♪ judy: good evening. on the newshour tonight. an era of uncertainty. president biden addresses the united nations. we talk with bill gates about the threats of covid and climate change. then a grim milestone. the united states surpasses the number of lives lost to the 1918 flu. we reflect on the different response to a pandemic today. and back to prison. how inmates sent to do time at home during the pandemic now face a return to jail. >> there's no way that you could practice social distancing when you got two men and sometimes

three men inside a cell. stacked on top of one another. judy: all that and more on tonight's pbs "newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by. >> pediatric surgeon, voluner, topiary artist, a raymond james financial advisor taylors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. >> for 25 years consumer cellular's goal has been to provide service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no contract plans and our customer service team can help find one that fits you. >> johnson & johnson.

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judy: president biden today deliver his first speech to the united nations as part of the annual general assembly. most world leaders are back -- last year'largely virtual event. mr. biden touted diplomacy and the endurance of democracy as he faces tensions with old allies and global challenges like covid and climate change. nick: in the largest international summit in two yea rs, president biden said he was launching a new era of american diplomacy. >> i stand here for the first time in 20 years with united states not at war. as we look ahead, the challenges of our time from covid to climate and human dignity and human rights but we will not go alone. nick: the president tried to reassure that american democracy

was reliable. pres. biden: may seek to proclaim the end of the age of democracy but they are wrong. the truth is the democratic world is everywhere. democracy is the best to we have to unleash our full human potential. nick: but today the decidedly undemocratic taliban control afghanistan and many senior western european say the u.s. is not listening to its allies over afghanistan, covid vaccine intellectual property, trump era tariffs and last reese announcements at the u.s. and the u.k. would provide nuclear propelled submarines westerly. yesterday francis foreign minister said biden's policy was no different tn trump's. >> without -- with unilateralism brutality was part of the past. but it continues. and contrary to everything being said openly and in public, this what is surprising and shocking. nick: today president biden and

the australian prime minister tried to reassure them. those interests are focused on china. the u.s. sees china's technological expansion and predatory trade practices as the west preeminent challenge. today the president never mentioned china but it was the speeches subtext. pres. biden; to oppose attempts by stronger countries to dominate weaker ones, but we are not seeking a new cold war or a world divided. nick: the u.s. seeks to collaborate with china over climate change. president biden doubled to $11 billion the u.s. contribution to developg countries but china has refuffed u.s. attempts to cooperate. the u.k. says iran has never been this close to developing

nuclear weapons. today the president reiterated the u.s.'s willingness to drop sanction if iran comes into compliance. butiran is uninterested until the u.s. takes unilateral moves. the newly elected president raissi said this. >> the united states has not lifted sanctions. it has withdrawn from the agreement and levied even more sanctions on our people. nick: the theme was unity. the u.n. secretary general warns the world is failing tonight. >> covid and the climate crisis has exposed profound fragility's and societies. yet instead of humility in the face of these epic challenges, we see hubris. instead of the solidarity we are on the dead end to destruction. judy: and with me now from outside the united nations is

our foreign affairs correspondent nick shafran along with our white house correspondent at the north lawn. nick, as you point out it was not just president biden. there were dozens of world leaders who spoke today. give us a sense of the broader themes that ran through the day. nick: those themes really point to what you heard from and to ne-yo good tariff -- from antonio gutierrez. that we need unity. only 4% of africa is vaccinated. biden tailored some of his speech to those worldwide concernsespecially that part of the speech he gave a specific dollar amount that the u.s. would give to developing countries for climate adaptation. part of addressing climate of course is the u.s. and china working together. you saw the president . anxi jinping he usually

throws against the u.s. but the rift is very real between the u.s. and france and president biden tonight still does not have confirmation that he will be able to speak to french president emmanuel macron. u.n. watchers say that this assembly was actually relatively normal, delegations were able to interact and meet with each other. where i am is new york city. there is a vaccine mandate. to my right pass those gates is international territory. there is no vaccine mandate. we want to show you a photo. bolsonaro probably unvaccinated spoke first this morning. but, because he is unvaccinated in new york city, he is not able to go into that restaurant to enjoy his meal. judy: an interesting side note. to you. this was president biden's first appearance at the u.n. after f

our years of former president trump. how did the president try to usher in his own worldview coming after his predecessor? >> president biden in his first appearance as a president's speech was trying to turn the poage away from-- the page from trump. nick mentioned it was seen as normal by u.n. watchers. that is not anyway someone to describe former president trump. covering those over the years, you saw allies as well as opponents of the u.s. really being angry at the fact that the president, former president trump, would say things that were outlandish and at one point he was laughed it during his speech when he talked about the idea he had accomplished more than any other administration in u.s. history. today we saw president biden doubling down on the idea of ending endless wars.

