captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodrf: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, investigating the insurrection: speaker of the house nancy pelosi rejects two republican nominees to serve on the committee reviewing the capitol assault. then, summer surge-- a spike in cases raises new concerns. we try to answer basic covid questions athis critical moment. and, searching for justice-- a unique summer camp aims to maintain connections between daughters and their currently or formerly incarcerated mothers. >> the love between the mothers and daughters in our program is unconditional. you know, they are mommas.

they are much more than a seven digit prison number. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most presng problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundation. committed to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and developig countries.

on the web at lemelson.org. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoinsupport of these institutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the special congressional committee tasked with investigating the january 6 riot at the u.s. capitol is embroiled in a new partisan firestorm tonight. at issue: which republican members will be allowed to participate. house speaker nancy pelosi has the final say over who sits on the panel and today announced

she would reject two of the five members suggested by minority leader kevin mccarthy. in a statement, she cited concerns about representatives jim banks and jim jordan and, "the impact their appointments may have on the integrity of the investigation." the minority leader hit back, charging democrats with an abuse of power. >> democrats must answer this question -- why are you allowing a lame duck speaker to destroy this institution? this is the people's house! not pelosi's house. >> woodruff: now the sole republican on the select committee, congresswoman liz cheney, condemned her party's leader but said it will not deter the remaining members from completing their work. >> at every opportunity, the

minority leader has attempted to prevent the american people from understanding what happened, to block this investigation. this investigation must go forward. the idea that anybody would be playing politics with an attack on the united states capitol is despicable and disgraceful. >> woodruff: here to help us understand the day's events and where we go from here, our lisa desjardins. she is at the capitol now. so, hello, lisa. you spoke to all the players involved in this today. take us through the decision -- surprising decision made by the speaker on such a high profile issue. >> reporter: quite an unusual decision and an unusual day here, judy. first of all, to explain to viewers, pelosi was able to do this because she herself set up this committee as a select committee of the house, and in the bill that set up this committee, it gave her the power to veto any of the republicans choices from mr. mccarthy.

she used the power today. i want to look at who we're talking about. leader mccarthy made five appointments. we look at the the five faces of the people wh he wanted on the committee. there they are. two of them, as you said, jim jordan and also jim banks there at the top left were the ones that she had issues with. the other three were going to be allowed to remain on the committee, but they have, in fact, said they will not participate now. so why banks and jordan specifically? that's a question we've all been asking. now, jordan, you should know, is someone who seen potentially as a material witness in this case because he did work with president trumpas legal team on questions about the certification of the election. now, as for these two me, one reason it's raising eyebrows is because of their positions within the house. i want to talk a little bit about that. jim jordan, as many viewers will know, is the ranking republican on the judiciary committee. and then jim banks, also someone behind the scenes, who's very important.

he chairs the republican study committee, the majority of the caucus are in that group. both voted to objection to the election results on january 6th after the insurrection. but there were others named who else objected that pelosi didn't remove. jim banks, why was he rejected by pelosi? he's someone who's not seen as throwing punches the way that jim jordan. i'm told it's because of a statement that mr. banks -- representative banks made earlier this week about the committee itself. let's take a look at this. this is a statement becoming a ranking member on the committee. he bro that, make no mistake, nancy pelosi created this committee volely to malign conservatives. on the one hand, this is normal partisan rhetoric in these very heated times, but talking to those around speaker pelosi, they say this was her call, and they really want a serious investigation here. their conclusion was that representative banks and representative jordan would not be serious, would not lead to a serious investigation.

however, of course, they differ. they say this is partisan tactics, the democrats are going to use this issue in the next election, and they say essentially this is a sham by pelosi. i asked her how does she respond to being called someone playing politics? she said perhaps you've mistaken me for someone who cares about that. so she doesn't really care about what reps are saying about her. she's focused on what this committee is right now and what it will do. >> woodruff: so, lisa, where does this leave this investigation into janua january 6th? and we know there's high tension already between the two parties over that. >> reporter: that's right, there will now be two investigations. weapon of mass destruction leader mccarthy said his group will lead their own investigation. we don't really know details of that yet. the other group including liz cheney and the seven democrats with her will go forward with their investigation as planned. no time for that either. that first hearing is next week. i have to say all of this really

just inflames those tensions i keep talking about that are just beneath the surface. i spoke to democrats today who are angry. overall, rank in file members are disappointed. both know this is a fragile time when they want to talk about things like infrastructure but this kind of day leads to problems on almost eve issue. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins reporting from the capitol, thank you, lisa. >> reporter: you're welcome. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, republicans in the u.s. senate blocked debate on a bipartisan infrastructure plan. the bill, worth $1.2 trillion, is not finished, but it would fund roads, bridges, broadband and other projects. democratic leaders said a procedural vote would speed things up. republicans argued it was premature. they spoke ahead of the tally.

