quest good evening, i am -- >> good, and judy woodruff. taliban takeover the militant group orders an end to all protests as they finally allow the departure of some two hundred non-afghans including american citizens. covid cases surging. we talk with dr. anthony fauci about the difficult path ahead. and 20 years later, 9/11 first responders with light on the trauma of that day and how it compares to the stresses of the current pandemic. >> this pandemic is this generation's 9/11. the stress is overwhelming. the seeing death

in many levels, it's the same type of experience. >> all of that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> before we talk about your investments, what is new? >> audrey is expecting. >> twins. >> changing plans. >> at fidelity, a change in plans is always part of the plan. >> johnson & johnson. consumer cellular. financial services firm, raymondjames.

more at kendeda fund.com -- kendedafund.org. support and the advancement of international sensitivity -- security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and 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.

>> i am vanessa ruiz. we will return to the full program at the latest headlines. president biden is rolling out requirements for up to 100 million americans to get vaccinated for "covid 19" or get tested weekly to stem the surging "delta" variant. his plan, announced today, affects private employers with more than 100 workers, and it mandates that federal employees and contractors get shots, with no testing option. the president had sharp words for the unvaccinated. quite we have made vaccinations free safe, and convenient. the , vaccine has fda approval. over 200 million americans have gotten at least one shot. we've been patient but our pience is wearing thin and your refusal has cost all of us. so please, do the right thing. >> we will talk to the

president's top infectious disease advisor, dr. anthony fauci. the los angeles school board voted today to require vaccinations for students 12 and older who return to the classroom. the order affects about 225 thousand students. it's one of the most aggressive measures yet in a major school district. republicans in the u.s. house of representatives are asking the supreme court to end proxy voting in congress during the pandemic. minority leader kevin mccarthy said today it's not right that lawmakers get paid to stay home while other americans have returned to offices. democrats say proxy voting limits the spread of "covid". the tele-been the first -- the taliban today allowed the first large scale departure since last month's mass evacuations. an estimated 200 non-afghans including 21 u.s. citizens and lawful permanent residents flew to qatar. u.s. officials said they expect another flight tomorrow.

back in this country, the u.s. justice department sued the state of texas over a new law banning most abortions. it takes effect around 6 weeks into pregnancy and lets private citizens sue anyone who helps in obtaining a prohibited abortion. attorney general merrick garland said it's a dangerous precedent. >> this kind of scheme to nullify the constitution of the united states is one that all americans whatever their politics or party should fear. if it prevails, it may become a model for action in other areas by other states and with respect to other constitutional rights and judicial precedents. >> a federal judge in florida struck down a republican back

log targeting violent protests. peaceful protesters may face charges if there is violence during a demonstration. the judge called it an assault on constitutional rights. extremely hot and dry conditions have returned to much of california, raising the risk of new wildfires. a fire weather watch covers arts of the state through tomorrow. nearly 15,000 firefighters are already battling 14 major fires across the state. in the southeastern u.s., remains of tropical storm mindy portraying overeorgia and south carolina today. areas already so to previous storms. in the pacific, hurricane olaf headed toward mexico's resort region with the winds of 80 miles per hour. the u.s.ood and drug administration banned sales of nearly 950,000 vaping products. citing the potential appeal to teenagers.

but the f d an allowed the best selling "juul" brand to stay on the market. the agency said it needs more time to review. still to come on the newshour, many louisiana ends struggle without power and water in the wake of hurricane ida. the president withdraws his nominee to lead the atf. and we talk with dr. anthony fauci about the latest surge of covid hospitalizations plus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from w ets studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> returning to afghanistan, the first international commercial flight in the kabul airport since the taliban seized the country. the biden administration said legal residents of the u.s. work on the plane but they leave

behind their country in a humanitarian crisis. allie rogan has the story. >> in kabul today, 200 more people begin t next chapter of their lives. they leave behind afghanistan on the brink of collapse. today, the u.n. refugee chief called for substantial humanitarian support for the afghan people. quite medical assistance has been suspended. the humanitarian crisis will increase and then you have some people who may get out of the country. >> the u.s. appealed for almost $200 million in extra funding. the world health organization says 90% of clinics in afghanistan could soon close. medics have not received salaries in months and hospitals are beginning to run out of medicine.