he said there should not be violence and there should be negotiations. and we talked about the digni of people and helping the nations less than united states. the complicating issues that he faces another -- a number of domestic and foreign challenges, including those that came to him when he got back to the white house including the migrant situation on the border with haitian migrants. there a lot of people wondering about those agents. at the white house tonight, there a lot of officials talking about it sayg that they dhhs will have an investigation into that. judy: we know something else president bidenid when he got back to the white house and that was a meeting with the british prime minister boris johnson. what do we know about how that went? >> reporters were in that meeting very quickly and the biden prime minister of the u.k. and president biden, t talked about trade and talkedh about the presidente really it was a

friendly conversation and you saw the leaders try to usher into the idea that the u.k. and the u.s. are on the same page. judy: we know today is a kickoff of a full week of meetings. give us a sense of what to expect this week. nick: there are two meetings that will prove american indispensable leadership. on friday, president biden host, japan, u.s. and india and the united states for the first time in person at the white house. it is the example of what u.s. officials want to see in the future. alliance to take on china, mostly diplomatic but also to be used for soft power, including vaccine diplomacy. and tomorrow, there is a virtual covid summit that the president will lead. i have obtained the draft goals. it is to vaccinate 70% of the world within one year. requires an acceleration of production of delivery and a lot

of money that does not exist today. also ensuring oxygen supply, testing, therapeutics, ppe all over the world and the creation of a glol health fund for the next pandemic. it is these two meetings will for will prove whether the rhetoric of global unity heard today gets translated into action. judy: the issues do not get any more important. reporting from outside the united statio-- the united nations and the white house. thank you both. ♪ stephanie: we'll return to the full show after the headlines. the biden administration stepped up deportations of haitian migrants who have gathered at del rio, texas, on the border with mexico. more flights from their left for haiti.

8000 migrants remain at del rio as president biden promised get things under control but some fellow democrats, including senate majority leader chuck schumer condemned the deportations. >> right now i am told there are four flights scheduled to deport these assignment seekers back to a country that cannot receive them. it defies common sense. it also defies common decency and what america is all about. stephanie: the head of the u.n. refugee agency warned that the expulsions may violate international law. republican governor greg abbott blamed president biden's policies. the newshour has learned that president biden plans to announce tomorrow b the u.s. willuy another 500 million doses of the pfizer vaccine to donate. the purchase boost the total u.s. vaccine contribution worldwide to more than one billion doses.

johnson & hnson says a booster for its single shot covid-19 vaccine triggers a strong immune response. the company reported today on results of boosters given two or six months after the first shot. the u.s. department of education office of civil rights announced it is investigating the texas education agency over its recent prohibition mass mandates in schools. -- mask mandates in schools. san francisco ordered its workers edits airports to get vaccinated. -- at its airports to vaccinate. the congress voted to raise the debt ceiling but democrats will need 16 votes in the senate to avert a partial government shutdown in nine days. and a default on the national debt in october. republicans opposed raising the debt limit. . numbers of the parties traded jobs today. >> traditionally when you have two race the debt ceiling you have a discussion on ways to get

spending under control. instead the democrats are moving forward with an incredible spending bill based on bernie sanders socialist budget and republicans will not be a rubberstamp for this. >> what we are talking about is, are we going to pay the credit card bills we have already racked up? you know, nothing would be more irresponsible at this creek a moment than messing with the full faith and credit of the united states. >> the bill includes money for disaster relief and afghan evacuees but house democratic leaders today dropped $1 billion for israeli security. canada's prime minister justin trudeau will stay in power after monday's election. his liberal party won the most seats but fell short of a majority. he celebrated last night in montréal. he said he had been given a mandate based on his handling of the pandemic. in afghanistan, the taliban

named more members of the cabinet but none were women. a spokesman promised action again on the education of girls. >> we are trying to strengthen the, cabinet further and god willing, women will be appointed to certain position. the ministry of education is working hard to lay the groundwork for education of high school girls as soon as possible. >> currently only elementary school-age girls are allowed to attend classes. bill gates on how to combat the threats of covid and climate change. how prisoners sent home from prison for covid face return to jail. italy experiences a new reality of extreme weather due to a warming planet. and much more. >> this is pbs newshour. from weta studios in washington

