captioningng sponsored by nehour productions, llc >> yang: good evening, i'm john yang. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight, the long recovery-- the gulf coast and the northeast continue to assess the damage in the wake of ida's massive storm surge and flooding. then, combating poverty-- as federal unemployment aid expires for millions of americans, we examine the biden administration's push to reduce child hunger and, 20 years later-- muslim americans reflect on the impact of prejudice and fear on their community in the wake of the nine eleven attacks. >> i grew up in a small town in upstate new york and in the america i grew up in, my faith was viewed as a curiosity, not a threat. but in an instant on that morning, things would change.

>> yang: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> twins! >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> okay. >> mom, are you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidely, changing plans is always part of the plan.

>> the william and flora hewlett >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more tha50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> the chan-zuckerberg initiative. working to build a more healthy, just and inclusive future for everyone. at czi.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. anby contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. >> yang: new jersey, new york and other northeastern states are still cleaning up from the aftermath of the ida storm system. at least 50 deaths from virginia to massachusetts have been linked with the storm. in louisiana, at least 13 deaths are blamed on ida. power has been restored to 70 percent of the greater new orleans area. but hundreds of thousands are still without, especially along the coast which took a direct hit. and the threat of more flooding from new rain and thunderstorms in the region are complicating efforts. our report from roby chavez, the newshour's communities correspondt in new orleans. >> reporter: in lambertville, new jersey, bulldozers cleaned up once-in-a-lifetime damage wrought by hurricane “ida”. >> this is a big deal for the city of lambertville. we've never experienced a natural disaster like this before. >> reporter: for governor phil murphy, the next storm was already front of mind. touring lambertville, he called

for rebuilding efforts to emphase infrastructure that can weather the more frequent storms made stronger by climate change. >> we can't keep seeing the same movie. we've t to-- we not only have to get people back on their but we've gotta do the stuff that we know we need to do that makes us more resilient and increases our chances that this stuff doesn't continue to happen. >> reporter: in manville, new jersey, shah zeb and his mother bought their house eight months ago. they were told it was unlikely they would ever experience any flooding. but when “ida” came through, it brought 15 feet of water, swamping the cars he keeps outside the house for his limo business. >> the town is very amazing, everybody likes to help each other out. but this just came out of nowhere. nobody knew. it just came out of nowhere. >> reporter: president biden approved disaster declarations for counties in both new jersey and new york. in queens, new york, mayor bill de blasio said low-income families were hit the hardest,

and vowed to get them those federal dollars as soon as possible. >> people need money and they need it quick. that's what's going to make a difference. they've just gone through devastation. they need to be back on their feet. they don't have a way to pay for it unless we get this federal money in their hands. we have to make sure it actually gets to them and gets to them quic >> reporter: president biden is set to visit new york and new jersey tomorrow. down in louisiana, more than 500,000 people were still without power this morning. this weekend, members of the oklahoma national guard brought in and distributed supplies to hard-hit parishes throughout the state. some coastal areas may be without power until the end of the month. grand isle is one of those towns where rebuilding efforts may take months. >> looked like a bomb went off. we have no water, no electricity and we have no food. >> reporter: property owners this weekend were allowed to return to collect belongings and

to inspect damage. elsewhere in jefferson parish, the national guard ferried emergency equipment to barataria, which is inaccessible by road. meanwhile, in the gulf of mexico, divers discovered the site of an oil spill. hurricane ida ripped a pipe from a trench on the ocean floor. the owner of the pipeline has not been discovered. back in new orleans, some parts of the city have been without power for more than a week, but officials say they are making progress. with the heat index sweltering, the city has been bussing residents out of state to keep them safe. that includes those at senior living facilities. mayor latoya cantrell today pledged that the sites would be safe before the seniors are allowed back. >> right now we ll remain focused on improving the conditions of the facilities that we closed in order to bring our seniors back. >> reporter: new orleans authorities estimate power will

be restored to most of the city by wednesday. r the pbs newshour, i'm roby chavez in new orleans. >> yang: in the day's other news, a senior state department official confirmed the united states evacuated four americans from afghanistan and relocated them to a nearby country. it's the first known u.s. overland extraction since the august 31st withdrawal. as ali rogin reports, that comes as taliban fighters claim to have seized the country's last pocket of resistance. >> reporter: taliban fighters raised their flag over the panjshir valley, declaring complete control of what it calls “the islamic emirate of afghanistan.” fighters in the northeastern province resisted the taliban after their takeover three weeks ago, just as they did in the 1990's. but on monday, a taliban spokesman said they had been

