captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: haiti in crisis. new details raise more questions about the assassins who killed the country's president. then, the fight for syria. a critical vote in the u.n. security council decides the fate of the country's last humanitarian lifeline. >> ( translated ): as aid workers, we demand the international community separate human rights work from politics, and to avoid attaching policy gains to the distribution of humanitarian aid. >> woodruff: and, it's friday. david brooks and karen tumulty examine thwithdrawal of u.s. troops from afghanistan, and the latest on the new york city

mayor's race. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth managent. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the john s. a 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 broadcastin and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: police in haiti have now arrested 17 men in connection with wednesday's assassination of president jovenel moise. authorities say two are u.s.-haitian citizens, and 15 are colombian nationals. nine suspects are believed to still be at large. the u.s. is sending federal law enforcement officers from the f.b.i. and homeland security to help. we will get the latest after the news summary. search crews have pulled the remains of 15 more victims from the rubble of a collapsed condominium tower in surfside, florida.

that raised the confirmed death toll to 79. 61 people are still unaccounted for. the miami-dade mayor said they are working as expeditiously as possible to locate more victims. >> this recovery is moving forward with great urgency, as we work 24 hours a day on the pile to recover victims and bring closure to all of the families still waiting. we want to bring them news as quickly as we possibly can. find a cat who had lived on the building's ninth floor and survived the collapse. and reunited it with its family. the centers for disease control and prevention today encouraged schools to reopen fully now that students as young as 12 are getting vaccinated and deaths are declining. it also said that fully vaccinated teachers and

students. meanwhile, the c.d.c. and the food and drug administration said that fully-immunized americans do not currently need a booster shot. that comes after pfizer announced plans to seek approval for one in the next month. tropical storm elsa triggered flood warnings across the northeastern u.s. today, as it barreled into new england. in new haven, connecticut, water was seen spouting from manhole covers. and in the new york city region, downpours flooded subways and streets. president biden today pressed russia's president vladimir putin to "take action" to disrupt ransomware attacks emanating from russia. the leaders spoke for an hour by phone in the wake of a string of cyberattacks linked to russian hackers that paralyzed u.s. businesses. mr. biden warned that the u.s. will "defend its people and its critical infrastructure." president biden also signed an executive order today aimed at curbing the anti-competitive practices of big businesses.

it includes 72 actions and recommendations to boost wages and increase consumer protections. before a signing ceremony at the white house, the president said that the order targets abusive actions by monopolies. >> capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. it's exploitation. without healthy competition, big players can change and charge whatever they want, and treat you however they want. and for too many americans, that means accepting a bad deal for things that can't go-- you can't go without. >> woodruff: business and trade groups opposed the order, arguing that it would hamper the post-pandemic economic recovery. the biden administration also announced that u.s. immigration authorities will no longer detain most migrants who are pregnant or recently gave birth, reversing another trump-era policy. immigration and customs enforcement officials said the decision reflects their commitment to treating

individuals with dignity, while still upholding the law. in bangladesh, at least 52 people are dead after a fire broke out in a food and beverage plant outside dhaka. first responders worked to put out the flames and recover bodies, after the fire engulfed the five-story building thursday night. fire officials said the main exit door was locked, trapping many inside. the taliban now claims to control 85% of afghanistan's territory. while that is impossible to verify, their fighters have made strategic gains in recent months, as american troops pull out of the country. taliban leaders have promised not to attack provincial capitals. back in this country, the city of charlottesville, virginia announced plans to take down its controversial monument to confederate general robert e. lee. the statue sparked a violent white supremacist rally in 2017 that left a woman dead.

a nearby statue of another confederate general, thomas "stonewall" jackson, is also set to come down saturday. workers began removing security fencing that remains around the u.s. capitol today. the eight-foot high fence was erected after the january 6 insurrection, and has been in place for six months. the operation is expected to take about three days to complete. and on wall street today, banks and tech stocks led all three major indexes to notch record cles. the dow jones industrial average climbed 448 points to close at 34,870. the nasdaq rose 142 points, and the s&p 500 added 48. still to come on the newshour: covid cases continue to strain hospitals in areas of the u.s. with low vaccination rates. the u.n. security council decides the fate of syria's last humanitarian lifeline.