>> this country is facing a severe humanitarian crisis and the taliban don't have the answers for how to alleviate the suffering. >> this is a reporter with trt world. that is turkey's national broadcaster and is in kabul. he says afghanistan needs hard cash to address the humanitarian crisis. >> there is desperation on the streets. there are families that are starving. people haven't eaten for weeks now because they haven't been paid for months now. so there is this angst and it is extremely important for the taliban to address this simultaneously. >> this week taliban spokesperson zabiullah mujahid announced a new interim government, an attempt to project normalcy. it's now the taliban that must ensure stability and security nationwide. inchoate secretary of defense , lloyd austin warned that al qaeda could reemerge in afghanistan. >> “i think the whole community is kind of watching to see what

happens and whether or not al qaida has the ability to regenerate in afghanistan. you know, we put the taliban on notice that that we expect for them to not allow that to happen." >> still, on the streets of kabul, afghan women continue to lead protes against the taliban takeover. yesterday in kabul, a taliban member used a whip to beat a woman during a demonstration. two journalists said they were tortured by the taliban after covering the protests. >> "when they treat journalists like this, it's possible that journalism will stop in afghanistan within a few months. it will be destroyed. what we want from the taliban is for them to be responsible for the security and wellbeing of journalists. >> this week a taliban spokesperson told australian tv that women's sports would be banned. >> the taliban is balancing any to appeal to western governments

with the reality that many in its ranks main conservative. >> if they come across as too moderate, half of their people will revolt against them because they were with the movement for 20 years based on certain action, certain principles, values are more important than compromise. >> for now, the afghan people must live in that uneasy balae. for the pbs newshour , i am ali rogan. >> power is now restored to most of new orleans. several hundred thousand people in southeast louisiana are still without. consequently, the death toll has been rising. local officials say nine more people in new orleans have died of excessive heat, bringing the overall death toll in the louisiana to 26. our community correspondent in new orleans has been reporting

on the difficult living conditions in some of the parishes. good to see you again. thank you for being there and reporting. you are telling us yesterday that you were in the community of the feet where they are still digging out. tell us a little bit about what you saw. >> today, we are in st. charles parish. look at the damage. we have seen this damage along the coast where the surge has been great. this is a small village just outside of new orleans. it is still hurting. the folks are still trying to recover in that area. some of the power has come back on. the national guard has brought in these huge pumps. the weather has been a big

issue. when it is not hot, it is just pouring downain outside. watch the water rise all over again. you can see the damage of the tidal surge. many of these washed away, there were these huge bulldozers that were skipping feet of mud and muck off the road. people are trying to do their best. mud in their homes, mud in their driveways. the damage in hurricane ida, a very grisly scene. there are damaged coffins. people are laying in their homes, underheir carports. the area is filled with debris.

those people are just trying to take it day by day. >> it is the first time in 18 years that i have been here that we actually got it like this. i am fortunate enough to finance me a trailer and rv and put it front of the house. >> it is one community after another. >> we saw a lot of damage there. the word of the day is power.

we also pasd near the hospital where there is a triage unit. we went through one of the high schools that was damaged. schools will be out for quite some time. a lot of power crews have been trying to put power back on. nearly 2000 people brought on. housing will be an issue. so many people can go back to their homes. they can live on barges and boats. >> it is stunning how much work still has to be done in that part of the state. robert chavez, thank you for your reporting. >> thank you. >> the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives is the federal government's

leading agency for regulating guns and for addressing gun violence. it has been extremely hard to get the u.s. senate to confirm a permanent chief. we look at what is behind that and what is at stake. >> this spring, the president nominated david shipman to work at the bureau. he worked at the atf for 20 years before retiring in 2012. he advised groups that advocate for gun control. this was started by gabby gifford. the congresswoman from arizona who was shot in 2011. those affiliations were a problem for all the republicans in the senate, even some moderate democrats expressed reservations. president biden must find a new nominee and the bureau remains legal this. mr. stevens has long covered the issue for the website the trays