defeated. >> ( translated ): the last nest of the fugitive enemy was completely cleared today and last night. >> reporter: now that they control the whole country, taliban leaders are facing the reality of having to govern it. they've repeatedly delayed announcing the new government, and are already denying reports of political infighting. >> ( translated ): rumours about internal disputes in the islamic emirate are false. >> reporter: kabul's main currency exchange reopened for the first time in weeks, sparking a rush of people using afghanistan's informal banking system. but as other banks reopen under taliban control, they are cut off from the world. afghans wait in long lines to withdraw a maximum of 200 dollars per week. >> ( translated ): today, the people's problem is economic. people are pouring into here; they don't know if their money is in the bank. >> reporter: domestic flights have resumed at the kabul airport. but there is no radar, so pilots

navigate using only their vision. aviation rules prevent international flights under those conditions. at a separate airport in the northern city of mazar-i-sharif, charter planes reportedly filled with americans have been grounded for days. organizers blamed the state dertment for failing to get takeoff permission from the taliban. the state department said it could not confirm the presence of americans on the tarmac. meanwhile, women's rights activists rejected the taliban's new rules that essentially bar them from public life. in kabul, over the weekend, protesters were defiant. >> ( translated ): in the last 20 years we, the women, have we not only ask the islamic emirate government, but also all of the international community, especially women from other countries around the world, to support us. >> reporter: but in a sign of kabul's new normal, the taliban broke up t protest with force, including tear gas for the pbs newshour, i'm ali rogin. >> yang: back in this country, federal unemployment aid put in place last year to ease covid's

economic shock expired on this labor day, ending a financial lifeline for nearly nine million americans. meanwhile, president biden marked the day by delivering sndwiches to thank union members in his home state of delaware. the united states topped 40- million covid-19 infections today, as the delta variant spreads. more than 100,000 hospital beds are filled nationwide, with u.s. hospitalizations at their highest rate since january, before vaccines were widely availabl. meanwhile, in the hardest-hit provinces of italy, the pandemic has lowered the life expectancy for men by more than four years. we'll have more on the pandemic right after the news summary. the u.s. justice department said today it won't tolerate any violence in the wake of the new texas abortion law that bars the procedure as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. in a statement, attorney general merrick garland said the department will "continue to protect those seeking to obtain or provide reproductive health services".

garland also said federal prosecutors are still trying to figure out ways to challenge the ban. in northern california, tens of thousands of evacuees were able to return to south lake tahoe after firefighters made progress battling the "caldor fire" over the weekend. evacuation orders were lifted and some highway roadblocks were removed now that the blaze is 44% contained. but officials warned that poor air quality remains. crowds in guinea's capital conakry celebrated a day after a military coup ousted the country's president and overthrew the government. military forces set up checkpoints leading to the capital and have barred government officials from leaving the countr residents welcomed their takeover. >> ( translated ): we were really in a, let's say, savage state, there was no more security, no more justice, a confused financial state, everyone was doing whatever they wanted, i think the military leaders' arrival is a blessing for guinea. >> yang: it's the third time in

five months that a west african nation has seen a violen transfer of power. a court in belarus today sentenced two leadig opposition activists to prison in the country's latest crackdown on anti-government dissent. maria kolesnikova was sentenced to 11 years behind bars and maxim znak to 10 years. kolesnikova helped organize the opposition protests that erupted across belarus last summer after president alexander lukashenko won a sixth presidential term. and, two passings to note tonight: iconic leading actor jean-paul belmondo, a star of france's revolutionary "new wave" cinema movement, has died. he catapulted to fame with his breakthrough performance in the 1960 film "breathless." belmondo appeared in more than 80 films in a career that spanned half a century. jean-paul belmondo was 88-years- old. and, emmy-nominated actor michael k. williams was found dead in his new york apartment today. he was best known for playing "omar little" on the hit hbo crime series "the wire", and racketeer "chalky white" in "boardwalk empire."

his films included "12 years a slave" and "inherent vice". michael k. williams was 54-years-old. still to come on the newshour: the delta variant continues to overwhelm hospitals in places where vaccination rates are low. farmers in afghanistan face an uncertain future after the taliban takeover. tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political news. plus much more. >> yang: back at the beginning of the summer, covid seemed to be on the retreat in most of the country. president biden talked on the fourth of july about celebrating america's independence from the virus. but on labor day, the traditional end of summer, the delta variant is taking a huge toll. stephanie looks at where the

country stands and where we may be headed. >> sy: john, to get a sense of how much things have changed, consider these numbers. on memorial day, the u.s. was averaging about 21,000 new cases a day. today, it's about 160,000. then, there were about 47,000 hospitalizations a day. now, it's over 100,000. and deaths had dropped to under 1,000 a day in may. now, the country is averaging more than 1,500 daily deaths for the first time since march. we look at all of this with dr. celine gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist at new york university's grossman school of medicine. she cares for patients at bellevue hospital center and hosts the podcast "epidemic." dr. gounder, i know you have not had this labor day off, so i really appreciate you coming on the newshour to talk about some of these bleak statistics.

