captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, after ida-- americans living on the gulf coast suffer through an arduous recovery pross amid rampant food shortages and power outages. then, an uncertain future-- thousands of afghans flee their home country amid widespread scarcity as the taliban move to form a new islamic government. and, desperate journey-- the surge of migrants into europe continues, straining the resources of small islands that are often the points of entry. >> these people, along with about 150 others, are being taken out to coast guard ship and taken to the mainland straight away because there

simply isn't enough room for them here on this island. >> 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 pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundation. commitd to improving lives through invention, in the u.s. and developing 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 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. no power. no water. no air conditioning. and a shortage of gasoline. that's what hundreds of thousands in southeast louisiana are still facing tonight, three days after ida leveled the area, and what president biden will see for himself when he visits friday. more than a million are without

power. and there are at least seven storm-related deaths in three states. roby chavez, our newshour communities reporter based in new orleans, begins our coverage. >> i was right here when the hurricane hit. >> reporter: justin davis's whole world now lies in a twisted pile of debris. the neighborhood he's lived on for 35 years is in shambles. >> i grew up with hurricane andrew as a little boy, and this right here just was, wow, it was an experience. like this for nobody has to go through this in life. >> reporter: he had planned on hunkering down in his trailer when hurricane ida made landfall on sunday, but had to take cover before his home collapsed around him. his town in lafourche parish had taken a direct hit from the storm. amid sweltering summer heat, where temperatures felt like 105

degrees in parts of the state, davis is among the hundreds of thousands who remain without electricity, air conditioning or tap water for a third straight day. and the search for fuel to power generators is becoming more difficult by the day. in davis's town of raceland, residents lined up at a food distribution center today run by the national guard. but they only received supplies for a day. >> i'm glad we got food and water but we need more help. >> what did you come looking for here today? >> i'm satisfied. i came and got some water in a bucket, and i got a meal, too. i'm thankful for that. >> reporter: >> reporter: robbie lee is the director of communications for the lafourche parish government. he said while some residents have begun returning to their homes, he's urging as many as possible to stay away because he expects power won't return for months.

>> one of the biggest concerns is getting residents to their homes. the roads are very unsafe to travel right now. there's a large amount of power lines down right now, we currently have no water at all, no running water, no clean water for residents to come in to >> reporter: in new orleans, a glimmer of hope emerged wednesday as power was restored to a section of the city. distribution sites were set up by officials and local charities where people could receive meals, water and ice. and simply sit and cool off for a few minutes. >> primary objectives today are getting our people what they need. we know they need food, water, cool air, and so we are moving forward with the full compliment of additional resources on today. >> reporter: for residents in grand isle, louisiana, where ida took direct aim, the devastation has made the barrier island uninhabitable. >> reporter: grand isle police chief scooter resweber sayhe

and many of his family members and colleagues lost their homes. >> in my neighborhood, i lost my home, my grandson st his home. i have a deputy who lost his home, a sergeant who lost his home. >> this is the living room, and the bathroom's back here. >> reporter: in the bayou town of golden meadow, james segrina got emotional as he surveyed the remains of what use to be his home. >> you see the bed, the washing machine-- dryer, the washer is somewhere up in there. in fact the washer is right here, so. but it moved it from over here like eight foot. >> reporter: segrina has been in this area his entire life and is still struggling to make sense of what's happened. his boat was destroyed as well. >> busted the windows out and the rain poured in and it made it sink. >> reporter: the remnants of hurricane ida are now causing what the national weather service has called “significant

and potentially life-threatening flooding” for parts of the northeast and mid-atlantic regions. flash flood warnings have been issued from north carolina all the way to maine. while ida has moved on from louisiana, residents like justin davis have no idea when life will ever return to normal. but he says many here in the town of raceland are committed to staying and rebuilding. we tagged along as he checked on neighbors and his dad, who lives just down the street. >> we all going to stick together and do we have to do to get this back going as a family. >> reporter: evacuees are eager to return. they want to get back here, and survey the mage on their own homes. and they also want to come in and help their neighborsch but it is a dire situation. there is no food, no water, no power, and no answers of just when it is going to be safe to return. judy? >> woodruff: roby, it is so hard to imagine the amount of devastation, but

we see it in your report. tell us, what is the latest on getting people the help, the support that they need? >> reporter: well, it is going to be very, very slow to come. and right now, just the basics of food and water, what people need -- today we watched the national guard hand out meals ready to eat, an also three quarts of water for people to last for a day. and the other big concern is medical care. a lot of the pharmacies are closed. two of the major hospitals in this area of closed. there is only one emergency room to service all these people. and so it is going to be tough for them. in fact, today we ran across a man who was sitting in this truck. he was gasping for air. he had stage 4 lung cancer and he needed oxygen, but he didn't have the electricity to run the machines to give him that oxygen. so we went ahead and called the emergency services and got him the help that he needed. >> woodruff: oh, my goodness. thankfully you were there for that one man. and, roby, so much discussion before the