>> we are now in the fourth week of negotiations, since the bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement with the white house on an infrastructure framework. four weeks! according to the negotiators, spurred on by this vote this afternoon, they are close to finalizing their product. >> there's no outcome yet, no bipartisan agrment. no text. nothing for the congressional budget office to evaluate and certainly nothing on which to vote. not yet. >> woodruff: negotiators say the bi could be ready by early next week, and there could be another vote, then. more than a dozen states have reached a legal settlement over opioid abuse, worth $26 billion, in their lawsuits against major u.s. distributors and drug-maker johnson and johnson. today's announcement says the companies would pay the money over 18 years. they would not admit to any wrongdoing. we'll take a closer look, later

in the program. huge wildfires kept growing today in oregon and california, and spewing giant plumes of smoke and ash. the "bootleg" fire in southern oregon is now half the size of rhode island. strong winds have blown smoke from that fire, and others, all the way to the east coast. and, several major cities have issued air quality alerts. in central china, the death toll rose to at least 25 in catastrophic flooding. chinese troops blasted open a dam west of hard-hit zhungzhaou, hoping to lower water levels. and, more video emerged of subway tunnels being inundated in the city a day earlier. three trains were at a standstill for more than 40 hours.

the biden administration >> control of european energy supplies. today's agreement with germany means that there will be no further u.s. sanctions to block the pipeline. >> to potentially undermine our relationship with germany and to send a signal to our allies and to our partners the world over that the united states is willing to throw asunder important relationships, that's not something that we were eager to do, certainly. >> woodruff: under the deal, germany pledges to retaliate if russia tries to use energy as a weapon. former movie mogul harvey weinstein pleaded not guilty today to rape and sexual assault in los angeles. he's accused of attacking five women over nine years. weinstein is already serving a 23-year prison term in new york, on similar charges. he was extradited yesterday.

a federal judge in arkansas has temporarily blockea state ban on gender-confirming treatments for transgender youth. the law says no one under age 18 may receive hormone therapy or related procedures. today's ruling freezes the law, until its fate is decided in court. covid-19 infections in tokyo hit a six-month high today just before the summer olympics officially open. several more athletes also tested positive. still, the head of the world health organization said in tokyo that the number of infections is less important than the response. >> the mark of success in the coming fortnight is not zero cases and i know that some cases have already been detected. the mark of success is making sure that any cases are identified, isolated, traced and

cared for as quickly as possible. >> woodruff: olympic competition also began today, so now, a spoiler alert: we have the result of e u.s. women's soccer match, one of the first events at these games. the top-ranked americans were upset by sweden in their opening match. that ends a 44-game unbeaten run for the u.s. team. on wall street, corporate earnings reports pushed stock prices higher. the dow jones industrial average gained 286 points to close at 34,798. the nasdaq rose 133 points. the s&p 500 added 35. and, a first for major league baseball: an all-female announcing crew worked a game last night. baltimore orioles' play-by-play announcer melanie newman and m.l.b. analyst sarah langs called a game between baltimore and tampa bay.

they were joined by three female colleagues. still to come on the newshour: a critical legal settlement from major drug companies for their role in the opioid crisis. we preview the next global climate meeting, and the goals that must be met. a summer camp aims to maintain connections between daughters and their incarcerated mothers. plus much more. >> woodruff: the rise of new covid infections is prompting ever more questions about how people should respond. the c.d.c. added to the sobering picture of the pandemic's impact in the u.s. life expectancy has fallen by a year and a half, the largest one-year decline since world war

ii. black and hispanic americans were hit the hardest, dropping by almost three years. the big decline is mainly due to the pandemic. john yang looks at some of the key questions people are asking now as the delta variant spreads. >> yang: judy, while new cases are rising in all 50 states, the heaviest concentrations are reported in the deep south and a few other states like missouri. more than 99% of new hospitalizations are among the unvaccinated. even though deaths remain very low, there's new anxiety about where the pandemic could be headed in this country. dr. ranit mishori is a professor of family medicine at georgetown university and senior medical adviser to physicians for human rights. she also advises weta, which owns the newhour. dr. mishori, thanks so much for being with us. how concerned should people