new analysis shows climate change driving extreme heat and drought in the western u.s. plus, much more. >> woodruff: as we reported, haiti is leading an international investigation into the assassination of president jovenel moise. john yang has the latest. >> yang: judy, the investigation is generating as many questions as answers. the 15 colombian nationals under arrest are former members of that nation's armed forces. 11 of them were captured after breaking into the taiwanese embassy in haiti. meanwhile, the political storm is intensifying, with competing prime ministers claiming the right to run the country. after moise was assassinated, prime minister claude seph announced a 15-day state of

siege. but a new prime minister, appointed by moise, ariel henry, was supposed to have taken over that very day, and he says he's the rightful ruler. to help us try to sort through this, we are joined by pamela white, a former u.s. ambassador to haiti, and garry pierre- pierre, the founder of the "haitian times," a newspaper serving the haitian diaspora. thanks for joining us. be garry, i'd like to start with you. haitian officials arrested these 17 men, they say they're responsible but they say as often said in political assassinations, it's not important who pulls the trigger, but who gets did l bullet. does that give uf any clues as to who may have paid or the this operation? >> well, we don't have a clue right now, because there are many people who you can say would be involved in something like that obviously.

it's not just one. one of the things i want to rule out is this was not political. it is not a political hit. it is a personal hit akin to a mob hit. so this was about business. he had you know encroached on the interests and a lot of powerful forces in haiti and unfortunately i think that's what got us there. >> ambassador white, a new election, constitutional election scheduled for september. the united states position appears it should go forward. do you think that's a good idea? >> go i really, really don't. i think unfortunately for ny years and many places around the world, the united states government thinks an election is the answer to a very complicated problem and this is very complicated in haiti. anyone who is not haitian who says they understand haitian politics is probably lying. and even though i've spent five years of my life under a junior

officer and three years of my life under an ambassador, i think pretty certain free and fair elections are not going to be able to take place in the current atmosphere in haiti. it is too violent, too chaotic. and from the players that are integral to making it happen. i don't see it. >> garry, talking about chaos, competing prime ministers, if there is no election, are we in for a prolonged period of unsettled political situation in haiti? >> i don't think so. i think the u.n. has made it clear that they are supporting claude joafs as prime minister as they -- joseph as they announced yesterday and it's up to him to build a government and try to move forward. the u.n. seems to be willing to work with him. and i want to say i agree 100% and it was refreshing to hear ambassador white make a comment.

because the u.s. has been enforcing this address on haiti. -- this democracy on haiti. really talk to the stakeholders in haiti, people who want to make this place truly a democracy. because this is why we come back here, in five or ten years talking about the me thing. we want to force this democracy. i'm an american, a haitian american, i love democracy but we have to be real. at what point to make sure haiti can remain a functioning democracy? >> ambassadowhite, i want to continue on that. the united states ems to pay attention to heatd at the times of crisis. the aristide coup, president trump deriding haiti not a pleasant place to live. there are also comments from

senator biden from 1994, circulating, let's take a listen to that. >> if haiti, god-awful thing to say if haiti sunk into the caribbean and rose up 100 feet, can it wouldn't merit too much. >> ambassador white is it an opportunity to reassess the united states position towards haiti and what it should be? >> i absolutely think it is. every time we look at haiti and we see turmoil, except in trms of huge crisis, the last three years have been disaster. not one of my haitian friends, not one hasn't had someone in their family or friends circle of friends be murdered in the last three years. not one of my haitian friends hadn't had someone they know kidnapped. the place has descended into chaos. what are we going to do about that? the elephants in the room right

now in haiti is two security questions, food security, a third of the country is hungry, and physical security, stability, you can't have an election with people being murdered. no way to get to the polls, no way of identifying who should be going to the polls. this is craziness and the other one is the covid. >> garry, the point about security, the united states is going to go down to help investigate the assassination. but there are also word that u.s. wants port security and other internal security. do you think that would be a good idea? >> i don't think so. i wrote a column this morning that asked for the biden administration to send in the fbi, because i think that's a good thing. but soldiers are another thing. the about haitian police force can provide such protection. we don't need u.s. forces there. it evokes too many bad memories and people just don't want that.

it's not the thing odo. i do believe that they need help. i mean, the ambassador white knows this. the state department has a great program with haitian american police officers working in concert with the haitian police. that program was working well until president trump dismantled that program. that was really ucht. there is -- unfortunate. the defense department shouldn't be the firks department, i think state is better place to handle this situation politically and they can and we just have to make it a priority. >> garry pierre pierre of the haint times and ambassador pamela white thanks very much. >> thanks for having us.