hurricane about whether the levees would hold. what is the information that you have on that? have they been holding? >> reporter: yes. so in the area we were in today, in south louisiana, in lafourche parish, there are still some levees that there are areas of concern. in fact, in lafourche parish, they spent the day packing those levees with sand, hoping to avoid another breach. if that water breaches, it will just make matters even worse. >> woodruff: one other thing, roby, you were talking about people without water, without running water, if they don't have it and they don't expect to get it soon, how are they coping. >> reporter: offials have said don't come back because we don't have the infrastructure to help you out. i spoke with a couple of peop who emptying their pools, using the water in buckets to wash their hands. that's the kind of situation they're living in for now, and it could

be as much as a month on even two. >> woodruff: roby, thank you so much. >> reporter: thank you, judy. >> woodruff: now we explore washington's response to the devastation caused by hurricane ida with david bibo, of the federal emergency management agency. he is the acting associate administrator for response and recovery, and he is just back from louisiana, where he saw areas hit hardest by the storm. he joins us now from the fema headquarters. mr. bibo, how would you say this aftermath compares with what we have seen after other hurricanes? >> judy, no question the devastation is heartbreaking. i joined the fema administrator yesterday with the governor, saw the degenerate in lafourche, terbone, st. john the baptist, and jefferson parish, some of the reporting from your correspondent there was in those same places. and they're going to need a lot of help. and recovery is going to take a lot of tie. >> woodruff: what is -- i'm sorry. so what is fema's

principle role at this point? we see there is enormous efort at the local level. what is it that the federal government can do? >> right. so we've been involved since several days before landfall, pre-positioning meals, water, tarps, blankets, cots, specialized teams. we were able to participate and support the search-and-rescue mission that has still been under way today, and some of the national guard distribution, points of distribution, that you saw there in your reporting. we've established a flow of commodities to make sure that can continued in the days ahead. also, importantly, with the p persistent power outages, we provided hundreds of generators, and the army corps of engineers toelp install that, at water treatment plants, sewage plants, as well as hospitals and other critical facilities. that's the important work that is under way right now. >> woodruff: what is your understanding of how long it is going to take to get the power back?

we've seen estimates of going into weeks and a month. >> we know with 150 mile-an-hour winds and the extent of the damage, that it could be a while. energy, the primary power provider, has more than o 20,000 personnel they're bringing into the state to expedite the return of power. importantly, the president the other day approved a major disaster declaration, which authorizes assistance for individuals and communities. so people who have been affected by ida can go on fema's website or disaster assistance.gov, to take advantage of that assistance. we've already approved more than $25 million insistence for affecd louisianans in the past day. >> woodruff: you mentioned the basic needs that people have. we heard that from our own reporter, food, water, power, shelter. is fema and are other agencies going to be able to get people the help

that they need? >> well, providing that support in such a degraded environment is extremely challenging. that's why we're seeing the parish presidents and the mayors encourage their residents, if they did evacuate, to wait to return. it is really critical that louisianans who left town in advance, in response to those mandatory evacuation orders, which probably saved lives, heed those continued directions from local and state officials about wh to return. because we don't want folks returning to a place where essential services have yet to be rtored. >> woodruff: what -- if people are watching this and they want to help, what can people who don't live in the area do to be of help? >> there are two things i would suggest: first, you can visit envoad.org and find a charity that is active in disasters and donate to provide support. it is always better to donate money than to donate supplies in kind. the other thing that is really important to note:

the remnants of ida are not done with us. we have flashflood warnings and tornado warnings across the northeast into tomorrow. it is critical that people pay close attention in the northeast because there is still a very life-threatening weather situation unfolding from the remnants of ida right now. >> woodruff: and we've seen that reporting of flooding in pennsylvania and maryland and other states. finally, back to louisiana, how concerned are you that we could be headed for a real humanitarian crisis with so mso many people out now out of power and out of water and out of food and gasoline. >> being out of power presents challenges, no question. our focus in support of the state of louisiana is to get those generators attached to those critical facilities so we can have as many essential, absolutely essential services available as possible. the city of new orleans opened cooling centers today, as well 3s points of distribution that are unfolding across the

