captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: ida's ath. the death toll rises, as a wide stretch of the u.s., from the gulf coast to the northeast, comes to grips with the long recovery ahead from the massive storm. then, confronting grief. a personal reflection from the chaplain at dover air force base who oversaw american soldiers' final return home, and the human cost of our nation's longest war. >> i have said to thousands of family members, we thank you for, and honor the sacrifice of your son or daughter, but we also honor your sacrifice, which goes on forever.

>> woodruff: and, it's friday. jonathan capehart and michael gerson discuss texas' restrictive new abortion law, and how the president is handling these moments of crisis in afghanistan and here at home. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity investments. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged

communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the death toll from hurricane ida grew today, and first responders in some places went door to door to draw up lists of the missing. at least 49 people were killed in five states in the northeast, including at least 25 in the state of new jersey. president biden traveled to louisiana today to see the devastation from ida, which first hit the gulf coast as a hurricane nearly a week ago.

remained without power in the region, and many without water. roby chavez, our communities correspondent in new orleans, begins with this report. >> reporter: tens of thousands of people across the northeast are without power, as many start to recover from the path of death and destruction left behind from hurricane ida. the death toll was the highest in new jersey, where most drowned after being trapped in their cars. before-and-after satellite images from across the state show how catastrophic the flooding is. the focus now? recovery and prevention. new jersey governor phil murphy. >> it is quite clear, our state and our nation does not have the infrastructure to meet this moment, or the future as it relates to these storms, which are more frequent and more intense. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, drones captured severe

floodwaters that consumed communities and highways. the schuylkill river nearly swelled onto the bridge-- it has since dropped below flood stage. flood victims who were rescued in montgomery country were shocked by the unprecedented rainfall. those visiting from out of town were also caught off guard. >> we were staying at the residence inn en the waters rose much higher and faster than we ever anticipated, and found ourselves trapped. henri, were met ask delays, as you operations slowly recovered. floodwaters blocked passageways in central park. >> reporter: aside from the structural damage, several deaths were also reported across new york, many othem trapped in their basement units, including a toddler and his two parents in queens. some managed to get out. >> the water goes to my neck. so, my neighbor in the second

floor, he hold my hand, and i hold my wife's hand, so we can get out from the basement. >> reporter: new york governor kathy hochul said the state will investigate any shortcomings in the early warning advisories, but noted that the storm took experts by surprise. >> those warnings were there, but what was not addressed was warnings perhaps in different languages. i think the meteorologists are >> reporter: meanwhile in st. johns parish, louisiana, president biden met with officials where he was briefed on hurricane ida's destruction. he reaffirmed that federal emergency relief is on the way. >> there's more to come, to restore power as fast as we possibly can. faster than anything that happened during katrina. >> reporter: in southeastern louisiana, entire small towns were left devastated by storm damage. one of the coastal communities that president biden surveyed

during an aerial tour was grand isle. piles of rubble lay where buildings and homes once stood. officials say the island is uninhabitable, and is not accessible by land. and, in the town of independence, louisiana, officials are investigating the deaths of four nursing home residents following their evacuation ahead of the storm. more than 800 nursing home residents were being housed in unsafe and unsanitary conditions inside a warehouse. reports of overcrowding and patients laying on the floor in feces and urine. residents on thursday were transported from the facility to hospitals for medical evaluation. at least 14 were hospitalized. family membe were outraged. >> i thought they were coming to a nursing home and they would have nursing beds and th would be taken care of like they were in a nursing facility. >> elderly people should not be treated like this. nobody should be treated like this.

>> reporter: across the state, food, water, and fuel remain scarce. utility teams restored electricity to several hospitals near new orleans and baton rouge. power is expected to be restored in some areas by the middle of next week-- a vital necessity, especially in a state reeling from a resurgence in covid-19 infections that has overwhelmed hospitals. while new orleans' storm infrastructure prevented some flooding, rural areas remain in the dark, with a long revery ahead. for the pbs newshour, i'm roby chavez. >> woodruff: as roby showed us, new york city was hit with historic rainfall and enormous flooding. at least a dozen people died in new york-- most trapped in their flooded basement apartments. outgoing mayor bill de blasio announced today that the city will issue more evacuation orders in the future, sending first responders door-to-door and alerting basement residents.