and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: the death toll from the pandemic is but the u.s. at another tragic milestone. we are averaging more than 2000 deaths a day lately, and yesterday, the u.s. marked 675,000 americans who have now died. william takes a wider look at this difficult period of our history. >> throughout this pandemic it has been hard to keep perspective on the scale of the losses caused by covid-19. on the washington mall, this artist has plaed an ocean of white flags, one for each life lost to the virus. another metric is a comparison to the past, in this week the u.s. matched the death toll from another terrible virus -- the 1918 influenza.

for some perspective on then and now, i am joined by dr. brown, who wrote a book "influenza, the 100 hunt to cure the deadliest disease in history." dr. brown, very good to see you again. we have now hit this awful bar where we've lost as many people to covid as we lost to the influenza pandemic. but there are meaningful differences between the two. >> yes, indeed. it is awful to be speaking at this terrible milestone, 675,000 deaths. the same number as the people who died in the u.s. and the 1918 pandemic but we must also recall that this pandemic is still far less deadly. the population in the u.s. in 1918 was 100 million. today it is around 320 million. we put these numbers in proportion, those 675,000 d

eaths, 103 years ago relatively speaking would be the equivalent of some 2 million deaths today. we are nowhere near that number thankfully. but still today's numbers are a reminder of just how deadly covid is. >> of course, another main difference perhaps may be the largest difference as we now have a vaccine to fight this virus, whereas back then we did not. >> not only was there no vaccine for influenza but people did not know what it was that was killing them. in many ways, it was the most friday aspect to the disease. fast-forward 100 years later, we knew what covid and we knew its genetic makeup. we developed this incredible series of vaccines in a record-breaking time. >> are there similarities between then and now that have hit notes with you throughout

this pandemic? >> yes, there are a number of similarities. first of all, if we think about the ways that we can combat the disease, the simple basic ways, those have not really changed over 100 years. th call to mask up, cer your face, to isolate, when you are feeling unwell. we have seen some pretty breakthroughs that were unthinkable a century ago. so we have these very high-tech innovations and some perhaps some low tech no less effective ways for the majority of us to stay healthy. >> and some of those protective measures, masking and distancing have caused incredible political strife. even the vaccines which are seen as the golden ticket, are a menace in the eyes of some. does that aspect of our pandemic response surprise you? >> i think the virulence with

which it occurred did surprise me but anyone who is looked at pandemics over the last couple hundred years will realize all of these responses are actually not new. there has been opposition to government mandated vaccines ever since the smallpox vaccine was around in the 1780's. and there were som anti-vaccine movements in england and here in the united states. but there is nothing really new about these behaviors, although, as i said, i think the number of people who have joined them i think is surprising. we di't see numbers like this, r example, with the movement against smallpox vaccines 100- a couple hundred years ago. >> another striking aspect is who has actually died from this virus. many people have been talking about the statistic of one in

500 americans have died, but within that, racial minorities, blacks and latinos, have suffered far worse. this has been a true tragedy in those communities as well.. >> yes, i think one of the mantrase hea is that we are all in this together but the truth of the matter is, the pandemic has struck us in very different ways depending on where we live, what we do for a living, and our family situation, and also just which families we are born into. we know that covid has dropped the life expectancy in the u.s. by year and a half. this is awful but for the african-american community it has dropped by three years, much higher. and this shows us again that there are some tremendous disparities that we have in the availability of medicines and

also in the way that we reach out to different communities and invite them to be part of the vaccine relief program. >> when you look at 1918 america compared to 2020 or 2021 america, is there something about the national psyches then and now that helps us understand how we responded? >> this is a key point. 100 years ago we were at the end the first world waramerica was weary, there were still a war going on and that, coupled with the reality that pandemics were an everyday part of existence. people died from diphtheria and miso and people died from pneumonia. i think we have forgotten just w lucky we are not to have these diseases. it is only really these tremendous advances we have had in the area of public health and vaccines that have meant that we have the luxury of not waking up every morning and being afraid of polio or diphtheria.