especially people who are already fully vaccinated, how concerned should they be about the current situation? >> i think we shouldn't break out but we should be concerned. the pandemic is not over. it's not over globally and it's not over in the united states. so i think that some caution, even if you're fully vaccinated, is fully warranted, given how fast and how wide the delta variant is spreading. >> reporter: explain to us how someone who is fully vaccinated could get infected right now and, once infected, how likely is the chance that they'll transmit or pass the virus along? >> yeah, i think what you're taking about is the so-called breakthrough infections, and i want to make sure that people recognize that they are normal and they are expected and it's not unusual to have breakthrough infections, and there's nothing different about the covid vaccines than the other vaccines in that regard. the vaccines, over, work as they should and they prevent disease,

they prevent hospitalizations and death, as you mentioned. but i would liken it to perhaps wearing a seat belt in a car. you're in a car, you put your seat belt on, you could still get involved in an accident or bump against somebody, be to you seat belt will protect you, you won't fly through the windshield. so thinking about the covid vaccine in the same manner, it is very protective, it does a good job of preventing you from being very sick and being hoshospitalized and dying. most likely, if you are infected, you will have no symptoms or very, very light symptoms. >> reporter: should people who are fully vaccinated go back to wearing masks? because a lot of people stopped once they got fully vaccined. the c.d.c. says if you're outdoors and indoors you can go without. >> i think it depends on the setting. for example, i don't wear a

mask. i'll fully vaccinated. i don't wear a max when i'm in my house or when i visit friends who are fully vaccinated or when i go outside, but i do wear a mask if i'm in a room with other people, many of whom who may be vaccinated or i don't know their status, i wear a mask inside restaurants or stores. anytime there's a gathering and you don't know the vaccination status of the people around you, it's prudent to wear a mask. also if you have family members who are more at risk, children who can not be vaccinated or sick family members, or you yourself are at a higher risk because you're older or immunocompromised, i think all of these situation settings is when i would recommend wearing a mask even if you're fully vaccinated. >> reporter: talking about if your immune system is somehow compromised, should those people be thinking about getting an extra shot, a third dose if you

got the mrna vaccines? and what's the thought about booster shots? >> that's one to have the common questions i have been getting these days. with a 5% vaccination rate around the united states and the delta variant spreading, there is definitely an urgency to get more people vaccinated, but i'm not convinced that a third dose is what we need right now. first of all, the science is not really there about whether it's warranted for the general population. perhaps it is for vulnerable people or those who are immunocompromid, but i also want to point out something and looking at it through a public health lens or a healthquity lens, we need more people in the united states and across the world to get their first and second shot and not to start worrying about getting a third shot. so if you think globally for

example, for every one person being vaccinated in a low-income country, about 117 people get vaccinated in a high-income country. and this is the type of inequity that is hurting all of us. if we want to slow down the pandemic, and i think we all do, the priority should be to get people to get their first and second shots as soon as possible rather than start worrying about providing a third dose to some people who already had a full dose of the vaccine. >> reporter: dr. ranit mishori of georgetown university, thank you very much. >> absolutely, thank you so much for having me. >> woodruff: the consequences of extreme weather are here and unmistakable. scientists say human-caused climate change is making these

events more frequent and severe. miles o'brien looks at a pivotal upcoming moment in addressing the climate crisis. it's part of our collaboration with "covering climate now", a consortium of media organizations rerting on climate change. >> reporter: there's a new “co”" on the climate beat, and he's pushing hard to hold the usual suspects accountable. alok sharma is president of 26th conference of parties, or c.o.p. 26. cops are the summits where the real heavy lifting gets done to mount a global campaign to arrest the climate emergency. cop 26 will be held in glasgow scotland this november. sharma calls it a last chance to avoid the worst effects of climate change. what do you consider your biggest challenge as president of cop 26? >> i think the biggest challenge