justin brannan is a w york city councilman representing brooklyn. he is also the chairman of the city's committee on resiliency and waterfronts. , mr. brannan thank you very much for joining us. you reminded us there is a lot of waterfront in new york city. and now that we are a couple days after this storm hit, what is that your understanding of what happened, what hit brooklyn and all of new york? >> people forget that new york city is one of america's most hurricane vulnerable brawrn urbn centers. four of the five boroughs of the city of new york are connected with, aftermath of hurricane sandy and that is going to be nine years come october. what is our city accomplished in those almost ten years outside of lower manhattan? very little.

unfortunately, the o outer boroughs, spare no expense norman hat an add that's what we felt the other night. our osewer system did not fail on wednesdays night, it work exactly how it was designed, however it was designed 100 years ago. we weren't having storms like this a hundred years ago. it's all frustrating. we have felt like we are sounding the alarm and no one is listening. >> woodruff: what is it you believe should have been done specifically that wou have helped people for example in these basement apartments that were hit with water they never expected to come? >> obviously there should have been an evacuation program like any other city or like louisiana has, like new orleans has, people in low lying areas, people who live in basement apartments have to evacuate, have to be brought to shelter. that's what we should be doing

here because we have an are affordability crisis in new york, people living in basement apartments, these folks are most fumble in our city and they were basically left out there and it was horrible and that's why we saw the loss of life we saw. >> woodruff: what about going forward? is it your sense that now finally people are going to pay attention and are prepared to take the steppings that are needed, not just evacuation, but other steps that could be needed to make new york more resilient? >> we hope so. i mean judy, it's not like we're staring at a blank page here, it's not what should we do how do we do this. there are plans that have again been put in place, unfortunately the glacial progress of bureaucracy. the fta en islands or the the -- the statten islands or brooklyn, almost fen years since hurricane

sandy. what we need do is prioritize and expedite these plans, until the next one comes because time is not on our side. >> woodruff: you've had several changes of leadership since hurricane sandy. you are saying not much or anything has happened in the city. what's it going to take? >> that's a great question. i don't know. the fact that we lost life, we lost 12, 13 new yorkers in this storm, that certainly should be a wakeup call we would hope. i also think we are not going far enough. we have hunts point in the broxtion, the city -- bronx. they're doing the very minimum and they're blaming on doing more. outside of manhattan, 75% of the is essential workers live outside of manhattan. there's got to be a 75 borough approach. we have to think about this holistically. none of this happens in a silo.

we have got to prioritize awheys going on in the outer boroughs. >> woodruff: i could ask this question to people across the current. >> people have always understood it. new yorkers are tough. we wish we shouldn't have to be so tough. it shouldn't be so hard. we need our leaders to listen. climates change doesn't care where democrat or republican. climate change is gaining on us. we're just not up to the sk. >> woodruff: justin brannan, councilman for the city of new york representing brooklyn. the thank you very much as you work to heal the city from all of this. >> thank you judy. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, hiring in the u.s. slowed in august as the rapid spread of the delta variant took a toll on the nation's economy. the labor department reported

american employers added just 235,000 jobs last month. that was far short of the robust hiring gas made the prior two months. at the same time, the unemployment rate dropped to 5.2%, down from 5.4% in july. we'll take a closer look at those numbers right after the news summary. there are new concerns today that the biden administration's covid-19 booster vaccination plan, set to begin september 20, may have to be scaled back. federal health officials have warned the administration that they don't have enough data yet to recommend third doses for the moderna vaccine. booster shots may initially be limited to pfizer recipients, since that vaccine is further along in the review process. president biden denounced texas' new abortion ban today. he spoke a day after the u.s. supreme court let stand the state's law banning the procedure as early as six weeks

into a pregnancy. the law also empowers private citizens to sue anyone who helps another person get a prohibited abortion. the president said the justice department is looking into whether it can limit its enforcement. >> the most pernicious thing about the texas law, it sort of creates a vigilante system, where people get rewardso go out, anyway. and it just seems-- i know this sounds ridiculous-- almost un-american, what we're talking about. >> woodruff: while it's still uncertain what the executive branch can do to intervene, the abortion ban can still be challenged in lower courts. taliban commandersow claim full control of afghanistan, after seizing the panjshir valley, the final holdout of opposition forces. dozens of