>> it's fair to say that there is a sense of despair in the country right now. for many people, they thought the vaccines where the light at the end of the tunnel, at least domestically for this virus. but now deaths are up, hospitals are overflowing, delta is everywhere in the country. do you think that there is something that we missed at the beginning of this year when we all thought, we're coming to the end and it turned out not to be the case? >> what we have missed is nature's ability to surprise us. while we are indeed in the middle of a very bad run right now, there is no doubt that we have to bear in mind that all pandemics come to an end. this is true before there were vaccines and this will be true of covid. the question is what can we as a society do to minimize the instruction and the deaths caused by covid. whatever group of people you most identify with, there are

very strong reasons for us now to turn to those, last millions of americans out there and get vaccinated's quickly as possible. that is the one surefire way to make sure we do not have another discussion in a few months about the death toll. >> jeremy brown of the office of emergency care research at the national. thank you very much -- office of emergency care at the national institutes of health. thank you ry much. >> thank you. ♪ judy: with world leaders visiting new york this week, for the united nations general assembly, microsoft cofounder and fla philanthropist bill gates is calling on the nations to take urgent steps needed to end the crisis phase of this pandemic. we spoke about those steps this afternoon and wide-ranging discussions.

and we should note the bill and melinda gates foundation is a funder of the newshour. bill gates, thank you very much for joining us. in the statement he put out today you spoke about this is a moment of opportunity, a time to look at this pandemic almost from a new perspective, and yet it is also a somber milestone. "we are 18 months in. covid is still on a depth march -- death march." what gives you hope? >> the vaccines are miracle. there is a story about the scientist who invented these. now with the volumes increasing, we have a chance to be equitable. we have not gotten much out to the poorer countries and yet variants could come out of their countries and they need to get their economies back on track. so, the u.s. stepping back in

instead of quitting the who, now the u.s. stepping up and working with other countries, increasingly intonations, this is a very positive moment. to remember that there are these deep inequities in health. ending the pandemic should be top of the list for helping all countries. judy: i was struck by how you spoke. you said "there has to be a common commitment to equity to understand what happens in lower income countries affects higher income countries." we hear in the united states that we're sending a lot of vaccines around the world, but you are saying not enough is being done. >> the need out there is billions and so far we have gotten ts of millions out. now that supply is no longer the limiting factor in most rich counies, the u.s. hasn't got

up to the other levels of the rich countries but that is not a supply issue. so there is the opportunity for the u.s. and others not only to solve the supply problem but help these developing countries with the logistics of actually getting out -- getting it out to all of their citizens. during 2020, europe and the gates foundation having lots of conversations about this. there were not enough vaccines. they mostly went to rich countries. the u.s. chose not only to not be involved but to quit -- of course will benefit the u.s. as well. judy: and you also have president biden sayingboosters d at the same time the u.s. provides vaccines around the world, but public health experts

say that is just not true. you cannot do both. whoo's right -- who's right? >> between now and the end of the year, we are still somewhat supply constrained. the idea would be if the rich countries made their booster strategies targeted, people 65 and older with medical conditions, that would mean that the version in the rich countries would stay modest. ideally the rich countries, if they are going to do widespread boosters, would wait and do those early next year. where new vaccines will ramp up production. johnson & johnson, novavax, and then the booster programs won't compete with getting doses out to low income countries. judy: you are saying it is a mistake no to do itw.

>> if you want to target people with immune deficiency or above a certain age, the numbers are not that gigantic. so, very targeted booster programs are going to be ok. it is disappointi where you have a few countries doing super broad booster programs because we stilldon't have the supply that we would like to have. i agree with who. we have to balance these needs for the next six months. judy: have you told the president that? >> well, the foundation is in contact with all othe key people. obviously, there are some people who the booster is helpful too. the broad evidence for most people is still pretty weak. so, it was good that they did, fda didn't choose to go for all people over 12. judy: have you talked about supply, we need to fix the

supply problem, make it more transparent, there needs to be in a more global cooperation? we thought that was already being done. you're saying it's not. can you just explain in layman's term in a nutshell what needs to be done? >> during the key year, 2020, the u.s. not only did not get involved, they withdrew from the same health organization, they withdrew from the who. and then, when the congress did allocate money to buy vaccines, the trump administration said we will block that money from being ent. so, this year, as the biden administration came in -- they did want to make sure the u.s. wasn't supply constrained. you can argue should this have been done three or four months ago? but now we see all the rich countries having gotten up to

