♪ >> good evening. i am judy woodruff. tonight, the u.s. and china. president biden meets with president xi jinping, amid tensions and an uncertain future. then, inflation fears, as prices on everyday goods surge, larry summers has advised for washington policymakers. we hear from him. and, searching for justice, why older people face larger pro hurdles and health challengs upon release from prison. >> everything is in the air at the same time, but it is different for older adults. judy: all that and more on

tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by, pediatric surgeon, volunteer, topiary artists, tailoring advice to live your life, life well planned. announcer: consumer cellular goals, plans, and our u.s. service team can find one that fits you. to learn more, visit us online. announcer: johnson & johnson and

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headlines. there is new progress tonight in the long struggle with covid-19, pfizer has requested federal authorization for its pill to treat the virus. trial data shows it greatly reduces hospitalizations, deaths and high-risk adults with early symptoms. pharmacies could be selling the pills within weeks, if the fda approves emergency use. it is considering two other pills. president biden hit the road today to push his new infrastructure package on social policy agenda in the face of falling poll numbers. he traveled to woodstock, new hampshire, where an aging bridge stands to be repaired and touted the social spending and climate bill still awaiting action. pres. biden: i am confident the house will pass this bill, and when it passes, it will go to the senate. i think it will pass within a week. it is fully paid for. stephanie: house democrats are

divided over the package, with moderates demanding a full cost analysis. meanwhile, chuck schumer said today he hopes for senate action by christmas. the jury in the kyle rittenhouse murder trial has been dismissed for the evening without reaching a verdict. the 12 jurors deliberated all day on whether he is innocent or guilty on charges of killing two protesters in kenosha, wisconsin last summer. the judge let rittenhouse himself draw numbered slips at random to indirectly choose which jurors would decide his fate. the state has rested its case in the trial of three white men accused of murdering ahmaud arbery in brunswick, georgia. the prosecutors say they assumed he was a burglar, chased him, and shot him. the defense says they acted legally under a citizens arrest law. record rainfall and extreme winds eased today across washington state and oregon, but left damage.

the main north-south highways partially reopen near bellingham, washington, but heavy flooding covered vast tracts of land in 14 counties in western washington, under a state of emergency from floods and mudslides. >> the water came in fast, faster than we were expecting, so our house is in four feet of water. downstairs is flooded. thankfully, we had a room we were hunkered down in. stephanie: the same storm system touched off mudslides in british columbia late sunday night. most were helicopter to safety, but provincial police officials of the body of a woman has been recovered from the landslide. search-and-rescue operations are ongoing. the flooding and slides have virtually cut off vancouver from the rest of canada. the u.s. interior department on wednesday will begin auctioning large oil reserves in the gulf of mexico. the reserves hold as many as 1.1 billion barrels of oil, the

first such sale under president biden. critics say the action goes against his promises to cut fossil fuel production and greenhouse gas emissions. making history and politics, michelle woo was sworn in as mayor of boston, the first asian-american in the first woman to be elected to that job. in other political news, california congresswoman jackie speier announced she will not run for an eight term. she was the 14th house democrats to decide on retirement at the end of next year. russian officials denied today that they endangered the international space station with a missile test that destroyed an old satellite. it generated more than 1500 pieces of space debris. moscow said there is no threat to the station. nasa sd the crew, including two russians, face four four times the normal risks. in myanmar, the state election commission announced it is prosecuting aung san suu kyi for

alleged election fraud. her party's sweeping victory triggered a military coup. meanwhile, danny fenster returned to new york after six months into a myanmar prison. the military rulers had accused him of lying about the regime. still to come on the newshour, former treasury secretary larry summers on what policymakers need to do about inflation. why it organization stay in afghanistan to help those struggling under taliban rule. the major hurdles facing older prisoners once they win release. plus, much more. ♪ announcer: this is the "pbs newshour", and in the west, the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: president biden and xi jinping held their most significant talks yet last

