captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, an uncertain future-- millions of renters face housing instability following the end of the federal ban on evictions. then, the road ahead-- a bipartisan group of senators reaches a deal on massive infrastructure legislation. we examine the numbers and walk through the blueprint. plus, a major surge-- florida records its highest number of covid cases since the paemic began, straining hospitals and prompting more urgent calls for masking and vaccines. plus, water wars-- the historic drought sweeping the western u.s. exacerbates disputes

between indigenous communities and farmers. 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's new? >> well, audrey's expecting... >> twins! >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> okay. >> mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in ans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan.

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> the chan-zuckerberg initiative. working to build a more healthy, just and inclusive future for everyone. at czi.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> 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 country is on the verge of a massive waive of massive wave of housing instability after the federal ban on rental evictions expired over the weekend. congress failed to extend a moratorium and president biden declined to do so in the face of a court order. today gene sperling wh was the white house coordi house coordinator of pandemic recovery funds, today said the president biden'hands are tied after a supreme court ruling in june made it clear another extension wouldn't stand. >> the wording in the supreme court opinion was fairly clear that they said the c.d.c., could not grant such extension, without “clear and specific

congressional authorization,” i think really what has happened, what we are all dealing with is that the rise of the delta variant is particularly harmful. for those who are most likely to face evictions, and as that reality became more clear going into the end of last week, i think all of us started asking, what more could we do. >> woodruff: and our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor joins me now. so yamiche, tell us more about what is behind the president's decision not to extend this ban himself and what is making this issue so contentious. >> well, the federal moratorium and contention and scrambling around it comes to two big thingsk law and politics. on the legal side white house aidees, gene sperlg, a number of other sources i talked to have been underscoring the idea that president biden didn't think he

had the legal authority to extend the moratorium. they say they looked around, couldn't find legal actions to do that. the supreme court said there would need to be congressional authorizeation if a presidential order was. they also say the cdc looked into this, even looking too targeted eviction moratorium for areas of high infection rates and even in that limited way was also seen as not a legal option. when i pushed gene sperling and talked to sources, there is another issue and that is the white house did not want to go to the supreme court and have the court strike down other sort of federal policies that make broad use of public health laws, so some what of their thinking. then the polics of this. we saw house speaker nancy pelosi come out and urge president biden to extend this moratorium, progressives are saying the white house are waited too long. but the president then again says his hands are tied, that congress needs to be doing something and is also pushing states and localities to try to provide resources to people. >> woodruff: so given all of that, where does this go from

here? >> well, that is t big question. gene sperling today said that thousands of americans could be facing eviction. president biden says he will be double, triple chegging, he will be kicking the tires to try to find legal options and other ways to help people but there really is the big question of whatore the white house and kok can do. there really, the white house is really putting it in the hands of congress and local authorities am but that is where some people feel as though the white house is scapegoating, shifting the blame here, shifting responsibility. the whe house though is jund scoring theare doing all they can. >> woodruff: all right, yamiche alcindor on this fast-moving story. thank you very much. >> woodruff: our other lead, the long-awaited infrastructure investment and jobs act was officially introduced in the senate last night. the roughly $1 trillion bill, over 2,7 pages long, is the

product of weeks of negotiations among a bipartisan group of 10 senators and the white house. lisa desjardins joins me now to take us through it. so lisa, a little light reading for you over the last less than 24 hours. tell us after all these weeks of working on this, give us a sense of what is in this piece of legislation. >> you're right, judy, we are still digesting this 2700 page historically large infrastructure bill. but i want to go through some highlights of what we know is in it. first of all, how large is it we don't have a final number but we're talking about $1 frl, that includes new funding that's been added and also expected fnding that was already probably going to be in the pipeline for infrastructure anyway. let's talk about specifics. $65 billion for broadband. $66 billion for railways,hat is a huge investment, particularly in amtrak as well

as freight, but one of the biggest jumps is 343 billion dollars, that is all the money new and expected for roads and bridges. and there's a reason for that. look at our roads and bridges in this country, for roads the american society of civil engineers say 43 percent of our roads in this country are in poor and bad condition. and this is really just a down payment. bridges, 42 percent of those are 50 years old or more. that's not just these guys though, i notice a provision in here that will be big news in alaska where they have a ferry system that is depended on by some 3,000 miles worth of people in that state. there it is. and it is struggling for funds. there is a billion dollars that could help the alaska ferry system. all in all, senators came to the floor today, many of them to say that this is historic, one of them illinois democrat dick durbin. >> this plan will help us protect america's infrastructure, our economy and american families from 21s

