judy: good evening. i am judy woodruff. a resurgent a virus as covid outbreaks continue to spike. we get the latest from dr. anthony fauci. then, cyber threats. the global battlefront is ever more clear as china is blamed for a massive microsoft hack, and surveillance software is used against dissidents and journalists. a r correspondent reports on his hometown, witnessing how his fellow villagers see the push to drop restrictions. >> people have worked very bravely through this last 18

months, and i feel like it is a massive slap in the face that we are saying, it's ok, you can open up. 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? >> audrey is expecting. >> between spirit > grandparents. >> let's see what we can adjust. ♪ >> a change in plans. >> ok. >> are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess. change in plans? >> at fidely, a change in plans is always part of the plan. >> consumer cellular.

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this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your public station by viewers like you. judy: fears are growing over a surge of covid cases. wall street had its worst days since may as investors worried about rising infections and whether they could lead to new restrictions. covid cases have shot up almost 20% a week in the u.s.. it has been significantly higher in some southern states, but los angeles county reported 10,000 cases in one week, the highest since march unvaccinated americans are the hardest hit, accounting for 95% of the hospitalizations. the cdc warned of a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

dr. anthony fauci is the director of the national institute for infectious diseases and president biden's chief medical advisor. welcome back to the "newshour." how much of a threat is the delta variant right now? dr. fauci: it's a significant threat. it clearly has the capability and efficiency of transmitting readily from person to person, which makes it a considerable threat. if you look at how it is becoming dominant in this country, it went from a couple percentage points of the variants in circulation, to now it is close to 80%, and in some regions come up to 90% of the variants are the delta variants. it has shown this ability to transmit from person-to-person. judy:or those americans who

are not vaccinated, and we know half the country is vaccinated, how vulnerable are they, people who have not had the shot yet? dr. fauci: considerably vulnerable, and that is the reason why if you look at the cdc recommendations, they emphasize things we've noticed for some time. if you are unvaccinated, you should be wearing a mask indoors . unvaccinated people are vulnerable. as you showed there, 95.5% of the deaths in this country are due to unvaccinated people. -- 99.5% of the deaths in this country are due to unvaccinated people. judy: and in addition, the risk, the danger they are spreading it to others? dr. fauci: there is no doubt

about that. we are seeing that right now. clusters of cases of individuals get infected, and since you are dealing with such a highly efficient virus in its ability to spread from person-to-person, that's the reason why we are syrian -- seeing an uptick in cases in several regions, and the upticks corlate with vaccinations. if you have a low level of vaccination in a particular state or city or county, that is where the uptick in infections are occurring -- is occurring. judy: to be clear, even among those who are vaccinated, we are hearing and reading more about breaker infections where people are coming down with the virus even though they have been vaccinated.

how much at risk are they? dr. fauci: first of all, vaccines protect very well against infection, and very well against serious disease, but not completely protective against infection. if you look at the data from the clinical trials that showed the 93%, 94% efficacy, that was against clinically recognizable disease. it was not against pure infection. it is not surprising that you are seeing breakthrough infections. this becomes particularly prominent when you are dealing with a virus that is efficient in going from person-to-person. the people who do get infected, namely breakthrough infections among vaccinated individuals, generally have no symptoms or mild symptoms as opposed to

going on and developing disease. that is the good news about it. judy: at the same time, we know for those who are vaccinated, for example, if you live in los angeles county, they've imposed new masking indoors and outdoors. people are wondering coming even if i've been vaccinated, should i continue to wear our mask if i'm indoors? are there guidelines that work across the country, or should people listen to their local authorities? dr. fauci: the local authorities very often get it correctly. if you look at the overall recommdations, they say overall, if you are vaccinated, you don't need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors.