high levels. so, yes, it is a bit late but the benefits are still there and incredible. judy: one of the other issues you are working on is climate change. it is before the world leaders. countries are being pressed to come up with commitments that they will cut their use of c arbon energy. and yet i want to a about the current situation in this country. the president is trying to push legislation that would include a lot of money to address these environmental questions, but you have not just republicans but democrats like joe manchin of west virginia saying, no, we need to cut back on efforts to move to clean energy. how do you see what is going on clinically? >> the interest archer bill has some really great money to advance green technologies, to fund projects, and the

reconciliation bill has a lot of key tax credits. to drive the demand for green technology. so, if both pass, the u.s. will accelerate in a very dramatic way its contribution, not only reducing emissions but innovating to drive the ice down. senator manchin has spoken about the overall price tag and the incentives in the electricity generation sector and how he might want to see those be different. the ideal thing is even if these bills, if there are some modest reductions that they get past, if we do not get either of these bills, the u.s. will really be absent in driving the cost of green technologies down. which in terms of creating new industries and the jobs in those industries, would be a huge missed opportunity foroth the u.s. and the world. judy: and are you sharing your

view with members of congress, as they face some of these votes in the weeks to come? >> absolutely. i have two topics i have been a lot of discussion with members of congress. one is funding work to avoid another pandemic, what is the research andhings we need to do there. and they put forward a plan that we worked with them on. it needs to be funded. and then these climate issues, which now is the time to get serious about those things and tap into u.s. innovation hours. judy: i also want to ask about the future of the bill and melinda gates foundation. you announced earlier this year, a private announcement that you and your wife melinda were going to be ending your marriage, but at the same time the foundation announced that it was going to

use this moment to restructure. what is that going to look like? i'm asking because this is the biggest foundation the world by far. your assets are in the tens of billions. people have a lot of interest in what the foundation does. >> so, the announcement relative to the foundation is that we would be adding some people at the governance level. i am incredibly product the foundation, the work at don's on vaccines for malaria, for reproductive health. in the overall priorities of the foundations are not changing. we pick up $1.8 billion of grants focused on the pandemic. but that does not mean we are still finishing the polio eradication. we will have some additional advisors at the board level, but

the priorities we sat going back all the way to 2000, global health and education, that will be where our work is done. so the only shift in strategy has been to add the pandemic and now use our expertise to help governments fudn the tools so -- fund the tools so we don't end up with another pandemic like this one. judy: in the public arena it was reported that you have a number of meetings with jeffrey epstein who, when you met him 10 years ago, he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from miners. what did you know about him when you were meeting with him? as you said yourself when you hope -- in the hopes of raising money. >> i had dinners with him. i regret doing that. he had relationships with people he said would give to global

health, which is an interest i have, not nearly enough philanthropy goes in that direction. those meetings were mistake. they did not result in what he purported and i cut them off. that goes back a long time ago now. so there is nothing new on that. judy: it was reported you continue to meet with him over several years. and that, in other words, number of meeting what did you when you found out about his background? >> well, you know, i've said,i've regretted having those dinners. and there is absolutely nhing new on that. judy: is there a lesson for you, for anyone knows looking at this? >> well, he's dead. so, in general, you always have to be careful.

i'm very proud of what we have done, and very proud of the work of the foundation. you know, that is what i get up every day and focus on. judy: and so, for people watching who wonder about the future of the gates foundation, what is your message? >> well, i'm extremely lucky that with the help of melinda and the inedible generosity of warren buffett, we are able to take these important causes and bring innovation to bear. we were finding mrna vaccines when it was still viewed as something that would never work. now that has turned into a source of some of the very best vaccines. . we have great hopes to use that technology for an hiv vaccine. our work has reduced childhood death rates dramatically over the last 20 years. this is my second career. we have hired great people. we have made some progress.