century threats of climate change, extreme weather and cyberattacks. it is the largest investment in resilience, of physical and natural systems in american history. with this plan we can create thousands of good-paying, family-supporting jobs, and the majority of these jobs may not require college degree. and i think we're going to be spending timeor the rest of this week figuring out what is in t sorry, judy, go ahead. >> no, my mistake for interrupting you, but we heard senator durbin mention something you don't traditionally hear connected to infrastructure. that is climate change. tell us what that means, what that of involves. >> well, we'll spend more time on this also but briefly there is 7.5 billion in here for electric charging stations as well as other alternative fuel charging stations. a lot in here for low emissions, buses, ferries. but you know some of thoses,

some of the people in the environmental and climate change movement especially say this is a positive but for them it falls far short. they think some of these things could have gone farther. they are waiting for the next bill, the big reconciliation bill the dsm krats want to do more on climate change. >> woodruff: an lisa, tell us about the opposition to this. we knowat some senators are not pleased with it. >> that's right. and the number one problem with it for those who have problems is how it's paid for. again we're still learning exactly what they did here but i want to run down a few of the ways that our lawmakers are paying for this very large, historic bill. one they got creative. there is more than $20 billion that they say will come from new taxes, new rules on cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, that industry not happy about that it there is also $87 billion they estimate will come from seafl the 5g band witt sometimes called the pectrum for cell phones. but you know the biggest pay forwards as we call them on the

hill here come from unspent relief money either for the unemployed that was unu used by states or in general, money for other covid relief programs, there you see over $200 billion from unspent covid relief. and some senators say that's a problem. they don't think that money should be used for intra-- infrastructure, they think it shouldn't be used at all. here is republican mike lee of utah speaking last night. >> if we a proceed prailted more money for covid than we should have, than we needed to, we also consider i don't know, giving it back to the american people or you know, paying down the debt. >> and i think we're going to hear more of those calls as we continue through the rest of the year, how much of a problem will it be for this bill. i don't know, right now the bill does seem to have 60 or 70 percent of the votes in the senate, and it is on a pretty secure path at the moment. >> woodruff: lisa, spell that out for us. what does it lookic loo in this

come-- look like in this coming day where this bill goes? >> you noarks i call out these hard won bills rain does when they appear. have i never seen a rainbow take so long tow merge as this one did over the last book. and we're going to have another long week as there are amendments, it is an open process which means senators can try and change the bilt. we don't know if any major changes are likely but after that process this week and next week, we expect the senate to pass this bill. then it goes to the house where it actually could face another set of rumble strips on its way to passage. it seemshat it is likely to pass in some form but it's possible that again the two chambers disagree, and it could take many more weeks to finish. there is a lot of momentum but there is a lot of drama still ahead on this bill. >> woodruff: and it's also august when congress often likes to go home. >> that's right. >> woodruff: i'm thinking rummable strips and rainbows. >> that's right. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins

desjardins-- thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, federal health officials said average daily vaccinations for cod-19 jumped 70% last week. that word came as new jersey ordered state health care workers to get immunized or get tested. new york city did the same for transit workers. but governor andrew cuomo stopped short of a mandate in new york state for the general public. >> that would require a law passed by the legislature. and it's going to be what the legislature's appetite is to wade into that situation. that would be a law. i can mandate today for my employees. >> woodruff: the city of denver also ordered vaccinations today for city employees a private- sector workers in high-risk settings.

and, seven counties in the san francisco bay area reimposed indoor mask-wearing. so did the state of louisiana. republican senator lindsey graham of south carolina has come down with covid, despite being vaccinated. he says he began feeling ill on saturday night, but that he thinks the vaccine has kept his symptoms mild. graham now plans to quarantine for 10 days. firefighters in oregon finally have the upper hand against the giant "bootleg" fire. they made major progress over the weekend, and more than 80% of the fire contained. and in northern california, evacuation orders have been lifted for several areas around the "dixie" fire. it is 33% contained. a heat wave across southeastern europe is also fueling wildfires. the worst fires are in turkey, including one that burned through the resort town of marmurus. the fires have sent locals and

tourists fleeing, and killed eight people. and in greece, temperatures hit 113 today. in central china, the official death toll in last month's catastrophic flooding has tripled to 302, with 50 people still missing. extreme rain around zhingzao triggered mudslides, collapsed homes and destroyed crops. at one point, the city got eight inches of rain in a single hour. the president of afghanistan today blamed the u.s. for rapid gains by the taliban. the group's fighters closed in on the capitals of kandahar, helmand and herat provinces over the weekend. in kabul today, ashraf ghani told parliament that president biden's decision to pull u.s. troops triggered the onslaught. >> ( translated ): the situation we are facing is due to the sudden withdrawal. i told the american president that i respect your decision,

