captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, deadly storms-- several states begin the recovery process after devastating tornadoes kill dozens, destroy hundreds of homes and leave thousands powerless. then, a major settlement-- the abuse victims of former doctor larry nassar reach a multi- million dollar deal with usa gymnastics after a years-long legal battle. and, america addicted-- new york city becomes first in the country to open safe consumption centers, where people can use illicit drugs under supervision in hopes of reducing overdose deaths. >> if we don't create spaces like this, if we don't acknowledge that people are using drugs and create safe

spaces, then we'll continue to lose people we love. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planning and advice for today, and tomorrow.

>> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> the chan-zuckerberg initiative. working to build a more healthy, just and inclusive future for everyone. at czi.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs

station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the death toll has reached 74 in kentucky, three nights after a swarm of tornadoes struck. at least 14 people died in arkansas, illinois, missouri and tennessee, but the worst was in mayfield, in far southwestern kentucky. william brangham is in mayfield, and begins our coverage. >> brangham: this is what's remains of michael and debra lynn long's home after a series of powerful tornadoes ripped through kentucky and five other states on friday night. dozens of kentuckians are confirmed dead, thousands remain without power, and countless homes and buildings have been completely leveled. >> we went out on the back porch and we heard a sound that sounded like a train coming.

and it sounded like the wrath of god coming down upon you. it was horrific. >> brangham: michael long says he and debra lynn survived the terrifying night, down in the basement, clinging to the walls of their house in dawson springs, kentucky. once the storm had passed, he told his wife to brace herself for what she was about to see. >> once it cleared up, i stuck my head out the back door and so i told her i said, you got to be prepared because i think when we go upstairs, there's not going to be nothing. and sure enough, it wasn't much left. >> brangham: this was the deadliest tornado outbreak in the u.s. in a decade. while deaths have been confirmed in five states, kentucky suffered by far the worst damage and the greatest loss of life. one tornado in kentucky was on the ground for more than 220 miles, leaving a violent trail of destruction in its wake. in kentucky, search and rescue operations are ongoing, and dogs are being deployed hoping to find the more than 100 people who remain missing.

>> just a few more facts about those we've lost. >> brangham: kentucky's governor andy beshear got emotional today describing those who've died. >> the age range is five months to 86 years, and six are younger than 18. >> brangham: rescuers are also searching through the rubble of a candle factory in mayfield, kentucky, where more than 100 people were working an overnight shift when a twister hit. but governor beshear said the factory's death toll could end up being lower than originally feared. >> eight are dead, we found eight bodies, and eight are missing. we feared much, much worse and again i pray that it is accurate. >> brangham: president biden has declared a major federal disaster in kentucky.

>> i spoke with the governor several times thus far. i stand ready to do the same with governors from other states. >> brangham: elsewhere in mayfield, workers continue to clean out buildings downtown, as residents struggle to grasp the devastation. >> this was a restaurant right here. and as you can see, there's nothing left of it. >> brangham: wayne flint owned a family restaurant in this small western kentucky town. he'll have to rebuild his business from scratch. >> so, we're just gonna clean it up, and throw it all away, and start again. that's all any of us can do here, you know, because there is nothing worth keeping, you know? >> brangham: in illinois, one of the tornadoes blasted through an amazon warehouse in edwardsville, killing at least six workers. search efforts are still underway for additional victims. most of the people on-site at

the warehouse were contractors, brought on for the web giant's christmas rush. back in dawson springs, kentucky, michael long told us he was able to recover one of his most cherished possessions: >> i mean, things like this matters to me. it was my uncles, their world >> brangham: the purple heart his uncle earned when he was killed in world war ii. for debra lynn, who lost her first home to hurricane katrina sixteen years ago, this second loss feels like a curse. >> i feel like most of my life i haven't had a home. >> brangham: michael admits that the road ahead will be hard. he's not worried about what's been lost, he's grateful for what he still has. >> i still got my granddaughters. i got my daughters. i got my grandson and my wife, and everybody's alive and we're okay. we can rebuild. >> we can rebuild, that is the thing that we have heard from so many people around here, as long as my family is safe, as long as i am healthy and alive, things

are just things. we can replace these houses, we can replace these businesses, given the extent of the destruction here it is amazing that we haven't seen more people lose their lives. i know those inches are still changing, but it does seem that the early washings that this-- warnings that this community got from meteorologists and local news and local officials convinced enough people to get out or to certificate withiously hunker down, and that is why they are alive alive today. >> woodruff: the destruction, william, is just beyond describing but we saw that you and your team also were in mayfield, kentucky today. give us more of a sense of what you are seeing there. >> are you absolutely right, judy. i mean i don't even know if this video that we have been filming can show how bad the destruction. is we are in the town of mayfield right now and it is like an angry, vengful giant tore through this community, smashing buildings, tearing down