first of all, are you struck by how little progress we've made? >> doctor: i am encouraged we have made progress on certain fronts. a year ago, we did not have a vaccine. we now have multiple, highly safe and effective vaccines. and where they have been rolled out, we're seeing a huge impact. today i was on service at bellevue. not one of my patients today had covid. that is a dramatic difference from what we were dealing with last summer. that is really a reflection of this being a part of the country where many people have been vaccinated, and that's making a difference. however, that's not the case in many parts of the country still. en though we do have these safe and effective vaccines, and we're bearing the burden, the suffering, resulting from that lack of vaccination. >> so nationally right now, we have 53% of the population fully vaccinated, and we've heard over and over again we're seeing in hospitalizations and deaths is the vast majority are unvaccinated.

and yet, still, so many new cases. in erl summer, celine, we thought we had reached a turning point where vaccines pre protected us from getting and spreading covid. what does the real turning point look like to you, especially with delta? >> doctor: the surge we're seeing this summer is very much related to delta. this strain of the virus is far more infectious than any other vo vornt we varie have seen to date. but people had this sense of accomplishment that was realistic. we were in a low between waves at that time, and it was very predictable. we were going to experience a resurgence some time later in the summer or fall. >> do you think that there was public health messaging thatas coming out of the administration that was, in a way, out of

sink with what the vaccine could accomplish? >> doctor: i think people in this country view vaccines as a silver bullet. once your vaccinated, you don't have to worry about this anymore. and that's simply not the case. vaccines are very good, very safe, very effective. if you have been vaccinated, your chances of ending up in the hospital or dying from covid are really minimal. however, they're not perfect. and so it was to be expected we wod see breakthrough infections, especially in places where we're seeing a lot of community transmission of the virus. in south carina, for example, which has some of the highest rates of transmission in the country, if you're vaccinated, your risk of getting covid are equivalent to somebody who is not vaccinated here in new york state. and that is simply because there is so much more virus circulating right now in south carolina, that even with the protection of the vaccine, you could still get infected. >> i want to ask you

another question, and that is about booster shots because there has been conflicting messaging from the biden administration on booster shots. how aggressively shod fully vaccinated folks be looking for that additional shot at this point? >> doctor: so there are three groups where there is very good evidence that an additional dose makes sense now. so that is people who are highly immunocompromised, and i mean people who have had solid organ transplants, like lung or kidney transplants. people who are getting treatment for certain kinds of cancer or autoimmune disease, aids. this is not the average person who has asthma or diabetes here. the two other groups are the elderly -- elderly people clearly have a less robust response to the vaccines. and, finally, people living in nursing homes. we have seen infections among nursing home residents. typically what happens is you have a care-giver or a

visitor o is not vaccinated, who gets infected in the community, brings the virus into the nursing home, setting off an outbreak in the nursing home. yes, you should be giving additional doses in nursing homes to residents, some of what really needs to be done is vaccinating the uns unvaccinated, and that would be the care-givers and their visitors. >> so that is the priority, is vaccinating the unvaccinated before fully vaccinated going out and getting the booster shot. dr. celine gounder, host of the podcast, thank you so much for joining us. >> doctor: my pleasure. >> yang: as afghans figure out how to live under taliban rule, uncertainty and fear abound. american aid organizations working there are also concerned if the u.s. government will allow them to operate in a

country governed by what is technically still classified as a terrorist group. special correspondent mike cerre reports. >>eporter: the taliban takeover couldn't have come at worst time for afghan farmers. it's the middle of the harvest. agriculture is the lifeblood of rural communities, and afghanistan's largest export business. >> and if we lose our sight on cultivating these fresh fruits and all thirty four provinces of afghanistan, there will be even further mayhem, starvation and financial crises. >> reporter: heidi and gary kuhn founded "roots of peace," a california-based humanitarian and agriculture velopment non-profit after the unid states overthrew the taliban in 2001. with private funding roots of peace de-mined farm fields abandoned since the soviet occupation, with tens of millions of dollars in u.s. humanitarian and development grants, they've spent nearly the