afghan women protested near the presidential palace in kabul to demand equal rights. meanwhile, u.s. secretary of state antony blinken said most of the americans that remain in afghanistan are dual citizens who built their lives there. >> it's especially wrenching for them to make the decision about whether to leave or not. we are in very direct, active contact with this group, and there is absolutely no deadline on this work. we're going to be in very close touch, and as they desire to leave, we're going to make sure we're doing everything we can to help them do exactly that. >> woodruff: also today, homeland secury secretary alejandro mayorkas said the u.s. expects to admit more than 50,000 afghan evacuees, and he acknowledged that figure could climb. president biden signed an executive order today directing

the review and potential declassification of certain documents related to the september 11th terror attacks. for years, the families of victims and first responders have demanded more records from the u.s. investigation, which they believe could show a link to the saudi arabian government. the move comes more than a week before the 20th anniversary of the attacks. fire crews in northern california made more headway today against a massive wildfire burning just a few miles away from south lake tahoe. the caldor fire is now 29% contained, and growing at its smallest rate in two weeks, thanks to calmer winds. it has destroyed over 850 structures since mid-august. former roman catholic cardinal theodore mccarrick pleaded not guilty today to sexually assaulting a teenage boy at a massachusetts wedding reception in 1974. a protester yelled "shame on you!" as he entered the suburban boston courthouse.

once inside, the 91-year-old, who was hunched over a walker, did not speak during his hearing. mccarrick is the only u.s. catholic cardinal to be criminally charged with child sex crimes. jacob chansley, the arizona man known as the q-anon shaman, pleaded guilty today to a single count of obstructing an official proceeding of congress when he helped storm the capitol on january 6. it was part of a plea deal he made with prosecutors. chansley gained notoriety after being photographed shirtless inside the capitol wearing a fur hat with horns. he'll be sentenced in november. in new zealand, a sri lankan man inspired by the islamic state stabbed and injured six people at an auckland supermarket. prime minister jacinda ardern said police were able to kill the assailant about a minute after the attack, because security agencies had been monitoring him since 2016.

>> the detailed reasons he is known to the agencies is the subject of suppression orders made by the court. at i can say is that we have utilized every legal and surveillance power availableo us to try and keep people safe from this individual. many agencies and people were involved, and all were motivated by the same thing: trying to keep people safe. >> woodruff: three of the stabbing victims were seriously injured. and on wall street, stocks turned mostly lower after today's lackluster jobs report. the dow jones industrial average lost 75 points to close at 35,369. the nasdaq rose 32 points, and the s&p 500 slipped a point. still to come on the newshour: a personal reflection from the chaplain who oversaw fallen soldiers' final return home from afghanistan. jonathan capehart and michael gerson break down the multiple

crises facing president biden. and, keeping the beat. how the music industry plays on in the pandemic. >> woodruff: compared with the jobs reports of the past few months, when many parts of the country seemed to be re-opening, the unemployment report for august was expected to be significantly more modest. but as william brangham tells us, the report that came out today was a sobering sash of cold water about the state of the economy and the ongoing impact of the pandemic. >> brangham: judy, the net gain of just 235,000 jobs lasmonth was a huge drop from this summer's earlier gains, and it could be signaling a hiring slowdown-- and one that's

worse than had been expected. this also comes at a particularly tricky moment. that's because those pandemic unemployment benefits-- the ones that have cushioned the blow of the last year and a half-- are going to expire on monday. more than seven million people will see those benefits disappear on labor day. to help us take stock of this all, i'm joined by catherine rampell. she's a special correspondent for the newshour and a columnist for the "washington post." catherine great to have you back on the newshour. july we saw almost a million jobs gained and now we're down to just barely a quarter uf that. -- of that. do you point the finger and the blame squarely at the virus for this? >> i think deltaariant's fingerprints are over this report. particularly if you look at wt industries most misses expectations. so for example, you had the food services and drinking establishments sector that is restaurants and bars, a fancy

way to say restaurants and bars, they actually lost jobs in august after having averaged about 200,000 jobs per month over the previous six months and that makes sense, right? if in fact it's riskier to go out to go to a bar, restaurant, hang out with your friends outside your home, people aren't going to do it. so you have those kinds of employers dropping people from their perils. and you -- payrolls. you see similar effects through other sectors that have been sensitive to the pandemic. the health care industry for example lost jobs. that may sound a little counterintuitive but it makes sense when you think that the fact that elective procedures have been put off dpreks. nurses doctors others health care workers are burnt out and quitng. throughout this report there has been a fair amount of negative news and it all seems or largely seems in any event due to covid and the rise in if nskses. -z infections. >> can you really plot it on a