is ensuring that we are persuading countries to come forward with ambitious commitments. >> reporter: nearly three quarters of nations in the united nations framework convention on climate change have now pledged net zero carbon emissions by 2050. >> we've seen ambitious indices everyone needs to play their part. the overarching message that i would like to come out of cop 26 is that we have credibly done enough as well to keep 1.5 within reach. >> reporter: 1.5, as in degrees celsius or 2.7 degrees fahrenheit-- it's the amount of warming above pre-industrial levels set as a desired goal in the 2015 paris climate agreement, which the trump administration reneged on, and the biden administration rejoined. >> i'm very pleased that we have an administration that is back on the front line in the fight against climate change. and i think it was particularly telling that one of the first executive orders that the new president, president biden,

signed was on rejoining the paris agreement. i think this was a real message for the world. the u.s. is back and the u.s. is going to work alongside other countries in tackling climate change. >> reporter: the climate has already warmed more than one degree in the industrial era, and the evident effects are multiplying. the heatwave in the pacific northwest and the flooding in germany just two of the most recent deadly events linked to a warming planet. >> the last decade was the hottest on record. and that's why i think it's vital that the world comes together in november so that we can reach agreement, we can reach consensus, and we can say with credibility that we've kept one point five alive. >> reporter: rich nations have promised to provide $500 billion over five years to the developing world to reduce emissions and help them adapt to the consequences of a fast changing climate, which they shoulder disproportionately, for

lack of resources to adapt. but so far the promise has been largely empty. only a small fraction of the money has been sent. >> as i say, to all donor countries, if they're able to do more, they certainly should. but, you know, what the u.s. does is, of course, going to be vitally important. and i was very impressed with the summit that president biden organized where we saw further commitments from countries around the world. >> reporter: i'm curious if that's part of your strategy, to come up with ways to persuade not just the executive branch, but the other branch of the legislative branch of government? >> i think you were seei across the u.s. in states, both democrat as we as republican, a desire for climate action. when i am again in the u.s., i look forward to meeting a whole range of people and, you know, do my bit to try and persuade them of the need to tackle climate change head on.

>> reporter: you know, it seems to me that the public opinion is ahead of politicians. >> well, i think on the basis of the conversations that i've had, i think we have reached that inflection point where there is a shared view and i think climate has gone mainstream. there are countries that i visit where, in fact, the business community will sometimes be ahead of a government policy. and my message to them is that then please tell your government that you are ready for change. >> reporter: in many cases, the change is happening in spite of political apathy or antipath in 2012, 40% of the electricity in the u.k. was generated by burning coal. today it's less than two percent. wind turbines, many of them off shore, now create a quarter of the electricity there, and that number is on the rise fast. >> so the world is moving in terms of a clean energy transition.

all the g-7 nations have stepped forward and said that, you know, from this year they will not finance any more coal in countries internationally as well. >> reporter: sharma is convinced at cop 26, they will consign coal to history's ashbin. he sees it as a key goal for this last chance summit. for the pbs newshour, i'm miles o'brien. >> woodruff: it has taken more than two years of negotiations, but a number of states have agreed to a $26 billion settlement with three large drug distributors and johnson & johnson for their roles in the opioids epidemic. half a million deaths over two decades are attributed to the growth of opioids and fatal overdoses.

the settlement would release these companies from legal liability. william brangham has the details. >> brangham: the three distributors, cardinal health, ameriasource bergen, and mckesson were accused of turning a blind eye to enormous, suspect shipments of opioids. they'll pay $21 billion, over 18 years. johnson and johnson, which made an opioid component, was accused of downplaying theddictive properties of the drugs. it will pay $5 billion over nine years. many states now must review the settlement, determine how much they will get, and decide if they will sign on. for the record, johnson and johnson is a funder of the newshour. let's hear from one of the attorneys general who worked on this agreement, william tong of connecticut. attorn tong, great to have you back on the "newshour". in the past, you have been a strong critic of other negotiations and settlements with regards to the opioid crisis. why do you think this one is a

strong one? this one goes to a significant degree to putting necessary funding for treatment and prevention out to cities and towns and states and families and victims across the country, and people need help right now. other than the pandemic and the covid crisis, the worst public health crisis in america is the opioid and addiction crisis, and it claims almost 100,000 lives every year across the country, more than 1,000 people, 1,000 families in connecticut wrecked every single year by the opioid and akicks crisis, and -- addiction crisis and it does more than $10 million in damage to our state alone. so we need help now, and this is a huge down payment, i would say for the coming years for every state and every community to try to manage our way through this crisis. >> reporter: you touched a bit on what some of the money would be used for. can you tell us a little bit