last two decades re-introducing grapes and other high value fruit production as alternatives to growing poppies for the lucrative heroin trade, a major revenue source for the taliban during the american occupation. >> we're working with 10 to 20,000 farmers at a time. we're working with basically all the traders and exporters of the country. >> reporter: the taliban have taken over custo collections at the major border crossings leading to the primary export markets in pakistan and india. u.s. financial sanctions since 9/11 on dealing with the taliban could shut down their and other n.g.o.s' access to u.s. government funding. the afghan banks roots of peace relies on for paying their local staff and farmers have been closed, or are allowing only minimal cash withdrawals. much of their afghan staff of over three hundred are still trying to evacuate the country out of fear.

>> you've got to get that bus moving in 30 seconds or you're going to miss everything. >> u.s passports and green cards is all that i can do. >> reporter: during the height of the american evacuation at the kabul airpt, the kuhns flew to istanbul to coordinate their evacuation efforts from a hotel room. >> and we have been working night and day trying to get out fifty five afghans, primarily women and children who have taken a leadership effort for roots of peace for the last 20 years and now are highly at risk for working for an american n.g.o., because the taliban has now learned that the roots of peace's c.e.o. is an american woman. >> reporter: three busloads of their most at risk staff braved the airport bombings and taliban checkpoint beatings in their futile efforts to get on the last flights out. >> and these people, mainly children and women, no bathroom inside of the bus, wailing, screaming, crying, and it's dark. and we just had to live through

that nightmare . >> reporter: your family waited two days outside the airport. >> and they didn't get in. >> reporter: siawash and the mostly afghan émigré staff back at roots of peace's san francisco bay area headquarters are completing visa applications for their families and staff still trying to leave the country. and managing the critical afghan harvest remotely on late night internet calls to their colleagues on the other side of the globe. recent video sent back by thei afghanistan colleagues shows their harvest and export operations relatively back to normal since the takeover of the country. there are still major concerns with the taliban leadership's ability to control their fighters in the countryside. >> the taliban supports us. they sent a letter supporting us saying that we want us to stay, we respect your programs and we

want you to continue so that we're using that as a shield to say, hey, your bosses are saying that you shouldn't be attacking us, you shouldn't be disrupting us. and so that's been very positive so far. >> reporter: for those who are listening to this, they are saying, well, this optimism is wonderful. but could it be slightly naive, do you think that the taliban can get some level of normalcy. >> well, roots of peace is not naive and may, march 28, 2014, we were attacked in a four and a half hour gun battle by the taliban. that was a defining moment for gary and i. whether this had just gotten too tough, we were too naive or if we went the distance >> the taliban are promising lower taxes and more good things so that it's part of their charm campaign. this is actually kind of a honeymoon period for us because we can operate without them coming in and possibly interfering. and we just want to do our work.

>> reporter: roots of peace and other n.g.o.'s most immediate concerns are with the u.s. government. will the u.s. formally recognize the taliban as t government of afghanistan and lift it's financial sanctions on them soon enough so n.g.o.s can keep operating? will the u.s. deliver on its promise of continuing humanitarian aid to afghanistan now that the u.s. has left? >> we have to relax the sanctions or recognize the government and move beyond this. we've got to recognize the fact that it didn't go the way we wanted it to go and let's deal with it and move on. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, mike cerre reporting. >> yang: this week we are marking the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with stories examining some of the ways that day transformed

the nation and the world. tonight, amna nawaz begins our coverage with a look at the effect on millions of american muslims. >> nawaz: after 9/11, the lives of millions of american muslims changed overnight for the 20 years that followed, u.s. national security would be transformed. pop culture and media representations of muslims took a different angle. and over the years, u.s. presidents have explicitly taken very different stances on how muslims should be seen >> as the enemy of america is not our many muslim friends. it is not our many arab friends. our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them. >> the attacks of september 11th, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to enga in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view islam as inevitably hostile not only to america and western countries, but also to human rights.