which focuses specifically on guns in america. great to have you on the news hour. this is someone who spent a quarter-century inside the atf and then advised these gun safety groups on this. on paper, that seems like a natural nominee for a democratic president. he is out. can you explain the specific resistance to him? >> it is a very controversial position. they lobbied to remove the atf director. since then, they have been in a near perpetual cycle of acting directors with only one under the obama administration. because of this, the gop and its allies have been able to hamper any sort of director from

getting confirmed time and time again. it islready a controversial position. when you look at is and anyone who has covered the atf for some time, that is par for the course to see this level of resistance. there is a tendency to take safer candidates. for many democrats and independent congress members in gun from the states, that was a bridge too far. >> can you explain from a policy perspective, what does it mean that the atf does not have a leader?

>> they talk about how they are an agency that is held hostage. that is unique for a federal law enforcement agency. because they are up for so much scrutiny exacerbated by polarization around guns, they are unable to advocate successfully for resources without a director. when you look at other federal law enforcement entities like the fbi, they can articulate long-term plans. we will tackle terrorism. they are not able to articulate these kind of overarching public safety issues and how they are going to address them. they are down on the number of agents and specters. it is hard for them to get a lot of resources and assets to even

compete with the federal law enforcement counterparts. >> what did you find that in that -- find in that investigation? >> due to political limitation and a lack of resources because they have been leaderless, they were essentially aaid. they were afraid to come down on bad gun stores they knew failed inspections. going back to the atf leader, in 2007, right after this position became a congressional confirmation position, the first people to rise up and advocate for congressman to block bush's

appointee were gun stores who failed an inspection because guns were showing up in crimes. they were able to reach out, get their local congressman to raise issues about the potential atf leader and they created that cycle. when you see this confirmation go on, you see a lot of the same tactics being used. gun store owners and things like that raising concerns. that is just something that has historically gone on for almost 15 years. >> you and others have pointed out that the united states is unique in this ongoing epidemic we have of gun violence in this country. murders, suicides, mass shootings. we have the primary agency responsible for addressing that. he is essentially hamstrung. >> right. when i talk to people about gun violence in america, one of the

things i say is that we see a major mess shooting in this country almost every other week. we hear from the police chiefs, we hear from the sheriff's departments, the fbi, we don't hear from the atf. it is because that fear of political scrutiny tied to the political polarization in this country. it keeps them in a reactive state. i think it is particularly interesting when you have the federal law enforcement entity that is more afraid of congress battling them or special interest lobbying then they are about failing their safety mission.

click the president is significant he wrapping up his efforts to get more americans vaccinated. a plan he announced late today was the most far-reaching yet. president biden would essentially require two thirds of american workers to either get vaccinated or face weekly testing. the apartment of labor will draft new rules requiring all businesses with 100 workers or more. most federal employees will now have to be vaccinated or face possible disciplinary action. testing will be made more widely available and the government will use the defense production to increase access. the president called on governors to require teachers and staff to get vaccinated. mr. biden said covid spread required a tougher response. >> the unvacnated overcrowded

hospitals. they overrun emergency rooms and intensive care units, leaving no room for someone with a heart attack or pancreatic or cancer. listen to the voices of unvaccinated americans who are lying in hospital beds, taking their final breath saying if only i had gotten vaccinated. if only. it is a tragedy. please don't let it become yours. >> with us once again is dr. anthony fauci, the director of the institute of allergy and infectious diseases and president biden's chief medical advisor. welcome back to the news hour. it sounds as if president biden is growing exasperated with people or not vaccinated. is he? >> yes, he is. i think that was very well manifested and expressed in his speech today. no doubt, we really do need to get more people vaccinated and what he said is i think a good