power lines, uprooting trees, throwing cars. we saw a car yesterday that no one in the given neighborhood knew where that car had come from. it had traveled on the wind that far. i talked to a guy today who was a civilian contractor in iraq and he said of all the bombings campaigns i saw, none of the devastation looked like it lookedere in kentucky. so it is just a-- it's really hard to put into words what this community is gointhrough and how they are trying to bounce back from that. there is of course an army of volunteers and officials and people trying to put the power lines back up and put christmas trees and wreathes back on the doors. but it is a very, very scary proposition for a lot of them. i talked with a local county commissioner named tyler goodman earlier today, here is how he described the road ahead. >> st difficult because if you look around, you know, you kind of think where do i start. you have buildings that have been here for over a hundred, 150 years and weathered storms

and homes and businesses. and to see the destruction like that, it is hard to think well, how are we going to deal with this in a week, a month, a year. but i think things will return to normal. it will just take some time and take a lot of work. >> that's right, judy, there is the support that is here. they are overwhelmed with support but it is going to it be a very, very long road. >> woodruff: so hard to see all of this. william, we know president biden has declared, has signed emergency deck laration for ken-- declaration and is asking federal agencies to look into any link between these term tornadoes and climate change. what is known at this point about the link there? brz. >> brangham: this is a big to does of research. and the evidence right now is just not that clear. we do know that climate change and a warming at toes mere is driving heat waves and intensifying storms and forest fires and drought. the evidence for those things is quite clear. the evidence for tornadoes and

making tornadoes worse is not as clear. it may very well be but we just don't know yet. >> woodruff: bril yang brangham reporting for from kentucky, thank you very >> woodruff: for a closer look at how officials in kentucky are dealing with all of this, let's turn now to the state's lieutenant governor jacqueline coleman. she joins us from frankfort. frankfort, thank you very much for joining us, we are so sorry for the loss of life in your state. >> judy, thank you so much for having me, for shedding light on the damage that has been done here in kentucky. and i have to tell you that i've been out in the counties that have been devastated, and the only thing that comes close to rivalling the devastation that we are seeing is the since of community that we see from neighborings helping neighbors, help coming in from across the state. and honestly, help coming in from across the country. and it's something that i want everyone to know that we will

never forget. >> woodruff: i know you have to be so grateful for that. give us a sense of where things stand now that we are what, 72 hours, roughly, from when these tornadoes hit. >> so what i will have to say is governor beshear is a swift, sted fast, compassionate leader. and that has shown through the last few years as we, you know, got through covid but certainly it is apparent now. he immediately declared a state of emergency. was be o the phone with the president. and the president declared a national state of emergency, in as quick a turn around as any of us have ever seen. this is what you want to see, when you know that your friends and loved ones and fellow kentuckyans are in need, that government is actually showing up for them. and so at this point we have operationallized about 440 national guardsmen and women to the area. we have set up a nd and raised over $4 million so far to help

victims of the storm damage. and i will give you that website. it is-- when asked if your viewers feel compelled or wondered how they can help, that is a great way to help us get resources on the ground. >> woodruff: we heard from my colleague william brangham about the devastation there in mayfield and dawson springs. for people who don't know western kentucky where this is has hit so badly, give us a sense of what you have seen, what you know is on the ground. what people are going through there. >> it is, honestly, it's hard to put into words when you see the destruction and you think of homes and shelters in mid december. and beyond that i'm a mother and i think about how christmas is two weeks away and what is going to happen to kids and families as their traditions are tragically going to have to

change this year. but what i can tell you is what we are seeing on the ground ask neighbors helping neighbors. >> i was actually in taylor county, this morning. taylor county is not western kentucky ken but 70 homes from destroyeded in cay letter-- taylor county. and when i was there a gentleman, the wife of a gentleman who was pulling his neighbors out from under the be rubble at night was telling me the story how he left his home, once the storm cleared and yelled for his neighbors, the house had caved in on top of them, they were in their basement and he was physically pulling them out. he did it to two or three of the surrounding homes. and come to find out he's a bus driver for the local school district. so it is our every day her o-- heroes that are showing up and they are saving people's lives, what is what is happening on the ground here. >> woodruff: that has to be so heartening.