all this has bred more fear and more mistrust. >> donald trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the united states until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on. >> nawaz: now, we have three perspectives on the muslim american experience after september 11th. baher azmy is the legal director of the center for constitutional rights at the nonprofit legal advocacy organization. margaret hill is the executive director of muslim ark, a faith based human rights education organization. and farhana cara is a civil rights advocate and the founder and former executive director of muslim advocates. welcome to you all. thank you so much for making the time to be here. margaret, i want to start with you, because when you think back to the attacks of 9/11, you were very young. you were a student at the time. what do you remember about that moment and about what changed

for you and people around you afterwards? >> 9/11 happened a week before i was returning back to santa clara university and our campus was impacted because one of my classmates, she was on flight 93. and sohose vigils, vigils and the types of conversations we had to have in class, every class we talked about 9/11. and at that time, i was one of the few muslims on campus. and we were called to speak for all muslims, regardless of their country of origin. why did this happen? what were some of the grievances? and that cottage industry started to develop within the years that i was in undergrad and then also in graduate school of us to become area experts and at times native informants to

understand muslims for national interest, to separate the good >> nawaz: farhana, you were, i remember, one of very few muslims working in the halls of power in capitol hill at the time. what do you remember about the immediate aftermath of that day for you? >> yeah, it's a you know, that day is seared into my memory banks and it's a day i'll never forget. you know, i grew up in a small town in upstate new york and in the america i grew up in, my faith was viewed as a curiosity, not a threat. but in an instant on that morning, things would change. and ironically, as the orders were given for me and my colleagues to flee the senate office complex, because we believed actually that flight 93 might be heading our way, ironically was in a meeting to discuss legislation being introduced by my boss at the time, senator feingold, to end cial profiling by law enforcement. and at the time, the

conversation about biased pocing was really primarily focused on african-american and latinos. but now the conversation would change. and, you know, i remember the following day as i was going to work the day after september 11th, i was riding the subway, the tro in d.c. and for the first time, i had this feeling of people just staring at me and sizing me up, trying to determine whether i was a threat. i had never had that feeling before. and it's a feeling that many muslims, i think, had that day in the days after bahat. >> nawaz: what about you? have you experienced those same kinds of things you heard farhana talking about? >> i was in new york that day and felt with felt the horror that all your fellow new yorkers and other parts of the country felt. and i experienced some of it. but i think our focus as a human

rights community turned or had to turn fairly quickly to what i would call a human rights crisis crted by the bush administration against muslims externally through to massive military interventions in sovereign muslim nations and the development of offshore prisons to conduct interrogation and torture and then almost immediately also domestically through mass sweeps of muslim communities and detentions of non-citizen muslims with the presumption that they were terrorist suspects simply because they may have committed civil immigration violations. >> nawaz: farhana, how are you seeing that show up in political circles? i mean, we know anti-muslim sentiment sort of spilled into political rhetoric as well. what were you seeing happen there and really over the many years that followed? >> so, you know, in this early days, you had almost a coming

together with even president bush at the time, going to a mosque in washington, d.c., calling on the american people to not target and single out their fellow americans who happen to be muslim. but that sentiment of goodwill an coming together, unfortunately, quickly changed. and in part, it was a result of the political and the military goals and the unfortunate ways in which muslims were being demonized and unfortunately, painting our community with one broad brush as the threat. and, you know, in those early days, it caused some american muslims to dig deeper, to do more, to show and prove that they were truly loyal americans. i remember people going out and buying american flags and putting them in their front yards. my brother in this first couple of weeks after 9/11, shaved his goatee, wore a baseball hat every day to school because he didn't want to draw undue attention or scrutiny. so it was it's been a very tough

last 20 years for the american muslim community. >> nawaz: and marjorie, of course, there's a very specific other intersection here, which is the intersection of that growing anti-muslim sentiment and the long history and existing anti black sentiment and racism in this country. so specific for black americans. how did you see that play out over the years? >> yes, over the past 20 years, we've seen black muslims facing the intersecting levels of state violence, from police brutality to the loss of erosion of civil liberties and prisoners rights. and those inrsections often are sometimes erased or overlooked. and whether it comes from the kind of interpersonal experience or acts of discrimination within the black community, which actually increased after 9/11 or sometimes the erasure of black muslims, which would overlook

those cases of seeing that as islamophobic, but also how anti black racism makes black muslim lives much more vulnerable to state violence. >> nawaz: bahaa, you heard in the introduction there how the rhetoric changed from muslims are not our enemies l the way up to candidate trump saying a ban on all muslims and then going on to win the presidency? i think a lot of people would look at that and think it's gotten worse. do you think it's gotten worse or better over the years? >> i think the bush administration's sort of broad, if not rhetorical, but political assault on muslim populations here and abroad set the stage for trump. and i think it caused both increasing toleration for outrages, a weakening of the sort of checks on executive power and a culture of violence