because it was his decision, but i knew that this decision will have some consequences and the crisis management will be put on afghans. >> woodruff: meanwhile, the u.s. state department says thousands more afghans may be eligible for resettlement in the u.s. they include employees of news organizations, aid agencies and other groups. we'll get the details, later in the progm. back in this country, police in new york are hunting for two gunmen who shot and wounded 10 people in queens, saturday night. investigators say the shooters appeared to target members of a rival gang. they got away on mopeds driven by two other men. at the summer olympics, a big win and a big loss for the u.s. team. american gymnast jade carey captured gold in the floor exercise in tokyo. but, the u.s. women's soccer team was upset by cana in the semifinals one-nil. meanwhile, poland took in a

belarusian sprinter. she had balked at returning to her authoritarian country. we'll return to the olympics later in the program. and, on wall street, a day of choppy trading. the dow jones industrial average lost 97 points to close at 34,838. the nasdaq rose eight points. the s&p 500 slipped eight. still to come on the newshour: taliban insurgency increases ahead of the u.s. troop withdrawal from afghanistan. historic drought exacerbates disputes between indigenous communities and farmers. triumph, heartbreak and the pursuit of gold. we get the latest twists from the tokyo olympics. and much more.

>> woodruff: florida is experiencing one of the worst covid outbreaks in the country at the moment. over the weekend, the state reported more than 21,000 cases in a single day; its highest one day total since the start of the pandemic. and a quarter of the nation's hospitalized covid patients are in florida. the c.d.c. and a number of public health officials say schools should require masking en they re-open. the miami-dade school district is considering requiring students and staff to do so. but on friday, florida governor ron de santis, who is opposed to any masking requirements, said parents and students should have the option to mask, and that he would block any effort to require masking. >> we have a lot of push from the c.d.c. and others toake every single person, kids staff have to wear masks all day regardless of their immune

status, regardless of the effect it has on their educational experience. and that would be a huge mistake. >> woodruff: let's go to florida for an on-the-ground dispatch of what some hospitals are dealing with. dr. murtaza akhter is an emgency physician at kendall regional medical center in miami. dr. akhter, thank you very much for being with us. give us a sense of who is in your hospital right now, the patient population. >> thanks for having me, judy. we've got a huge influx of patients. it feels complely different from just two weks ago when it wasn't as nearly as bad, we have had this massive surge of cod cases to all these people coming in with covid like symptoms. and all of them that i see are unvaccined. have i yet to see a patient with covid symptoms who has been vaccinated in the er. in addition to, that you've got all the other patients, gal

bladder infections didn't go away, heart attacks still happen. last summer a lot of people avoided the er, maybe too much so. but this year they are all coming in, along with the covid influx and add to that we have a shortage of nurses and faculty, et cetera. it is creating massive delays in the ers, for admission and it feels swamped, very stressful in the hospital. >> woodruff: when the patients come in, you find out right away whether they are vaccinated or not. what do they say to you about their decision not to get a vaccination? do you have that conversation with them? >> well, sometimes we do. as a matter of fact, oftentimes we do because remember the preventive treatment, the way of preventing it is to be vaccinated. for the ones who are healthy enough to be speaking with us and having conversations we ask them to do you have a plan to be vaccinated, why or why not. we get a variety of responses, some are indeed planning on being so. but a lot of them, i don't know if it is a miami thing or not, but a lot are stubborn and

despite their coming to the emergency department, pleading for help and to get better they are refusing the most effective treatment we have. if is very ironic that despite being in the hospital, wanting to get better, they are refusing the most effective treatment and going out of the er potentially infecting others. >> woodruff: and what are they saying to you, dr. akhter, about why they are not getting the vaccine. >> in some cases, for example, they have heard of stories of people who had bad reactions as we know those are extremely rare. if that patient happens to be one of the few extremely, people who met somebody that had that i can suppose it is some what understandable. some are trying to get pregnant but we know it is safe for pregnancy, but a lot say they have their beliefs, they don't believe in it. they feel various components are there put there by the government. a lot of conspiracy theories and it is shocking to hear that you hear it on tv but to sea patients saying things like that in front of you really is pretty appalling. >> woodruff: tell us about the age range of these patients.