my colleague william brangham, something he said to us struck me. he said it a pers that the early warnings that people had, even though the time was not that long, did make a difference. is that your sense of-- that that is the case as well? >> i will say that some of the reports that i have heard from folks who live in far west, kentucky, were absolutely lauding their local weather men and women and weather services for the fact that they were helping those folks to stay ahead of this. and providing all of the information through every portal of communication that they have. to make sure that people had a warning. >> and is there, i mean at this early stage, lt. governor coleman, is there a sense of what you want to do the next time there is-- is there something more that you know the state needs to do whether it is reinforcing buildings or

improving the warning systems, what is your sense of that? >> you know, i have to be honest with you. at this moment what our number one focus and priority is, is strying to find folks who are unaccounted for and so as the days pass and we take one step and day at a timek you can believe that we're going to be evaluating decisions that were made. and structural damage that we see and learning from those things. but right now our focus is certainly on returning folks to their families and helping families grieve who have lost lovedded ones, this is a layered approach, right, and then we start to clean up and then we start to rebuild and then we start to look at long-term support and i want folks to know that we are in this for the long haul, this is not something that is going to be easy stvment not going to be quick but it is something that i know that the governor is committed for the

long haul. >> completely understandable that those are the priorities. we understand right now over a hundred people still unaccounted for. lt. governor jacqueline coleman, thank you very much. and we wish you the best as you work to find all these people. >> thank you so much. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the nation passed 50 million confirmed cases of covid-19 since the pandemic began, with deaths near 800,000. that came as california re-imposed a mask mandate in indoor public spaces -- amid rising cases caused by the new "omicron" variant. and, the u.s. supreme court declined to block new york state's covid vaccine mandate for health care workers. and, the u.s. air force discharged 27 people for refusing to get vaccinated. that's believed to be a first

for any of the armed services. meanwhile, in britain, people lined up at vaccination centers for booster shots, after prime minister boris johnson warned the new omicron variant is spreading fast. >> sadly, at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with omicron. so, i think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, i think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognize the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. >> woodruff: british health officials now predict the omicron variant will surpass delta as the dominant strain in a matter of days. sheriff's investigators in the houston area searched today for a gunman, after a drive-by shooting killed one person and wounded at least 13. the gunfire erupted sunday evening in baytown. a crowd there was holding a vigil for a man shot and killed in a previous incident.

in hong kong, a court sentenced media tycoon jimmy lai to 13 months in jail. he was charged with promoting a vigil that marked china's bloody crackdown on the tiananmen square democracy movement in 1989. lai is already serving another jail term for participating in pro-democracy protests back in this country, the biden administration proposed building 500,000 charging stations nationwide for electric vehicles. states will start construction next year, using $5 billion included in the new infrastructure law. vice president harris laid out the strategy today, at a charging facility in maryland. energy secretary jennifer granholjoined in. >> we have to get these charging stations out in every pocket of the country particularly in areas where the private sector has not felt it was to their best advantage to go so in rural

areas, in poorer areas where we haven't seen a penetration of electric vehicles. we gotta get them everywhere. >> woodruff: president biden has set a goal of making half of all new car and truck sales electric, by 2030. a major winter storm moved across much of drought-stricken california today, with heavy rain, high winds and heavy mountain snow. in northern california, snow plows cleared roads in lassen national park on sunday. the system could dump eight feet of snow at high elevations. southern california could see flooding and mud slides. there's a tentative settlement involving sexual abuse victims in the "boy scouts of america" bankruptcy case. attorneys say a major insurer will contribute $800 million into a trust fd for some 82,000 claimants. the fund, which includes funds already gathered, would then total more than $2.6 billion, the largest sexual abuse

settlement in u.s. history. and, on wall street, new jitters about the latest covid variant sent major stock indexes down nearly 1% or more. the dow jones industrial average lost 320 points to close at 35,651. the nasdaq fell 217 points. the s&p 500 slipped 43. still to come on the newshour: nursing homes struggle to administer booster shots and keep their occupants safe from covid 19. tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political news, and much more.