more how that money would be spent and, just as importantly, how do you protect against it getting diverted to non-addiction-related sources? >> so, by its very terms, this very large settlement will go towards abatement. so this $26 billion deal represents the second largest cash settlement in history of any litigation in american history, exceeded only by the big tobacco settlement over 20 years ago, and we wanted to make sure that that money goes directly to treatment, prevention, addiction science, victims and their families and helping people through the long road to recovery. so by its terms, it directs that money to treatment and prevention, and it makes sure that that money gets to not just states but we made provision in this agreement for cities and towns and municipalities that are on the front lines of this battle. >> reporter: i mean, the companies themselves still argue

they didn't do anything wrong, that they were making and distribute ago legally authorized productand the implication is this avalanche of lawsuits is what forced them to the negotiating table and to this settlement. what do you make of that argument? >> this -- this settlement provides for a good amount and a good deal of accountability and justice for victims and their families. there's not enough money in the world to erase the pain and the suffering that families across this country have endured from the opioid and addiction crisis, and there isn't enough justice that we can produce for each of these families, but this goes, again, a long way to honoring their pain and suffering by funding treatment and prevention and doing everything we can to provide as much justice as we can. the truth is is that the three major drug distributors

distribute almost all of the prescription drugs in this country, including all the opioid and prescription pain medication, and they played a central role in moving these pills across the country that were often diverted and over prescribed. johnson & johnson played a central role in providing material for producing opioid pain medications and producing their own opioid products. and, so, the facts are there for everyone to see, and this $26 billion settlement is a recognition of the responsibility that the distributors at johnson & johnson must take for their role in this crisis. >> reporter: as i mentioned before, the states still need to look this over and approve it. that's not a guarantee. do you think that this amount will be enough to persuade them all to buy in and affirm this deal? >> yes. again, i know all the states know that this is the second largest cash settlement in

history. they know that we've only done better once before and that was with tobacco, and they know how hard this has been to negotiate this over several years. there have been many times when it wasn't clear this would happen, and the states persevered, and cities and towns. there are more than 4,000 cases pending now in one courtroom, a federal courtroom in cleveland, ohio. iit's the court where auld opiod cases are centrally managed. to resolve the case with all the states and territories and districts and thousands of private plaintiffs and cities and towns with their own claims, is such a huge undertaking that, only with the full cooperation of almost all the states and their attorneys general, democrats, reps and cities and towns and plaintiffs and victims

across the country, only with everyone's hard work and combined effort could we get to this point. and, so, i have a lot of confidence that, from this point forward, everyone will see how important a deal this is and that people will embrace it and ratify it. >> reporter: separately, as you well know, perdue pharmaceuticals, the maker of 0xycontin, is in separate negotiations where they will declare bankruptcy, reorganize their corporation and pay upwards of $4 billion. some states have been saying, yes, we like the contours of this deal. where do you come down on that? >> i'm a hard no on this deal and i'm joined by eight other states who reject this deal because it does not provide enough justice. the sacklers take no responsibility for their role, their singular role in the opioid and addiction crisis, and this money just isn't enough relative the amount of pain and damage the sacklers have caused. >> reporter: all right, atorney general william tong of

the state of connecticut, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. >> woodruff: estimates show that more than five million children in the u.s. have had an incarcerated parent. as the number of women behind bars in america soars, little is known about the impact on the children women leave behind. amna nawaz went to texas to meet some of those children and report on how one organization is keeping young girls connected with their mothers. it's part of our ongoing series, searching for justice. >> how was your day, mom? >> it was good. how was yours? >> it was good. >> nawaz: for one hour every month... >> nawaz: ...this is 12-year-old lila edwards' only contact with her mom, lena acosta. >> wow, you look beautiful today. >> thank you, mama. you too.

>> nawaz: lila was only two in 2011 when her mom was sentenced to 40 years in prison for murder. lila now lives in dallas with her grandparents and nine other family members. her mom's prison is two hours away in gatesville, texas. she hasn't been able to visit at all during the pandemic. >> nawaz: do you know when you're going to see her next? >> no. >> nawaz: is that hard to think about sometimes? >> yea. >> nawaz: staying connected over video calls is hard, but on this day, lila was all smiles... >> you're excited, aren't you? >> yea! >> nawaz: excited to talk about a unique camp she's been attending for the last few years... >> i'm really excited. >> nawaz: how long ago did you start packing? >> two weeks ago. >> nawaz: why are you so excited for camp? >> cause it's really fun over there. >> nawaz: organized by the nonprofit, girls embracing mothers, or g.e.m., the camp brings together about 20 girls,

