly impacted who still live today, whether it be sexual abuse, mental, spiritual, -- language abuse not -- being able to speak your mother tongue, not being able to pray. to be told you are not human, you are in yemen if you did not take on christianity. like i say, you know, what is

going on right now, i think when you look at the impacts, there is direct impacts, and there's impacts that are intergenerational. like today, you still have addictions. you still have family violence. you still have poverty. john: 70% of these schools were run or started by the catholic church. the vatican announced they are going to have three of the biggest indigenous groups coming to the vatican at the end of the year to meet with the pope. is that enough, this meeting? and what do you want to come out of that meeting? heather: contrary to what the pope says, he believes that is not their role to give an apology, according to their structure. but i believe, as a leader, as leaders, i think we have to take sponsibility and

accountability. when we talk about healing, doesn't the good book talk about forgiveness? in terms of our healing, we need to forgive, but we need the church to apologize and admit the harms they have done so that we as indigenous people, as survivors of residential schools caat least turn to you and have that opportunity to forgive and get on that long, hard journey of healing and surviving. there is great accountability. these were men of the cloth that abused our children. men of the cloth that were perpetrators, who perpetrated the most horrendous crimes against children. i mean, i think the church owes the indigenous peoples of this country -- i am certain, with all the transgressions, they owe us something back in

the name of healing. john: heather baer, vice chief of the federation of indigenous first nations in saskatchewan, thank you very much. ♪ judy: the decision today to bar all spectators from attending olympic events in tokyo comes just two weeks before the games are set to begin. organizers once hoped the games would be a global showcase for japan. but there has been widespread opposition within the country to hosting them during the pandemic. only 15% of japan's population is fully vaccinated and there is concern that cases are rising again this summer. more than $20 billion have already been committed to pulling off these olympics for a look at all of this, i am joined by christine brennan sports , a columnist for usa today.

she will be going to tokyo to cover her 19th olympics. and sheila smith, a senior fellow for asia pacific studies at the council on foreign relations. she has written extensively about japan. it is so good to have both of you with us. thank you for joining us. christine, i will start with you. why the organizers' decision today toay not only foreign tourists can come to sit and watch these olympics, but no one, not even japanese residents? >> judy, they declared a state of emergency that will run through the entire games, exactly what the international olympic committee was not planning when they postponed the games last much, during the height of the pandemic. but here we are. you have got a state of emergency, you had covid cases rising in tokyo and the surrounding area.

and you have basically 15% to 20% of japanese residents completely fully vaccinated. and it is a very slow process to vaccinate the population in japan, they were very slow off the mark. so now you have a situation where you just can't trust it. you just can't put people in those venues. even if athletes of the road show up, there will be some who are not vaccinated. we don't know how many but certainly there will be unvaccinated athletes coming into japan, and the risk is too great. and it is a shame, because this is the greatest regular schedule peacetime gathering of the world . the olympic games are the youth of the world coming together for good, for sport, and this is a gathering. they will have no gathering because the athletes can't even mix. you can't have those scenes in the square with television sets and everyone together in a glorious celebration. very unfortunate. judy: she left, we are reading

that the japanese public didn't want the games to go forward why . why then did the japanese government say, yes, the games will go forward despite these restrictions, and what pressure were they under from the international olympic committee? >> i think it has been hard for prime minister suga in his cabinet to try to balance both the covid pandemic and the management of the pandemic with the real investment both in in financial terms, but also in expectations for the olympics. the japanese people largely love the olympic games and we're delighted when tokyo was selected to host them. but as the pandemic became more severe, and as a consequence of the pandemic for this year's games became more acute not only in japan but around the world i think the japanese public has really turned sour on the idea that they should be hosting them. as you pointed out in your opening piece about 85% of the japanese public feel that they should be postponed once again or canceled altogether, i

think what is at stake is officially a lot of government investment. olympic games four countries are not inexpensive endeavors. they are showcase japan to the also the idea that they should showcase japan to the world. to show a technologically sophistitedapan and japanese culture to the world. judy: bringing it back to the international olympic committee, they have been pushing hard for the games to go forward. why? >>? >> so much money. it is about billions of dollars. sponsorship. it is about the olympic committees that need that money as well. basically the summer olympics, or the winter olympics which will happen in beijing in six months, they trounced everything. there is also in addition to that, although that is a big reason, just the financial reason, and that is why it is going to look like a tv show. and they almost don't -- they care about fans but not really. they want the show to go on.

it could be in a soundstage really. but i think you've got the hubris of the international community. and that is not breaking news. we are talking about people who in some cases are royalty in europe or they think they're royalty. they stay in the finest hotels and they have the biggest per diems. the great meals. they arehe lords of the rings. they run the olympics. and i wondering for the future am if we look back at this time maybe 20-30 years from now the olympics really struggle we may look at this as confidence bordering on hubris. we will see what comes over the next month or so. judy: sheila, you were talking about what is at stake for the japanese, for the organizers, for the country. it is their reputation and they have to be worried about safety? >> absolutely, judy. i think the government is on tenterhooks. it is important to point out

that the numbers of covid-19 cases in japan are still far less than here in the united states or in india, for example. nevertheless, the japanese people are worried that this will be some kind of superspreader event that the government will not be able to manage. and the stake for prime minister suga and his political party are very high -- there is a lower house election in october and getting to the other side of these games safely will be important for his political future. judy: christine, i want to come back to something you said in your first answer about how different this will be for the athletes themselves. what is going to be difrent? you covered, what is it, 18 of these olympic games before, but what will be different for them? >> there is no ability to go out on the town with family or friends after their events during the events. there is no mingling with the other athletes.

the joy of a canadian being able to sit next to an indian who is sitting next to an australian who is next to a german athlete, all different sports, having lunch or dinner, it can't happen. they can sit in a dining hall and enjoy that social time. when you talk to athletes, as you and i have over the years, olympians in the past, they talk about the deep friendships they made in the village. it can't happen because you cannot have the risk, not -- covid is part of it, but also, contact tracing. someone goes and does that and there is the tracing. the apps, we will all have them, they will be watching our every move. and then you go back to your dorm or olympic village hall way and you contact tracers your roommates right out of their event. it sounds dramatic, is sounds like it couldn't happen, but could. that is what it will be a very austere and spartan olympic games where these athletes compete and then go home.

no celebration. judy: and quigley, the opening's -- quickly, the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony, are they going to have that? >> as we understand, they have to keep athletes apart from other countries. they will come in, walk around the track, have a way tompty seats, and then work out and get them back safely to their dorm rooms. again, a tv show more than anything else. judy: christine brennan, sheila smith the games begin in a little more than two weeks. thank you both very much. >> thank you, judy. >> thank you, judy. judy: and on the newshour online, a slew of ransomware attacks have wrecked the u.s. leaving both corporate sector , and government officials scrambling to address the growing threat. we look into the attacks and what can be done to stop them. that is on our website,

pbs.org/newshour. i am judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening for the pbs newshour. thank you again, and stay safe. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> architect, mentor. every month jane's financial advisor -- a financial advisor tailors your life to fit you. >> o u.s.-based customer service team can help you find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular data tv. >> johnson & johnson. ♪ bnsf railway. the ford foundation, working with missionaries on the frontlines lines of social change worldwide. ♪

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