>> woodruff: after a five-year legal battle, usa gymnastics, the u.s. olympic and paralympic committee and their insurance companies reached a settlement with the victims of former physician larry nassar. john yang has the details. the settlement, totaling $380 million, is one of the largest ever awarded in a sexual abuse case. >> yang: judy, the money will go to hundreds of athletes, including olympic gold medalists simone biles, aly raisman and mckayla maroney. they and others were abused by nassar when he was the u.s. women's team doctor. the two sides have been negotiating since 2018, when nassar was sentenced to an effective life sentence and usa gymnastics filed for bankruptcy protection. christine brennan is a columnist for "usa today" who has long covered olympic sports.

thanks for joining us, this set will-- settlement has been a long time comingk what is the significants to you? >> john, for me it's the end of a terrible chapter, certainly not the end of the story. but st a significant development. and as rachel, who was the first courageous gymnast to come forward ad start this story of abuse, she said today rachel van hollander, i think is the perfect person to quote that this is an important step and she said to get money, actual money to these survivors, many of them need it for mental health issues for all the depression and other trauma that they have dealt with. something we don't often think of is actually that money is going to the people who need it. and she said it's time has come to do that and i think that is a big part of the story as well as the fact that u.s.a. gymnastics is now going to have a survivor

on its board and there will be many other inroads that are mandated to actually have survivors playing a role in the leadership of this governing body for gymnastics. and i think hopefully that is a model for other organizations moving forward. >> and as you say these years of struggles, years of abuse and trauma, years of the fallout of that trauma, and yet this team has been so successful. what does that say about the resilience of these young women. >>. >> if we're looking for heroes, they are right there. they have been there all along. not only perform sog beautifully on the field of play at the olympic games, winning gold metal medals, national anthem, red white and blue, the flag, for themselves as well, but also in senate and house hearing rooms, fielting the battle for themselves and also so many other survivors and those who are victims of sexual abuse. and the it is scuch a scourge in our country and you look at

simone biles and aly raisman and so many others, they are the true heroes and the fact they have had to go through this over an over again to get to this point ask just horrifying, that the story had to be told over and over before everyone had to wake up and the lawyers stopped fighting and everyone said okay, here is the settlement and they did it and kept doing it and they are role models for te ages, no doubt about it. >> you said this may be the end of a chapter, but not the end-of-a story. last week another coach tom forcer the high performance coach for the team resigned and after that simone biles tweeted wait until y'all realize the problem with u.s.a. g, u.s.a. gymnastics isn't tom. is enough done, is more going to have to be done, do you think? >> i think that the stiplations that were put in place, of having survivors involved in the leadership of u.s.a. gymnastics is a start. i don't think anyone is poly anna enough to think it is over and the problems are solved. this is a huge problem.

throughout sports, throughout life, church, schools, you name it. but i think the fact that simone biles is so emboldened to speak out while winning gold medals and world chirps, i think that is the positive that we can hope that this spotlight that has been shining on the organization, on the athletes, on the survivor also eventually make some change. but no, i think there are always questions and i think those questions do exist and it st valuable to keep asking them even in the months, years and decades to come. >> christine brennan of "u.s.a. today," thank you very much. >> john, thank you. >> woodruff: the united states is approaching a grim milestone of the pandemic, as the nationwide death toll approaches 800,000. as amna nawaz explains, the vast majority of those deaths are among the elderly, and there are

concerns about their risks increasing once again >> nawaz: that's right judy. older americans have borne the brunt of the pandemic death toll. people 65 and up make up 75% of all covid deaths in the u.s., or 600,000 of those nearly 800,000 deaths. younger americans, 45 to 64, make-up 21%. those 45 and below are just 4% of all deaths. meanwhile, among some of the most vulnerable americans, nursing home residents, just 51% have gotten a booster shot. for more on this, i'm joined by david grabowski. he's a professor of health care policy at harvard medical school. david, welcome back to the newshour, thanks for making the time. that number is just staggering to think about. but there is a big range in that group, 65 and older, so who are we really talking about. who is making up the bulk of that death toll? >> absolutely, the individuals making up the bulk of the deaths

among older adults are those oldest, individuals 85 and older, individuals with comorbiddities cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes. they are also typically individuals living in nursing homes and the congregate living environments are actually the perfect storm for the spread of covid. you haved individuals often sharing a roomk sharing a bathroom, communal dining and activities, so all of these features lead to those big outbreaks we've all read about. >> what is going on in nursing homes now, i know the cdc has shared some concern over low vaccination rates among people who work in those nursing homes. i think nursing ohms and long-term care facilities is only 36% of those aides are fully vaccinated. is that contributing it to this? >> that is absolutely contributing to this. we see a huge range in the vacs naig rates of staff around the country. some facilities, let's be very clear, are doing quite well.