graph and say cause and effect? >> it certainly looks that way. although if you look at the scale of the job losses earlier in the pandemic, they were much larger relative to the number of deaths we were getting then. for example. so i guess in some respect, it's better that we have not had quite the same negative impact on the economy this time around that we did early in the pabd. on the other hand, of course, that means that other people are engaging in more of their regular day-to-day activities that could be high risk particularly if they are unvaccinated. but yes, if you look at the rise in infections, the rise in hospitalizations, the rise in deaths, it does seem to track pretty closely least in termination of direction -- terms of direction, with the exact that there has been a slow down in covid-sensitive industries. >> reporter: as i mentioned come monday 7 million people are going to lose their unemployment insurance benefits. i know there's probably some

debate within the administration as to whether or not this is the right time for those benefits to go away. do you think this jobs report changes that decision? >> i think it does complicate it. a few months ago, we were hearing pretty wide spreg arguments for the fact that these -- widespread arguments that the fact these expanded benefits may be keeping people from taking the available jobs in their area. and there have been a huge number of job vacancies for that matter that have been going unfilled. i think it's reasonable to think that for some workers yes, it could be the case that if their outside optio you know, unemployment benefits allows them to continue paying the bills they might hold off on accepting a jock that's not suitable for them or doesn't fit their nes, what have you. there are other things, things like lack of access to ildcare, lack of access to transportation, and of course, rising covid risk, at a lot of

the jobs that are available. so, you know, i think it complicates the picture a little bit, if in fact fewer jobs are available, or at the very least, the jobs that have en going begging, may no longer be there anymore, because there are consumers, right, there are consumers who want to go to restaurants and bars and to other kinds of activities that are higher risk. the real question going forbid is: if these -- forward is if these 7 million people lose their unemployment benefits what does that mean for their families and what does it mean for the overall economy? ifn fact the benefits are keeping them afloat but not majorly weighing on their decision to take a job or to not take a joob what could shap is their spending power just goes down. and if their spending power goes down that means they have less money to spend in their local economy which could in turn have a knock on effects that make it hard are for lower employers do

hire. what the macroeffects will be, it will certainly cause a lot of ahardship for a lot of families. i should mention by the way that there have been attempts to look at whether the states that already ended these unemployment, these expanded federal unemployment benefits early, whether they've had any appreciable job growth than the states that decided to keep it around for the last couple of weeks in any event, so far not much effect either way. >> reporter: all right, catherine rampell, special correspondent at the "washington post," thank you so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: last sunday, president biden flew to dover air force base in delaware, to witness the return-- or as it's formally titled, the "repatriation," of american service memberkilled in afghanistan. and, as it has for the past

20 years, the air base hosted what the military calls "dignified transfers." they are solemn, quiet rituals led by dover's chaplains-- one of whom has witnessed the human cost of the war, from its very first day, in 2001, all the way to last weekend. nick schifrin spoke to him before the u.s. troop withdrawal about sacrifice and families' grief. >> schifrin: in the last 20 years, more than 7,000 american men and women have died in afghanistan, iraq, and fighting the global war on terror. nearly all of them are flown home through dover airorce base. throughout, there's been one chaplain at dover: minister david sparks. david sparks, welcome to the newshour. >> thank you for inviting me. >> schifrin: thank you for being here how do you measure the sacrifice of the last 20 years? >> it's a sacrifice that goes forever for the families who

have lost their loved one, whether that's their son or daughter or parent. i have said to thousands of family members, we thank you for, and honor the sacrifice of your son or daughter, but we also honor your sacrifice, which goes on forever. mostly at the point at which i am conveying that to them, they don't say anything. they listen intently. and-- and by and large, they're somewhere between tears and sobbing. >> schifrin: do you try and comfort them? >> depending on what that means, of course. of course. but it's not usually very verbal. at the moment of the dignified transfer, when they have just seen their loved one come across the tarmac covered by a flag,

there aren't many words that are comforting. mostly it is the care that is being given by this chaplain and by others, so many others that are involved in that. and they-- they see that, and feel that. there is a... there is a team that carries their loved one off of the plane and to our transfer vehicle. and after they are complete with that transfer, they stand at attention, and they will not move until the family has left the flight line. and many, many times, the family turns aroundn our vehicle to look out the back, to see those people still standing at attention-- this is going to make me emotional-- standing at attention over there, and holding that. and they will often comment on that. >> schifrin: you have had to deal with this so many times. you've had to be the only one speaking, often, at these dignified transfers, so many

