judy: 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 becomes the first city in the u.s. 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. judy: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding f the "pbs newshour" has been provided by. >> it's the little things. the reminders of what's important. it's why fidelity dedicated advisors are here to help you create a wealth plan. a plan with tax sensitive investing strategies. planning focused on tomorrow, while you focus on today. that is the planning effect, from fidelity. >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson.

bnsf railway. financial services firm raymond james. the william and flora hewlett foundation, for more than 50 years advancing ideas to promote a better world. 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 individuals and institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: 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 the area and begins our coverage. william: this is what's left 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 heard a sound that sounded

like a train coming. and we said we have got to go. and it sounded like the wrath of god coming down upon you. it was horrific. william: 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. >> i told her you have to be prepared because when we go upstairs there is not going to be nothing. and sure enough, it wasn't much left. william: 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 still remain missing. >> just a few more facts about those we've lost. william: kentucky's governor andy beshear got emotional today describing those who've died. >> of the ones that we know, the age range is five months to 86 years, and six are younger than 18. william: 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 worse. and again, i pray that it is accurate. william: president biden has declared a major federal

disaster in kentucky. >> i want you to know that this administration has made it clear to every governor, whatever they need, when they need it. make it known to me and we will get it to them as rapidly as we can. william: 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. william: wayne flint owned a family restaurant in this small western kentucky town. he'll have to rebud his business from scratch. >> we're just going to 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. william: 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 uncle's, in world war ii. william: 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 16 years ago, this second loss feels like a curse. >> i feel like most of my life i haven't had a home. william: 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 ok. we can rebuild. william: we can rebuild. that is the thing we have heard from so many people around here. as long as my family is safe and i am healthy and alive, things are just things. we can replace these houses and

these businesses. given the extent of the destruction here, it is amazing that we have not seen more people lose their lives. i know those numbers are still changing but it does seem the early warnings that this community and this whole region got, from meteorologists on the local news and local officials, convinced enough people to get out or seriously hunker down, and that is why they are alive today. judy: the destruction is just yonder describing. -- beyond describing. we saw you and your team were also in mayfield, kentucky. give us more of a sense of what you are seeing. william: you are absolutely right. i don't even know if this video we have been filming conveys how bad the destruction is. we are in the town of mayfield right now and it is like an angry, vengeful giant tour through this community, smashing buildings, tearing down power lines, uprooting trees.

we saw power yesterday no one in the given neighborhood knew where that car had come from. it had traveled on the wind that far. i spoke to a guy today who was a civilian contractor in iraq. he said of all the bombing campaigns i saw, none of the devastation it looks like it looks here ikentucky. so it is really hard to put into words what this community is going through 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. >> it is difficult, because, if you look around, you kind of think, where do i start? you have got buildings that have been here for over 100, 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 support. william: 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. judy: so hard to see all of this. william, we know president biden has declared -- has signed emergency declaration for kentucky and other states. we also know that he's asking federal agencies to look into any link between these terrible tornadoes and climate change. what is known at this point about the link there? william: yes, this is a big focus of research. and the evidence right now is just not that clear. we do know that climate change and a warming atmosphere is driving heat waves and intensifying storms and forest fires and droughts. 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. judy: william brangham reporting for us from kentucky, thank you very much. and for a closer look at how officials in kentucky are dealing with all of this, let's turn to the state's lieutenant governor, jacqueline coleman. and she joins us from frankfort. ms. coleman, thank you very much for joining us. we are so sorry for the loss of life in your state. lt. gov. coleman: judy, thank yoso much for having me and for shedding light on the damage that's been done here in kentucky. and i have to tell you that i have been out in the counties that have been devastated. and the only thing that comes close to rivaling the devastation that we are seeing is the sense of community that we see from neighbors 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. judy: i know you have to be so grateful for that. give us a sense of where things stand, now that we're, what, 72 hours, roughly from when these tornadoes hit. lt. gov. coleman: yes. so, what i have to say is our governor beshear is a swift, steadfast, compassionate leader. and that has shown through the last two years as we got through covid. but, certainly, it is apparent now. he immediately declared a state of emergency, was on the phone with the president. and the president declared a national state of emergency in as quick a turnaround as any of us have ever seen. and so this is what you want to see when you know that your friends and loved on and fellow kentuckians are in need, is that government is acting and showing up for them. and so, at this point, we have operationalized about 440 national guards men and women to the area. we have set up a fund and raised over $4 million so far to help