roadway to get -- roadway to getting there. that is going to involve over 100 million people. i am quite favorably impressed by that and feel strongly that that is what we should be doing. we have tried everything we can to get people vaccinated. we have the solution within our grasp, within our power. we just need to implement it and that is what the president has said tonight. we are going to implement that. if that means more mandates, so be it. >> these are sam ambitious steps. the president announcement is a bit candid. i am hearing from people say we are already in the middle of this surge of the delta variant, hospitals, some hospitals running out of space, shouldn't this have come earlier? what do you say to that? >> i say every time something

happens that is good, somebody is going to say why didn't you do it earlier? it is not as if we have not been pushing hard to t people vaccinated, making it easier, it is safe, easy, convenient, free. we have done all those things. have used trusted messages to get out there. it is not as if we have been sitting back thinking things will happen spontaneously. i would perspective -- respect fully object to that particular appreciation or interpretation of this as being too late. it is not. it is something that is important and i am very glad that the president did it when he did it. >> that me ask you about a number of the specifics and what the president announced. one part of this is to ask the labor department to draw up regulations, in essence asking or demanding that employers with

over 100 employees require the people that work for them to be vaccinated. how do you make sure that happens? >> coming from the president, the department of labor makes these types of pronouncements but makes it very clear that through the department of labor, i don't know how you enforce these pronouncements from the department of labor. i think there is a way of doing that. i am not privy to how they are going to enforce it but i'm sure there are going to be ways to do that. >> we will watch and see what comes out of the labor department. even before today's announcement, we are already hearing from some republican political leaders who were saying that these kinds of moves ey were anticipating president biden making were authoritarian, undermining confidence in vaccines.

we heard from cathy mcmorris rodgers. she said the president is usin fear, control, mandates, failing to put science first. >> i totally agree with that statement. it does not make any sense. it is -- science is the reason why you need to get vaccinated. this is in fact putting science first. if you listen to the science, the science overwhelmingly indicates that you should get vaccinated. anything the president does to see that we do get vaccinated is following the science. with all due respect to the people who are saying that, i totally disagree with it. >> me ask about another part of what the president discussed and that is calling on the governors of all the states to require teachers and staff in the public schools to be vaccinated.

do we know if the president has the authority or can he make the governors do this? how does that work? >> he cannot. that is why he worded it that way. he is encouraging the governors and the local authorities to get the people in the school system vaccinated. he does not exert authority to do that. he is using the power of persuasion in his office as president to do that. it was very clear from the wording of that that that is exactly what he was doing. >> you hear about this every single day. is there more that could be done right now? we are watching school systems around the country struggling with this, whether to stay open, whether to close, whether to go virtual, whether to be hybrid. is there more that you think could be done right now? >> i think what we saw with the president's speech this evening was a big step in the direction

of doing a lot. this was pretty clearly more than just incremental. you heard the frustration in his voice. enough is enough, you have to get people vaccinated. we have the capability and the tools in our grasp to do it. i think that this speech and what it represents is a very strong step forward in the direction of getting this done. >> booster shots. the administration has talked about this. you have talked about it. we are not hearing complaints that the signals coming from the administration are confusing. at first, we don't need boosters and then it was we are going to have boosters. that is september 20 and then it is pfizer. where does that stand right now? >> we will have boosters. i am virtually certain of that. if you look at the evidence that is evolving from our own cohort studies that the cdc is

following to the very clear evidence we are getting from our israeli colleagues that the immunity particularly against infection but in the israeli data, certainly also against severe disease, it is waning, including in the context of the delta variant. we are also seeing that in the situation with israel where we are boosting people. the boosting is highly successful. successful in increasing dramatically the protection that one gets against serious disease and against infection. as the time goes by and the data rolls out, i would be very surprised if you are not going to hear a very crisp and clear message about boosters. >> when you think that will come? >> as the president said, we all

agree, it will be up to the fda together the data that has accumulated both in our own country and from israel, to look at it and to make a regulatory determination as tohe appropriate timing of a booster. then the advisory committee and immunization practices will look at that and make recommendations. as soon as the data becomes available, i am certain those agencies will act as expeditiously as possible. hopefully that will be very soon. this is something we want to see get implemented if the decision is made. >> as you know, another aspect of the booster issue is wha the world health organization has beenaying, they have been pleading and now criticizing t united states and other nations for planning to move ahead with boosters. just yesterday, the head of the who, and quoted him, he said i