night. they discussed everything from taiwan, trade metoo nuclear weapons. correspondent: the two leaders spoke virtually for three and a half hours. both sides described it as an attempt to ensure competition does not veer into conflict. the u.s. at president biden reiterated no change in policy towards taiwan. many state media said president xi jinping describe attempts for independence of taiwan is playing with fire. whoever plays with fire will get burnt. the two sides agreed to coordinate on issues including climate change, increased dialogue, and the u.s. as they agreed to discuss china's expanding nuclear weapons program. we get two views. susan thorton, 28 years as an american diplomat, focusing on age of, now a visiting lecturer at yellow school. john writes extensively on strategic issues and is a

political science professor at the university of chicago. welcome back to the newshour. john, let me start with you. do you believe the meeting served u.s. interests? john: no, i don't think so. i think the basic goal of joe biden was to dampen down the tense security competition that exists and permeates every dimension of the relationship, ideological, political, economic, military, and the great fear is that this will eventually lead to a mar confrontation. now, did he succeed in doing that? no. my argument is that it is impossible to achieve that goal. the fact is the united states and china are destined to engage in a series security competition for the foreseeable future. the reason for that is simple, china is bent on dominating

asia. it is bent on controlling the south china sea, taking back taiwan, and dominating the east china sea. the u.s. has no intention of allowing china to achieve any one of those three goals. there is no way you can work out a solution that makes both sides happy, that the end result is we will be in each other's face for the foreseeable future, and we will live in a very dangerous world in east asia. correspondent: is a cold war inevitable and at this meeting served u.s. interests? susan: i think john is too pessimistic. when emphasis of the meeting was to get communications between the two biggest economies in the world back on track and having a normal dialogue where we can actually talk about things and try to resolve problems. i don't think that there is anything inevitable about u.s.-china tensions leading to a conflict.

i think president biden does not think so. i don't think any president think so. i think we can certainly foster these kinds of communications. joe biden said they will have follow-on discussions about managing tensions in the security area, follow-on discussions about signaling on taiwan to make sure we get clear communication, and i think in the era of nuclear weapons among major powers, we certainly have to believe, and i believe very strongly, that our governments, leaders, and peoples have agency to keep the two countries from having a conflict, and that is what this meeting was about. i think it was a start. it did not produce a dramatic list of outcomes, but i think it sets the town back for a sort of constructive and business-like dialogue. certainly the u.s. and china also need to work together on planetary issues in a world

where we are definitely interconnected globally. our trade is increasing, even amid these tensions, and we are definitely entangled with china and must find a way to coexist with them. neither one of us is going anywhere, so i think it is possible to continue to compete with china, but to work with them when we need to, and suddenly to avoid conflict. correspondent: some of the main issues discussed, nuclear, the pentagon says china has quadrupled the number of its nuclear weapons by 2030 and has changed its nuclear posture, but the u.s. says they will discuss nuclear weapons in the future, of john, what is your response to the u.s. announcement? john: they can talk about nuclear arms control, talk about trying to tamp down the nuclear arms race that has now started, but they will not do that. it will not have any effect.

the fact is the u.s. and china will be engaged in a major arms race at the strategic nuclear level, just as the soviet union and u.s. were during the cold war. both sides will be looking for advantage, not only at the nuclear level, but the conventional level as well. correspondent: is that arms race inevitable, susan? susan: i don't agree with the focus of the competition. i think it is mainly in the economic and technical realm. it is not really a military competition and there is not really, there will be arms racing and there is an arms race going on, but i think those are things that can be mitigated and not the central feature of the competition, so i hope they will have stability talks. i think we can have productive arms control discussions, but again, i hope we don't get overly focused on this area, because i don't think that is where the competition is, and if

the u.s. puts resources into that facet of the competition, we may take our eye off the ball. announcer: the u.s. has reiterated its official policy on taiwan, essentially walking back comments by president biden over the last few days about coming to taiwan's defense. beijing answered with a threat during last night's call. 45 seconds, that is all we have come a john you first, do you believe the administration is pursuing the right taiwan policy? john: i think we are, but the point i would make, going back to susan's comments about the importance of communication, it is not just communication that is important. there has to be some sort of possible deal be u.s. and china can work out over taiwan. this is an exceedingly dangerous situation. i see no deal that can be worked out. china once taiwan back, and the u.s. has said you can't take