and othering that fed perfectly into a what i would call hard authoritarians perspective, who could also say about the first bush administration, you didn't do enough. and i'm going to be tougher not just against muslims, but against black americans, asylum seekers on the southern border and all now undifferentiated others, not just muslims. >> nawaz: brana, 20 years later, there now an entire generation of young american adults, includinamerican muslims, who don't have firsthand memories of that day, who did not live through the trauma as all of us did. i wonder if you think they are different at defining themselves as this next generation of american muslims. >> i do get the sense of the younger generation is despite the fact that they've dealt with a lot of, frankly, hate and discrimination from a very young

age, discrimination that my generation, frankly, did not have to endure, i think in some ways it's made them tougher. it's made them want to stand up even stronger, be more vocal. it's really exciting to see the energy in the activism from the younger generation, whether it's in getting involved in the political process or creating their own organizations and getting involved, mobilizing their peers and otherso push for change. >> nawaz: and as a lot of communities, the next generation will leathe way, right, that is farhana khera, margaret hill and baher azmy. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> yang: as we reported earlier, the federal government's weekly unemployment payments expired today for almost nine million americans. yamiche alcindor has a broader look at the administration's

efforts to expand the nation's social safety net for those battling poverty and hunger in the midst of a pandemic. >> hi guys. >> alcindor: in a year of insecurity and uncertain, this washington, d.c. farmers market has been an oasis for anteese matthews. >> this is my purpose. it's my passion to bring fresh, healthy foods to our neighbors, to our children. it just lights my world up. would you like some juice, amethyst? >> alcindor: it's an all-day trip for anteese and her daughters. they travel more than an hour each way on a bus and two trains to get here from their home in capitol heights, maryland. >> alcindor: her passion is made possible because this market accepts her benefits from the supplemental nutrition assistance program, or snap, that's run by the federal government. >> alcindor: how important is it that you can use your snap benefits here? how much of a lifeline is that? >> it's a huge lifeline for me

because i'm able to use them and get anything from meat to eggs, dairy. >> alcindor: when the pandemic struck last year, americans across the country lined up at food banks. child hunger spiked. in december, nearly one in five families didn't have enough to eat. congress responded, passing a bipartisan emergency assistance package that included more money for snap. >> the extra money that i do get from the pandemic, e.b.t. or our money in general goes from extremely far compared to what i might have been able to do before. >> alcindor: she gets an extra $400 a month. that softened the blow when she couldn't find work for parts of last year. this summer, as vaccinations paved the way for city reopenings, anteese landed a full time job at a grocery store. but at $15 an hour, it's still just making ends meet. >> although i'm working, i still need the help because rent is high.

taking care of children is expensive. >> alcindor: this month, the emergency aid ends. but permanent increases follow. starting october 1, snap will use a new, updated formula to determine people's benefits, one that reflects the rising cost of healthy groceries. the change means families not only avoid a cut in aid as the pandemic recedes, but in many cases will see additional monthly help to stay afloat. it's the largest single increase in snap's history, and part of president joe biden's pledge to end child hunger: >> we cannot, will not let people go hungry. >> alcindor: diane schazenbach, an economist at northwestern university who studies child poverty, says the update is critic and overdue. >> when families have more money to spend on food, they tend to buy healthier foods. they buy a greater variety of food. >> alcindor: but not everyone agrees.

>> i think the idea that people are going to give up on a high sugar foods, processed foods, which in themselves are not that cheap for healthy foods, i think it's just completely unrealistic. >> alcindor: angela rachidi is a senior fellow in poverty studies at the american enterprise institute. she argues that an increase in snap should come with an increase in accountability. >> obesity and poor health that is driven by poor diet is an issue that's not unique to low income households and it's not unique to snap. but the largest federally funded food assistance program in the country should not be contributing to the problem. >> alcindor: anteese says trying to police how snap benefits are used hurts people like her who are just trying to survive. >> that we're stimulating the economy. you know, we're going to put that money right back into the economy where y'all say, i want it to go. >> alcindor: on social media, she's gained thousands of followers and a community who, like her ,use snap to not only buy fresh food, but grow it at

home. she showed us her backyard garden, a collection of peppers, herbs, and tomatoes, seeds purchased with her benefits. >> and that's how i kind of start off with the herbs, thyme, lavender, sage, rosemary that i was able to purchase at the benefits and then trusting myself just to go bigger and purchase seeds on my own and to be able to do what i say will do what you see here. >> alcindor: six weeks ago, anteese got another welcome boost from the federal government. the first child tax credit hit her bank account, lightening her load a bit more. what did you use the child tax credit for and why is it important to you? >> it means so much to m because i was able to purchase my daughter's school supplies and their clothing and it was going to be able to just open up doors fomyself and my children. >> the bill as amended is passed. (applause) >> alcindor: that money, $550 a month, comes from the american rescue plan passed in march along party lines. that gave most parents monthly payments for each child: $250 a month for kids over six, and $300 a month if they're under