affected parishes. and folks can find information about those in their neighborhoods. there are folks going around to make sure that the message is getting out about the availability of those services. and we're going to keep the flow going of those meals, the water, and the essential support items in the days ahead. >> woodruff: david bibo is the acting associate administrator of fema. thank you very much. and we, of course, wish you and all of your colleagues the best with all of this important work. >> wdruff: we will talk with the mayor of new orleans later in the program. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the taliban worked to restore stability across afghanistan, as new concerns emerged about the plight of the afghan people who remain in the country. a senior united nations' official warned that

afghanistan's food supply could run out this month, and estimated that a third of the population is facing a hunger crisis. meanwhile, a technical team from qatar arrived in kabul to help the taliban re-open the airport to aid deliveries and other flights. we'll have more on afghanistan, later in the program. back in this country, firefighters in northern california made more progress today against the massive caldor fire raging near the lake tahoe resort area. the flames are now 20% contained, after burning more than 204,000 acres since mid-august. stephanie sy has the latest. >> sy: plumes of black smoke rose above the historic echo summit mountain pass early this morning, signs that the “caldo”" fire is creeping closer to south lake tahoe, the most populous city on the lake. nearly 4,000 fire-fighters battling the raging inferno made some progress today. the fire has already destroyed

hundreds of structures. >> we've been resource starved here at times. we're continuing to get more people sent to us, but it's still not enough as this fire is shown to be a huge challenge for everyone involved. fuel load is extreme out in these areas. everything is easily ignitable and the vegetation is very thick and dense and the areas are sometimes inaccessible. >> sy: thousands of members of california's national guard have also been deployed to assist with the fire response and evacuations. for days, erratic winds and low humidity have spread spot fires, with embers flying and spreading the flames. >> those ember casts that it throws out are going over a mile in distance. so that's what's propagating the spread of the fire right now is that long range downwind spotting of that ember cast. >> sy: and the thick smoke has made it difficult for crews to navigate the rough terrain. on monday, some 50,000 people in the popular resort region were

placed under evacuation orders, snarling traffic for hours. a tourist area that's usually filled with thousands of holiday visitors is now almost empty. military vehicles, fire crew personnel, and an odd bear were seen in the city's smoke filled streets. only a few residents remain. >> no one's stupid enough to stay when the flames are right mounting around the outside of the meadow. so along as the smoke isn't so bad and the flames aren't real close, we're going to stick it out, you know. but if not, we'll hightail it out. >> sy: evacuation orders have also expanded to communities in nehboring nevada, along the california state line. meanwhile, the massive “dixie” fire is also still burning through the sierra nevada. it's the second largest wildfire in the state's history, and has burned over 844,000 acres since it began in early july. scientists say climate change has made worse the hot and dry weather conditions fueling the

west's extreme wildfires. and it's also contributed to the warming of water, making hurricanes such as “ida” in th gulf coast, more dangerous. katharine hayhoe is a climate scientist and the chief scientist for the nature conservancy. >> climate change didn't cause hurricane ida, but it definitely made it worse, and that's what climate change is, a threat multiplier. it's taking events that occur naturally and it's making them bigger, stronger, more dangerous and more damaging. >> sy: that includes wildfires. >> imagine you had a pile of bone dry kindling and you accidentally dropped a match into it. what would happen? a huge conflagration. that's the difference between with or without climate change. >> sy: this year is track to be california's worst fire season on record, and it's far from over. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. >> woodruff: a new report out

today from the united nations' weather agency has found that weather disasters are more frequent and more severe than 50 years ago due to climate change. events like fires and floods are happening more than four times more often, and causing seven times more damage than in the 1970's. but, they are causing fewer deaths, due to better warnings and preparedness. a texas ban on most abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy went into effect today. the u.s. supreme court has yet to act on an emergency appeal to block the law, which is the most restrictive in the nation. the law also empowers private citizens to file lawsuits against anyone who helps another person get a prohibited abortion. we'll return to this right after the news summary. three suburban denver police officers and two paramedics have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges in the 2019 death of elijah mcclain.