the visibility is not his highs it should be. maybe one small benefit of the pandemic's people realize how weak these systems are and how diseases like malaria and polio are still out there. and an incredible tragedy. so, i am very lucky to be involved in this work. it has gone way better than i expected. this will be the focus for the rest of my life. judy: bill gates, we thank you very much for talking with us. >> thank you. ♪ judy: since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, the u.s. justice department has released more than 30,000 nonviolent inmates to home confinement. to try to limit the virus's

spread in prison. but some of these men and women could be forced to return to prison was the pandemic ends. it is part of our series "searching for justice." >> in florida, rufus has had his own room for the first time in more than three decades. >> i always was optimistic that freedom was going to come. but i realized it would be 32 years before it came. >> he was in prison serving a 40 year sentence for conviction for conspiracy to sell crack cocaine and obstruction of justice. but that changed on april 20 4, 2020, when he was moved to home confinement. >> it was one of the best things in my life. and it was sad, too, because i was leaving so many others

behind. >> rochelle, now almost 70 was released under a provision of the cares act that made prisoners eligible for home detention in an effort to limit the spread of covid-19 in federal prisons. . studies in the early months of the pandemic found federal and state inmates were more than five times as likely than the general public to contract covid-19. the virus has claimed the les of nearly 3000 inmates. >> there is no way that you can practice social distancing when you got two men and sometimes three men inside a cell or room. stacked on top of one another. those mosquitoes, man, terrible. >> almost a year and a half after his release, they face the possibility of having to return to prison once the pandemic ends. that is become since trump era

-- that is because the tump era -- the trump era justice department said they would have to return. >> i know of no instance where we re-incarcerated such a number of people after they have been. >> released>> allison guernsey ru the incredible -- the criminal link, at the university of iowa law school. >> i am telling my clients, you need to be prepared for this. here are the options. here are things that can happen. but if we don't succeed, you may end up back in prison. >> in a statement, the federal bureau of prisons said it will have discretion to keep inmates on home confinement after the pandemic if they are close to the end of their sentences. and administration officials say president biden is considering clemency request for nonviolent drug offenders with less than four years to serve.

that could include rochelle. he is set to be released next july. for now he says hfeels very much like a prisoner. >> yes, it's rufus rochelle. we're getting ready to go to the church center. >> he wears a monitor and must check in daily with his case manager and whenever he leaves his sister's house where he lives. >> being on home confinement onto the cares act is a sense of freedom. but i am not free. i cannot just go out there and say i am going to walk or drive to the store. >> he needs advanced permission to do that. or to go to volunteer at his church's food band -- food pantry. or to visit family, including his daughter antoinette who was born after he was incarcerated. >> i never spent one day with

her outside of prison. not one single day. >> his sister gets emotional at the thought of him going back to prison. >> he did all his time. every night he wondered whether he would have to get up in the morning or go back up. it is just wearing down on all of us. >> he, on the other hand, is philosophical. what do you think that there is a possibility you may have to go back to the real prison? how does that make you feel? >> it saddens me when i realize everything that happens is for a purpose. >> right now that purpose is advocating for clemency for those like him. on most nights, he is on facebook live, spreading the word. >> so, why would you want to

send inmates back to prison? diane is a prime example. she has 30 years. 30 years. for marijuana. conspiracy. >> he's talking about diana marques who is also on home confinement after 15 yes in prison for conspiracy to sell marijuana. she was released in may and now lives with her daughter in el paso, texas. >> hello, mr. rufus. >> she often reaches out to him for advice. >> you must explaiyour situation. you want to get your message out loud and clear. home confinement has given marques a chance to be with her daughter. >> how many times 4 give you 8?

>> and with her grandchildren and for them to be with her. >> i was only 15 when she was incarcerated. it is as if we are getting to know each other again. my children have their grandmother.. >> but marques cannot bring herself to tell her grandchildren the truth about the monitoring device on her leg. >> they are so innocent. i do not want to inform what are the reason -- what is the reason i have the ankle bracelet. >> and she says she is costley worried about going back to prison -- she is constantly worried about going back to prison. >> it has been. devastating losing my hair. and it would be devastating for my daughter, the one that i am living with because i help her a lot to take care of my grand

children. >> while marques has 10 years left on her sentence, she is hoping that her nature of her condition involving marijuana that has been decriminalized in 27 states, will improve her chances for clemency. >> this hospital had been built 32 years ago. >> in florida, rufus remains hopeful. >> there are so many rufus rochelles. incarcerated that deserve their freedom. they truly deserve a second chance. >> a second chance that has come about from an otherwise devastating pandemic. ♪

judy: climate change experts and sicily are warning that rising sea waters are threatening some of the islands most crucial heavy industrial plants. they also predict food shortages as crops wilt in heat. the island has endured record temperatures. our special correspondent reports from sicily. >> it has been a long sweltering day on this -- and there is plenty of heat as dusk approaches. this is an avocado plantation in the foothills, sicily's active volcano. avocados have been grown here for decades. one of the attractions for farmers like andrea is that it is a tropical fruit and should be able to withstand high temperatures. but this summer's extreme heat burned the leaves of the tre es. >> when there is excessive heat like in july and august when we