victims of the storm damage. and i will give you that website. it is teamwkyrelieffund.ky.gov. and i want to ask, if your viewers feel compelled and wonder how they can help, that is a great way to help us to get resources on the ground. judy: we heard from my colleague william brangham about the devastation there in mayfield and in dawson springs. for people who don't know western kentucky, where this 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. lt. gov. coleman: it -- honestly, it's hard to put into words, when you see the destruction and you think of homes and shelter, and it's mid-december. and beyond that, i'm a mother, and i think about how christmas is two weeks away and what's 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're seeing on the ground is neighbors helping neighbors. i was actually in taylor county this morning. taylor county is not western kentucky, but 70 homes were destroyed in taylor county. and when i was there, a gentleman -- the wife of a gentleman who was pulling his neighbors out from under the 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 the bus driver for the local school district. and so it is our everyday heroes that are showing up for people. and they're saving people's lives. and that's what's happening on the ground here. judy: that has to be so heartening. and my colleague william brangham, something he said to us struck me. and he said that it appears 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's the case as well? lt. gov. coleman: 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 had to make sure that people had a warning. judy: and is there -- i mean, at this early stage, lieutenant governor coleman, is there a sense of what you want to do the next time there's a -- is there something more that you know the state needs to do, whether it's reinforcing buildings or improving the warning systems? what is your sense of that? lt. gov. coleman: i have to be

honest with you. at this moment, what our number one focus and priority is, is trying to find folks who are unaccounted for. and so, as the days pass, and we take one step a time and one day at a time, 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 loved 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 supports. and i want folks to know that we are in this for the long haul. this is not something that's going to be easy. it's not something that's going to be quick, but it is sething that i know that governor beshear is committed to being in for the long haul. judy: completely understandable that those are the priorities.

we understand, right now, over 100 people still unaccounted for. lieutenant governor jacqueline coleman, thank you very much. and we wish you the best as you work to find all these people. lt. gov. coleman: thank you so much. ♪ stephanie: i am stephanie sy with newshour west. we will return to the full program after the latest headlines. explosive details tonight coming out of the house panel investigating the january 6 capitol insurrection. the committee voting unanimously to pursue contempt charges against former white house chief of staff mark meadows. the panel has subpoenaed meadows, but he has refused to appear for depositions. he is suing the committee. as the panel considered the contempt charge, republican liz cheney quoted a text that donald trump, jr. sent to mark meadows

on january 6, saying about his father, the president, quote, he has got to condemn this asap. the capitol police tweet is not enough. we need an oval office address. he has to leave now, end quote. the united states 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. separately, the u.s. supreme court upheld new york state's 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. stephanie: british health officials now predict the omicron variant will surpass delta as the dominant strain in a matter of days. in hong kong, a court sentenced media tycoon jimmy lai to 13 months in jail. he was charged with promoting a vigil that marked the anniversary of 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 granholm joined 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've got to get them everywhere. stephanie: president biden wants electric vehicles to account for half of all new car and truck sales by 2030. a powerful storm moved across much of drought-stricken california today, with drenching rain, high winds, and heavy mountain snow. in northern california, snowplows 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 fund 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. still to come on the newshour, nursing homes struggle to administer booster shots and keep their occupants safe from covid-19. how drug trafficking could have played a role in the assassination of haiti's president. tamara keith and amy walter weigh in on the latest political news. and much more. >> this is the "pbs newshour" from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: just before the boy scout settlement was announced, there