times. what do you say about these people who have had to come home after the ultimate sacrifice? >> i try to say something significant in the prayer, to challenge the folks who are there in that dignified transfer to live up to the core values of the-- of the service. to live up to their own core values. to live-- to live a life that is, is honoring of those who have given their lives, in order that we can do what we do. and then i almost always pray for peace. >> schifrin: why is it, and why is it been important for you to say something different every time? >> because every-- every military member and their families, for me, are, are... do the honor of not just on rote.

i mean, i can pray a rote prayer, i can memorize one that i pray every time. and i know there are some chaplains who do that. and that's fine. but it's-- it's important to me that i give that personal touch to everyone-- though i would confess that after 3,000, 4,000, there are only so many words that can be used. >> schifrin: do you think, over the years, that you've said the right things? >> i am aware this is-- this is very spiritual. i am aware that there are-- there have been multiple times when, well, i did not have the preparation for a particular moment. like when-- when words came up out of me that were not my own. does that make any sense? >> schifrin: of course. >> that were not my own. and i said the and once in a while, it was-- for the first-- i heard it the

first time when it came around in my own ear. and, where in the world did that come from? and those are very holy moments for me. >> schifrin: yeah. let's talk about you for a few minutes. you were first at dover in 1980. >> oh, yeah. >> schifrin: you left. you left for a little while. >> i was a kid. >> schifrin: you left for a little while, and you came back before 9/11. and what happened on 9/11 at dover for you? >> i was a reservist, and i had been called to dover multiple times, and i had regular duty. the first dignified transfers after 9/11 were the remains that were coming from the pentagon. and i do not remember words, but i remember that the helicopters were coming from the pentagon, three and four at a time, every day or multiple times every day. it was pretty, well,

overwhelming. and at that time, they sent the chaplain up onto the hicopter, on the ramp at the back, and there was nobody else up there. that was just me. sound is a-- is a great trigger, so i never hear it-- oh-- i never hear a helicopter come over that i don't flash back to those helicopters that came in, three, four, or five at a time. yeah. >> schifrin: and that was 20 years ago. you'd since retired from active reserve. you were back at this job that we've been talking about as a civilian, and you've been at it since. why? why have you stayed this long? >> this turned out to be the right thing at the right time, the right place, for me, for my personality, for the training that i had received. in many other ways, the

fulfillment of doing what i have done at dover has been-- has been very real for me. the families are-- are embedded in my heart. i like to ask, how did you meet? and ey get to talk about their loved one. what was it about him or her that drew you to her the first time? and, smiles in the midst of their loss. and they tell these wonderful stories. and for those of us who are in the grief and lo field all the time, we recognize that the number one need for a family is to remember their loved one, even though that causes tears and they suffer with that. but the number one need, after accepting that, in fact, there's been a death, is to be able to

remember well their loved one and tell those stories. it's a part of-- part the-- important part of the grief process that is going to go on. as i said earlier, it's going to go on forever. >> schifrin: chaplain david sparks, it's a real pleasure. thank you so much for being here. thank you. >> thank you. loved being here. >> woodruff: when the remains of the 13 american service members killed at the kabul airport were repatriated last sunday, chaplain david sparks was there, for perhaps the last dignified transfer of the united states' war in afghanistan. >> woodruff: as americans continue to grapple with what it means to be out of afghanistan, women's reproductive rights are being thrown into question after

this week's supreme court ruling, and the latest employment report shows the toll that covid is still taking on the u.s. economy. to try to put all this into some perspective, we turn to the analysis of capehart and gerson. that's jonathan capehart and michael gerson, both columnists for the "washington post." david brooks is away. it's very good to see both of you. >> good to see you too judy. >> woodruff: on this friday. we just heard jonathan from the chaplain at dover and we are reminded of what sacrifice there's been. it pulls at our hearts. president biden, in explaining the reason for leaving afghanistan said, he didn't want to see any more bloodshed from yuck american message and women. and as much as the american people seem to agree with that they are saying they don't like what happened here at the end. there was a new follow the newshour did with npr and

marris showing almost two to one disapproval. what do you make of this, what does it say about the country, how long lasting is this? >> capehart: take that last question first, how long lasting will this disapproval be? i don't think it will be long at all. i think it's possible to disapprove the way the united states withdrew from afghanistan while still supporting getting the troops out. there's a "washington post" poll that lays this out perfectly. 77% support withdrawal from afghanistan brut when asked do you approve the way the president has thanld withdrawal, only 26% say they approve. they support withdrawal but don't approve of the president's handli of it. 52% disapprove of the handling of it but support the withdrawal. i say this is a momentary blip for the president.