had 122 degrees, it is not just humans that feel it. avocado and mangoes suffer. the plants ours except -- susceptible to heat. the plant gets stressed and in order to protect yourself it expels the hanging fruit. >> this has been the hottest ever summer in europe. today here in siracuse, the temperature is 92 degrees fahrenheit. on august 11, the thermometer shot up 30 degrees more to 122 fahrenheit, unprecedented in your. this summer's temperature made it difficult to breathe in sicily. it is a touchdown for the rest of europe when it comes to clime change. christian is a prossor of ecology at the university of ctania. -- catania. >> the high temperatures will repeat more often in the next years because the carbon dioxide reached levels that are really

unprecedented. >> excessively high temperatures and drought are the concerns for the citrus growers. they -- have a large farm that yields -- a net value of $10 million. the soil is drying up. the harvest start and early winter but this could be a bad year. >> these extreme temperatures are a serious challenger for reforestation. we can say categorically that everything that is green suffers. we feel as though that we are in africa inside of italy. >> citrus leaves are indicators as -- of stress. they should be green but they have been scores. >> this leaf is a result of the122 degrees we reached. >> he worries without rain,

their profits will be badly hit. >> the concern is that if i reach -- if sicily is unable to provide enough public water we will be in trouble, as with all the workers that work for our company. >> in the past, the partners relied on the local authorities for water supply. but followg numerous droughts, the construction -- they constructed their own reservoir. >> if the reservoir does not for up this year, it will not be able to supply the water we need. we will be autonomous only until july next year. then we will not be able to continue cultivation and meet the needs of r citrus groves. >> the evidence of climate change is acking up for a regional leader of the italian agricultural confederation he is warning the food shortages in the not-too-distant future. >> we are concerned about the

future of agriculture if it contues like this. it has not rained for over five months. access to crops will be at risk, essentially less production means less food. farmers are concerned they will not be able to satisfy the ever increasing demand for food, not only in italy but also abroad. >> if temperatures are not enough, low-lying areas are threatened by rising sea water. sisley's east coast is stacked with heavy industry. one of the biggest refineries in southern europe stands next to the sea. this professor is urging the owners of these plants to relocate in land is soonest possible. >> the sea level could rise by as much as three feet. this could also be amplified by geological phenomenon, such as the bsidence of coastal plants

, industrial structures in southeastern sicily such as this loading dock would certainly have serious problems. some of the plants in this area could be submerged within the next few decades. >> it is not just indury that needs to move. he has one of the many cities around the world that are imperiled by melting glaciers and ice caps. this hospital will be among the first casualties. this geology professor is pessimistic about the chances of saving cities like this. >> eveby blocking co2 or methane, this process is irrersible. perhaps it will take ndreds of years before the trend changes. among other things, international climate agreement such as the paris and kyoto protocols have not been respected. there is no real change in the behavior of many countries. >> that grim view is not shared, however, by this professor. >> we have to reduce our

emissions and it has been demonstrated it is possible to keep the same gross to mr. product even with much lower -- gross domestic proct with much lower emissions. >> italy has been slow going to invest in renewable energy. the government wants to speed up the escalation of clean energy in and reliance on fossil fuels but without a worldwide effort, italy alone cannot save its coastline from vanishing beneath the waves. judy: a reminder of how climate change is literally everywhere. that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online. for all of us of the pbs newshour, stay safe and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> the landscape has changed and not for the last time. the rules of business are being reinvented.

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shift systems and accelerate equitable economic opportunity. 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. this is pbs newshour west. from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption contenand accuracy.]

-guadalajara, mexico's second-largest ty, the capital of the state of jalisco -- a sprawling city, home to over 5 million people, the center for jalisco's art, music, and, of course, food. [ up-tempo music plays ] i'm getting my first taste of this thriving city, starting with its st famous creation... ooh! ...the torta ahogada. evy bite, it keeps on changing. then i'm meeting up with one of the best chefs in the city to see how his gorgeous recipes are changing the way we think about market food. [ music continues ] in my kitchen, that torta ahogada inspires another tasty torta. i'm making bolillos from scratch, a chunky avocado-and-cucumber salad,