six. president biden has said it may be his proudest achievement: >> your head, your heart, and your budget all lead to the same place. this is the right thing to do, and it's the smart thing to do. >> alcindor: a new census report found that just one installment of the child tax credit on july 15 slashed hunger rates in homes with children by roughly 25%, down to the lowest figure since the start of the pandemic. it's a promising start for the program, which predictions say could cut child poverty in half. >> it's possible to get big important things done. >> alcindor: and it's a critical piece of president biden's pledge to combat poverty and put in place the largest expansion of the social safety net in more than fifty years. >> what's that going to mean? well, it's going to mean a lot of children who grow up less likely to experience hunger, better able to pay attention in school.

and so that they grow up to be healthier, more academically successful or better attached to the labor market in the long run. >> alcindor: critics like rachidi say programs like this that don't require work do more harm than good, especially for the most vulnerable families: >> the opportunity for those families is to get connected to the labor market and to earn their own living. and we need policies that support that, not undermine it. >> alcindor: it's a debate playing out on capitol hill now, as democrats work to pass a $3.5 trillion budget that would keep the child tax credit in place beyond december. >> this is the wealthiest country on earth and we should not have millions of our children living in poverty. >> they want to take the working families child tax credit and make it a permanent welfare program. >> alcindor: as congress debates the scope of post-pandemic benefits, anteese extended an invitation. >> come see and live in a community like mine and understand why these befits

are much more powerful and vital to us than, you know, the argument that people are trying to have. >> alcindor: for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> yang: it's a day of leisure for most americans, but not our politics monday duo: amy walter, editor-in-chief of the cook political report. and npr white house correspondent tamara keith. alcindor talk about the snap benefits expanding and the child tax credit. tam, how important is this to the democrats' agenda and president biden's agenda? >>his is absolutely core to president biden's agenda. it is part of the $3.5 trillion bill that they are going to start working

on in earnest again, now that congress is returning. um, expanding this child tax credit is important to democrats because it can really take a huge bite out of child poverty. and it has been a long time agenda item, one that they were able to get into the covid relief bill, and one that they are hoping to be able to have long-term. but, you know, we can talk about infrastructure for a long time. we'll talk about it many times. it is not clear yet that that is on a glide path. >> because that's the $3.5 trillion package which at least two democratic senators have said, yeah, it is not going to be $3.5trillion. so what is the going to get cut from all of the different priorities, that democrats, that the biden administration, that house democrats would like to see put forward. it is going toe a big question. the child tax credit is something that even in

that big reconciliation bill, because it is a reconciliation bill, it can't be made permanent. it is something that last for a good, long time, but then will have toe readdressed. now, look, in politics, in governing, oftentimes these bills are used as a way to actually make the short-term the long-term, right? it becomes so popular that 10 years from now it becomes really unpopular to take something back. >> yang: we're at a time when a lot of things that were put in because of the pandemic are ending, the eviction moratorium and the federal unemployment benefits. tam, is there any debate in the white house about what to do about these things that are ending? >> tamara: so those expanded benefits ended today, and the white house's message, at least, has been thae benefits are ending, but if states wanted to extend them, they could. there is money they could pull out of un unused other

relief funds. but you haven't seen states running to the doors to keep this program going, and, in part, because the white house has turned its eyes to this $3.5 trillion infrastructure package, and the other smaller structure package. they have a big agenda. and this, the eviction moratorium, tse items aren't really on tht agenda. it wouldake a huge legislative list to get either of those extended beyond. and so, also, it just points to the fact that the pandemic is not where anyone thought it would be right now. when that unemployment extension was passed, it was off in a distant future when everyone would be vaccinated and the pandemic would be over. the delta variant said not so fast. >> yang: does this become a political challenge for democrats? >> tamara: part of the discussion we had in the increase in the snap payments is an opportunity the say, look, we're not

letting the safety net completely dissolve underneath families who are struggling in this moment in time. at the same time, the more they hand out benefits, it is not just as tam pointed out, it isaking away from the other agenda items, it is acknowledging that the economy is not coming back. and what the biden administration wants to show is we have continued to make progress on the economy. yes, it is uneven. yes, this delta variant is taking a toll, but not a deep toll. it is that we are coming out on the other side. and so it is hard to say be optimistic about the economy when you're also saying we need to spend even more money helping people who still can't get jobs. fundamentally, this is a once in a 100-year event, and policy-makers don't have any roadmap for how to solve this, right? so i think they are trying to do as many things as possible while recognizing the realities both of the message they want to get along -- they want to send along, the agenda they want to put forward, and