all of whom have mothers that are either currently or formerly incarcerated. >> children with incarcerated parents are among the most at risk, yet least visible populations of children. >> nawaz: brittany barnett is an attorney in dallas and the founder of gem. her own mother spent two and half years in the texas state prison system on drug charges. what's the void you're trying to fill? what are these girls missing while their mothers are in prison that you're trying to help them get? >> love, empowerment, encouragement. i remember visiting my mom for the first time in prison and not being able to touch her because we had a visit through the glass and just being devastated of my mom being so close yet so far away. >> nawaz: across the country, women make up the fastest growing segment of the incarcerated population. over the last 40 years, the number of women behind bars has skyrocketed by more than 700%. in texas, which locks up more women than any other state, roughly, 80% of female inmates

are mothers. barnett says despite those numbers, very little is known about the children of incarcerated mothers. >> there's a lack of data and even the number of cldren who have a parent incarcerated in texas, we don't know. i don't understand how this country can invest $80 billion a year in incarceration and not track the outcomes and the data and the collateral consequences of mass incarceration, which are children. >> welcome to gem camp. >> nawaz: the gem camp is a refuge, held in the woods just outside of dallas. the goal, barnett says, is to show these girls, some as young as seven, that they're not alone. >> i'm going into fourth grade and i've going to gem since i was about six. >> i'm zoe, i'm 14 and going into 10th grade. >> nawaz: experts say this kind of support is crucial to breaking the cycle of incarceration.

children with incarcerated parents are at greater risk of dropping out of school, of expericing mental health issues, and homelessness. all factors that also put them at greater risk of being incarcerated themselves. but every year, for three summer days, this camp is their home. the girls bunk in cabins. they do trust-building exercises. they go swimming. and of course, there's a campfire and s'mores. but when i sat down with a group of girls, they shared what this camp family really means to them. >> nawaz: emma stubblefield is 17. when her mom went to prison five years ago, the gem program kept them connected with regular visits pre-pandemic. her mother was released in 2019. >> and we were really close friends but she went to prison

and it just kind of fell apart. and i was able to get back with her and now were really, really close. >> nawaz: this is chloe kerr. she's 14. how old were you when your mom went to prison? >> three. >> nawaz: and how long was she inside? >> she was in until i was 12. on the outside, like we te people that your mom's in jail, they automatically think that she's a bad person. but everybody here understands. >> nawaz: what do they understand? >> that just because you did something bad doesn't mean you're a bad person. >> nawaz: the counselors here understand too. they're all volunteers, and many were formerly incarcerated. including brittany's mom, evelyn fulbright, now a nurse at a drug rehabilitation center. she was released nearly 13 years ago, in 2008. but to this day, she still remembers the inmate number given to her bthe texas department of criminal justice. >> so it started o with a bittersweet number 1374671, but no matter what my t.d.c. number was, i'm still a mom.

and i noticed that with the it's great to have support. it's great to not feel alone. and we watch these girls when they come into the program, when they meet other girls and go and do the same thing. we watch them not be so timid or shy or ashamed. >> nawaz: today, sharanda jones runs the camp kitchen. she's been volunteering here since she was released more than five years ago, after serving 16 years of a life sentence for a drug conspiracy conviction. >> it makes me think about my daughter and the times that i was gone, because when i left, she was eight. so that's a different feeling. these little girls in a lot of time when you at school you're ashamed and you're not talking about this. so to bring them together like this and make it complete for them, like understanding each other makes my day. >> nawaz: she's free now, because barnett fought for her, advocating for six years to get her released, until president barack obama granted jones clemency in 2015.

barnett documented that fight in her memoir last year, “a knock at midnight.” in total, barnett has helped free more than 30 of her clients facing life sentences for drug crimes. >> i see her and i have such a mixed batch of emotions, just happiness that she's free. sadness to even think that the laws of this country would allow her to be sentenced to life and to think about what that means. sharanda jones was serving the same amount of time in prison as the unabomber. what sense does that make? >> nawaz: the camp is a source of comfort for the girls, but counselors push them to consider what they're really capable of. >> nawaz: over an hour after her first attempt at archery, lila learns what she can do. and 17 year-old natalie elizardo pens her first lines of poetry ever...