taiwan back, and we now have a vested interest in keeping it an independent entity. this is a prescription for really serious trouble that cannot be solved by communicating and talking. announcer: susan, prescription for trouble? susan: it is a tense, dangerous situation, but we have managed to keep taiwan status quo for the last 40 years, and the diplomatic normalization of china is one of the great successes of u.s.-china relations, and it shows that we do not have to be destined for conflict, the fact that we have managed this very fraught situation, and keeping the status quo as long as possible have served and will continue to serve all sides going into the future. correspondent: susan, john, thank you to you both. ♪

judy: americans are increasingly feeling the sting of inflation, whether at the gas station where prices are at a seven-year high, or the grocery store, or paying the rent. inflation is taking a bite out of people's paychecks, particularly middle income and lower income americans. inflation is up more than 6%, compared with one year ago. we look at this and more now with larry summers the treasury secretary for president clinton and director of the national economic council for president obama, and he joins me now. larry summers, welcome back to the newshour. years was one of the few democratic voices sing at the beginning of this year that inflation was going to get what were the main miscalculations that the policymakers in washington made? larry: people underestimated how much demand was going to be created by all the fiscal stimulus in the recovery act,

and all of the expansionary monetary policy, and at the same time, they overestimated the economy's supply potential, because they did not recognize the damage that would be done over the medium-term by covid, so when you have too much demand and not enough supply, it is predictable that would produce a lot of upward pressure on prices, and that is what we are seeing, and now it is threatening to become a spiral as higher wages we do higher prices, and higher prices lead to higher wages, so i think we have a situation that will be challenging to manage the more we delay in managing it, the more challenging it will be. judy: after denying inflation would be a long-term wry, administration officials are acknowledging it would be the treasury secretary janet yellen, though she said in defense of the administration a couple of weeks ago in its handling of inflation, "it is a concern,

worrying, but we have not lost control. as we make further progress on the pandemic, i expect these bottlenecks to subside." is she right that this is connected to the pandemic? larry: the aftermath of covid, as i emphasize resulted in reduced supply, suggest, it is, but i don't think it would be right to think on the current policy path that we are likely to bring inflation down to the 2% target. i think on the current policy path, we are likely to have a substantiay expanding economy colliding with limited capacity to produce. already, we have a higher rate of vacancies that at any time in the country's history, a higher ratio of the number of vacant jobs to the number of employed people a record number of people quitting their jobs. we have wage inflation accelerating substantially, and

price inflation even faster, leading to declining real wages. people's wages are not keeping up with the cost of living, so that is an inflationary psychology. uc had in the market. you see it in the surveys. so i think we need to be moving quickly to do something about this inflationary psychology, and i am not sure that is currently in trajectory without further actions, particularly by the federal reserve. judy: i want to ask you about what should be done, because that is on the top of everybody's mind now. first, president biden, the democrats pushing this $1.75 trillion bill back better bill with more money for education, childcare, to combat climate change, but larry summers, you have republicans like mitch mcconnell, they are citing you as one reason to vote against it.

they are saying you have spoken about inflation. this bill will make inflation worse. even he democrats like joe manchin worrying about inflation, and yet, as i understand it, you are saying build back better should be voted into law? larry: i am for build back better, because of what it would do for the environment, for what it would do for the society. i don't think it will have a meaningful impact on inflation. it spends less money over 10 years then we spent just last year. it's spending is largely offset by tax increases, and it includes measures that will actually increase supply, so i think any impact on inflation is likely to be negligible, precisely because unlike last year's stimulus, which i opposed, it is small and paid

for in the macroeconomic scheme of things, so i support it, not because i think it will reduce inflation, but because it is the right thing do for the country's long-term economy, and will not have much impact on flation one way or the other. judy: before i ask you about the federal reserve, i want to ask another question about the build back better bill. you said it is paid for, but if the congressional office comes out with a so-called score which is their view of whether it does pay for itself, and if they say it does not, should that matter? larry: i don't think it is a light switch, judy. if the cbo said it was going to lead to massive deficits, then it should not happen. whether in an economy that is over $20 trillion a year figures of less than 1% of that, i am