they have vaccination rates among caregivers up above 80 or 90%. however we have far too many facilities that are really lagging behind. and we didsome research recently suggesting that variation in the vaccination rate of the staff is actually a big explanation for why we see such differences in fatal iterates among residents across facilities. we estimated over the summer of 2021 if you could have brought all of those facilities up to 80% vaccination rates among their staff, would you have saved 700 lives among residents, that is a huge number, amna, that is half of all fatalities over the summer, could have been prevented if we could have d our staff better vaccinated. >> nawaz: let's talk about vaccination rates among older americans, people 65 and up it is one of the most highly vaccinated groups in the country. what about booster shots, have we had the same level of yup tick. >> we haven't, unfortunately. so the federal government did something very central

identified and orderly about originally vaccinating our residents. they brought the clinics to the facilities. and this lead to pretty high vaccination rates nationally, about 85 pergs of our residents in nursing homes are vaccinated. in terms of boosters, however, we have taken a destrallized approach to leave it up to the facilities to vaccinate the residents and abo half of all those vaccinated residents have gotten their booster shots. and once again huge variation from facility to facility. we can do better here. we really need the push here, as you have noted, these are the most vulnerable americans, these are the ones most in need of that, we need to get those done as soon as possible. >> david, there are folks who look at the numbers and say much course it is older americans because the older you get, the more likely you are to die from some kind of complication so we shouldn't pay too much attention to these numbers, what do you make of that? >> i find that incredibly offensive. every life is valuable. these are our parent,

grandparents living in these nursing homes. we need to protect them as much as we need to protect every american. let's not fall into this aegis approach we have taken in the past. let's respect everyone, let's get them vaccinated. let's get the staff vaccinated, every life is valuable. that would be my response. >> david, finally, i want to make this clear to everybody with the graphic, when you can see over the life of in pandemic what has happened when you look at people 65 and older. those are total u.s. covitd deaths, that orange part is just a part of the population, 65 and older. you can sigh the ups and downs. the wave in the first spring when vaccinations starts to come online t starts to dip slowly over time but in the end it it is starting to creep back up what do you think about people gathering grandparents, older loved ones look at that and think about what is ahead. >> it is really important that we get together but it is important to get together safely so we need to be vaccinated. we need to get our booster

shots. we need to do testing and we need to take precautions, obviously. i think visiting an older family member in a nursing home, getting together for the holidayings, these are really important activities but we need to do them safely and that would be my advice to balance both, the community we all need this time of year with safety. >> good advice. that is david grabowski, of health care policy at harvard medical school. always good to see you, thank you. >> thanks. >> woodruff: it has been five months since gunmen assassinated haitian president jovenel moise. authorities have arrested 45 people, but charged none of them with a crime. this weekend the "new york times" detailed a possible motive: moise was collecting here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: jovenel moise was a political unknown before

becoming haiti's president in 2017. but in july, a hit squad walked into moise's house unchallenged by his security, and assassinated him. he had been presiding over a country compared to a narco- state, rampant with drug smuggling, corruption, and widespread impunity-from powerful gangs to oligarchs to the government itself. moise was a product of that world. but as the "new york times" reports, he was also apparently taking major steps to reveal it. the article was written by maria abi-habib, who joins us via skype. welcome to the newshour, tell us what information was moise preparing and what was he intending to do with it? >> well, jovenel moise was preparing a document that basically broke down the intricate network of drug trafficking and arms struggling-- smuggling and also the powerful people whether the oligarchs or plitd kal figures who support those networks. and he was preparing to hand it

over to the u.s. government. >> so if i understand the story, let's take a step back. how entrenched is the drug trade and other he illicit businesses inside haiti's government. and what was prident moise's predecessor's relationship with those groups? >> well, michelle martelli had people around him that had always been suspected of being narco traffickers, some in nail for narco trafficking. one of the people around him who was hugely influential in mar tell ty's cabinet and also president moise is a man named charles pico st. remy, pico bg his nick naim. pico is the brother-in-law of michelle mar telli. and also is a suspected drug dealer according to dea people we have spoken with and also haitian police, is he suspected to be one of the biggest

actually in haiti. >> schifrin: so how much did martelli consider moise a kind of place holder who would continue the status quo? >> very much so. i mean from what we understand that is exactly why moise was lifted from the unknown, a poor haitian guy with peasant origins tapped on the shoulder by michelle martelli, the way martelli's associates said it was michelle was truck by his brilliance and entrepreneur but what our reporters is that moise knew a lot of the people who were very close to michelle mar tz-- mitchel martelli for years, he was allegedly in business with him and others that are suspected drug traffickers who were close do michel. >>e was it to have been a loyal successor but turned against some of martelli's corrupt allies, how important were some of the steps moise was