was another major settlement today. after a five-year 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 on the settlement, totaling $380 million, making it among the largest ever awarded in a sexual abuse case. john: judy, the money will go to hundreds of athletes, including olympic gold medalist 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 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. christine, thanks for joining us. this settlement has been a long time coming. what is the significance to you? christine: john, for me, it's the end of a terrible chapter. it's certainly not the end of

the story. but it is a significant development. and as rachael denhollander, who was the first courageous gymnast to come forward to the indianapolis star and start this torrent of stories of abuse, as she said today, rachael denhollander -- i think she's a perfect person to quote -- that this is an important and important step. and she said, to get money, actual money to these survivors, many of them need it for mental health issues, for all of the depression and other trauma that they dealt with. i think something we don't often think of is actually that money going to the people who need it. and she said, it's time. the time has come to do that. and i think that is a huge -- a big part of the story, as well as the fact that usa 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 national governing body for gymnastics. and i think, hopefully, that's a

model for other organizations moving forward. john: and, as you say, these years of struggles, years of abuse, years of 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? christine: if we're looking for heroes, john, they're right there. they have been there all along, not only performing so beautifully on the field of play at the olympic games, winning gold medals, the national anthem, red, white and blue, the flag, winning, of course, for themselves as well, but also then in senate and house hearing rooms, fighting the battle for themselves and also for so many other survivors and those who are our victims of sexual abuse. and this is such an issue, a scourge in our country. and you look at simone biles and aly raisman and so many others. they are the true heroes here. and the fact, frankly, that they have had to go through this over and over again to get to this point, it's just horrifying that they -- the story had to be told over and over before everyone woke up and before the lawyers stopped fighting and everyone said, ok, here's the settlement.

but they did it. and they kept doing it. and they are role models for the ages, no doubt about it. john: you said this may be the end of a chapter. it's not the end of a story. last week, another coach, tom forster, the high-performance coach for the team, resigned. and, after that, simone biles tweeted, wait until you all realize the problem with usag -- usa gymnastics -- isn't tom. is enough done -- is more going to have to be done, do you think? christine: i think that the stipulations that were put in place of having survivors involved in the leadership of usa gymnastics is a start. i don't think anyone is pollyanna enough to think, john, that it's all 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 and has been the conscience of our sport while winning gold

medals and world championships, i think that's the positive, that we can hope that this spotlight that has been shining on the organization from its athletes, from those survivors will eventually make some change. but, no, i think there are always questions. and i think those questions should exist. i think it's valuable to keep asking them even in the months and years and decades ahead. john: christine brennan of usa today, thank you very much. christine: john, thank you. judy: 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. amna: 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 sort of the bulk of that death toll? david: absolutely. the individuals making up the bulk of the deaths among older adults are those oldest old. so they're individuals aged 85 and older. they're individuals with

comorbidities, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes. they are also typically individuals living in nursing homes. and these congregate living environments are actually the perfect storm for the spread of covid. you have individuals often sharing a room, sharing a bathroom, communal dining and activities. so all of these features lead to those big outbreaks we have all read about. amna: 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 aides in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, it's still 46% of all those aides are fully vaccinated. is that contributing to this? david: that's absolutely contributing to this. we see a huge range in the vaccination 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 did some research recently suggesting that

variation in the vaccination rate of the staff is actually a big explanation for why we see such differences in fatality rates 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, you would have saved 700 lives among residents. that's a huge number. i'm not -- and that's half of all fatalities over the summer, could have been prevented if we could have had our staff better vaccinated. amna: let's talk about vaccination rates among those older americans, right? we're talking about 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 uptake? david: we haven't, unfortunately. so, the federal government did something very centralized and orderly about originally vaccinated our residents. they brought the clinics to the facilities. and this led to pretty high vaccination rates nationally.