officers stopped the 23-year-old black man after a 9-1-1 caller reported he was acting suspiciously. they put him in a chokehold, and injected him with a sedative before he died. today's announcement is part of a new investigation into his death, after his autopsy was inconclusive. president biden had his first face-to-face meeting with ukraine's president volodymy zelensky since taking office. zelensky was a key figure in former president trump's first impeachment, after mr. trump pressured him to investigate then-candidate biden and his son hunter. today, mr. biden pledged to give $60 million in new military aid to ukraine to counter russian hostility. >> the united states remains firmly committed to ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of russian aggression, and, and our support for ukraine's euro-atlantic aspirations. >> woodruff: zelensky welcomed

the assistance, and said he wanted to drum up u. support for ukraine's bid for nato membership. in nigeria, gunmen abducted 73 young students in a new school attack today. the assailants descended on the secondary school in a remote village in the northwestern part of the country. their kidnappings came days after three other groups of hostages were freed, reportedly after ransom payments were made. overall, more than a thousand students have been kidnapped in northern nigeria since december. the pan american health organization is out today with some concerning new covid-19 data. as infections surge in north america, hospitalization rates among young people and adults under the age of 50 are higher today than at any point in the pandemic. and, three-quarters of the people in latin america and the cabbean have not been fully vaccinated against covid. resc crews are searching for five people still missing off

the coast of southern california, a day after a u.s. navy helicopter crashed. officials said the aircraft went down tuesday afternoon during a routine flight 70 miles off the coast of san diego. one sailor was rescued. there was no immediate word what caused the crash. a federal judge in new york today approved the bankruptcy reorganization plan for oxycontin maker, pdue pharma. the plan will help settle thousands of lawsuits over the company's role in the deadly opioid epidemic. the sackler family will give up ownership of the company, and must pay $4.5 billion. but, they will be shielded from future opioid lawsuits. and on wall street today, trading was light on this first day of september. the dow jones industrial average lost 48 points to close at 35,312. the nasdaq rose 50 points to notch another all-time high. and the s&p 500 added one.

still to come on the newshour: what texas' new abortion law means for women's reproductive health. thousands flee afghanistan as the taliban move to form an islamic government. the surge of migrants into europe strains the resources of points of entry. and much more. >> woodruff: a restrictive abortion law in texas went into effect today, after the supreme court failed to respond to an emergency plea to intervene before midnight. john yang has more. >> yang: judy, the new law bans abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which is generally after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women are even aware they are pregnant. it also puts enforcement of the

law into the hands of private citizens, not officials like county or district attorneys. in a statement, president biden called that provision "outrageous," and said the law will "significantly impair women's access to the health care they need, particularly for communities of color and individuals with low incomes." mary ziegler is a florida state university law professor and author of "abortion and the law in america: roe v wade to the present." >> mary ziegler, thanks for being with us. that provision that says the law is enforced by private citizens filing civil lawsuits, and specifically bans officials, government officials, from getting involved in those lawsuits. what is that significant? >> this is texas' attempt to make it impossible to sue anyone, to challenge the constitution at ofality of this suit. the state is trying to

shield itself, and it allows people to sue states only if their targeting the official who enforces the law they think is unconstitutional. but, obviously, texas is saying there is no such official to sue, so there is no way to bring this constitutional challenge to court. this is texas' bid, if you will, to ban abortion in the state without legal risk. >> and the texas briefs in this case never mentioned "roe vs. wade." is this an attempt to get around "roe vs. wade" rather than confronting it head on? >> absolutely. this is an alternative to what we see unfolding in mississippi, which is trying to force the board to reconsider if it protects abortion rights. texas as opted to ban abortions while doing as much as possible to avoid roe, and the possibility of having to pay attorney fees if the state loses a constitutional challenge. >> how does it fit in with

the anti-abortion things at the state level? is it sort of an outlier? >> it is haseen -- they relish the opportunity to pass laws that unconstitutional under current law because they want the court to change how it interprets the constitution. texas has been alone so far in focusing on maximizing access to abortion on the ground. but if texas' law works, as it promises to, other states could follow suit and hedge their bets, trying to go after roe while at the same time eliminating abortions while those challenges are pending. >> the supreme court got -- as we sit here, the supreme court got the last briefs in this case about 24 hours ago. what do you make of the silence? what do you make of the fact they haven't said anything about this emergency appeal? in this time. >> well, obviously on some level we can't make too much of it.

we could imagine a scenario where the court is either going to block enforcement the law, and that upsets some of the court's conservative members, or conversely, the court is going to write an order allowing the law to go into effect, which upsets some of the court's liberal members. the delay is sort of extraordinary because we've seen on other examples, involving covid and churches, that the court can act quickly if it wants to. the fact that the court refuses to do that, it makes it seem as if the court does not view a ban on abortion in texas as an emergency. that tells me where we may be headed when it comes to abortion rights this term. >> this term, as you say, the court is going to hear a big case from mississippi challenging a 15-week ban. you say it tells us something. what does it tell us? >> it tell us that the court didn't view it as particularly urgent to