taking, a crackdown on the fishing trade, nallizing the seaport, closing down airstrips that facilitating drug trafficking. >> incredibly important, you have to remember that moise was supposed fob a place holder because the constitution of haiti got presidents running for two consecutive terms so michel martelli allegedly tapped it him on the shoulder, keep the bench warm for me for five years then campaign for me and these national elections are due next year. so when moise started to turn against the very people who brought him into power through things like this airstrip that we identify in the middle of the country, place-- that allegedly got up to 4,000 kilos of cocaine between may and june delivered from possibly venezuela or colombia, he moved on the eel industry which we understand from various sources pico st. remy had cornered and is under investigation nows a money laundering conduit, this started to actually really hit where it

hurts which is your wallet. and you can't have a political future without a big, fat chunk of change in your pocket. >> schifrin: moise himself of course has been accused of having his own corruption before becoming president. there were questions of how much money was in his bank account compared to his income and as president, connections to powerful gangs. wasn't eben fitting from the very system that you report he was trying to destroy. >> yeah, for sure. what we have been told by several people who served in his government and were loyal friends through and through was that moise really turned a blind eye to the corruption that was happening it in in his government because he wanted to be able to do his own things like provide electricity. provide infrastructure. but there were corruption allegations around this man. we should not lionize approximate moise at all smz finally inside haiti has the investigation stalled? >> well, certainly haitian officials say no, the investigation hasn't stalled but

we believe otherwise. from what we understand people are incredibly nervous. they are not willing to come forward. so people don't really have a lot of faith in the haitian judicial system. and the thinking is okay, even if we don't like moise, he wasn't a great president, if we can't solve who killed this head of state, then how can regular haitians live their lives expecting to have a fair shake, essentially jz maria abi-habib, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: since last spring, more than 100,000 americans have died of drug overdoses, many caused by the extremely potent opioid, fentanyl. to try to save lives, officials are searching for solutions. the most recent are authorized centers where people can use illegal drugs under supervision. just before william brangham traveled to cover the tornadoes

in kentucky, he and his team were granted rare access into the two, brand new sites in new york city, the first of their kind in america. and a warning: there are scenes of illicit drug use in this report. >> brangham: inside this harlem building is the latest and most controversial strategy yet to save people from overdosing. >> so welcome to the overdose prevention site at n.y.h.r.e., >> brangham: they're called“ safe consumption sites,” where anyone can use their own illegal drugs under the watchful eye of medically trained staff who'll step in if something goes wrong. everything you need is here for free, including ways to test drugs for fentanyl. >> this is all the clean equipment people can use. >> brangham: kailin see helps runs this site, and a second one a few miles away. >> so these are for methamphetamine, these are for crack inhalation, mouth pieces,

>> brangham: this man let us film him as he prepared a shot of heroin. he said he's been using since he was 16, but just started injecting a few years ago. when you first heard that this was going to open up, this facility-- what did it-- what was your reaction? >> i didn't think it was gonna open up. sounded too good to be true. >> brangham: really? >> yeah, you gotta understand that the majority of us don't really want to be here. i can only tell you about me. you know, i'm here because i really needed their help, and they gave me the help i needed. >> i would say that you have no chance to live the life you want for yourself if you don't survive an overdose. and i would say that everybody that uses this site is somebody's child or mother or husband or wife, and every single one of those people has a right to live. and if we don't create spaces like this, if we don't acknowledge that people are using drugs in the united states and create safe spaces, then

we'll continue to lose people we love. >> we want people to be able to use locally. we want people to feel safe and welcome, where they want to feel safe and welcome. >> brangham: sam rivera is the executive director of onpoint- nyc, the non-profit that runs these sites. he says these places meet drug users' immediate needs, but can then help them onto a different path, like drug treatment, when they're ready. >> we're keeping people alive so that when, i say when, when they have the opportunity to believe they're in a place to reduce their drug use, or really see themselves for who they are inside, they can be here to do that. >> brangham: while these two are the first such sites in america, there are an estimated 120 others like them around the world, in canada, europe and australia. so, do they work as intended? >> there are certainly some we do know that if someone has