will not stay silent when the companies or countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world possible poor should be satisfied with leftovers. in other words, i can't the richer countries wait until the poor countries have more people vaccinated? that is how the delta variant is spreading. >> let's just take a look at what we in the united states are doing. we believe that we can do both. we believe that we can get doses to the developing world, low, middle incomeountries at the same time as we implement a booster program here in the united states. let's take a look at what we are doing simultaneously. you and i are now talking about the program that we will likely will out to do boosts for the third shot, superimposed upon the two shots. we are planning to do that.

what we are also simultaneously doing is we are given 130 million doses to 90 countries. we are giving -- given -- we are being given half a million doses. 300 million will be given in the first half of 2022. we have given $4 billion and the president is already talki about increasing the capacity of the countries -- the companies to make doses so that we can give them to the lower and middle income countries. if it was only doing it for ourselves with boosters, you would have a very good case that the who is correct, we should not be doing that but when we are doing the boosters at the same time as we are significantly increasing the number of doses to the lower and middle income countries, that is proof that you can do both. i am very sensitive as all my colleagues are to the needs of

lower and middle income cotries but if you do both at the same time, there is not an argument there. that is exactly what is happening. >> dr. fauci, you're working on this issue every day long hours. i have to ask you about your criticisms we are hearing out there that the administration stopped providing enough testing. i know the president address that today and said that would be ramped up at they said there has been a big leg with regard to testing and a lag with regard to followi the cases, the breakthrough cases. the u.s. is depending on israel and other countries for their research. do you acknowledge that this administration could have done a better job in these areas? in these critical last several months? >> the one thing i have learned through many years of dealing with outbreaks and specifically

for the last 20 months with this outbreak is any administration unr any circumstances always could have done better. i don't think you can ever say that one did it absolutely perfectly. so you're talking about doing the tracing of people who have a symptom attic infections. yes, it could have done -- it could have been ton -- it could have been done better. you are seeing, en this evening, even in the preside's speech, addressing many of those things. if it could be that you could do better and you don't pay any attention to that, that is bad. if you realize you could do better and take the steps to do better, that is a good thing. i think that is what you're seeing now. >> dr. anthony fauci, we thank you for joining us as always. ank you.

>> as we continue toward -- continue to report on the covid-19 pandemic, we have -- we are reporting on a very different mask trauma. this is in the city that was the epenter of both, new york. >> they share an unbreakable bond forged in the smoke and flames of the world trade center quite this picture was taken 20 seconds before the second tower collapsed. in the front is jack. i would be back here. >> 20 years later, the memories

are still vivid. >> went i get back from ground zero, that is in my jacket pocket. >> this was among the paramedics who raced down from manhattan's upper east side. >> it seemed the top of the building tilted. there is just aoment or all looked at each other and gave each other permission. quite the buildings were coming down. i was trying to find the rest of my staff. >> the remains of two of them were not found for months. after freeing themselves, neither wanted to leave. >> during the day, people were

like you have to get out of here, you're hurt. but then, two of my guys -- quest they physically remove you. >> they gave me no alternative. it took me by ambulance back to cornell. >> a few blocks away, dr. antonio dajer and his team were told to prepare for mass casualties but couldn't begin to imagine how many or how serious they would prove to be. dajer was the attending e r physician at this hospital that bright blue september morning. he was expecting nothing more than a routine tuesday. then a nurse ran in with the news that changed everything: just a few blocks away, a plane had flown into one of the twin towers. >> the first badly injured patient i remember was a young woman who came in solo on a stretcher that i thought it was that i was seeing wrong. but as soon as i saw her, i knew

we were in for mass trauma, that this was really serious. >> when the first tower collapsed. >> this vivid memory of a 10-story high dust cloud barreling towards me. >> the chaos eventually gave way to silence. >> so many families were coming around with posts and fliers for their loved ones. and that was a sacred moment of, you just needed to absorb it. you just needed to be quiet and try to bring them in and do what you could for them. so busy doing what they could for their patients and the families of victims, dajer and his colleagues hadn't begun to process their own emotions. >> coming out of that was probably more traumatic for me. seeing it on tv and the worldwide reaction, it was the first time i had broken into tears. that was coming out of that isolation or that sense of intensity. >> the first responders at ground zero entered the world as changed people.