because as you know back in the beginning it was a lot of older peesm. what are you seeing now? >> that is exactly right, judy, now the patients seem to be a lot younger. they are a lot younger. i think part of that is because they were fairly good about getting vaccinated, a massive percentage, over 90 something hers of the elderly have been. so that leaves the people who aren't the elderly to make up for the rest and thoses people are often not vacs nailtd, whether they think they are immune which they are clearically not or they think that the symptoms will be mild, clearly we are getting a lot who are sick enough to go to the er to be in teu baited. by the time we are intubating 30 year olds. we are not making thup it is happening in front of us. it is a stressful situation, the family members are very stressed. and it is unfortunate we are getting a lot of young and middle-aged adults who aren't vaccinated coming in needing to go to the icu. >> doctor, i'm sure you know but the governor of florida ron desantis is a major advocate not for requiring masks in your

state. what affect do you think that is having on what is happening with regard to covid? >> you know, it is ironic that last summer governors were saying, and a lot of states, listen, we're not going to mandate anything, it is up to the community to do what they want. and this summer when certain communities want masks, they are saying no, no, you are not a laked to do what you want. i find it ironic. i have to say, this the science shows the only way of preventing transmission if you are not vaccinateds distancing and no getting infeed or if you have to be around people, by wearing masks. we have great data r that. if everybody in the room is vaccinated, than you probably don't need maxes but we know not everyone is vaccinated and in particular, nobody under 12 is. the only way of preventing transmission of disease is distancing and masked if you are not vaccinated. simple as at. >> woodruff: one last thing. based on what you are seeing now, what do you think the next faw weeks are going to look like? >> well, unfortunately, it is not looking very good. i'm sure you have seen the

curve, it faces a vertical spike with no signs of plteauing, that is what it feels like in the er as well. i'm hoping things level off but i think it is unlikely given the way things are looking now. in addition to the surge in covid patients, we've also got our own colleagues who are having to call out. we have health care workers contracting covid, residents despite vaccination have contracted covid. despite being already stretched so thin, we're having to work extra hard, just recently i was called to ask to cover a shift because of a family member sick with covid. despite how many shortages w have, we are did asked to be working more, thatted to more surging patients. so unfortunately i think it is only gets worse before better. i hope i'm wrong but if history tells me, i'm getting poips. >> dr. akhter at the kendall regional centre in miami, thank you and we wish you and your staff and patients the very best. >> thank you so much, judy, stay

safed. >> woodruff: the situation in afghanistan gets worse by the day, as the u.s. completely withdraws by the end of the month. john yang reports. >> yang: judy, the taliban's surge is threatening major urban centers across the country. meantime, the sense of panic is growing as more afghans were granted permission to resettle in the united states. our own jane ferguson is here to up date us on this fast-evolving situation. is jane, thanks so much for joining us. as we reported earlier in the program the united states is expanding its refugee program, who is eligible. is there any sense that everyone who wants to get out, who feels threatened by the advance of the taliban is going to be able to get out? >> there is a sense, john, that those who want to get out who have worked with u.s. agencies

or any agencies sponsored by the u.s. government now might have more of a chance of getting out. their timing is everything. what we are hearing now from the state department is that those who have applied for siv program, the the intempletter, the mility interpreter program and who haven't been successful, perhaps haven't been eligible, didn't do enough service, that they may have another chance. that there may be a slight widening of the categories of basically the requirements necessary to get them on to that program. on top of that, we're also hearing that those who have worked with u.s.-sponsored development projects, perhaps those who have worked with anything from u.s.a. id sponsored programs to those who have also worked with the u.s. media in afghanistan, may now qualify. they can at least apply for refugee status or the ability to get a visa to the united states and this is really in reaction to growing pressure to help people get out so it is certainly going to be welcome news to people who want to get

out it is not clear yet whether or not the timing will be speedy enough. as you mentioned, the taliban advances across the country are deeply concerning. and those who are in cities especially like kabul who i have spoken with are extremely panicked that although these measures could help them get out of the country, they're not sure if they will be able to get out fast enough. >> talk about that pan uk, that increasing concern, what are you hearing from the average afghan who may not have the connection to get out. >> those who don't have the connections, john, are trying to find them. i mean there will be afghans who of course, many, most afghans will not be able to get out of the country. many will stay but people are concerned primarily they're concerned about security, about economic collapse, about making sure that they can keep their families safe and to keep them fed. these have always been priorities for afghans but those are growing now, for anybody who worked within the major american project that this war has been, there is a deep concern about

retaliation. there is a fear that their lives could be at risk and the lives of their families could be at risk. those who feel like they are not going to be able to apply and get out of the country through regular visas to other countries, whether those are the united states or neighboring countries or neighbors-- places like turkey, those people are going to be looking more towards illegal routes, and the splug elling routes out of the country. that say deep concern. many people i have spoken to said they absolutely would look to that option if they have to to get out of the country. so the chances of major movement, and mass movement of people out of the country whether they get visas or not are high if we continue to see this basically escalation of the violence. >> earlier today the state department briefing secretary of state anthony blinken was asked about the increasing reports of attacks on afghans by the taliban. and here is what he had to say. >> the taliban has repeatedly said that they seek in the future a number of things.