an overdose in the site, there are people there to save them, and that is unquestionably a good thing. and many people have had overdoses reversed. there's not a lot of evidence, though, that they reach many people or that they change a community's overdose rate very much. >> brangham: keith humphreys studies drug policy at stanford university, and was a senior drug policy advisor in the obama administration. he says more research is needed into how often these sites guide people into drug treatment. >> that is stated a lot, although it hasn't really been demonstrated very much that people, in fact, are more likely to go to treatment when one of these sites opens. so i'm skeptical that that would increase the likelihood of entering treatment. >> brangham: alsane mezon is one of the staffers here who watches over people as they use. what do you say to people who look at this and they think-- you're not helping get those

people into treatment, really, you're just making it easier for them to, in essence, kill themselves. >> it's easy to judge when it's easy to put down a person that's trying to do something that you don't understand. but you can't ask someone who's on the front lines trying to save lives, you know, “stop saving lives.” you don't say that to a fireman who goes in and saves someone in a crack house. you won't say that to them. you don't question it. you just do it. >> brangham: new york's mayor and city health department approved these sites, and say they are privately funded. the n.y.p.d. told us they have no plans to target anyone connected to them. but, just like the wave of marijuana legalization going on in the states, these two sites in new york might be authorized locally, but are likely illegal under federal law. the “controlled substances act” contains a provision that makes it illegal to rent, own or operate any facility for the specific purpose of using illegal drugs. and in 2019, when philadelphia tried to open a similar site,

the department of justice, under president trump, sued to stop it, and that center never opened. while the biden administration supports proven interventions like needle exchanges and methadone treatment it hasn't said anything about these supervised injection sites. the department of justice wouldn't give us any comment on its current position. >> it's actually a heroin shooting gallery, and that's really what it is. it is a community center for heroin addicts to go and shoot up under supervision, which i think is crazy. >> brangham: republican congresswoman nicole malliotakis represents nearby staten island, new york. she sent a letter to attorney general merrick garland asking the d.o.j. to close these“ unlawful” sites. >> i don't see this ending in a good place. it's just going to further deteriorate communities. it's going to further attract the criminal element. drug dealers are goingo know where to go to get clients. i think it's a very dangerous, slippery slope.

and i feel that what you're doing is you're enabling somebody's habit. >> brangham: another concern that's raised is where these sites are located. a group of long-time harlem residents complain that new york city over many years has put too many drug treatment sites in one small area, becoming a magnet for crime and disorder. >> i saw them dealing drugs. it was unbelievable! >> they've been just dumping these types of facilities in black and brown areas because they get less political support. >> brangham: syderia asberry- chresfield has lived in harlem for 30 years and helped organize local protests. >> it's systemic racism. this has been going on for decades, it's medical redlining. and i'm not blaming the patients because that's a mental illness. i totally understand and i get it, but it's still something that the community shouldn't have to experience on a daily basis.

>> brangham: for the people running the two centers in new york city, they're trying to keep the political fights at bay, and stay focused on the work at hand. >> brangham: and in the end, what do you want for all the people who come here? >> i want them to find peace, find help, education and maybe a way out. different, which has happened. so when i see that, i know: i know i'm in the right place, and doing the right thing, for the right people. >> brangham: in the nearly two weeks these sites have been open, the non-profit running them say 330 people have used them, and 36 people have been resuscitated from overdoses. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham in new york city.

>> woodruff: the house january 6th committee is beginning this week with a meeting on whether to recommend contempt charges against another donald trump associate for defying its subpoenas. this time, the subjects mark meadows, who was chief of staff to the former president. here to dissect tonight's key committee meeting and other political news, are amy walter of "the cook political report with amy walter," and tamara keith of npr. >> and hello to boft you on this monday night, very good to see you, so let's talk about this, this january 6th committee, tam, they are meeting tonight. it is an evening session. they are having. this committee has already gone through the procession of finding steve bannon in contempt of congress. they are working on jeffrey clark, the justice department officials, now comes mark meadows, how significantly

different or alike is this one. >> this is different in some ways because meadows before he wasn't cooperating actually was cooperating and turned over 6,000-- more than 6,000 cases of documents, 2000 text messages, and in the documents that the committee released ahead of this hearing, they id out some of what was in those documents. but it is tragmented. it is-- there are little bits, there is a message where he says that the national guard will protect protrump people. but what you are missing is the context, the kind of context that could come from testimony. but is he no longer cooperating. he is invoking executive privilege or invoking president trump, former president trump's executive privilege with president biden, has said is not a matter that he is concerning himself with. he thinks that privilege should be waved because this is so important. but this is different because