>> woodruff: the c.d.c.'s guidance for schools to fully reopen this fall, and to allow fully-vaccinated students to go without masks, is yet another sign of how the u.s. is shifting its approach to the covid pandemic. but even as the push for regular routines grow, the delta variant presents its own risks, especially to those who aren't vaccinated. some states in the south and midwest have low vaccination rates. stephanie sy looks at one dealing with a spi in cases: missouri. >> sy: judy, missouri is one of those states where the delta strain is leading to a rise in cases. it's among the top five states when it comes to new cases and hospitalizations. missouri has reported nearly 7,600 newly confirmed or probable cases in the past week. fortunately, the number of reported deaths remains low-- only seven confirmed in the past week. but there are regions, particularly in the southwest part of the state, where vaccination rates are well under 35% or 40%. hospitals in those areas are

grappling with serious illness and a strain on resources. erik frederick is the chief administrative officer at mercy hospital in springfield, missouri. mr. fred rick thank you so much for joining us. describe, what you're seeing and how it compares to the height of the pandemic last winter when many hospitals were overwhelmed. >> thank you, stephanie. to put it in perspective, we have two served last year and now the current one, starting on june 1st when our inpatient census for covid was 26 and today we are at 128, which is the highest census we've had the entire pandemic. 36 to 128. last year our peak started on september 1st and it took us 150 days to make that same escalation. so it's alarming to have your

patient census with covid grow that fast over such a short period of time. we've had plans in place the entire time but the ability to deploy tat, over the last couple of weeks. >> let's talk about that mr. frederick. what shortages if any have you experienced to care for these new patients? i understand that having enough ventilators has been an issue. >> we certainly strained our ventilator resources last week and we pushed them to the edge. we have a number of ventilators that we keep on shand with additional resources like transport ventilators should we have to move patients. our plan then allows us to reach out across our system, lean on our sister facilities for some of their resources should we need them. we saw rapid escalation from thursday through saturday. we really pushed on our on-hand inventory right up until we know we were going to be using that last convenient later. we pulled that plan out and rallied some resources and they were delivered on time.

the good news is we never had a gap that patients needed resources that we didn't have. quickly that plan allowed that to happen. as of today we have plenty for to continued ruse and more if we need it. >> what about staffing issues or any of those at this point? >> from a vent capacity, we have stretched our icu's. during our peak st year we had one dedicated icu. what we've found is that we have to stretch into a second. we have a third icu that we have for those non-covid ishes pats. ea we just stood up a fourth icu that hadn't been in place for a while. we stood that up for additional capacity as wel. that take additional equipment, other beds, multiple covid beds for number acuity for patients. but you hit on it, ultimately it is a staffing issue right? i think we hear a lot from

communities who say we have plenty of beds. i've heard when you say, how can you be stretched when you have 800 beds? beds aren't just beds, they are specialized, when you have to get down to the number of beds you have to take care of this type of patients, also whether it comes down to it, if you have a staff to put around the beds. you can have all the beds in the world but if you don't have nurses and doctors and technicians you're probably in a bad spot. >> i saw there are a lot of patients in the icu and i saw yo tweet more than 80% of them are on ventilators, many severe cases you're dealing with. out of those cases mr. frederick are those all unvaccinated people? >> definitely, the percent of icu patients on ventilators is lawrnlting. 85%, still above 80%, that's

more than what we saw last year, i would say you know as we keep toll of who is vaccinated and who is not what we are seeing is less than 5% of or patients are fully vooks necessitated and none of those patients to date have ended up in the icu or the highest level of care. so even if there may be something who are vaccinated, the numbers are low and they usually end up in the lower level of care and go home. i have not seen any die at this point. >> erik frederick, thank you for your time. >> thank you, i appreciate it. >> woodruff: today, the u.n. security council voted unanimously to extend a crucial aid operation for syria, one day before it was set to close, after a deal between the u.s. and russia. the white house said presidents biden and vladimir putin discussed it on a phone call.