not sure though should be decisive in anybody's judgment. judy: back on the federal reserve, as you know, president biden has to make a decision about whether to reappoint jay powell as chair, another name being mentioned is lyle brainard. you know both of those people. what you think president biden should do? larry: i think they are both terrific people in whatever choice he makes, i am sure will be a wise one. what is most important is that the fed reengage very seriously with the inflation risks, because if the fed allows inflation to accelerate from here, then it would be very expensive and very costly to put the inflation genie back in the bottle, so i am less worried about the personnel choice than the substance of choice. we need monetary policies that focus more on stopping inflation than the ones we have had so far. judy: so what is the next thing

you're looking for the fed to do? larry: i would like to see the fed accelerate the so-called taper, that is to stop buying up a large quantity of bonds, then i would like to see them move interest rates off of the zero floor, and i would like all tha to be completed sometime late winter or early spring. judy: so quickly? larry: quickly. much more quickly then is now in the calendar because i think if we do less sooner, we won't have to do more painful contraction later. judy: larry summers, former secretary of the treasury, thank you very much. larry: thank you, judy, for having me. ♪ judy: winter has come to afghanistan, and with it, a skyrocketing need for aid to

millions of desperate afghans. mentoring groups are working to stave off widespread hunger, while providing other services under a taliban regime considered a pariah. from kabul, and with the support of the pulitzer center, we have the special correspondent report. correspondent: it could be easy to mistake the center for a depressing place. >> the child is learning to walk. correspondent: instead, it is one of the most heartening in the afghan capital, a place of hope for the country and people facing enormous challenges. here, the war wounded and sick learn to walk again, soldier, child, each fighting their own personal battle. remarkably, the center makes high quality prosthetics in its own factory and staffed entirely by former patients. dr. cairo, who runs the center,

has worked here for 30 years. in that time, he has helped countless disabled afghans lead better lives. >> there is a moment when they fit the prosthesis for the first time, it is a difficult moment, because they understand they have hoped to be able to walk again, and they will, but not in the same way. it is hard. some people, especially those with double amputations, sometimes they give up. correspondent: not this six-year-old. it has been only six months since the war stole his right leg, and today marks the first day walking without crutches. finding his balance on the new prosthetic takes practice but his father is always there for him. he says that the boy was playing in the street when shrapnel hit him. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: i got a call to tell me he was injured. when i got home, he was in the hospital and seriously injured.

he was playing in the front of the house. correspondent: the fear felt for a disabled child future can be crushing. the organizations that can help in the absence of the state are a lifeline. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: this place is important. it is good we can bring him here, because now he will be able to walk and rely on himself. if this was not here, he could've been disabled his whole life, having to stay at home. correspondent: dr. cairo is the longest serving international aid worker in afghanistan. the new taliban government is the fifth regime to have come to power during his time there. he is undeterred. when the fighter slipped into town, he was here continuing his work. >> we have to stay. they have to work. if they leave, who stays? correspondent: yep, he is the exception. when the government collapsed and the taliban seized power in august, international agencies and aid workers largely left the country. the taliban has attacked,

kidnapped, killed afghan and international aid workers throughout the war, really respecting their impartiality and noncombatant status. the charity still working on the ground, securing the safety of their staff is still a major concern. they need the taliban's cooperation to be able to work in the country, something the world food program's country director says is so far happening. what is it like working with the taliban? >> they are not a homogenous group. we have to engage with them. we need access to the people in need. it is based on the humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, and humanity. they have to deal with us. we have to deal with them if we want to reach the people in need, and that is our main goal. they are giving us access to facilitating the access, but we are only two and a half months

into our new reality of what afghanistan is, so we are not sure how it will go going forward. correspondent: the taliban insists it is allowing the eqtable distribution of aid and welcomes international organizations helping alleviate hunger. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: we are in touch with international ngos, and lots of aid has arrived, and it is being distributed transparently. correspondent: while a million afghans face famine, a major issue are the sanctions against the taliban impeding support. they are still considered a terrorist group by most governments. sending money to distribute would not only break the sanctions, but help the group consolidate power. before the collapse of the afghan government, much funding was directed to the authorities in kabul, helping to pay for salaries, schoolteachers, doctors. international aid to the government afghanistan now controlled by the taliban, is develop mental.