however, you should also pay attention to what is going on in the area you are living. if you live in an area where you have a high dynamic of infection , usually an area with low vaccination, you may want to go the extra mile and get the extra degree of ptection of wearing a mask even though you are vaccinated, to protect yourself, but particularly if you have at home vulnerable people like the elderly or people with underlying conditions, you might want to make sure you take that extra step. that is what is going on in los angeles. they want to show you can protec yourself more if you are unvaccinated. judy: you're saying that applies

even if individuals have been vaccinated. they still need to be concerned. dr. fauci: i think people who are vaccinated and go into an area where there is infection, if they have unvaccinated people at home or even people who might be vaccinated or immunosuppressed where they might not have a good response against the vaccine or with the vaccine. you have to be careful. judy: we are beginning to hear more about the need for booster shots for those individuals who may be immunosuppressed. dr. fauci: that is correct, and those data are being collected now. we are doing studies on the effect of boosters. people with underlying disease that might require medication.

judy: we've been talking about this virus since early 2020. we are a year and a half into it. the delta variant, a lot of worry right now. are you beginning to think we will not get this virus under control when you've got half the american people who've been told repeatedly about the dangers but are not vaccinated. dr. fauci: that is the big problem. we will not get complete control over this and not be able to fully get back to where we want to be until we get many more people vaccinated. we have a substantial proportion among the elderly. people we are doing well there,

but as you mentioned, we still have a substantial portion of the portion not vaccinated. the only way to crush this virus is by getting the overwhelming population vaccinated, and we are not there yet. we've got to get there if we want to get this under control. judy: we know many are saying, i'm not going to get that shot no matter what. dr. fauci: that is true, and that's why we will try anything and everything we can, particularly getting trusted messengers. their physician, their health care provider, clergyman, community representatives, people they trust to convince them why it is so important for themselves, their family, and community.

judy: dr. anthony fauci, we appreciate you joining us. dr. fauci: thank you for having me, judy. stephanie: i am stephanie sy at "newshour" west. we will return after the latest headlines. stocks tumbled over worries that covid restrictions will slow the recovery. the dow jones lost 725 points to close at 33,962. the nasdaq fell 152 points. ths&p dropped 68. president biden claims facebook is killing people by letting lies about covid-19 stay up. he made the accusation friday, and the company rejected it. the president said it's the users doing the damage.

>> anyone listening to it is getting hurt by it. it's bad information. my hope is that facebook, instead of taking it personally, that the would do something about the misinformation. stephanie: the white house said it is not in a war with facebook but with the virus. all remaining pandemic restrictions ended in england for the first time in 18 months. partygoers in london ditched their face masks and flooded dance floors. prime minister boris johnson defended the move even though infections are growing by 50,000 a day. in this country, a florida man was sentenced to eight months in florida prison. paul hodgkins is the first of the rioters sentenced in a fennel late -- felony case. a new chief has been chosen to lead the u.s. capitol police, the lead law enforcement agency that responded to the capital assault. j thomas major who has led

police departments in maryland an virginia is expected to be named to the post. house minority leader kevin mccarthy has announced his picks to join the select committee investigating the january 6 attacks. his choices include gop house members who possess committee leadership and oversight experience. the committee will hold its first hearing july 27. the u.s. and its allies formally accused china of a sweeping hack of microsoft's email software. it affected thousands of computers worldwide. a media consortium reported a number of governments have used spyware to hack the phones of journalists and officials around the world. we will use this after the new summary. in iraq, a suicide bomber killed at least 35 people and injured dozens in a busy market. more than 60 people were wounded. the toll is expected to grow. the islamic state claimed

responsibility. fire crews in southern oregon faced dangerous winds, battling a wildfire the size of los angeles. the bootleg fire is the largest of 70 burning in the western u.s. thousands of people are under evacuation orders. in california, pacific gas and electric say its equipment may have been involved in the start of a fire burning in the sierra nevada. the floods that ravaged western europe have killed at least 196 people. the cleanup and search for victims coinued today in germany. authorities said the number of dead is likely to climb higher. >> we are experiencing an inconceivable tragedy these days. this is an exceptional situation, which, even with our efforts on the ground, can only be overcome with a great national show of strength. stephanie: in haiti, claude