but, as nick schifrin reports, some humanitarian groups say the deal doesn't go far enough for the millions of syrians in desperate need. >> schifrin: for syrian children near the turkish border, the only way to survive is to search through scraps. ten-year-old mohammad adi begins every day at dawn. if he finds enough pieces of steel, he can eat. >> ( translated ): i collect and sell steel i find here, so that i can afford to buy a loaf of bread. there's no one that can afford to spend money on us. we have to work so that we can spend what we earn on ourselves. >> schifrin: the children live here, in the nearby al amal camp. in northwest syria, desperation is everywhere. thousands of syrians who have come here after fleeing their homes say all they have left is god-- and the united nations. for the weathered, and the weak, whose houses were destroyed by ar strikes, this arid camp is now home. fahmy al-saud says if the last humanitarian aid crossing had

closed, everyone would have turned to the trash-- not to trade steel, but for food itself. >> ( translated ): if they close the border, where will people go? they'll go to the landfills. if they find fruit scraps, they will eat them. they will eat out of starvation, that level of starvation. >> schifrin: in 2014, the u.n. security council approved four border crossings for humanitarian aid into syria. in january 2020, russia used a veto threat to close two crossings. seven months later, under pressure from russia and china, the u.n. closed a third crossing-- leaving only one: bab el hawa in the northwest. today's agreement extends the status quo for six months, with a six-month renewal that a senior administration official called "virtually automatic." the u.n. praised the deal, and u.s. ambassador to the u.n. linda thomas-greenfield said the unanimous vote saved lives. >> it's a moment for millions of syrians who will not have to worry about starving to death in the coming weeks.

it's important that the united states and russia were able to come together on a humanitarian initiative that serves the interest of the syrian people. >> schifrin: but humanitarian aid groups say authorizing a single aid crossing is not enough to meet the vast need, and they say russia's blocking another proposal that would have re-opened a second crossing, shows disregard for syrian lives. today, han rights watch said "russia has successfully blackmailed the international community," and amnesty international accused russia of "playing political games with the lives and welfare of millions of people." idlib is the final stronghold of the syrian opposition. humanitarian workers in syria accuse russia and the syrian government of using humanitarian need for political gain. >> ( translated ): as aid workers, we demand the international community separate human rights work from politics, and to avoid attaching policy gains to the distribution of humanitarian aid. >> schifrin: but russia and the syrian government want the aid to pass through government-

controlled areas. foreign minister sergey lavrov recently blamed syria's humanitarian crisis on the u.s. >> ( translated ): if we're all worried about the humanitarian problems of the syrian people, we need to look at the full range of reasons, starting with sanctions, the illegal seizure of syrian assets in foreign banks at the request of washington, a total robbery. >> schifrin: 85% of idlib's four million people depend on the bab el-hawa crossing. and now, it's also covid. this week, the world health organization said the u.n. is counting on the crossing to deliver more than 50,000 vaccines. last weekend, aid organizations demonstrated at the crossing, and accused the russians of killing them through bombing and starvation. >> ( translated ): this decision would subject people to another form of killing, like the bombardment we experience every day from russia and the regime. >> schifrin: despite today's agreement, that bombardment remains relentless. last saturday, syrian government artillery and russian airstrikes

destroyed this home, and an office of the syrian humanitarian rescue group, the white helmets. the airstrikes killed at least eight civilians. most of them were children. just a mile from the border crossing, syrians acknowledge their fate still rests on a vote from the same country that bombs them. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. >> woodruff: stay with us. coming up on the newshour: why both parties are behind changing one of the ways congress spends money. david brooks and karen tumulty consider the u.s. role in afghanistan, and the new york city mayor's race. and, can you spell "history?" the remarkable new orleans teen who won the national spelling bee. extreme heat and drought are baking the western u.s. and canada again this week,

following hundreds of heat- related deaths in the pacific northwest last week. record-breaking temperatures are expected to return to california over the weekend, including in the san joaquin valley, which is where william brangham is currently reporting. and he joins me now from the city of visalia. he joins me now from the city of visalia where william you are teing us it's something like 109°, another heat wave coming, tell us what it's like and are officials there prepared? >> judy, the technical term is it's unbelievably hod out here. the national weather service has issued a warning, through weekend, extreme heat alert. they are basically advising people, if you don't have to be outside, don't. stay in the shade, be inside if you can, drink plenty of water. the concern as of all of these heat waves is the illness and death. as you mentioned i don't think