the military need is separate. agencies like the world food program stress that their food and money goes directly to the people, bypassing authorities. >> the humanitarian financial pipeline is different from the support. the humanitarian funding comes directly to organizations like unicef so we worked directly with the communities, work with a whole host of ngos to get paid directly to the people. these people here don't go through the authorities. it is important for the international community to remember that you can support the humanitarian effort, but you must do it independently of the politics. correspondent: sending money could also end up sacrificing a vital source of leverage over the taliban. to pressure them into softening the rule, girls over 14 are not able to access education fully, in protest or any dissent is partially put down. the w fp says the 14 million

people who need emergency food right now to prevent widespread starvation could rise to 22 million in the next few months. in his decades on the ground in kabul, dr. cairo is never seen such widespread desperation. >> people should not waste the time. afghanistan must be helped now. the rest will come later, but now, especially the winter, something has to be done. hospitals are running without drugs, people have no salaries, no food. every day i receive so many patients coming, and after the physical rehabilitation they say please help me because i have nothing at all. i lost my job. i don't have any future in front of me. this is something the international community should look at now, forget the rest. correspondent: while afghanistan continues to struggle to cope with the collapse of its government and the international isolation of living under taliban rule, desperate efforts

to keep millions from the worst suffering continue. both afghans and those who remain continued to fight on in the face of enormous challenges. how do you keep going all these years, despite the setbacks? >> the work. the work is keeping me. it is the best work in the world. every day is so rewarding, but we are doing. you see people coming here, sometimes crawling, and they leave walking again with dignity. correspondent: afghanistan has been embraced, occupied, then abandoned by the wider world before. this time, it's peoe are struggling to survive the collapse of u.s.-led efforts. while the humanitarian crisis grows in the world struggles how to react, time is running out. for the pbs newshour, in kabul, afghanistan. ♪

judy: the government of cuba successfully thwarted plans for a nation-wide pro-democracy demonstration yesterday. the communist-led regime targeted organizers of the event , detaining some. surrounding the homes of others, and waging a media campaign to discredit them. we have more on the rising tensions on the island and the impact in the u.s. correspondent: judy, yesterday's planned demonstration was to build on this summer's pro-democracy protests, some of the biggest cuba has ever seen, and lead to a swift government crackdown and reports that thousands of rest. recently, our producer spoke with cuban-americans across the u.s. about what this democratic push means for them, their families, and their community. >> my name is --

i am 35 years old, live in miami, florida. was born in cuba. i am first-generation. >> i am 17 years old. i am third-generation cuban-american. >>, m 49 years young. -- i am 40 nine years young, first-generation cuban-american. my parents came from cuba and i was born in the u.s. >> my name is roberto santana junior. i was a cuban-american. it was an amazing thing to watch virtually the entire island of cuba hit the streets. it is something thank you but that is extremely risky for people to do. >> it is starting to feel similar to how it did back in the day. they are scared of who is listening. when we talk to them, everything is fine. don't worry. were seeing all the stuff on the internet, like everything is not fine. >> we were allowed political

refuge because of my mom. she was 18 and tried to escape cuba. she was jailed for two years. by 100% stand with the cuban people that are demanding their freedom in protesting and being jailed for it. >> my friend's cousin told her that she has bn keeping her two young boys in the teens and early 20's in the house because the government is giving them sticks and things to hip protesters, and they don't have a choice, so she is keeping the kids inside. >> i think with the cuban people need now more than anything is access to water, medicine, and vaccines, doctors, so however the u.s. can facilitate the cuban people getting that come with those resources, i think that is the main concern right now. >> my thought on president biden's response has been cautiously optimistic throughout. in the beginning, i was extremely glad he joined this