one more thing i've mentioned this before and the if the mentioned it in his speech this week and i don't think people should forget this: only 1% of the american people serves in the military. or active service members or in the reserves. in a country of 330 some manage people and so to -- million people so to hear the chaplain talk about that solemn duty, it is not just the fact that he is helping loved ones grieve, but this is a special group of people who have given their lives to the country. 1%. we talk about the 1% in terms of wealth but this is the truly heroic, 1% of the country that is willing to put their lives on the line for thisountry. >> woodruff: and given the sacrifice they've made michael and given again what we're seeing of the american people, and this, what on the surface looks to be contradictory,

supporting pulling out but not liking the way it was done, what does that say about all of us? >> well, the complex vooumentd, the public is perfectly capable of holding those two ideas at the same time. i agree with expwront the long term effect of afghanistan itself. this is a policy people agree with and that is i think ultimately going to you know rebound to the president's benefit. he will campaign if he runs for reelection as the ender of forever wars he will do that, i think that's absolutely true. the problem is if this becomes a data point in an impression of incompetence. because right nowfs the american people view that retreat from afghanistan as not competent very strongly. i don't think it's afghanistan that would be the problem. i think it's you know a set of data points that would hurt him in the long run. >> woodruff: and is a you're

saying -- so you're saying wait and see. >> yes, we have no idea. >> woodruff: let me turn you do somethings that the president, no shortage of headaches right now,ing the jobs report, we heard william speaking with your "washington post" colleague, catherine rampell earlier in the program about this. this is something where every american feels 1% served in the military, people are watching this and we looked at -- again we asked people in our new poll, what do you make of president biden's handling of the economy, back in april 38% approve, now, i'm sorry, disapprove, now it's 48% disapprove. this is -- how worried should the president be? >> capehart: well, he should be very worried. presidencies rise and fall about the american economy how american people feel with the economy. complicating matters is the

pandemic. we all thought that wear we wee in the clear in the spring. masks were coming off vaccines were being put into arms and then the delta vairnlt just knocked us for a loop. and i think that the fact that the predictions were, there were going to be 700,000 jobs created and instead it is 230,000 something. that the economy right now is spooked and very concerned about what this delta variant is going to the do to the jobs market. and so yet those numbers of all the things we're talking about, that is what i think worries the white house, the polling on afghanistan, we know they're not darably worried about that. but this is something their worried about. >> the challenge is it's not an economic problem we're dealing with, it's a scientific problem, the delta variant. in this case because of break through infections, a lot of people who have been vaccinated

have real questions about what should they do no public and whawnd circumstances. and we're also beginning to see this among children, schoolchildren. which i think is creating a lot of chaotic interactions at the school board level. about what should happen here. so all that creates uncertainty. and that's i think what undermines economic growth in this case. >> woodruff: people talk about the president, gets the credit or the blame whatever happens to the economy in this case how much control does he really have over covid and where it goes, where it goes from here. there is some control we know with the vaccines. but -- >> capehart: well not much control. the president doesn't have any control over the economy whether we wants to admit it or not and what we're seeing with the pandemic there's not much control there either. >> woodruff: anher issue from this week and that's the texas new restrictive abortion law, michael, the supreme court issued the so-called shadows

docket opinion came out at midnight one night. we only saw just a touch of what the majority in this five to four opinion thought but the dissent was pretty vigors. the people who are abortion rights activists says say this is a serious blow to women's reproductive rights. others say, we'll see. how worried should abortion rights caves be and how much are cheering should there be on the part of those who are anti-abortion? >> americans need to understand that roe v. wade was not overturned in this case. this was a narrow decision in which a texas law was passed, it was a trick law, its was intended to essentially trick the justices so that they would not intervene in an emergency way with a law that's clearly