joseph will step down in a bid to avoid a power struggle. he's led the government since the president was assassinated july 7. his successor has international support. 15 nations and nato have renewed calls for a cease-fire in afghanistan. taliban fighters have seized much of the country as the u.s. withdraws. weekend talks between the taliban and afghan government failed to produce agreement. the u.s. justice department has barred federal prosecutors from seizing reporters' phone and email records to investigate leaks. this follows disclosures that the trump administration obtained records on journalists and members of congress. still to come, the biden administration moves its first detainee away from guantanamo bay. a war correspondent reports on lockwn. tamra keith and amy walter break down the latest political news, plus much more.

♪ >> this is the "pbs newshour" from weta studios in washington and from the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: there are two stories today that show the threat of governments using cyber tools to target adversaries, both internationally and within their n borders, and to discuss that i am joined by nick schifrin. first on china, tell us what it is that the u.s. and its allies are saying. nick: this is an international naming and shaming of chinese hacking and espionage. for the first time, nato along with the eu, japan, australia, new zealand joined the u.s. and accused china of using cyber criminals to conduct hacking.

the accused china of the big microsoft exchange hack earlier this year. i talked with james lewis from the think tank the center for strategic and international studies about the scope of the challenge posed by china, and today's announcement. >> they are the most aggressive espionage opponent we have come a more aggressive than russia. this is a huge step forward because we have many countries joining the u.s. in condemning china for its rampant espionage. it's a significant effort that the chinese are probably shocked to find there is such a consensus about what theyre doing. nick: what today's announcement did not include is any punishment. i talked with a senior congressional aide about that, a frequent critic. this aide praised the

administration for getting allies on board, but said the response was weak because it did not include. punishment. as for administration officials, they say this is a first stage and "no one action can change chinese behavior." judy: you have today the department of justice issuing a new indictment against chinese hackers. nick: this is a grand jury indicting chinese intelligce agents for a worldwide hacking, a worldwide cyber espionage, economic espionage campaign. the department of justice said it was designed to aid chinese-sponsored and chinese-owned companies and give them stolen technologies so the companies wouldn't have to create it. this is the fbi notice for the four hackers.

they say the hackers targeted trade secrets, internet -- intellectual property, high-level information from companies and governments across multiple sectors, from the nih to ebola research. this was all over the world, from the u.s. to cambodia to south africa, exactly the kind of action the u.s. and its allies are calling out today. when it comes to china, we a talking about "the global times" response. they accuse the u.s. of stirring up a geopolitical dispute. judy: as we mentioned, there is another hacking story. what is pegasus, and what has a consortium of media companies uncovered? nick: this is a window into technology that can turn your tool -- phone into a spying tool. what is pegasus? it's a software created by an israeli company, and the company

says it is designed to track terrorists and other criminals. the investigation reveals governments all over the world used this software to target opponents, whether journalists, opposition politicians, even activists, and it is all over the world. take a look at this from mexico to rwanda, to india. this was produced by the nonprofit forbidden stories. they are the ones who spearheaded this. the technical capacity was provided by amnesty international. >> that technology is a weapon, and what the investigation is showing is that the spyware is misused to such an extent we have a weapon that could blow u at any moment.

it is undermining democracy. it is undermining human rights. it could be a threat to peace and security. it must be regulated. nick: in a statement, the nso group called "the washington post" story "flimsy." nso group is on a lifesaving mission, and the company will faithfully execute this mission undeterred despite continued attempt to discredit it on false grounds. judy: interesting. we know most of those targeted are in mexico? nick: this was interesting. up to 15,000 phones in mexico were targeted by a mexican client who employed pegasus to target as many as 15,000 phones.