>> i am my mothers daughter, not something that should be locked away. >> nawaz: natalie's mother, sonya lopez, served six months in prison and was released in 2016, just two months before she passed away. >> my mom went through a lot of things, raising us, she raised five kids alone. so she really had to find strength in herself to be able to take care of us >> nawaz: she passed that down to you? >> yeah. >> nawaz: you know that about yourself? >> yeah. >> nawaz: does it feel good to write this on paper and say that? >> yea. i've been through, like, a lot of hard things in my life, so i like to believe that i'm stronger than before i had to go through them. >> nawaz: barnett knows the camp is an escape. after three days the girls go home, and the struggle to stay connected to their mothers continues. >> we can only do what we can to help reduce thtrauma that is a result of maternal incarceration.

and the bond and the love between the mothers and daughters in our program is unconditional. you know, they are mommas. they are much more than a seven digit prison number assigned by the texas department of criminal justice. >> nawaz: for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawaz in dallas. >> woodruff: with summer in full swing, you may be wondering what books to take along on vacation- or enjoy right at home. jeffrey brown talks with two writers who have answers to that question. it's part of our arts and culture series, canvas. >> brown: books helped many of us get through the last year to help us keep up the reading as we head into summer. we're joined by glory edim, founder of the book club, well read black girl. her new anthology on girlhood comes out this fall.

and maureen corrigan, book critic for npr's fresh air and a professor at georgetown university. and it's nice to see both of you. glory, you want to start with some fiction? >> oh, wow. right now, i'm obsessed with caitlin greenidge "libertie." it's a great book, just full of rich historical detail. it's inspired by the first black doctors during the reconstruction era. and she takes us on this beautiful ride, learning about the young woman who is like trying to find herself full of great detail. also, when it comes to fiction, i'm loving, loving rom coms. so jasmine gilroy has a new book coming out, as well as tia williams, this book is called "seven days in june," and it is that kind of story where you feel like you're talking to your best friend and a little bit of cringing moments. but like a lot of heartfelt laughter and joy, it's a great title. >> brown: maureen corrigan, give us a few fiction novels? >> the writer i hope everybody will read, especially if they've never read her before is laurie

colwin. laurie colwin died in the 1990s. she wrote five novels, two short story collections and two collections of food writing. she is wonderful. she is smart. she is so funny and droll d emotionally complex. and two of her publishers are reprinting everything she wrote. so i would grab family happiness and any of her other wonderful novels to really celebrate the end of what we hope the end of this pandemic. the other book i'd recommend for the summer is "the final revival of opal and nev" by dawnie walton. it's a wonderful kind of simulacrum of a rock oral history. and so it's fun to read because lots of different styles, but also very moving about people trying to pursue their dreams and what they do to try to achieve those dreams. >> brown: how about a couple of nonfiction picks? >> i am reading "somebody's

daughter" by ashley ford right now. and it is really insightful. it goes it looks at ashley's life as she is trying to really understand what has happened between her and her father. her father was incarcerated and she's like coming of age and trying to really mend their relationship. it's a very inspiring book. i'm also reading "goodbye, again" by jonny sun, and that's a collection of essays and reflections. and he has stories like looking at plants and thinking about what they mean and where they are in the world or leaving home and being in another spacend what it means to welcome others into your home, what you call home. he does a great job of just like welcoming the reader in. >> brown: and maureen, before we started, you told me you were really immersed in fiction, but how about a couple of nonfiction picks? >> oh, i have a few picks. "republic of detours" by scott borchert just came out and it's about the federal writers project. during the great depression,

government wanted to put broke writers to work and came up with this idea of putting people to work writing guides to all of the then 48 states, people like ralph ellison, zora neale hurston, john cheever, they were put to work on this project. it's an amazing story. tons of wonderful anecdotes and really vivid writing. i also would recommend chimamanda ngozi adichie's "notes on grief" for people who want to get in touch with, again, some of the heavier emotions of this period that we've just been through. she's writing about the death of r father. so she's a spectacular writer and she really probes those emotions of what it means when life just feelreally fragile. >> brown: maureen, i wonder, what do you see happening now in terms of reading impact from the last year or publication impact? >> the last few months have been

the most diverse list of books that i've seen in my 30 plus years as a reviewer. so i do think that there's much more of a responsiveness on the part of the publishing industry to begin to try to diversify what has been historically a very white industry. and, you know, the other thing that's happening that's so interesting, i'm a big fan of suspense fiction. and i would say that almost every suspense novel that i pick up these days has a plotline about cultural appropriation or appropriation of someone else's words. "the plot" by gene horowitz, who's a wonderful suspense writer. the plot takes place in an m.f.a. program. a lot of resentment and bad behavior, but also then this plot about a man appropriating a woman's words.