about 85% of our residents in nursing homes are vaccinated. in terms of boosters, however, we have we have taken a very decentralized approach, where we have left it up to the facilities to vaccinate the residents. and about half of all those vaccinated residents have gotten their booster shot, and, once again, huge variation from facility to facility. we can do better here. we really need to push here. as you have already noted, these are the most vulnerable americans. these are the ones who are most in need of that booster. we need to get those done as soon as possible. amna: david, there are folks who look at the numbers and say, well, of course it's 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? david: i find that incredibly offensive. every life is valuable. these are our parents, our grandparents that are living in these nursing homes. we need to protect them as much as we need to protect every american. let's not fall into these ageist approaches 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. and that would be my response. amna: david, finally, i just want to make this clear for everybody with a graphic, when you can see, over the life of this pandemic, what has happened when you look at people 65 and older. those are total u.s. covid deaths. that orange part is just the part of the population 65 and older. and you can see the ups and downs, the wave in the first spring, when vaccinations for started to come online. it starts to dip slowly over time. but, at the end there, david, it is starting to creep back up. what should people who are thinking about gathering with grandparents, older loved ones look at that and think about what's ahead? david: it's really important that we get together, but it's really important that we get together safely. and 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. but i think if it's visiting an older family member in a nursing home, getting together for the holidays, these are really important activities, but we

need to do them safely. and that would be my advice, to balance both kind of the community we all need this time of year with safety. amna: it's good advice. that is david grabowski, professor of health care policy at harvard medical school. david, always good to see you. thank you. david: thanks. judy: it has been five months since gunmen assassinated haiti's president zhovenel moise. authorities have arrested 45 people, but have charged none of them with a crime. this weekend the new york times detailed a possible motive for the assassination. nick: 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 that's been 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 now via skype. maria, welcome to the "newshour." so, tell us, what information was moise preparing and what was he intending to do with it? maria: 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 they be oligarchs or political figures, who support those networks. and he was preparing to hand it over to the u.s. government. nick: so, to understand the story, let's take a little bit of a step back. how entrenched is the drug trade and other illicit businesses inside haiti's government? and what was president moise's predecessor, michel martelly's relationship with those groups?

maria: well, michel martelly has people around him that have always been suspected of being narco-traffickers. some have been thrown into jail for narco-trafficking. one of the people around michel martelly who was hugely influential in michel martelly's cabinet and also in president moise's is a man named charles "kiko" saint-remy, kiko being his nickname. kiko is the brother in law of michel martelly and also is a suspected dr dealer, according to dea people that we have spoken with and also haitian police. he is suspected to be one of the biggest actually in haiti. nick: and so how much did martelly consider moise a kind of placeholder who would continue the status quo? maria: very much so. i mean, from what we understand that's exactly why moise was lifted from the unknown, a poor

haitian guy with has peasant origins tapped on the shoulder one day by michel martelly. the way that michel martelly his associates have always said it was, oh, michel martelly was strucky his brilliance as an entrepreneur. but what our reporting shows is that, actually, moise knew a lot of the people who were very close to michel martelly for years. he knew kiko saint-remy years and was allegedly in business with him and others that are suspected drug trader -- drug traffickers who were close to michel. nick: moise initially seems to have been a loyal successor to martelly. but you write he turned against some of martelly's corrupt allies. how important were some of the steps moise was taking, a crackdown on the eel fishing trade, nationalizing a seaport, closing down airstrips that facilitated drug trafficking routes? maria: i mean, incredibly important. you have to remember that moise was supposed to be a

placeholder, because the constitution of haiti prevents presidents from running for two consecutive terms. so, michel martelly allegedly tapped him on the shoulder, keep the bench warm for me for five years, then campaign for me. and these elections, 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, a place called savane diane, that allegedly got up to 4000 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 kiko saint-remy has cornered and is actually under investigation right now as 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 -- chunk of change in your pocket. nick: 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 he benefiting from the very system that you report he was trying to expose? maria: 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 in his government because he wanted to be ableo do his own things, like provide electricity, provide infrastructure. but there were corruption allegations around this man. we should not lionize president moise at all. nick: and, finally, inside haiti, has the invesgation stalled? maria: well, certain haitian officials say, no, the investigation hasn't stalled, but we believe otherwise. from what we understand, people are incredibly nervous. they're not willing to come forward. so people don't really have a lot of faith in the haitian judicial system. and the thinking is, ok, 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 -- to have a fair shake, essentially? nick: maria abi-habib, thank you very much. maria: thank you. judy: 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 new sites in new york city, the first of their kind in the u.s. and a warning, there are scenes