international recognition. international support. they want their leaders to be able to travel freely around the world. they would like sanctions lifted on them. and none of those things are going to be possible if the taliban seeks to take the country by force. and commits the kind of atrocities that have been reported. >> first of all, what sort of things is he taking about? what sorts of aocities and are these carts do you think going to be enough to change the taliban behavior. >> those atrocities that he is referring to are a growing number of incidents tat are going viral on social media whereby the taliban will take over an area and carry out retribution. there was one particularly famous incident. last week the taliban actually even admitted and claimed responsibility for it where they took a famous comedian,an afghan comedian from kandahar who had been famous on tiktok,

and social media. last seen taken away by taliban fighters where he was being slapped and abused and he was then executed by those fighters. and the taliban themselves claimed responsibility for that attack. so there is a growing of sense of fear that retribution could be quite wide t st not clear whether the afghan political leaders in places who are trying to reassure people, even mill-- military interpreters don't worry, you will be safe. many will not believe that when they start to see these videos across social media of retribution. there has been a major talking point for months and even years, john. what would the taliban behalf-- behave like if they came back to power or started taking territory there say deep-seeded fear right now of the worst-case scenario whereby political leaders pay lip service to human rights but in reality the commanders on the ground are going door to door

and will enact retribution against those they feel deserve it. >> the worst-case scenario, jane ferguson, thank you very much. >> thank you, john. >> woodruff: vast stretches of the western u.s. are suffering under scorching temperatures, rampant wildfires and a years- long drought that's depleting lakes and reservoirs. the water scarcity is tearing apart one southern oregon community, where farmers, native tribes and endangered species are all struggling to survive this summer. stephanie sy has the story. >> sy: the klamath tribes have shed in the rivers of southern oregon for thousands of years. >> traditionally, we honored and respected everybody. everybody had a place and a purpose. when i shared that fish with our elders, i also learned a world

view about why those fish are important and how they were placed here. so it's not just part of our subsistence but it's a part of our culture. >> sy: klamath tribal chairman, don gentry, and his grandson marcus reeled in red band trout as the sun went down on another scorching hot day in southern oregon's klamath basin. >> gosh the water's low. >> it's probably down about a foot since i've been out last, too. >> sy: the water, and the fish in it, aren't what they used to be. so is the water always this green? >> well, early in the year it's not. i'm 66 years old. i remember when it wasn't like this. i remember some filaments of algae in august, but nothing like this where it's like pea soup. >> sy: a punishing 20-year drought harevived a fight over water. pitting the survival of two endangered species of sucker fish, long sacred to the native tribes, against the livelihoods of ranchers, who depend on the same water source. >> the going couldn't be a whole lot worse than it is right now.

this normally would be a different scene. >> sy: ty kliewer's fields are parched and barren, unable to grow hay for his livestock. >> our production this year is probably going to be about a tenth of what it would normally be. i don't know, really, what i'm going to do. >> sy: the water in klamath lake has irrigated farms like kliewer's, on the surrounding klamath project, since 1907. but not this year. when there's not enough water to go around, the endangered species act requires that lake levels are high enough to protect fish. back in may, the bureau of reclamation turned off the water in this canal. it's the main source of water for farmers and ranchers in the klamath project. since then a few have set up camp here to protest, and are threatening to turn the water back on themselves. there just isn't enough water for anyone, including the birds in the national wildlife refuges that depend on runoff from the

klamath project farms that won't be coming this year. 20 years ago, another water shutoff pushed the community to the brink. some protesters even forced the canal headgates openjust like they've threatened to do this year. >> 2001 was another really bad drought year. >> sy: hannah gosnell studies the history of water disputes in the klamath basin. >> there was no water for the irrigators that summer. and what that meant is a lot of farms went out of business. there was a lot of suffering and crisis and bankruptcies, and people came from all over the country showing their empathy for the farmers. and there were riots and tribes were hung in effigy because a lot of the blame went on the tribes. >> sy: don gentry remeers the pain it caused his tribe. >> some kids from one of the ag communities came through chiloquin looking for sucker loving indians and shot up the town with their shotguns >> sy: after those tensions came to a boiling point, the

different parties in the basin sat down to negotiate. and in 2010, they finally reached an almost miraculous compromise. the klamath basin restoration agreement charted a path for water sharing, and would have spent over a billion dolrs on ecological restoration projects and returning land to the native tribes. but congress never funded the agreement. it fell apart, and since then, the sides have dug in their heels. >> i don't think there's room for a compromise. our fish need the water that we have a right to. >> sy: those endangered sucker fish, called c'waam and koptu, are still dying in droves. just five years ago, there were some 20,000 koptu in klamath lake. now, only an estimated 3400 remain. >> fish have been prioritized for water in the basin for over 20 years now, and that has not led to one iota of recovery.