having a 50/50senate where at least two democratic senators have been really clear about their own priorities at limiting some of the spending. >> yang: we have to go back to last week because of the abortion bill that beme law in texas. they have essentially ended abortion in the state for the time being. tam, what does this do? does this change any of the calculus about the mid-terms next year, or any of the elections coming up? >> tamara: traditionally abortion has been an issue that has motivated republicans more than it has motivated democrats. t the last several years have been defeat after defeat after defeat for the democratic agenda, and for something that democrats really prioritize, which is reproductive rights. and i don't know if in the mid-terms it is going to change, that sort of dynamic about which party cares more about abortion. but i can tell you right now democrats are angry and they're motivated. >> and we are potentially going to see some early

indicators of how motivating this could be, as you pointed out. we have a couple of elections. we have the recall in california of the democratic governor. he is now leaning into this issue, saying that texas is an example of why it is so important who your governor is, the leading republican candidate, he argues, is going to install judges and others who are going to roll back reproductive rights in this case, not something that californians are used to hearing about. in virginia, there is a governor's race, and karen had already been stressing this message before the texas case. i expect he will continue to do this. these are the kinds of places where we'll get a sense -- there be a whole bunch of other issues there, but one democratic strategist said where the rubber will really hit the road is next summer if the supreme court comes out and overturns roe in the court case fom

mississippi, that, this person said, would probably bring democrats out in the streets in droves. just months before the a 2022 mid-term. >> yang: amy walter and ttamara keith, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. >> thank you. >> yang: vietnamese american chef tu david phu traces his culinary influences back to his family's unspoken history of war. he says food preferences often mirror people's perceptions of other cultures, and prejudices. tonight, he gives us his "brief but spectacular" take on the "memory of food," part of our arts and culture series, canvas. >> the physical sensation of eating something when it's delicious, it gives you like a physical, great emotional feeling. and i think i held onto that for most of my youth, because i think i would say i had a difficult youth. and i kept on coming back to the kitchen during that feeling. the kitchen space for me is a

safe space. my parents are refugees from vietnam. they came over to the united states in 1975, and i was born in st. paul, minnesota and moved to oakland when i was about two years old. and in the community that we landed in, i found myself in a food insecure community in a food insecure household. given that my parents were immigrants, income was hard to come by. a meal on our tables in my youth was seldom seen. when i think of fami meals that my mom cooked at home, i think of the bear chicken bone carcass that she got from the butcher shop because it was fr. credits to a lot of our mothers in their effort to innovate dishesto create recipes, to nourish their family, to make things delicious, because that's what love is. there's so many different cultures where people like my mom they're able to innovate in

their own kitchens, right? and there's no such thing as a authentic or a traditional stamp on any recipe. authenticity is a feeling. initially i was cooking. i was trying to cook traditional vietnamese food. and then i ran into a wall because you know why given that m a chef and i had all this training, i could never cook better than my mom or any other vietnamese mothers. and i had to come to that realization, cause you know why? they've been cooking that way altheir lives. it's in those moments where i started to cook my mother's food, opposed to traditional vietnamese food. and it's there. when i think people started to really connect with me. in addition, because i was cooking my mother's food, i had to explain to people what i was cooking. and it was through those stories and explaining, this is what i had when i was a kid. and we had this neigor who was korean, or my father's a fishmonger, and he'd bring home lobster all the time. and is is an inspiration of

that thought. people really resonate and connected with me because now it's not just about vietnamese od. it's not just vietnamese, diaspora, this food, these recipes are about family. and i think that just creates a bigger spectrum to kind of welcome people to the table. i'm not looking to connect with other people who look like me, hopefully by telling a narrative and story through food, people will see and connect with me through a human experience, not an asian american experience. my name is tu david phu, and this is my brief, but spectacular take on the memory of taste. >> yang: you can watch all our brief but spectacular episodes at: pbs.org/newshour/brief. on the newshour online right now, as droughts in california are reemerging, it is placing unprecedented strain on the state's water systems. read how it has threatened agricultural production and basic drinking water in the state. that's pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for

tonight. i'm john yang. join uonline and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org.

>>upported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful worl more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -today on "cook's country," ashley and julia makeuthentic monroe county-style pork chops, adam reveals his top pick for pie servers, and christie and bridget update a classic recipe for coconut cream pie.