unconstitutional. so i don't think the -- you know if you look at justice rorts dissent he's not happy about that. people are playing games with it. and that, i think, is, you know, is not going to necessarily help their cause in the long run. the real issue that we have is probably the mississippi case that comes next year that will be a real test about the -- whether roe and casey stand or not. this texas law is a disturbing side-show, particularly in the way that it has, you know, citizens enforce it against one another. >> woodruff: right. >> through, you know, civil lawsuits. you could do that with guns if you wanted to in california. you know, it turns people against one another. i really think that the whole exercise that the attorney general of texas has engaged in

has alienated a lot of people. >> woodruff: we really are talking about two sets of issues here. we're talking about as michael just said playing games with the supreme court, and the way the law was written but also the question of wooms reproductive -- women's reproductive rights. >> they're playing games with health care. i understand what you're saying michael about this doesn't overturn roe versus wade. technically on paper, i guess. but when you don't stop texas from implementing this law, thereby making it possible for south dakota which is making noises about copying, florida, making noises about copying, pretty soon we're going to have a bunch ofther republican-controlled states copying texas, and having it go through, until which time the supreme court decides to take a stand, i guess, on the mississippi case or when someone brings suit against texas, or to do something, to upend the texas

law. that is why there is so much fear in the country about what this means for roe. because they didn't stop texas. and the idea of pitting neighbors against each other, colleagues, snitching on each other, because someone is desperately trying to potentially, displilt trying to safeguard their -- disprealt trying to -- desperately trying to upend. >> woodruff: ds it give michael more political heft to make its argument? >> i think that the people don't quite understand the republican party, the social conservatives in the party, abortion is not the central issue for a lot of them. it is critical race theory and immigration and a lot of other hot-button cultural issues. so i don't -- i'm not sure that

it rallies republicans in a certain way. i think it does rally democrats. i think there's a broad concern over the fate of roe. i think it's going to bring people out in the 2022 mid term elections. and that's you know, i think they're going to benefit more from this argument going forward. >> woodruff: how do you see the political? >> capehart: i agree with michael. this is as horrendous as it is, this is something that will fire up an already fired up and restive and angry democratic party. and democratic party base. the question though is, in a mid term election, is that enough fire to go from being angry at what's happening to going into the voting booth? because democrats and republicans vote in fewer numbers than in presidential elections but in the mid terms democrats vote even less. >> woodruff: and in any case,

a lot of this is in the courts. and we' see. supreme court, that's another subject for another friday. thank you both. >> thanks judy. >> woodruff: jonathan capehart, michael gerson. we appreciate it. >> woodruff: for many musicians and live music venues across the country, the pandemic created an existential crisis. there have been signs of life this summer-- but also, new clouds making the future uncertain. jeffrey brown reports for our arts and culture series, "canvas." ( cheers and applause ) >> brown: it was perhaps the grandest opening of a music venue in the covid-19 era. in early august-- a year late, because of the pandemic-- the san diego symphony debuted the rady shell, a spectalar $85 million outdoor performance

space on the city's waterfront, a new home for music of all kinds. ♪ ♪ ♪ 3,500 people took in the celebration, conducted by music director rafael payare. >> it was wonderful. you could feel the electricity on the stage and from the audience. >> brown: the symphony originally planned to use the shell as its summer home. but with the pandemic-- and now the highly transmissible delta variant-- it will perform here through the fall. >> the timing of everything, it seems like it was meant to be, without sounding too corny. the beautiful thing about this venue is that even though it's outdoor-- and you remember that you are outdoor when you just look-- you could see the coronado bridge, you could see mexico, you-- or you could see the seagulls going around-- is that the feeling on stage that you would be in an indoor concert hall, and a ve, very good one. >> brown: a native of venezuela, payare joined the orchestra in 2019, as construction was

beginning on the shell-- just months before the pandemic spread worldwide, bringing the music industry to a screeching halt. the san diego symphony experimented with streaming performances for its mus- starved audience. >> when you see that the concerts were taken away, now the people you see that it was something that thewere taking for granted a little bit. and everybody's so hungry and so happy to have them again. and this is something very reassuring and beautiful. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: for a year and a half, artists around the globe put on virtual performances and drive- in shows. but, when vaccines became available and case numbers dropped, live music began to return: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ at big festivals like lollapalooza in chicago. ♪ ♪ ♪ and historic venues like royal albert hall in london. ♪ ♪ ♪ the doors also reopened at smaller clubs around the u.s.,