people have a real appreciation of how much heat waves cause death all over the world. it's the leading weather related killer when it comes to climate events. the pacific northwest heat wave which we just had which you mentioned killed hundreds of people. two years ago, in europe, which many don't remember, tens of thousands died in a heat wave there. same thing happened in 2003. so this is the ongoing concern that we see more of these events and more and more people will lose their lives. it is not like the suffering is spread equally. the homeless, people who can't choose to work inside, people who don't have adequate housing and people who canned afford to pay the high cost of running their electricity and their air conditioning day after day. >> woodruff: and william we know there is a considerable amount of research being done about the role that climate change is playing in all this. what is known at this point

about the connection between the heat and climate change? >> that's right, judy. this whole field of research is known as atary booution science. how much can you attribute a given event to things like climate change. scientists are getting better and better on which events are impacted heavily by climate change. there was a study just out last week from a european agency that said that the pacific northwest heat wave that we all just experienced was almost certainly driven by climate change. could it vo not have happened and been as bad without climate change. june we know was the hottest june that north america has ever seen in record. over the last 20 years the earth has seen the 19 of the warmest years on record. and so this is what the climate models have always predicted, that climate change keeps going up as we pump more in oil and gas and coal into the atmosphere.

temperatures will go up and extreme events will go up. research has shown they are more frequent now, starting earlier and lasting longer. so it is a genuine concern. >> woodruff: and william, given all of this, what can local officials, what can -- what can residents do to stay safe? >> well, some of the things that we talked about before, go to cooling centers like the one i'm standing in front of here in visalia. the larger issue is, of course, weneed to cut our emissions to stop the temperature of the plant it going up. but at a local level, states and cities and counties, you can build buildings better, using more reflective services, plant trees that offer a lot of shade, those things are all crucial. one of the most important things that researchers said is that strengthening our electrical grid infrastruure is key.

right now in visalia there is maybe 100,000 people living around me, that is protected by the electricity that is fueling their air conditioners. if we had a flassive blackout in the middle of these heat waves, that is hundreds of thousands of people that would no longer have the protection of that air conditioning and would you see a real tragic effect occur. as these become common big stresses on the electrical grid can cause big serious problems. >> woodruff: it is such a concern. william brangham, stay safe, we hope everyone is able to stay safe. thanks. >> thanks i. judy. >> woodruff: congress may be on recess, but there's a long list of priorities on the agenda when they return to washington. as lisa desjardins reports, there's something else making a comeback, too-- the earmark,

an object both relished and reviled, that benefits constituents back home. >> desjardins: we start here: ansonia, connecticut. mayor david cassetti needs a new bridge. this outdad one is a literal roadblock to perhaps ansonia's greatest asset, an abandoned copper and brass factory. 66 acres of rusting but prime real estate near major highways and waterways. a piece of history from a century ago, where now ansonia sees its future. >> we want to build it back up to an economic engine, where we can have jobs for our community as well as the surrounding communities. i mean, thousands of jobs here. >> desjardins: a no-nonsense character, cassetti helped muscle ansonia's main street back to life after years as a near ghost town. but unployment is still above the national average. restaurants are hungry for more customers during the day, hoping

for a new, large employer. >> maybe google or amazon, one of the big internet companies. >> desjardins: but first, to get anyone to this potential business site,he city needs a stronger bridge, and millions of llars to build it. enter the congressional earmark. by definition, an earmark is congressional funding for a specific local project. as old as the nation itself, they've often been pet projects of powerful lawmakers. and, at times, scandalous. >> an ohio congressman, robert w. ney, has agreed to plead guilty. >> desjardins: in 2006, bob ney pleaded to corruption, taking money from lobbyist jack abramoff in exchange for earmarks for his clients. one year before, earmarks for defense contractors brought down congressman duke cunningham, who pleaded guilty to bribery. some proposed earmarks, like alaska's so-called bridge to nowhere, added to the fury. >> the house has made clear, in our rules, that there will be