course of people from the left arguing that the culprit of all of this is the u.s. embargo. >> what i want to see from the administration is continued pressure, all eyes on cuba, not letting that dictatorship get away with the human rights atrocities they have for 62 ars, and most importantly, internet. >> we have to allow them to speak their voice and have access to the outside world. >> my only hope for cuba is democracy. >> i wish they would open up and allow human rights monitors, journalist, and others to walk around cuba freely. >> cuba has never been free. >> the voices of cuban-americans. we are joined now by lillian, professor of cuban and caribbean history at the university of florida. thank you for being with us. talk about how the government was able to squash yesterday's planned demonstration. they did not just crackdown on demonstrate his once they hit the streets, they prevented him from hitting the streets in the first place. >> they had in the planning

using security forces in league with the committees for defense of the revolution, which are these local watch committees that exist on every block for 30 years now. they have been pretty passive, but in the last two years, they have taken to doing things like going outing patrolling streets, like they did yesterday, and staking out the homes and keeping people under house arrest, not just for 24 hours, but for months at a time. they taunt the victims inside and intimidate the neighbors, so we had about 200 incidents of that yesterday, and it is not expected any of the back of his who organizes will be released from there soon. >> tell us about these activists, who are they? >> a lot of them are artists and intellectuals who have been in the game of protesting now for two years. this particular group that called for this protest was new

and came out of the giant lie 11 -- july 11 protest. it started on facebook, so it is internet-based. 17,000 of them are in cuba, and you have certain leaders of this, including a playwright, who has a long history of being a student activist, protested the government leadership to its face years ago, something that camera managed to photograph as he was standing on his balcony. he took out a white rose, a symbol from the piece, accord, and harmony, and the need for consensus and negotiation, so these are folks who are very committed. i think the people who are registered to protest themselves in various cities in cuba several weeks ago are also very committed, but they could not leave their homes. correspondent: what are the conditions that triggered the protest in july and plans for yesterday? >> it has been the total absence

of democracy and the inability of cubans to have choices over their lives, so that has gotten incrementally words not just with poverty rising in the economic isolation to which cuba has been subject to the sanctions of the trump administration, but has been rising in part because people can't leave the island at all. the u.s. has not been supplying consular services. the ability to get out of there has changed the nature of the game. in 2016, we ended this automatic refugee status that we granted cubans from 1966 to 2016, so you have the pressure in no safety valve of exporting dissent and discontent that the cuban ste has relied on for decades to get rid of the most vocal and talented opponents. correspondent: what can the biden administration do, and what should they do, put out a statement supporting efforts for democracy?

but what more can they do and what should they do? >> effectively, taking the side of the protesters would change very little. we need a statement of policy. we need a presence in our embassy. we need to be out there providing consular services and ending the isolation, bringing americans to cuba in any capacity. that would change the game, because they bring information, knowledge, goods, give access and inspiration entrepreneurs and activists. this is the kind of thing the cuban government cannot control, the internet, no matter what it tries. all they can do is discredit those who use it and try to criminalize their use. correspondent: thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ judy: returning to society after

incarceration would be challenging for anyone, but the difficulties only multiply for der men and women coming out of prison. we have a report on the many hurdles these individuals can face after decades behind bars. it is part of our ongoing series, searching for justice. >> how are you? >> good. correspondent: at this clinic in san francisco, her first patient of the day is melvin malcolm. >> how is your fatigue, still tired? >> yes. correspondent: he is 74 and suffers from degenerative rheumatoid arthritis and prostate cancer. they are diseases he developed while serving 38 years in prison for murder and robbery. he was released just three months ago, and so far, life on the outside has not been easy. what are some of the challenges you are facing day-to-day? >> doing things on your own.