it has 100% broken the legs of this community. >> sy: tribal chairman don gentry knows that conserving water alone isn't enough to save the fish. he blames irrigated agriculture and government management of the basin for their habitat loss. >> they're an indicator species. and if they're on the verge of extinction, it shows you something seriously wrong in the system. >> sy: becky hyde is a rancher in the klamath basin, but she agrees that the system needs fixing. hyde insists ranchers like her have a role to play in restoring the watershed, and making things right with the people who were here first. hyde has a unique arrangement with the klamath tribes-- they own the easement on her property. >> they are the ones that come and monitor and say the river is getting narrower. they were absolutely here first. and there was tremendous historical damage done to native people in this basin.

>> sy: it's a couple miles of compromise in a community where that often feels all but impossible. and hyde knows her efforts are just a drop in the bucket, when far bigger changes are needed to get the basin on a more sustainable path. >> everybody is in a place of scarcity here. it all has to change. >> sy: and what does that look like? >> one is that reparations package for klamath tribes, and the other thing is massive ecological restoration, like at the scale of what the everglades are doing, that kind of investment to restore resiliency here. >> sy: hannah gosnell says it's a story of broken promises, and not just to the tribes. >> a lot of people have been calling for an apology to the tribes, and i think that's really important that we need to apologize. but we also probably need to apologize to the irrigators for promising them that they would be able to irrigate in perpetuity.

>> sy: when the promises were made, more than 100 years ago, there was simply more water in the klamath basin. ty kliewer is doing his best to stay afloat. he brews beer on his farm, a hobby turned business that, unlike ranching, doesn't depend on an unreliable water source. >> there are many who are in a much more perilous situation than i am. i mean, you never do, but you almost think giving up hope might be the right idea. if my children's experience farming and ranching here is going to be anything like mine has been, i would have a really, really hard time telling them this is a good idea. >> sy: don gentry also thinks of the next generation when he looks out on the dwindling waters that ve sustained his people for so long. he remembers explaining to his grandson why they could no

longer fish the endangered c'waam and koptu. >> he was just a little boy. and i just remember him looking up to me and he goes, "i can't wait until we can catch and eat those fish again." >> sy: for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy in klamath falls, oregon. >> woodruff: for a closer look at the politics of an infrastructure deal anthe continuing influence of former president trump in the republican party, it's time for politics monday with, amy walter, the newly-named publisher and editor-in-chief of the "cook political report with amy walter." and tamara keith, white house correspondent for npr. we are very proud of you, miss walter. >> thank you very much, judy. >> very excited about it. she's the boss now.

>> yes, the buck stops with me. >> woodruff: we are so happy four. all right, so let's talk infrastructure. we reported on it earlier from lisa, learned about what is in there. but amy, what does it mean that they have this deal and does one side or the other get crezzity here. >> this is one of those rare things in politics in this day where everybody gets something tht they are happy about. infrastructure is one of those deals that everybody loves, no matter where you are on the ideological spectrum because it is something you can go home and say to your constituents look t i did something while i was in washington. there is something tangible that i am bringing back. everybody who is in pom particulars love to talk about bringing home the bacon. so it is one of the easier vehicles for bipartisanship. the question as you pointed out, the question next is what ppens to the rest of the democrats agenda specifically,

that three and a half trillion dollar or what we are calling soft infrastructure, more government spending on government programs where that is where democrats need to keep all 50 of their members and make sure that their votes in the house. and this is where i think we sometimes forget, we talk about the senate a lot. 50-50 senate. speaker pelosi only has three margins, she can't afford many de fekses. >> and progressives in house are causing-- they are raising questions about the main infrastructure bill and then of course bigger questions about the so called social as well. >> certainly, and already they made it clear that those two are linked. you don't get one without the other. thats what senate leadership has said. that is what nancy pelosi has said. and because those two are nked, certainly assuming this path passes out of the senate of about recess, there will be something for president bied

toan celebrate and everyone who voted for it to celebrate. but that doesn't mean they made it all the way, there could be a tortured sports analogy about goal lines and other lines and this is the pbs newshour so we're not going to do it but they're not at the end zone, that is the point. >> but amy, for president biden who talked about by part sanship-- bipartisanship, there is a glimmer. >> and again this is the second time that when he was candidate biden, that has actually paid off, a bet dpens conventional wisdom. the first bet is that democratic primary voter was reward a long time insider establishment, who didn't want to shake up the system in the way that a bern ye sanders or elizabeth warren did. that is who democratic voter was pick as their nominee. >> most of the washington world said that's not going to happen. he wins, he comes ink says real