deal with the application for a stay in this case. the court seems to think it could take its time to render a decision here, and that is hard to imagine the court doing that if we were talking about the free exercise of religion or the right to bear arms or some other right the court takes more seriously. of course texas' law is different. it doesn't require the court to reverse long-standing precedent, especially in an election year, but it still tell us that the court is not treating abortion rights as seriously as the court has treated other rights in recent days. >> mary ziegler of the florida state university. thank you very much. >> thanks,ohn. >> woodruff: two days after the united states withdrew its last troops from afghanistan, the new taliban rulers are struggling to keep the country functioning. shuttered banks, lack of food,

and continued instability rack the nation. meantime, secretary of defense lloyd austin said the state department would take the lead in securing the exit of americans left there, and thousands of afghan allies. amna nawaz reports. >> nawaz: on the streets of kabul, countless vendors are out to sell. but no one is buying. in afghanistan's first days without foreign forces, the cost of basic goods is swelling. the national currency is plummeting, and the economy is at a standstill. and it's the taliban's job to fix it. elsewhere in the capital, bank lines stretch down the block. >> ( translated ): all prices have risen and we can not buy anything and people have a big economic problem because the banks are closed and the market conditions are not good. there are no job opportunities and no one can afford to buy anything. >> nawaz: ali mustafa is a reporter with trt world, tuey's national broadcaster,

and is in kabul. >> it's brimming and there seems to be a lot of frustration on the streets. there are long lines outside banks. there are groups of talibs that move around. they do not disturb anyone, they set up checkpoints, they do check vehicles and so on and so forth but it's almost as if they're holding back. they're waitinon the streets. >> nawaz: he said that already, women are anticipating fewer freedoms even if the taliban says it will be more lenient. >> there are women on the streets. not as much as they were before but it's quite muted. they're not in restaurants for example. they are usually accompanied by men. but that isn't to say the taliban are, at least in kabul, have taken a harsher tone towards women. they're quite tolerant towards them and if you speak to some leaders, especially the younger leaders, they do believe in

rights for women. but as with anything, there isn't just one taliban. there are many taliban. >> nawaz: for the few who back the taliban, there is joy. last night in kandahar cell phone footage showed fireworks celebrating the takeover. today taliban fighters drove u.s.-armored vehicles throug in this southeastern afghan city, residents held a mock funeral procession with coffins draped in the flags of u.s. and nato powers. in the only remaining province challenging the takeover, a senior taliban leader said today they had surrounded afghan resistance fighters. but the taliban now have a country to run. this week spokesperson zabihullah mujahid said they are working to restore normalcy, and to establish a new government. >> ( translated ): firstly, one of the most important services is security, that people are provided with good security and

the rule of law is established. initial works have also begun in the banking sector and have started their services. in the media sector we have also ensured that the system is running. we hope that the government is announced soon and everything gets back to normal. >> nawaz: back in washington secretary of defense lloyd austin told reporters the defense department is transitioning from a military mission to a diplomatic one. >> now the war is over and we're entering a new chapter, one in which our diplomats and our interagency partners take the lead. we are part of a team effort to move afghans out of temporary housing and on to begin new lives. >> nawaz: on capitol hill today alabama representative mike rogers said america is less safe because of president biden's decisions. >> we must find out what advice president biden was given or ignored in making these disastrous decisions.

we must find out exactly how many americans president biden left behind. we must find out how much military equipme president biden left to the taliban. >> nawaz: at kabul's international airport this week, taliban members replaced american troops on the runway. the airport has become inoperable. yesterday the biden administration said 100 to 200 americans remain in the country. those able to escape, fear for family members left behind. afghan journalist ahmed sarhadi lost his fingers 14 years ago to a taliban roadside bomb. he fled to qatar last month, but his wife and five children remain in kabul. his family says the taliban is looking for him. >> i was trying to have my family with me, to come to qatar, but unfortunately, there was no time and also i have no contact with my family, how they are doing. i don't know what's going to happen with my family who are there, because physically, i am here but mentally, i am in afghanistan worried about my family.

>> nawaz: as afghans and the world wait to see whether or not the taliban respect human rights, we turn to one of afghanistan's most prominent voices on this subject. shaharzad akbar was chairperson of afghanistan's independent human rights commission. she and her family were recently evacuated from kabul. she is in instanbul. >> nawaz: shaharzad akbar, welcome to the newshour, and thank you for making the time. i wonder if you wouldn't mind just telling us, first off, why did you make the decision for you and your family to leave? >> thank you, amna, and good to be on this program. i bought a ticket for a commercial flight, i and my husband and my child, left on a commercial flight thinking we'll be back in a week. on the day i left, it was sunday morning, and i think ours was one of the last commercial flights. in any case, i don't plan on returning to afghanistan in the near future as an option. as many women human rights

activists, i think the (indiscernable) there is no sense of safety, despite assurances by the taliban or security. there is concern that they will kill people like me and our families. and, of course, there is no suppose really for a woman -- public space for a woman to have a role. >> nawaz: the taliban leadershipas said they promised to build an inclusive government. and onof the taliban leaders said women will have no place in the formation of a new government. what is your reaction to that? >> it is not entirely surprising becau we afghans have none taliban for a long time. and we have been monitoring the taliban in areas and under taliban control, and it is nothing new. there is no space for women in places they controlled before. they have in the past made promises about women's rights, but they have always left it very vague. and i think that is exactly for this reason.