when you are incarcerated, everything is handled for you. you are told when to eat. you're are told when to sleep. things are more or less program for you. once you come out, you have to do things on your own. it is pretty hard to get used to doing that. >> hold out your arm for me, please. correspondent: he says the health care now is better than in prison, but nearly four decades behind bars has taken a toll. >> i have degenerative rheumatoid arthritis, as you can see by my hands. i am about to have, i think, knee surgery. my feet are really bad. correspondent: did anything else in your visits come up? she says he is a typical patient here, a national network of 50 nonprofit health clinics that serve people post incarceration. >> 66% of people have been 30 or more years in the state prison

system. what we know is people age more quickly when they are incarcerated, so we actually think that people 55 and older who have been in the system. correspondent: 20 years ago, people 55 and older made up 3% of the prison population. today, more than 10%. one major reason? tough on crime policies that lead to longer prison sentences. >> when people come out of prison or jail, everything is in the air the same time, but it is more difficult for older adults, people who have been apart from the community for longer, have less connections in the community, less social support, have more challenges addressing their needs. correspondent: the team at transitions tries to meet the most pressing needs, not just medical. there is technology training. help getting ids and documentation. >> they did not put my middle

name on the id card. correspondent: and access to food. >> chicken is ok. correspondent: a key part of this team is people who know what reentry after prison is like, like this 58-year-old who battled addiction and was in and out of prison during his 20's on drug charges. >> imagine somebody has been locked up for 20, 30, 40 years. it is good to have somebody help you guide you along. >> is this your first time? >> no, but the first time i'm going to get a refill. correspondent: he has been working at transitions for 15 years as a community health worker, and spends time building connections and trust with patients often skeptical of the system. why do you think they trust you? >> because they know i came from the same place they came from. i have been in their shoes before. i also know how scary it is just getting out.

and especially you get out and you don't have any family support or anything, it is really tough. correspondent: for older adults exiting prison with this level of support is rare. a few clinics like this exist across the country, and the ones that do are often in urban areas, where people who need longer-term medical care, but the options are more limited. >> being away for a while, i was really scared. correspondent: she suffers from mental health disorders and the swelling of the arms and legs. she served 17 years in prison for murder. she asked us not to use her last name. >> i had ptsd and deep depression. i was very, very disturbed. correspondent: in 2019, she was released and discharged to 60 west, a privately owned nursing home and 95 beds. opened in 2013, it is funded mainly by the state of

connecticut and its medicaid system. many residents here are formerly incarcerated. >> finding their history is easy now in the social world. correspondent: this administrator says nursing homes are often reluctant to accept residents who have committed serious crimes. >> the person could be the picture that nursing home appropriate, but they may not be given a chance. that is why 60 west was created, stigma-free living. them if this place -- correspondent: if this place was not here, where would you have gone? what are your options? >> i don't know. probably a shelter. correspondent: her story is not uncommon at 60 west. after 33 years in prison for murder, mike landed here in 2016. he is 70, battling clinical depression and diabetes. his right leg was amputated from

a systemic infection he got in prison. >> this place is ideal for me, because it helps me get my social security straightened out, find a place to live, get my medical supplies taken care of. i did not know how much of a benefit this place would be, but it is a fantastic benefit. >> people wonder why should a place is nice as this be made available? they committed very serious, violent crimes? >> the only alternative to me being here is being left in the streets, so i am kind of blessed that way, but it wi not last forever. eventually thi place will fill up again. correspondent: he is navigating his next hurdle. >> i am stuck. my hands are tied. correspondent: his bed is in high demand, with more in need. >> the only reason i am still

here the last three years because i can't find an apartment. and i can't find an apartment because they apply and it says i have a police record and they will not accept me. i am trying hard to get out of here. i certainly don't want to take up anybody else's space. correspondent: and jessica says because the cost of care inside prisons is so high, this is a more cost-effective approach with state of connecticut. >> having us open safes the taxpayers annually. -- saves the taxpayers annually. we can provide care in a more efficient manner and ultimately, it cost less money. correspondent: 60 west is explorg ways to replicate this model, as the nation grapples with how to care for this aging population. judy: and, how are searching for just a series continues tomorrow with a look at one woman's fight

to overcome her past and background check. ♪ a new exhibit in southern california showcases an integral part of korean-american history. it was only uncovered a few years ago. we look at the decades-long path to discovering's the nation first koreatown as part of our arts and culture series. stephanie: edward chang, professor of ethnic studies at the university of california at riverside says the accidental discovery of america's first koreatown began with a little map from 1908. if you look closely at the tiny script. >> it says korean settlement were you did not know there is a korean settlement, is that like striking gold? >> yes, it is.