one belonged to a journalist cecilio berto.he was investigating local police colluding with a drug cartel. that is when his phone ended up on a list for pegasus twice. and mexican client using pegasus shortly after he was shot and killed. mexico is the most deadly country in the world for journalists. there is no connection between pegasus and his murder, but the people calling on the nso group to stop exporting this software, people calling on israel to not allow it to be exported, and for governments not to employ it say this is a matter of life and death. judy: this is so disturbing. nick schifrin, thank you.

tonight, the biden administration released its first detainee from the u.s. detention camp at guantanamo bay naval base in cuba. it's an effort to decrease the population and eventually shut down the prison complex nearly two decades after its opening. amna: the biden administration says its goal is to close wonton amo obey. they begin that process by releasing abdul natif nassir. he was repatriated to morocco. nearly eight to reef -- 800 detainees have moved through guantanamo. 39 men remain. to discuss tod's move, i'm joined by tom durkin. thanks for making the time.

what was your reaction and his when you learn he was going to leave guantanamo after two decades? tom: i can't speak to him because i have not spoken to him yet. i did speak to his brother who was absolutely ecstatic. i'm told he's been released in morocco, but i have not heard from him yet. he probably has more important people to see than me at the moment. i was just tremendously relieved. it's like getting a boulder off your shoulder. it's the best i can say. it is awful what happened to him. amna: he was cleared for release back in 2016. do you know why this happened today? tom: i don't know why it happened today. i have a theory on why it happened in the last few weeks because we have a pleading that

was due in federal court, and we had filed, along with bernard harcourt of columbia law school, with the help of some law students, an amendment to a mass petition for 11 people who were labeled forever prisoners. i believe he was released because the biden administration had the integrity not to file a pleading opposing his release ey did not believe in, unlike the trump administration. amna: wt can you tell us about his situation in morocco? his family mentioned he is released, but moroccan authorities said they would investigate him on suspicion of committing terrorist acts. what is his current status? tom: i don't know exactly. i do know the family was told there was not going to be a lengthy investigation, which is

not common. i had two other detainees released in the past, one to the sudan, one to algeria, and those investigations aren't usually lengthy. they are generally to get agreements from him that he will abide by certain conditions or what have you. amna: we should remind folks that your client was captured in afghanistan. he trained at an al qaeda camp, and in mayf this year, republican senators urged president biden not to release any more men from guantanamo, telling him the men who are there are all "high-risk." do you believe your client poses a security risk? tom:tom: that is an absurd, hyperbolic statement they've been using to justify guantanamo for years. it started with bush's statement that they had the worst of the worst there.

a review board found him not to be a risk. those are department of defense people. they are not liberals. he was found not to be a risk, as our 11 others who are dubbed forever detainees. none of theow value detainees should still be there. military commissions are a different discussion. amna: that prison remains open despite the intentions of many presidents. do you think president biden will be the one who succeeds in transferring out the remaining detainees and closing guantanamo bay? tom: only if democrats maintain control of the house and senate. it's become a political football. i blame the judiciary for keeping it open. the judiciary has no spine when it comes to guantanamo, and it is sad. i never thought i would say that about the federal judiciary.

they are spineless. they've bent over backwards to give executive authority no limitations whatsoever. and guantanamo is a classic example of that. you can still believe in the rule of law and participate in going on amo? it's a mockery of the rule of law. amna: that is tom durkin, lawyer for the former detainee abdul a latif nasser. thank you for being with us. tom: thank you. judy: with covid-19 restrictions lifted in the united kingdom, despite being in the midst of a major sue of infections, we examine how life has been lived in one english town.