no earmarks. >> desjardins: in 2011, republicans running the house decided simply to stop using them. president obama pushed senate democrats to do the same. earmarks went on pause. until this year, when congress decided to bring them back. two house democrats-- appropriations chairwoman rosa delauro and transportation chairman peter defazio-- are leading the effort to put them in spending bills before congress now. tell me, why bring back earmarks now? >> you know, because i think of what we're about here is the spending of federal dollars. and i don't believe that anyone knows better about what the issues are in a community than the member who represents that community. >> desjardins: it's about who decides which parks, which roads and which local projects get federal funds. right now, that's government

agencies. earmarks are would give individual lawmakers some of that power. now, earmarks amount to just a fraction of the federal budget. but even so, billions of dollars are on the line. shake earmarks' past, the appropriations committee has given them a new brand name-- ommunity project funding"-- and new rules. each earmark request must be public. they are posted online, a sea change from years where this was all in secret. each must show community support. and they cannot directly benefit for-profitompanies. >> we're all playing by the same rules. it's got to meet the guidelines. so for me, i will follow the same guidelines as everyone else. >> transparency is better, but not bringing them back at all would have been the best decision. >> desjardins: tom schatz is president of citizens against government waste. he sees earmarks as a blight, feeding corruption and runaway spending. >> there is nothing good about earmarks. it doesn't matter what the

project is. the merits are not the issue. >> desjardins: which is why 105 house members, mostly republicans, are not requesting any, boycotting the idea. among them, freshman byron donalds. >> we don't have any money. like, we are deficit spending in washington, d.c. >> desjardins: donalds has stood his ground as more senior republicans have told him that earmarks have a long history and can do good. >> with all due respect to my colleagues, who've been up there longer-- i'm here now. and so, my job isn't to look at what has always happened. >> desjardins: in truth, many controversial earmarks die on the vine. the bridge to nowhere was withdrawn. a proposed rain forest in iowa never happened. lawrence welk museum? no earmark. one of the few to make headlines and keep its funding was this bearded, iron statue in alabama: "vulcan." the century-old symbol of the city's strength and skill was crumbling in 2001, and got a notorious $3.5 million earmark.

>> happy birthday! >> desjardins: but one person's boondoggle is another's joy. the statue, which turned 117 in may, and the park that blossomed around it, are significant draws in birmingham. 1,000 miles away, that is the dream in ansonia, connecticut. >> i want to bri it back to the heyday that it was, with a twist of the 21st century. >> desjardins: mayor cassetti has a vision-- and luck. his congress member is rosa delauro, the appropriations chair restarting earmarks, and ansonia's new bridge is on her list. the republican mayor defends the cross-party alliance. >> because she knows that it's in need. i mean, we can't just let them sit idle like they have been for the last 20 years. something needs to happen. >> desjardins: multiply ansonia's story by 5,000.

that's how many projects have been requested as earmarks so far. while critics grit their teeth, lawmakers are now deciding not if, but which projects like this make it into spending bills. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: and now, we turn to the analysis of brooks and tumulty. that is "new york times" columnist david brooks, and karen tumulty, deputy opinion editor for the "washington post." jonathan capehart is away. it's so good do see both of you on this friday. but let's pick up david with that wonderful report earmarks coming back, a good thing or not? >> brooks: a good thing. i missed wrernt they so

romantic first earmarks allow leadership to pass bills, because they can offer recalcitrant members this or that. so they paid passing bills. they make congress less polarized, because it becomes more transactional rather than ideology. they didn't go away, they just went to the executive branch. so one man sitting in the transportation department made decision it was even more hidden. and getting away from earmarks had nothing to do with congressional spending. they are a tiny tiny part of the budget. the money just moved, there is no decrease on federal spending. like any measure getting rid of earmarks was a mistake. >> woodruff: mistake karen? >> tumulty: i think so too. it was an understandable reaction to the jack abramoff

scandal, which was the worst to hit washington in decades. but earmarks are also a way that people feel connected to their government. they can point to tangible things in their community that are there because they matter to people in that community. so that members of congress can then say, you know, this is why you sent me to washington, and yes, the appropriations committee where all these deals were done, was one of the last bastions of partisanship on capitol hill. >> woodruff: this argument david that this is going to bring back partisanship, yes, but it's going to be bringing back corruption and wheeling and dealing that we don't need. >> brooks: they're both true. there is corruption involved and something that goes through powmple people. you drive through where west virginia and you get the robert