like first avenue in minneapolis. how did it feel, tha- that first performance? what was it like? >> i kept saying, i know i'm married and i have kids, but i think this was the best night of my life. >> brown: dayna frank is owner of first avenue, renowned in rock history as the place where, among much else, prince performed and filmed "purple rain." we first spoke last summer, as venues like hers teetered on the brink of extinction. as president of an industry trade group, she helped push for legislation, including the "save our stages act," passed last december, giving venues up to $10 million for things like payroll, rent, and utilities. >> our industry wouldn't exist thout this, so, it's all-- it was all or nothing. and we knew that. >> brown: and frank says the crisis showed the larger value of spaces like hers. >> without us, the hotel behind us doesn't exist. the four restaurants don't exist. the uber drivers don't exist.

and being able to really appreciate what we give to our communities-- and not just the experience in the room, but the impact that's, like, deep and widespread. first half for example mandated covid vaccines for its staff and now requires concert goers to show proof of vaccination or a negative test. concert giant live nation will do the same. it put on about 2,300 events globally in the first half of 2021, compared to more than 18,000 during the same time in 2019. meanwhile, outbreaks are testing artists' comfort levels. some, like garth brooks and k-pop stars b.t.s., have canceled shows and tours altogether. on the other hand, rock legend eric clapton reportedly said he would not play any venues that do mandate vaccines. for working musicians, it's a time of uncertainty. >> i don't even know if we're

all going to feel comfortable going to dinner, much less putting ourselves in indoor rooms night after night. >> brown: ryan miller is lead singer and guitarist for guster, the alternative rock band that turns 30 this year, hanging on through the pandemic. >> there was also some kind of low lows, of just figuring out how this was going to play out, how we were going to stay connected internally, how are we going to stay connected to our fans, how we're going to keep some momentum up, if that even mattered anymore. >> brown: the band had weekly meetings to stay connected, and played a drive-in show last august in new hampshire. >> we're in the midst of this storm, but we felt like it was important to do, even though it was-- it was a lot of stress and, and not something that any of us were, like, super excited to do, other than just feeling like kind of had to. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> brown: but july, guster emerged from what band members called "covid-tirement" to headline a sold-out show at red rocks outside denver, along

with the colorado symphony. >> there probably isn't a better story that i can concoct coming out of this. it was a very, sort of-- was a bifurcated experience, because i've got 9,200 people in front of me. i've got band mates on the side of me. i've got 60 orchestra players behind me, and i'm standing in the middle. but also it was, like-- it was windy. i couldn't hear. there was a rainstorm 60 minutes before. my guitar pedal wasn't working. like, my voice cracked for the first time that week on the second song. so i'm in my head being, like, am i going to have my voice-- going to blow out? like, we're live-streaming this all over the world. and so, none of us felt like when we got offstage that we, like, crushed it. i was in the bed in the hotel room that night, and i was just reading every internet comment, every instagram comment, every and it was literally only then i was like, ohwe pulled it off. >> brown: now, the band is working on a record, and has tentative plans for a tour this winter. but everything, says miller, is on the table, including the future direction of the music industry itself. >> anywhere you spin, like

live music, recorded music, streaming music, cllaboration, digital sales, is being impacted by covid, is being impacted by technology, is being hit by, you know, is being impacted by a music industry that was-- that is basically being destroyed and recreated as we speak. so i don't think there will be a single part of the music industry that will be unscathed. >> brown: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: on the newshour online right now, as afghan refugees arrive in the u.s., southeast asian americans are recalling their own experiences coming to america after u.s. forces left their countries. you can read their stories on our website. that is www.pbs.org/newshour. and, stay with pbs tonight. our yamiche alcindor explores how this week tested president biden, with her panel on "washington week." and, a quick correction before

we go. last night, in introducing our guest discussing afghanistan, filippo grandi, i mis-stated his title. he is the united nations' high commissioner for refugees. my apologies. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday evening. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewe like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪ hello, everyone. and welce to "amanpour and company." here's what's coming up. the abortion movement isn't going anywhere, and we will continue to show up and fight for texans. >> the supreme court refuses to block one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the u.s. what does this mean for women's reproductive rights and the future of roe v. wade? >> war is hard. it's cious. it's unforgiving. yes, we all have pain and anger. >> as the taliban final izes it new government, what failures by american officials allowed them to reclaim power. krig whitlock on his ground breaking reporting in the afghanistan