and now we can see they have now made an announcement in their cabinet, there will be no women because they simply don't think that women are qualified to govern. women are not qualified to lead. >> nawaz: at does that say to you about what kind of future women will have in afghanistan? >> i'm extremely concerned for women in afghanistan. i think this is the beginning of another dark period. i really hope it doesn't last long, but everything that we worked so hard for -- afghan women worked really hard. they had to defy their families to get where they are. can you imagine a police woman, they have master's degrees, and they were working in government positions, they came from families where their moms were (indiscernable), and they moved so much in the space of 20years, and l of that is gone now. it is all back to zero. and so i think -- my heart goes out to every single

afghan woman and girl because i know right now the future seems weak. >> nawaz: the taliban leadership also pledged they wouldn't seek vengeance on people who were not with them in the past. what do you think? >> it seems like they're doing house to house searches. there is a lot of fear and intimidation. there are also reports of some incidents where former members of security forces have been executed. so it doesn't seem like there is complete herence in what is being said and what is being done on the ground. this may be to lack of control or it may be that taliban are saying something and acting in a different way. but the situation is concerning. i remained very concerned for my own colleagues and for women's rights, and there is an independent media still operating in afghanistan. and even yesterday, there was a sense that the world is watching, but as that fades, we're going to see

to what extent the taliban hold up the promises. some they have already broken. >> nawaz: we have heard from u.s. leaders they believe they have financial leverage and diplomatic leverage to continue to pressure the taliban government as it forms and takes over to secure human rights on the ground. do you believe they have that leverage? >> i honestly -- i honestly hope so, i really hope so. but i don't -- i have personally persuaded governments to use their leverage for the peace process, and that has not happened. so everything we have asked to reduce afghans suffering and to ensure a dignified future for our people, so far it hasn't been delivered. so i don't know. it is yet to be seen. i really hope that is true. i hope that these conditions thehave in mind don't end up causing a lot of pain and suffering for ordinary afghans, but actually

really manage to hold taliban accountable. >> nawaz: we have had trouble getting people on the ground to share their stories or speak freely because many are worried about what will happen next. you have left but you are speaking freely? why is that? are you worried for any family or friends left behind? >> i do. every day is a battle. you may have noticed i have reduced my media presence, and the members of the leadership from afghanistan, and my family has left afghanistan -- i wasn't speaking to media because i was afraid of what it causes for them. but i also feel like i have a duty as someone who is in a safe place, to raise my voice for people who really have a lot to say but don't have the opportunity because they're so anxious about their own safety and the safety of their families. >> nawaz: that is shaharzad akbar. thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.

>> thank you. >> woodruff: we return to our >> woodruff: europe's human rights commissioner has called on the continent to welcome afghan refugees with open arms. but this latest chapter in the refugee and migrant crisis will add to the thousands of people, mainly from africa, still making the desperate journey. special correspondent malcolm brabant has just returned from the italian island of lampedusa, off the coast of tunisia, and sent us this report. >> reporter: dawn on lampedusa, a speck of italian soil less than a hundred miles from the tunisian coast. lampedusa is closer to africa than it is to mainland europe. this summer, the island has experienced a renewed surge of migrants reaching its shores. on saturday, italian coastguards rescued nearly 800 people from several unseaworthy craft that

had launched from tusia and libya in north africa. >> oh, it was easy, thank god. i'm alive and i'm very happy to be here. >> reporter: within the space of 24 hours, this ilux from sub- saharan africa and muslim northern coastal countries, increased lampedusa's 6,000 strong population by almost 15%. many of the africans are economic migrants rather than refugees from conflict or political persecution. among them was a 32 year old liberian called siaka kenny who described himself as a businessman. why did you leave liberia? >> oh, a lot of reasons. right now we are having some economic problems. >> reporter: this has been one of the busiest days in lampesa for quite some time. and for this island, it's something of an emergency. >> ( translated ): i criticize what is being done both in italy