bipartisanship, know the senate, have i been a member of the senate for most of my political career. i get how it it, withouts, we will make it work. everybody said bipartisanship, that is old, don't work that way any more, joe. and it looks as if those two pets have paid off. and the big bet is going to come in november. will he be able to say as well, and the bet i made on getting, big, big more government spending package through not only is it helping democrats, but we're not also battling inflation which is what help cans would argue will happen. >> woodruff: a very different kind of spending or i should say fund raising is what former president trump has bb able to do. tam, just in the last year he has raised $82 million. we are told he has-- i'm sorry, i almost said a billion, i realized we're talking different money. >> the he has $102 million in the bank right now. >> right. >> this is a former president. we don't even know whether he is

going to run for re-election. what does that say, what does that say about his support. >> he is a former president. most former presidents at this point would be raising money for their library or to save the world or any 2347 of things that former presidents do. book deal, something like that. that is not what he is doing. the premise under which he is raising money is one to continue to contest the elections that already happened, that is over, that he lost. and also to settle scores. to consolidate power behind himself, to once and for all say this is the trump party, the republican party is the trump party. and he is raising money through the same outrage and you know, they're trying to hurt your favorite guy trump kind of headlines in the fundraising emails. and it it works in part because a lot of people are on the continuing payment plan, continuing every month to send

money, whether they opt in or not. >> they used to call it lay away. but. >> and he's taking full credit for it. and in a way he can. the question though is what is heoing to do with that money? he's endorsing candidates but i don't see him writing big checks yet. >> that's the key question. >> so what is he going to do with it. >> there you go, what is he going to do. one thing it is doing certainly is it is saying to other republicans, be careful crossing me, i have 100 million, now normally you would look at that bank account and if i were on the other side, say oh my gosh, that is a money million colors that he can spend on the mid-term elections and bank roll so many candidates but we know after watching the former president for all these years now, he doesn't like spending money on anybody but himself. so it's not, i don't think we're going to expect to see all that hundred million dollars go in to win back control of the house and the senate am but i think

your point too, he has never seen, it's not just a former president, a president who presided over the loss of the house and senate, he lost re-election. still able to raise that kind of money and have that kind of influence on his party is remarkable. >> is there a way, tam, in just a couple of minutes to measure how much influence he still has, there have been a couple special elections, more coming up in the next couple of days and ohio. are we going to learn anything more about his influence? >> the candidate he endorsed in the texas special election ended up losing. now the threshhold elections are sort of one off and there is only so much you can draw from it. but there is another special election primary this week, st a crowded field. and that would be another day data point. the question comes at some point, if his candidates don't keep winning, does the emperor have no clothes, can he raise a lot of money but does he not

have the influence, we have nowhere near enough data point totion know whether he truly is as perful as he seems. but you know, endorsements aside, there are basically no republicans in congress or maybe there is two, who are willing to say anything to cross him, to contradict him. so in that way, he's in control. >> we're talking fear level. >> yeah, certainly, and you see it in the primary, even the candidates who haven't been endorsed by donald trump aren't out there running against him as much as they're trying to show well, i may not have the trump enforcement but believe me i'm still a trump republican. so the influence is really going to be the kind of people that come into congress in 2020-- 2023, right. it's not whether they have a d or an r it is much more the temperment they will bring. especially when you see how many people are retiring in the senate, people like rob portman, blunt who are traditional establishment members could be replaced by more trumpian figures and that changes sort of

the possibility for more kind of bipartisan deals like the ones we are seeing right now. >> that rob portman. >> key. >> is key to negotiating. >> woodruff: it is all connected. >> we're bringing it all back. >> woodruff: amy walter, tamara keith, congratulations. >> thank you very much, judy. >> woodruff: we're just about at the halfway point of the olympic games in tokyo. these are the strangest in modern times, given covid and the lack of spectators. but there are amazing featsnd rerds being broken every day. the past few days have bee particularly compelling. amna nawaz has our look. >> nawaz: judy, the past 72 hours have brought some smiles and tears of joy for these unusual times. some of those highlights: jade carey's rebound to win the gold medal in the floor exercise in gymnastics. simone biles is expected t compete in the balance beam finals tomorrow, big wins and multiple medals for

swimmers caleb dressel and katie ledecky but of course, there are disappointment too: that includes the u.s. women's soccer team losing its chance for a gold med today to canada. christine brennan is covering these games for "usa today." and joins me now from tokyo. christine, welcome back to the newshour, always good to you have here, let's talk about the swimmer. the u.s. leads in the total metal count thanks in large part to those people, caleb dress el and katy ledecky, tell me about the significants of their performance. >> katie ledecky, i covered her for a long time and remember the 15 year old water bugs winning in london and the dominant swimmer in rio piling unall the gold medals. this performance five years later, and here in tokyo, i think is more impressive than any i've seen of hers, 24 years old now, the competitors are coming, young kids are coming on quick. she added the 1500 first time,