bird highway off the robert bished hospital. there is a bipartisan nonbiased set of judges who decide where a road should be put in, that doesn't exist. we have a reasonably democratic way to go about where these bits of funding will go or not go. >> tumulty: and politics has become so nationalized. i think that is one of the problems with our system now. >> woodruff: well, it's fascinating to watch it come back and we'll see where it goes. i do want to bring up with both of you what president trump expedient good bit of --ing. >> brooks: biden. >> woodruff: did i say trump? president biden, thank you. his decision to pull u.s. troops out of afghanistan now.

he made the arguent, dave, this is the right thing to do, afghan leaders ought to be able to run their own contry. is this the right decision? >> brooks: i think he's making a mistake. it's become record time, it's a mistake. to hold afghanistan together from the taliban. that has fallen apart. 85% of the territory has already fallen to the taliban and the taliban feels confidence they will -- confident will take over. this pakistani lady mollala was shot in the head, we all sympathize and thought that was a very important cause that young women's in this part of the world should be able to get an education. we're walking away from that, if idea that afghanisn will stay one country, that we can keep al qaeda out of afghanistan again,

incredible turmoil in that part of the world, refugees, rushing into pakistan, destabilizing pakistan? can a price worth paying for humanitarian and strategic reasons. and i think it's a mistake that we're pulling out. >> woodruff: how do you ski it? >> tumulty: i think president biden is very much where the american people are here. democrats, republicans, independents, as testy as this exchange got with reporters yesterday, the fact is, joe biden was a skeptic of a broader mission in ghanistan. when he was vice president, he was sort of the lone voice in the obama white house on this. but he believes this is one of the things that heas elected to do. and it's where he has been for over a decade. and increasingly it is absolutely where the american people are. >> woodruff: and david, this

argument that the president has made repeatedly and that is, how many more young american women and men is the united states going to send there to either die, to be wounded, to just to experience a tour of duty after tour of duty. >> brooks: and then everyone honors those who serve and nobody takes their sacrifice lightly but they are not in combat roles, we haven't had many casualties in the last year, mostly in training or support roles. but even in those roles they seem to have enough influence along where other cincinnati na, to me it's a tradeoff worth making. like united states has done, we weigh the benefits against the cost. but karen says is absolutely true, the americans are sick of

this. america has been in the postwar era the superpower and we have gone in and stabilized, made hosht decisions in iraq you and vietnam obviously,ing even the story earlier in the program on haiti, if haiti is asking us to come in and stabilize, it is not our role anymore. it is a sense of where america's posture was, i don't think i have a sense of where america's posture is now. intertments and as much as president biden sayse doesn't want to be in the business of about nation building, central america strengthening these countries is the administration's strategy to getting control over the border, the fact is, every president says they don't want to get into nation-building. and every president ends up having to do it. >> woodruff: a lot of lives

lost, lives changed, money spent in that country. bringing i.t. back home, new york city had -- bringing it back home, new york city had its primary elections couple of weeks ago. we now know who the democratic winner is eric adams, not the most progressive, not the most applicable in the race. he only one by one percentage point. but what does it say that he won given his background? >> brooks: well it used to be you could tell how somebody was going to vote from their income levels. that's less predictable now, it's education levels. democratic party, it showed up in the presidential and interestingly it showed up in new york city. you got more moderate african american, latino,ing eric adams who is more moderate. then you got young college

educated professionals, they tend to go further left, they went to maya wylie and then upscale professionals who go from the new york times endorses, kathryn garcia. it's interesting that these three demographic groups fikd three different candidates. i imagine it will happen in other races. >> tumulty: this is a good news bad news can information for eric adams, congratulations, you now have to be mayor of new york. this is the biggest experience seen yet in ranked choice voting. you don't have to just pick a candidate, you can express your preferences. and as much as the new york city board of elections tried to screw this up, it worked the way it was supposed to. which was that coalition building candidate who can sort of reach beyond a narrow slice of the electorate won. and so now, he's got to deal

with what appears to be the primary issue on people's minds in new york city, which is crime. >> woodruff: and is he -- i mean is this sending a message though david to come back to the question of he's not the most regressive candidate, he's not for defunding the police, in fact far from it. does it send radio methodical to democrats more broadly? >> brooks: yes, i think so. the most vocal part of the democratic party is the college educated younger people who are more left wing than the party. if you go on my twitter feed with all progressive friends, there are not many pro-biden on my twitter feed. they are all more left. the democratic party is not the upper west side, it's not soho or west village. it's kanarsj, it's bed-sty.