meadows was actually a close advisor to the president at the time as opposed to steve bannon who was a podcast host. >> woodruff: right. and amy, obviously the legal course we will watch but there is also the political course. >> there is the legal course which could drag all the way to the end of next year and of course that means they basically run out the clock. on this hearing. and the political course is one that we obviously spend a lot of times thinking about. but with this issue like so many, judy, the battle lines have already been drawn where voters have made their decisions, of how they feel about what happened on january 6th, the leadup to january 6th. and it's hard to believe that these hearings are going to change any minds or opinions regardless of who subpoenaed or who comes and talks. the other thing that is pretty clear that's going to happen is if republicans take control of one or both bodies of congress

in the 2022 mid term, this issue of course will find a way to go away. and we're going to have other hearings on the biden administration. and so you can understand the cynicism for so many voters. we all listen to these voters who say you know what, they are just kind of playing games up there, one side does it to the other, the other side comes back, it is a more of a battle of retribution than anything else. >> woodruff: so the committee members are saying this is deadly serious. >> that's right. >> woodruff: we need to pursue this for all the reasons we laid out. you are right, many in the public look at this and ask what really. >> what is really behind it. >> woodruff: what is really behind it. another thing i want to bring up, because of what we have seen from the supreme court, tam, in the last few days and that is the abortion issue. always a sensitive issue in american political life. and not to mention the issue it itself, difficult choices that women make. but we're talking about this, you had the supreme court

arguments on december 1st. got a lot of attention because the conservative justices seem to make it clear what their thinking is, we will see. but then on friday you have the court upholding for now that texas restrictive abortion law on top of what we have already seen with regard to mississippi. what does this do for the discussion around abortion rights. >> well, with the texas law, this is now going to continue to work it's a back to the lower court working its way through the court, the community is going to be in the conversation, especially as that law continues to be in place. the potential for lawsuits with basically private citizens going after people who assist? abortions being performed if they are performed, there has already been a huge chilling effect on the procedures taking place. i think the other thing to note is this mississippi decision is likely to come may, june, somewhere next year well into what will be full on election

season. this is going to be something that gets discussed that is going to be very much front of mind when you come into the mid term, because of that decision, whatever it ends up being. >> and that son the part of both parties. >> right, we're really trk is unclear what the sal yensy of this issue is going to be. and even some democrats are warning that you know, while it looks on paper like something like a complete overturning of roe v. wade would benefit democrats in that majorities of americans say don't overturn roe v. wade, that it might energize a democratic base, that it may not be as sort of front and center and people are assuming. i look at a place like texas where we have been talking about this issue. they have been hearing about this issue in the state of texas for quite some time. a new poll came out, i think it was last week, top issue in state is the border, 33% of votedders say that is our top

concern, only 9 percent picked abortion. and even among democrats just 15 percent picked abortion as their most important issue that they think should be addressed in texas. >> for republicans, almost two thirds said the border. so even on an issue where again, it hasn't been decided as tam said, still making its way through the courts, but it has been discussed a lot, i think that the bigger question is does it get completely overturned where it is pretty clear black and white, here's what happened. or is it like this texas case where there are sort of caveats and it is much more nuanced. and that is also where the question on how does this cut politically becomes more complicated because while, i think it is like 19 percent or so of americans believe in banning abortions totally, the majority of folks are somewhere kind of in the middle. not keep it-- not have no restrictions on abortion but also don't restrict it

completely. sohat is a very challenging ground to try to figure out. >> and quickly, tam, the other aspect of the texas law is this element that involves citizens having them report on anyone they know who is aiding, a bedding-- abetting, if you will, an abortion. this is something that we are seeing is action, reaction to across the country. >> right, because this is attempting to do an end run around judicial review. and in the dissent, in the text it as decision, you had supreme court justices saying we ware what you ask for,-- beware what you ask for because if you take a constitutional right and move it outside of judicial review and decide it don't be subject to judicial review, than why would thant wouldn't that happen with other constitutional rights which is what gaffe innewsom the governor of california is saying he might try to do with gun rights. >> and didn't waste very long after that. >> nope. >> texas decision, to ta nouns it. >> tamara keith, amy walter,

thank you both. >> you're welcome. >> and that is and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org.

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hello everyone, welcome to "amanpour." here's what's coming up. >> democracy doesn't happen by accident. we have to renew it with each generation. >> as president biden wraps up his democracy summit, what, if anything, has been achieved? i'm joined by the u.s. under secretary of state for democracy. then -- >> many of us who don't die could be left battling covid. >> just what is long covid? we get the answers on the lingering condition. and -- >> we're disappointed that no one has paid for the tragic, brutal murder of a 14-year-old boy. >> more than 65 years since the murder of emmett till, the

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