the women were doing the 1500, the mile. she added that, so that added to her schedule. and she just plowed through this, two golds, two silvers. i think it was more impressive than what i had seen from her before in that in addition to of course winning two golds, handling the silver in the 400 meters,-- with class, grace, dignity, katy ledecky comes out of these games as the star so far in terms of how she handled herself in the pool and out, just a true role model. and caleb dressel. five, the pressure so difficult, he wasn't eating or sleeping, he was shaking. he said he lost ten pounds, just how difficult it st, and yet he did it. put his name thrup with mark spits and michael phelps in terms of a man winning three golds at a single olympic games. >> team u.s.a. swimmers leading the way there. we also have the gymnasts not doing too badly, a lot of to

connect-- focus on simone biles the most decorated gymnast stepping back to carry out her own mental health and well-being. what is her coming back toom mean. >> this is going to be the most watched event of the olympics. am, and i imagine the heart rates will be through the roof. the balance beam is difficult anyway. four inches, up thereseveral feet in the air it is difficult to stand on it for a mere mortal. and to think that she is going to try to do what she does, fly through the air and do the jumps and twists while still dealing with the twisties, losing herself in the air t is extraordinary. it was a week ago now that she of course told us about the problem and talked about mental health and the pressures. and really got us on this national conversation that i working its way towards a movement with naomi osaka, et cetera. so to see her come back this is the last chance for gold or any metal-- ned all at the olympics t have be as dramatic a moment

as can i think of in any olim mick games it is quick, don't blink or you will miss it but it is one of those things that i think shows just how strong and how tough she is in the midst of so many personal issues. good for her and of course we'll see how she does. >> and of course a lot of people will be cheering her on. of course i need to ask you about the women's soccer team. heartbreak in that loss to canada. and they were really expected to do better than they had. isn't that right? that is correct. although in 2016 the last olympics in rio they actually lost in an earlier round so they did better this time. they will be playing for the bronze medal, so there say medal still on the table but the u.s. women national team is just not looked good this entire term. it would be 3-0 to start the o lick-- olympics and looking listless throughout. the goal keeper went out with an injury, played so great against the nether lands but a 1-0 loss to canada, on the other hand for canada they have been trying to get to this point for a long time so good for them. beating the united states, that

is a great rivalry. but a difficult time for the u.s. with an older team, some of those old players we know so well, megan rap ino, and carlry, we wonder if that is the last time we see them on the international stage. >> a great history of the olympic games of athletes using that global stage to deliver an important message. we had our first podium demonstration, this is u.s. shot putter raven saunders raising her arms in an x after winning a medal in her event. tell us what was behind that. >> yes, she says that is for oppressed people everywhere. and what of course the first demonstration we have seen at these games. we expect more t has been a topic of conversation because the international olympic committee relaxed the rules just a bit to allow athletes to kneel before games as women's soccer players have. the difference here is she did not, the chinese woman won the gold, sanders did not do anything to disrupt the medal ceremony itself.

and also the national anthem. no disrespect at all. she did it afterwards when they take off your mask r a minute for a quick photo, that is when she did it it so the u.s. olympic and paraolympic committee said it is okay. the international olympic committee might say something different. we could see everyone at loggerheads if the international olympic committee disagrees with the u.s., the u.s. saying it was okay what she did and was not disrespectful. we will see how that plays out in the next few hours. >> a lot of games behind us already and still a lot of competition ahead. that is countries are teen brennan from "u.s.a. today" joining us from tokyo covering these olympic games, thank you so much for making the time. >> my pleasure. thank you >> woodruff: and on the newshour online, high-profile decisions by black women like simone biles, naomi osaka and nikole hannah jones have opened up conversations about advocating for one's mental health, as well as the toxic work conditions faced by black women in many industries. find what others who are grappling with these same issues say about what this moment means

for them on our website, that's: 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: >> architect. be-keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas.

more at kendedafund.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 ongoing support 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. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello everyone and welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. this is an american tragedy. people are dying and will die who don't ahave to die. >> frustration grows as the delta variant wreaks havoc across the country. i talk to dr. reed tuxen from the black coalition against covid-19 about the mounting pressure to get vaccinated. then as afghanistan descends into chaos, the world can't afford to turn away. so says my guest, head of afghanistan's largest media organization. plus -- >> look, forget the politics. focus on solving these