for the last 16 months, will winter cross has been quarantined like so many of us, unable to travel. he sent us this look at a look at the pandemics affect, nestled in the valleys of northwest england. >> as a foreign correspondent, i spent my career covering everything from wars in the middle east to the ebola outbreak in africa. as covid-19 took hold in britain, i went back to my home county of west yorkshire is the company went into its first lockdown. little did i know i would be covering this for the next year and a half. the area is dominated by cheap farms and more. in the beginning, residents of my village spring into action,

forming a support group. dr. angela operates a local care. we spoke last march. >> i run a 75-bed hospice. the masks we've been given so far are the moisture masks. luckily, my husband has fantastic skills, making skills with 3d printers. >> angelos staff needed the masks, and here i am with these machines. i thought i could make them. >> everything is new for us. it is quite a risky time at the moment, but as we are medical

people, patients come fast. >> just as the doctor said this was a new situation for him, it was for me, as well. i normally report stories from far-flung places. i wasn't just reporting from my hometown, where there are no front lines, and the enemy is invisible. in my line of month, there's a real risk of death or injury. however, being at home, i cld have been the agent, spreading the virus to my parents with whom i've been staying. this forced me to be more careful then i've been in syria or the congo. i was aware unlike every other story, i couldn't get on a plane and leave it all behind, and it allowed me to empathize with those i've interviewed around the world. a schoolteacher in my village talked about her worries for herself and her daughters. >> whether we are safe or not safe.

we don't know whether we have had it or have not had it. >> doris was a working shepherdess until last year, but at 87 has decided to retire. she's lived in the valley her entire life. she remembers world war ii here. >> we don't know where it is, when it is going to happen. >> dora green is also a retired shepherdess. she still lives on the farm with her son. >> we are fighting bugs now. we were fighting bombs then. we are all in this together. >> over a year on, we went into our third lockdown, which means i wasn't able to cover the pandemic from this town or the fallout from george floyd's

murder or the war in gaza as i was still covering the pandemic at home. the pandemic has claimed the lives of 129,000 in the u.k. and the national health service has been stretched to a breaking point. >> my biggest worry was, when is it going to end. i think the vaccine came like a big weapon. >> many britons give credit to the national health service. >> they put me on full oxygen. i didn't think i would come home because of how i felt. >> it's been very quiet. i miss my friends, but i am working for my second injection. >> i've sort of learned how to do soon. it's a bit of a strange way of doing it because i am never sure

when i can speak and when i can't. >> local residents were keen to share their appreciation for the national health service. >> i think we can go through any situation. i have that confidence. >> as of today, july 19, or freedom day as some are calling it, all lockdown restrictions have been lifted in england. however, cases of the delta variant are rising exponentially, making it 95% of new infections. the government has been accused of sending mixed messagesfee aboutt the danger posed -- mixed messages about the danger posed by the coronavirus. like the rest of the country, here in the valley, people are divided on this decision of opening up.

>> it makes me feel anxious because the different variants are spreading. >> what would your advice be to boris johnson? >> if i would dare to advise a prime minister, i would say slow it down. it's premature. i understand the pressure he's under. as a hospice, we have vulnerable people. and there are many in the staff group who are vulnerable, as well. they are being incredibly selfless, incredibly brave. it's a massive slap in the face we are saying, it's ok. you can open up. we can't open up. >> my son and daughter-in-law came over today, brought lunch over for me, and it was the

first time i've seen them for such a long time. i really enjoyed it, and what a good day to do it. it's given me a real lift. the world is going to change. i know it is. >> i'm very lucky. might even go to the ball. >> i am will wintercross in west yorkshire, england. judy: as we begin another busy week, lisa desjardins checks in with our politics team about the political calculations around immigration, vaccine misinformation, and pulling accuracy. lisa: we turned to amy walter of the cook political report and

tamra keith of npr. our first in person reunion. high stakes, and i want to turn to an issue that might get lost but is part of this budget reconciliation package. democrats are talking about attaching immigration reform. they don't know the details, but i want to go to you. how does the biden administration handled this idea of adding some legal status, pushing for that for some illegal immigrants, while at the border, seeing more and more undocumented immigrants entering. tamra: in june, 180,000 people were apprehended on the southwest border. that is a 21-year record. in terms of the reconciliation bill, the budget bill, a federal