it is places where they send their ciz to public schools, an- kids to public schools, and b, the party has to remember real life is not twitter, real life is not the activist space and this election is a reminder of that. >> woodruff: weymouth, ream life i not twitter. karen does it send, is this just a new york city unique story or does it send a message of some kind of the democrats? >> normally would i say be very, very careful about taking anything from new york city politics and trying to apply it nationwide. but in this case you talk to democratic leaders all over the country, they are very, very nervous about how the issue of violent crime is going to play for their party and what is -- was already shaping up to be an incredibly difficult mid term election -- season.

>> woodruff: and we see president biden wrestling with that now. david we hear he is going to have more to say about that next week. >> brooks: and controversial past for that. >> woodruff: for sure. david brooks, karen tumulty, thanks so much. great to have you here. >> thank you. >> woodruff: finally tonight, we couldn't finish this week without recognizing history made at the national spelling bee last night-- and the impressive young teen who won it. lisa desjardins is back with her story. >> the word is "murraya." >> desjardins: a genus of trees. that was the word that sealed her victory last night. >> m-u-r-r-a-y-a. >> that is correct! >> desjardins: 14-year-old

zaila avant-garde, from harvey, louisiana, became the first african american to win the scripps national spelling bee. >> i've been, like, working on it for like, two years, and then to finally have it, like, the best possible outcome is really good. >> desjardins: the only previous black champion was an international student from jamaica: jody-anne maxwell, in 1998. >> i'm hoping that in a few years, i'll see a whole lot more african american females, and males, too, doing well in the scripps spelling bee, because it's like a really good thing, kind of a good gate-opener to being interested in education. >> desjardins: for ava-garde, spelling came relatively late in her life-- only two years ago. with daily study sessions, about seven hours long, reviewing nearly 13,000 words a day. i study, i just study it. ( laughs ) just getting ready for scripps.

>> desjardins: this summer, she emerged from more than 200 contestants, and breezed to victory past ten other finalists last night. it was a stark contrast to the previous competition in 2019, when eight students took home a prize. but, for avant-garde, winning the bee-- and the $50,000 that came with it-- is only one of her passions. she is also an avid basketball player, and the owner of three“ guinness” world records for her amazing dribbling skills. with her basketball talents, and now the spelling bee under her belt, she says she now has her eyes set on even more ambitious goals, from playing in the w.n.b.a., to maybe one day coaching in the n.b.a. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: all we can say is wow! and on the newshour online right now, our friday "five stories” tells you about a sports car

that can fly, why four-day work weeks work, and other stories you may have missed. you can find that on our youtube channel or on our website. th's www.pbs.org/newshour. and stay with pbs. yamiche alcindor gets a live report from haiti in this moment of crisis. and, her panel dissects the latest on the investigation into the january 6 insurrection. that's tonight on "washington week." and keep watching pbs tonight to catch the final episode of season two of "beyond the canvas." it showcases the vibrant arts world in mexico. >> i enjoy fighting for my indigenous community, because i

feel proud of who i am. >> woodruff: join host amna nawaz tonight at 10:30 p.m. please check your local listings. and, you won't want to miss our five-part series, "raising the future." each night next week, we explore one of the most critical issues facing families: child care. here's a look. >> reporter: essential for families everywhere. but for many... out of reach. >> our child-care landscape is broken. >> reporter: one major issue? cost. >> if i worked, i would be working to pay child care. >> reporter: a fragile system laid bare by the pandemic. >> what ppens when there's not enough child care? >> it's going to be a moment of reckoning. >> reporter: sparking a national debate, which could impact families for generations to come.“ raising the future: america's child care dilemma.” starting monday night, on the pbs newshour.

>> woodruff: the issues don't get more importnat than that. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. thank you, please stay safe, and have a good weekend. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the william and fra 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. >> 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. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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