"the other black girl" by zakia dalila harris is also a story about appropriation. in part, it's out a young woman of color in the publishing industry. again, historically a very white industry, but it's got this kind of subplot about stealing someone else's story. so i think there's this paranoia out there about somehow about people not having control of their own stories, really filtering into suspense, fiction >> brown: glory? >> i would agree with maureen. there is this wave of diversity that's happening and more voices that are focusing on, you know, cultural appropriation, race relations. i am a huge fan of "the other black girl." i read that as well. and it also feels like it's some more character driven and there's a more essay collections that are also coming out to i feel like i've been reading so many gre essay clections

that are focused on, you know, abstract topics and memoirs that are not linear in fashion. they're really more experimental and avant garde in nature. and i think it's great. i think we can do more experimentation when it comes to publishing in that space. >> brown: all right, gloria, maureen corrigan, thank you both very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: and we close with how the city of milwaukee is celebrating its first n.b.a. championship in 50 years. it's a delirious moment for a city and a smaller-market team that had finished short of its expectations for several years. milwaukee last won with the great kareem abudl jabbar, known then as lew alcindor, and oscar robertson. fans are cheering the team and the new superstar leader, who became just the seventh player

in n.b.a. history to score 50 or more points in a finals game. stephanie sy has the story. >> and that'll do it, it's over! the bucks have done it! the long wait has ended. after a half century, the milwaukee bucks are n.b.a. champions once again! >> sy: the milwaukee bucks lifting up the larry o'brien trophy, defeating the phoenix suns 105 to 98 in game six of the n.b.a. finals. bucks star giannis antetokounmpo scored 50 points, snatched 14 rebounds, and posted five blocks in a virtuoso performance, earning him the finals m.v.p. award. on his big night, the superstar remembered where it all began. >> i started playing basketball just to help my family. tried to get them out of the struggle, the challenges we were facing when we were kids. i never thought ever that i'd be

26 sitting in this chair with this right here and this right here. >> sy: born in greece to nigerian parents, antetokounmpo and his brothers sold trinkets on the streets to survive. he faced racism and hardship. but in greece today, he's a hero. at the kivotos cafe, where a teenaged antetokounmpo used to grab juice and a sandwich before basketball practice, they celebrate. >> ( translated ): antetokounmpo has brought not only basketball, but sporting role models back to this generation. he's no longer giannisrom sepolia. at this moment, he's giannis of the entire world. >> sy: he first made a name for himself playing in athens, and became known in the n.b.a. as“ the greek freak” for his six foot 11 inch frame combined with explosive athleticism. a force to be sure, but he didn't pull off the championship alone. khris middleton made key plays in the bucks' playoff run. middleton and antetokounmpo have

played eight seasons together. after giannis' initial contract with the bucks expired, there were rumors he might leave, but the two-time m.v.p. vowed to stay with milwaukee, and last night, it paid off. >> eight years ago, eight and a half years ago, when i came into the league, i didn't know where my next move will come from. you know, my mom was selling stuff in the street. and now i'm here-- sitting at the top of the top. don't let nobody tell you what you can't be and what you cannot do. you know, people told me i can't make free throws. i made my free throws tonight! and i'm a frking champion! >> sy: and freaking hungry.. >> can i have please a 50 piece, not 51, not 49 chicken... yes, 50. >> sy: to honor snapping a 50- year title drought with a 50- point performance, a drive- through meal for the champ.

for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. >> woodruff: on the newshour online rig now, we look at four sports making their debut at the tokyo olympics, and the aim to draw younger fans to the games. find that on our website, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> we offer a variety of no- contract wireless plans for people who use their phone a little, a lot, or anything in between. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv

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♪ hello, everyone and welcome. here's what's coming up. peace in afghanistan or will the taliban seize control once the u.s. is out. i speak with the taliban and the afghan government site. then notes on grief. the award winning author joins me oncoming to term with the loss of her pas. plus -- >> this is a reflection of something deeply troubling and our system going into full red alert mode. >> narrowly missing a war with