judge in texas said that the dreamer program that was put in place during the biden administration -- lisa: the obama administration. tamra:tamra: the obama-biden administration, that programs needs -- that program needs to pause and may get thrown out. president biden, they don't have a lot of options left. he said, congress should do something. congress has been doing it for multiple years. today, he was asked about it, and he's essentially said, whether it can actlly be put into that bill or not depends on whether the parliamentarian deems whether this is related enough to the budget, and the same thing happened with the minimum wage. president biden is saying, congress, do something. he isn't putting a lot of

political capital into it. amy: the politics are interesting, and you are right. the administration is in a tough place. they are not only trying to move beyond donald trump, the administration, their policies, and their positioning on immigration, which they argue was too harsh. at the same time, advocates on the left are pushing the administration to go farther than barack obama did. they want to see a different kind of democratic administration handling immigration. you've got a lot of pent-up demand. it's been since 2009 that the democrats have had full control. the train is leaving the station. this is your shot to put it on.

the person who decides what baggage can get on is somebody who is not elected, is a parliamentarian, and that is going to be complicated. lisa: i think this is not the last time you will be talking about that issue. another quandary is vaccine and vaccine hesitancy right now in this country. president biden had to walk back something he said. he said facebook is killing us. he said he meant people on facebook spreading misinformation. what is the biden administration doing, and is the -- is it working? tamra: they've keyed in on a message that this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. part of that is convincing people to get vaccinated, and part of it seems to be distancing.

there is this large well of hesitancy or resistance, and they are quite frustrated with the misinformation that is at cross purposes with what they are trying to do. july 4, the president had a goal, 70% of adults would have their first vaccine shots. vaccination rates are stagnating, and you talk to people trying to get folks vaccinated, and they constantly referenced things people tell them they learned on facebook. lisa: how is biden using the bully pulpit? amy: he's doing it to shame, not necessarily the unvaccinated, but to shame facebook and other social media companies to take people off quickly who are spreading information. you should be doing more to

police misinformation. the reality is, we hit a plateau, and a piece of it is, there are complicated reasons a person may not want to take a vaccine. there are folks who think, i don't know what is in this, and i don't want to try it. lisa: there was a new report out in the last day about pulling in the last election. guess what? it didn't go so far. the report found this was some of the result -- some of the worst results in what the election told us in decades, and polls were off by four points in terms of underestimating former president trump. what can posters do? amy: the short answer is we don't know how to fix this. the one thing we know in 2020 is we had a record turnout. all be -- a whole bunch of people are coming into the system who may never have voted

before or it's the first time they voted in a long time. even though the samples the pollsters were getting on paper looked great and accurate, the kinds of people who fit into those categories were different because many of them were new to the process. we are making assumptions based on how past voters voted. the other thing is the toughest times for pulling happened to coincide with the two times president trump was on the ballot. what happens when he's not on the ballot? 2018, the polls were good. let's see about 2022. lisa: how long until the congressional midterms? tamra: 16 months. lisa: you make it engaging every time. thank you, so much.

judy: the opening ceremonies of the olympics are four days away, and competitions in soccer and softball begin tomorrow night, but the specter of covid hangs over these games. 50 people in tokyo connected with the games have tested positive. that includes contractors and staff. among the athletes, an alternate on the u.s. gymnastics team who tested positive while training outside of tokyo. officials say they hope to put on a compelling series of games despite it all. we have a preview of some of the americans to watch. i spoke with christine brennan shortly before she left for tokyo. good to have you with us again. let's start with an athlete who brings the highest hopes around her, and that would be simone

biles, the gymnast who has already won so many gold medals. what are the expectations for her this time? christine: i don't think i've ever seen an athlete moore discussed, more hyped, on the tip of everyone's tongue. we've had gat stars go in for the united states and from around the world, but nothing like this. that is well deserved. the greatest gymnast trying to re-create what she did in rio, five gold medals -- four gold medals, one bronze, maybe when all five gold medals. she's the favorite to lead the u.s. through the team competition and to win a couple gold medals on various apparat i. she's a survivor of the worst sexual abuse scandal in the history of sports, a survivor of