and in europe. what i mean is that the phenomenon of emigration is not being confronted by anne. >> reporter: toto martello is the left wing mayor of lampedusa. he is the son of a fisherman and because of his family ties martello has a deep understanding of how, historically, the mediterranean has facilitated the movement of people. but the current wave has left him at the end of his rope. >> ( translated ): europe is exclusively focusing only on refugees. on lampedusa most of the arrivals are economic migrants. and fundamentally nobody cares about economic migrants. >> reporter: hidden away from lampedusa's tourist beaches is what the european union calls a hotspot. it is a detention facility with a maximum capacity of 250 people, where migrants are held, while their identities are checked and asylum claims processed. it was already full to bursting, and so this weekend's arrivals had nowhere to go. suited up to protect themselves against covid, the coastguards

kept the migrants in the shade as they plotted the next move. >> ( translated ): africa is arriving in italy. look at today. as usual so many clandestini are landing. i call them clandestini because that's what they are: illegal immigrants who arrive here with no documents. i am very angry when it comes to this reception of migrants. >> reporter: attilio lucia is the lampedusa representative of the lega, a powerful anti immigration party that belongs to italy's right wing coalition government. >> ( translated ): the left does not want to stop these landings, smugglers or the non profits. they are criminal accomplices. we are talking here about trafficking human flesh. >> reporter: lampedusa's main harbour is littered with hulks of the migrants' navy that reached this side of the mediterranean. lampedusa is known as the door of europe. this art installation is an important symbol for marta barabino, who represents a

protestant church, pro migrant non profit. she has no time for the rhetoric of the right. >> in summer months there are loads and loads of arrivals. buwe cannot talk about emergency. the emergency is in libya and in the middle of the mediterranean where people die. >> reporter: docrs without borders reported that many of the new arrivals had sustained violent injuries in libya, where many sub saharan africs transit on their way to europe. the italian authorities also believe people traffickers were hiding among the migrants and have launched an investigation. so what's happening right now is that these people along with about 150 others are being being taken out to a coastguard ship out there. they are being taken to the mainland straight away because there simply isn't enough room for them on this island. the journey of siaka kenny, the liberian businessman, was proceeding as planned.

>> oh we got here by boat. 22 persons on the boat. >> reporter: what do you think of the way the italians are treating you? >> oh they are very nice people. very nice people. we eat three times a day. and we are well treated yes, very comfortable. everything's okay actually. >> reporter: so where do you think you are going now? >> so i'm going to sicily, italy. i'm an italian now. thank you. >> reporter: when it comes to migration, europe and italy's current priority is the fall out from afghanistan. this was one of the last italian flights into kabul late last week. the planes extracted italian diplomats, military officials and afghan citizens. in all italy airlifted to fety 4800 afghans, including 1500 children. in lampesa, there's recognition, that the plight of afghans fleeing the talib now takes priority over the island's

needs on the frontline of european immigration. >> ( translated ): we are always being forced to deal with emergencies, be it syria, afghanistan or the arab spring and so on. if there can't be peace in the world basically crises will continue to erupt and practically we have no alternative buy to conont them. >> reporter: but right winger attilo lucia takes a less charitable view. >> ( translated ): we from lampedusa have been abandoned by europe. of course they will forget about us, because the focus is on kabul. whatever happens here, they just don't care about it. >> reporter: as lucia spoke, a flimsy wooden boat carrying more than a dozen africans limped into lampedusa's harbor. its outboard motor survived the long crossing. the door of europe, wide open. for the pbs newshour, i'm malcolm brabant in lampedusa.

technology is changing the way we think about the human brain. miles o'brien gives us a personal look at how re-wiring the mind with the aid of machines is transforming the lives of those with amputated limbs. it is the second part of this story in our break-through series on innovation andnvention. >> reporter: hey, hi, guys. >> welcome. >> reporter: 52 years after a landmine took his leg on patrol in vietnam, dan warner is on point once again. his mission: help make his fellow leg amputees more sure-footed. >> oh, man, this is pretty wild. >> reporter: he is teing a limb that can feel what his prosthetic foot is touching. you can feel your foot, essentially? >> yes. yeah. it is great. i knew the first time i could actually feel my

foot on the ground, it wa like a mind-blowing experience. >>eporter: he is a participant in a study at the cleveland v.a. medical center, aimed at directly connecting prosthetics to the nerves, and ones that receive sensations of touch. other words, wired into the brain like the real thing. >> i don't want people to think about all of that gear. they should forget it. i think we're getting close to that point. >> reporter: dustin tyler is a professor of biomedical engineering at case western reserve university. he and his team have been working with amputees for 15 years. dan warner can feel thanks to a pressure sensor attached to the bottom of his prosthetic foot and some re-wiring of the nerves. surgeons identified the ones that controlled the muscles and provided sensorproception from his missing leg and attached wires on them.