>> i had to remain the rock. i literally took my emotions and put them to the side. i had to be there to talk to staff that wanted to talk. i had to interact with the families. i did not realize how deeply i push my emotions away. >>'s physical injuries forced his retirement and both he and johnna piscopo still deal with the metal toll of that day. >> i always had flashbacks and nightmares. >> i would have the dreams on a consistent basis. i woke up a couple of times th the smell. >> for episcopo and some other first responders, seeking trtment for post traumatic stress wasn't easy. >> speaking to a therapist that's not in the business is difficult because there's certain it's like talking in a different language. i have to explain everything. but it it definitely helped it kind of

gave me the the permission to not. to feel the emotions that that i felt. at least with 9/11, i think the stigma behind the mental health has been diminished. >> new york presbyterian hospital psychologist dr. joann defeating - difede has worked with 9/11 survivors to overcome that stigma. in september 2001, she was treating burn patients with p t s d. after 9 11, her work became all the more urgent. >> difede pioneered using virtual reality therapy to transport her patients back to the sights and sounds of that day. >> many people will tell you even to this day on a september day, the sky gets a super blue cast to it, they will think of the world trade center, they learned that the blue sky was associated with a terrorist attack and something horrific and unimaginable. >> by confronting their trauma, they were able to overcome it.

>> so the process of learning -- the whole idea of these trauma simulations is to go over yo trauma as if it were happening again in the present tense that your brain starts to learn, it is a september day. it is not 9-11, 2001. >> for many, the pandemic has meant a new kind of mental stress trauma that can be especially acute for frontline health care workers. >> 9/11 was such a short event, at least for us. it did not test our endurance the way covid has. >> as a paramedic on long island, episcopo has seen that fatigue firsthand. >> this pandemic is this generation's 9/11. the stress. -- the stress is overwhelming. the seeing death in many levels. >> there is no doubt in my mind

that the coworkers of mine and friends will end up developing ptsd. >> he is working on a virtual reality program to treat frontline medical workers. >> it is at least in one element more visible. if you thing about our health care workers, some of my colleagues worked around the clock for a very long time, taking care of people who were gravely ill. any of whom died. they saw death more frequently. -- many of whom died. they saw death more frequently. >> they have lasting physical ailments from 9/11 and its aftermath. this puts them at higher risk of severe illness if they get covid-19. they say the threat of isolation during the pandemic was just as

debilitating as the threat of the virus itself. >> the excerpt -- the interaction was key to the health of the responder. >> as much as the last few months stressed health care workers. he says he sees another mass trauma event bring out the best in doctors, nurses and paramedics and the city. >> this really was everybody in it together. >> as they struggle through a different kind of calamity. one whose memorials are yet to be built. i am john yang in new york.

>> our broadcast studio is located a few short miles from the pentagon. on 9/11, that iconic structure designed to project american military might was struck clear out of the blue. there are many more who escaped and now we hear from one of them. the story was brought to us by the warhorse. a nonprofit newsroom focused on coverage. he made it out of the plane crash just below his office. >> it starts out like any other day. i was the jeopardy counsel at the time.

a senior executive's-ish and. i was worng on the senior marine staff. it was my one year anniversary. i was calling up my boss and saying you can't fire me now, i made my probationary period. they had new york on tv. it made things suddenly serious. but also there was a lot of confusion. nobody really knew what was going on. i hadn't heard anything from the meeting i had come from. so, you know, i was very curious about it. in fact, my first impression was, you know, with all the space that guy had to maneuver, how did he hit the building, you know? anyway, i was in and out of the office for the next, almost hour, it seemed like. and then i happened to be in his office when the second plane flew in, hit the second tower. and then it's just, hard to describe but i would just say that in a moment you knew that you were a nation at war. and i don't think anybody had any real