larry nasser, the tragic and sexual assault and abuse of hundreds of young gymnasts by the former gymnastics team doctor. simone biles was the one calling out the organization time and again, being that voice for the survivors. she's also the greatest in her sport ever. remarkable. judy: remarkable. a lot of anticipation around swimming. tell us who to look for. christine: katie ledecky is the other huge name to watch. she was the star of the rio olympics and is trying to defend those titles, freestyle 200, 400, and the 1500, the first time women will be able to swim the mile. it is well past time to do it.

she's favored to win the 800. it's going to be tough for her in the 200 and the 400, her signature events because australia has got a couple strong competitors, and on the men's side, caleb dressel. he's not going to win seven or eight olympic gold medals, but i think he is favored to win several individual goals. dressel is a name to watch for the americans. judy: then there is track and field. there's probably more being said about who is not going to be running. that is shikari richardson who was taken off the u.s. team, but it does appear to be starting a conversation that was not had before about the role of

marijuana in these games. christine: it's an important conversation. richardson was destined for greatness. was going to be the favorite and would have also been on the relay team. because she said she ingested marijuana not long after ■findin out her biological mother died, she went into an emoonal tailspin, and that is how she reacted. even though she tested positive for marijuana, even though many of us think it is ridiculous, and she knew it -- to her great credit, despite the controversy, she accepted it. she didn't try to lie or get out of it. she's really holding herself in good stead for the future. perhaps, this will lead that conversation and move the world

anti-being agency to take marijuana off its band list as this is that high-profile case that would lead to that conversation. judy: she will be missed. the other part of the women running story is how many mothers there are who are going to be running this year. christine: this is just -- as is the fact that the u.s. olympic team is 54% women, for the third straight time, more women than men on the u.s. olympic team -- this is about title ix, the law signed by richard nixon most 50 years ago that opened the floodgates for women and girls to play sports. as a mom, alyssa fields has been leading this conversation. if you are pregnant, you should

get your worth. what happened over the next few months, the japanese olympic organizers have relented, but they were not going to allow women who are breast-feeding to bring their babies with them. competitors wouldn't let them have their babies. thankfully, they changed their mind. the moms can do what they are doing on the field. judy: a reminder of how many of these women's teams are being so closely watched. christine: we play basketball, and we think about the men, the dream team. the dream team is really women's basketball. going back, the u.s. women's olympic's team has not lost since 1992. this is the most dominant team in the history of sports. they simply do not lose. the odds are they will win again.

they've got some great stars, sue bird, diana taurasi. this is a professional team, mostly wnba stars. judy: we will also see some history made in that there will be for the first time some openly transgender athletes competing. christine: this is something whose time has come, and it's a conversation many people are having at the hh school level, college, pro, and at the olympics. in 2015, the international olympic committee mandated that transgender athletes could compete, transgender women could compete, as long as they met the testosterone levels in the body. in the case of the new zealand weightlifter laurel hubbard, she's been taking testosterone suppressants to be able to be in the competition. as a man, she competed, and now

will be competing as a woman. transgender rights are such an important topic. this is the fruition of that. the greatest competition in earth willllow a transgender athlete to compete. judy: there is so much exciteme around these olympic games. we are so excited to be able to look ahead with you. christine: my pleasure. i think you. judy: we look forward to hearing from her during the games when they get underway. that is the "newshour" for tonight. join us online and here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the "pbs newshour," thank you. please stay safe. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> architect. beekeeper. mentor.

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

[ theme music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -today on "cook's country," bryan makes bridget a california favorite -- smoked fish tacos... adam reviews chimney starters... and christie makes julia a streamlined recipe