it is amazing to find out it was a korean settlement in riverside . stephanie: it turns out to be the largest enclave of koreans, way before koreatown sprung up in los angeles and san francisco. he knew that early korean immigrants to the u.s. worked in's riverside orange groves, including an independence leader. he had no idea that he had founded a whole community of korean immigrants here. he credits two graduate student interns for their translation of old korean newspapers to confirm what historians had previously overlooked. it turns out you find a newspaper article where it describes this korean village in riverside as the first koreatown in the u.s.? >> yes, the october 14, 1910

article, said riverside, the camp is the first korean settlement in the u.s. stephanie: newspaper articles, archival photos, and a few pressure records are on exhibit at uc riverside's art museum through january, the only physical evidence of the unique community. >> not only korean settlements, but the majority of asian-americans at the time, they were known as the bachelors society, where's the camp, it was family-based community, with women, children, working side-by-side with her husband. stephanie: he says up to 300 people lived in the camp in the early 1900s. what also made it different is the founder wanted it to be a model community, with an emphasis on so-called positive virtues. >> all the women were, have to wear a white dress, and the men

were forbidden from drinking, smoking, gambling. stephanie: he hoped to garner respect in a society hostile to asians. >> back then, the asian-american immigrants, their life was second-class citizens, by law and culturally, and every which way, it was legal to discriminate against asians, until the 1960's. stephanie: it was also a living experiment that coincided with the green movement to call for independence from japan, which ruled korea starting in 1905. >> so it was experimentation democracy, truly representing for the people, by the people. it is in evergreen cemetery. stephanie: he found the gravestone of the community pastor, who he learned was also

a pro-independence activist. in fact, korean immigrants were organizing for independence right here in riverside, california, another piece of history long buried. a photo from 1911 found showed political delegates gathered for a convention. riverside's gauge canal is in the foreground, proof he says that the significance of the independence movement. >> they passed 21 articles of governance. stephanie: one reasons historians may have previously overlooked the camp, it was short-lived, lasting less than 15 years. a deep-freeze at the orange trees that riverside in 1913, in most citrus workers went to other california farming towns in search of work. but the previously unknown significance of the camp may also have to do with the erasure

of their contributions to history which is why he calls the research the most important of his career. why was it gratifying? >> because it filled the void, a vacuum of korean-american history, asian-american history. i am uncovering the buried past of our legacy. stephanie: so this is it? >> yeah, that is a designation, city of riverside, they designated this area as a point of cultural interest. stephanie: the camp may have been a blip in history, but he says up everyone. as an asian american, there is something empowering about seeing these photos. did you get that sense when you discovered this? >> yes, despite all this hardship, they were willing to not only devote themselves for the betterment of the community they belong to, but also the

independence of korea. ok, this is a statue of -- stephanie: he says that exhibit has attracted korean scholars now re-examining their nation's movement. -- independence movement. judy: another important part of our history. online right now, we are answering questions about the covid vaccine for kids on our instagram feed. you can find those and more on the news or page on instagram. that is the newshour tonight. i am judy woodruff. join us online in here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the "pbs newshour," thank you. stay safe. announcer: major funding has been provided by -- >> the landscape has changed. not for the last time. the rules of business are being reinvented with a more flexible workforce, by embracing

innovation, looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. resilience is the ability to pivot again and again for whatever happens next. announcer: people who know no bdo. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ announcer: consumer cellular, johnson & johnson, financial services firm raymond james, bnsf railway, carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement , and the advancement of international peace and security, at carnegie.org. the target foundation, committed to advancing racial equity in creating the change required to 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 pbs newshour west, from washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ ♪ announcer:

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