idea who we were at war with. but i'm working in the pentagon as a senior executive in the national defense enterprise, and that means something. so we start the process of, ok, where's all our people? you know, lock them down, get the contact information, stuff like that. i had an administrator, chief and admin chief, a young corporal named tim girabola. he was a marine. i asked him to get the security status of the pentagon, thinking, hey, we're in the flight pattern for national airport. at about 9:30, he came into my office and said this is however many times it is. he showed up every five minutes and said for condition still normal. i jumped up from my desk and started to rant. you know, we're in the flight pattern for national airport, for christ's sake, you know? and i left my office, were in an interior suite. the office runs parallel to the west wall. and i turned to go to my office, my boss's office, peter murphy. and right abt time i got to the door, it was just, boom. and

then, you know, was a bit of an odyssey for me. i was knocked out and i think several people in the office knocked out. the experience of being blown up is more like a lost time experience. i'm walking and then i'm over there, waking up on the floor kind of thing. i was very fortunate. i had been on the south side of the building and blown to the north side. it's important the pentagon itself is a series of stone buildings. it's not one stone building. there's different sections are joined by steel cables covered by these silver escutcheon plates. i look up, there is e fireball. i say get us out of here.

our winters had not been blown out. god bless the guys who put those blast proof windows in. it sed our lives. we are on the south side of the building, the side that is collapsing. we have to jump the crack to get to the other side. which we do. then we gather ourselves there. as this is happening, the floor continues to pull away. this is the closest way out. in order to get there, we have to go across this crumbling hallway. it is not very inviting. to the north side, you can only go in those two directions. north and south. south is not good. to the north side is the construction entrance. you see these tan pants appear.

he starts to yell. if you can hear my voice, come this way, there is a way out. now we know we can escape. it occurred to me at that moment that we can't just run. even though i desperately want to run. but i said no. we are going to search these offices. i sent him into the first office. as soon as he left, it was like a piece of me. carved out. i thought i was a terrible mistake. but he went in and then i started in and practically ran into them coming out and he had

found someone under the desk. that was tim saving a life. he had a pretty significant brain injury. i was starting to struggle with the pressure inside my head and all the things that a massive concussion does to you. it starts to crowd out your thinking. we finally get ourselves out of the building. he was trying to call his wife. i called and she picked up. i said we made it out, we are in the parking lot, we are safe. we will come home. we were called in the next day. planning for the war started the next day in a conference room at the navy and it. i took a call from a guy named

robert barrow who was a former marine. he was volunteering. he was a very old man. he was volunteering to carry a rifle. i thought where do you get these guys? as it turns out, he was a former,.. -- comandaante. -- comandante. i think he was very sincerely offering to do one more thing for his country. i had the privilege of serving alongside marines for almost two decades. i think what we would want

people to know is that it is not what it seems like in the press. it is not what it seems like on tv. it is not what it seems like in the movies. i think all the services are trying to prepare themselves to do an awful mission that they hope nobody else has to do. they are trying to do a very hard thing. they need help and understanding. they need time and the patience of the public. i think the gratitude of the public as well. >> robert, we will let your words speak for themselves. we are so grateful to you and everyone who represented the united states on that terrible, terrible day. that is the newshour for tonight. i am judy woodruff, join us online and here again tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, please stay safe and

we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> architect, beekeeper, mentor. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been helping people do more of what they decide to be like. >> johnson & johnson. the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the frontline of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of

these institutions. and friends of the newshour. this was made possible by viewers like you. thank you. >> this is pbs newshourest.

[music] most of the time when people think of southern greens collards come to mind but i grew up in a house with turnips on the stove. they have a little bit of bitterness that lends itself to such a beautiful pot liquor. so, i think they've got actually more going for them than the collard. (theme music plays- the avett brothers "will you return") i'm vivian and i'm a chef. my husband, ben and i were working for some of the best chefs in new york city when my parents offered to help us open our own restaurant. of course, there was a catch. we had to open this restaurant in eastern north carolina, where i grew up and said i would never return. [music]