the wires tansmit current to the nerves when the seor is depressed. how similar is it to the real thing? >> it is pretty darn close, pretty darn close. it is not -- i mean it is not like 100%, like i can do a lot of things with this foot, with ankle movement and stuff. but as far as feeling, when you're standing on it or walking, that's the big thing. >> i feel you, dan, but four arm amputees like me, this is even a bigger deal. after all, aense of touch is one of the primary missions of our hands and fingers. and my body power pro thetic is little more than a pair of pliers at the end of a stick. there is really no way for me to feel how much i'm grasping. >> basically we're trying to get the deep nerve instead of the surface nervous. >> reporter: our nse of touch is crucial because it is faster than our vision by several

hundred milliseconds. and every millisecond counts. dustin tyler and his team gave me a demonstration of that. >> he's got a big head. >> a lot of people have known that for years. >> reporter: with a headseon, i played a game of popping bubbles with just the right amount of force. simple, right? with the sensory turned off, i consistently overdid it. but once they had the sensors on my hand, i could feel the outer edges of the bubbles. i'm feeling something. oh, wow! oh, wow, that is so amazing. dustin tyler says this technology might enable another big leap, a future where humans are no longer limited by the skin. brandon prestwood lost his arm in a workplace accident in 2012, and is also a participant in tyler's study. he too had surgery connecting his nerves to sensors in the fingtips of a sophisticated

prosthetic limb. >> basically they've mapped where if they put th electrical signal to this contact on the nerve cuff, then that makes me feel a pin prick in my index finger. >> reporter: but he doesn't even have to wear it to get that feeling. >> the fact is attached to his arm is actually kind of arbitrary, we can put the prosthesis anywhere in the wor and it would still feel like his hand. >> reporter: prestwood is trying out the idea with his prosthetic arm mounted across tyler's lab. >> so now we can extend his capability. we can essentially amplify the person by taking that sense of connection, thsense of touch and putting it on any machine in any part of the world and bring it back to your nervous system. and then i can connect it to devices that can do far more than my weak biologic system >> reporter: talk like that is generating commercial interest. >> what we're recognizing, is that the human body is incredibly important to tap into as a data source, to be used to make people's lives easier. >> so we have our sensor here.

>> reporter: dexter ang is co- founder of a small startup called pison. the company is developing a wrist worn sensor that detects the faint electrical signals controlling simple hand gestures. >> so we are actually going to take a selfie together. >> reporter: simply lifting a finger creates a distinct signal. >> so i can zoom in, and i can navigate around. >> reporter: the device is connected to a smartphone - allowing control of it - or other devices - conveyor belts in factories, drones, even pinball machines to name a few. ang's inspiration came from his late mother - who contracted a.l.s. in 2015. an m.i.t. trained engineer, he wanted to make her life easier. >> and when we started doing testing on people affected by a.l.s. and others, we saw this rger idea that was completely uncovered in the market, which is how do we apply neural

interfaces at the wrist in the simplest manner possible. and that's where we saw the best pathway to have accessibility to reach hundreds of millions of users long term for the company. and that's our ambition. >> reporter: this will likely be good news for people with disabilities who stand to benefit from all the added investment in trying to read our minds en masse. dustin tyler welcomes the newfound interest in work he's pioneered for the disabled. >> and in fact, i think that limb loss, i think that spinal cord injury will actually move farther ahead if we can find a larger market to to develop this, that we can use that technology back. that's exactly the point. >> reporter: if he's right, maybe it won't be too long before i can give this old fashioned, out of touch arm - the hook. for the pbs newshour, i'm miles o'brien. >> woodruff: so exciting, miles o'brien. we certainly hope that's the case. and that cen is the newshour

for tonight. we had hoped to talk with the mayor of new orleans, but at the last minute, she was not able to j 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. >> mor funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> our u.s.-based customer service reps can help you choose a plan based on how much you use your phone, nothing more, nothing less. to learn more, go to consumercellular.tv >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide.

>> 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. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪ hello, everyone. and welcome to "amanpour and company." here's what's coming up. the taliban rise again. what will they impose this time? i ask expert ashley jackson and bert grine. >> then -- >> we are heading to the airport. hope to make it and survive. >> one of the last escapes. we follow a former interpreter's dangerous and emotional journey from afghanistan to america. >> plus, the curtain is coming down on angela merkel's long rule. i talked to her potential successor. also ahead -- >> eventually people are going to