of illicit drug use in this report. william: 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 nyhre. william: 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 when they visit us. william: kailin see helps runs this site and a second one a few miles away. >> methamphetamine pipes. these are for crack inhalation, mouthpieces. william: 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 going to open up, because it sounded too good to be true. william: really? >> yes. you got to 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. >> 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 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. william: sam rivera is the executive director of onpoint nyc, the nonprofit that runs these sites. he says these places meet drug users' immediate needs, but can then help them onto a differen path, like drug treatment, when they're ready. >> we're keeping people alive so that when -- i say when -- when they have the opportunity or 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. william: while these two are the first such sites in america, there are an estimated 120 others like them in canada, europe, and australia. so, do they work as intended? >> 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. william: keith humphreys studies drug policy at stanford university and was a senior drug policy adviser 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. william: 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 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, 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. william: new york's mayor and city health department approved these sites, and say they are privately funded. the nypd 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 facility 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. william: republican congresswoman nicole malliotakis represents nearby staten island, new york. she sent a letter to attorney general merrick garland asking the doj to close these -- quote -- unlawful sites. >> i don't see this ending in a good place. i think it's just going to further deteriorate communities. it's going to further attract the criminal element. drug dealers are going to 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. william: another concern that's

raised is where these sites are located. a group of longtime harlem residents complain that new york city over many years has put too many drug treatment sites in one small area and they're a magnet for crime and disorder. >> they have been just dumping these types of facilities in black and brown areas because they get less political support. william: syderia asberry-chresfield has lived in harlem for 30 years, raised her family here, 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. william: 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.

and, in the end, what do you want for all the people who come here? >> i want them to find peace, find help, which has happened. so when i see that, i know i'm in the right place and doing the right thing for the right people. william: in the nearly two weeks these sites have been open, the nonprofit running them says 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. judy: the committee in the house of representatives investigating january 6 is starting this week by considering contempt charge

recommendations against another associate of former president trump, for not fully complying with its subpoenas. this time, the subject is mark meadows, who was white house chief of staff. 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 both of you on this monday night. very good to see you. so, let's talk about this january 6 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, justice department officials. now comes mark meadows. how significantly different or alike is this case? tamara: well, this is different in some ways, because meadows, actually was cooperating and

turned over 6000 -- more than 6000 pages of documents, 2000 text messages. and in the documents that the committee released ahead of this hearing, they laid out some of what was in those documents. but it is fragmented. it is -- there are little bits. there is a message where he says that the national guard will protect pro-trump 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's -- former president trump's executive privilege, which president biden has said is not a matter that he is concerning himself with. he thinks that privilege should be waived because this is so important. but this is different because meadows was actually a close adviser to the president at the time, as opposed to steve bannon, who was a podcast host. amy: right. judy: and so -- and, amy, there

are obviously the the legal course, we will watch, but there is also the political course here. amy: 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, we 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 6, the lead-up to january 6. and it's hard to believe that these hearings are going to change many 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 midterms, this issue, of course, will soon 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 think, 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. judy: so, as the committee members are saying, this is deadly serious. amy: that's right. judy: we need to pursue this for all the reasons they have laid out. you are right. the public -- many in the public look at this and ask, what is really -- amy: what is going to -- what is really behind it? judy: what is really behind it? another thg 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 1. got a lot of attention because the conservative justices seemed to make it clear what their thinking is. we will see. but then, on friday you have the court upholding, for now, the

texas restrictive abortion law, on top of what we have already seen with regard to mississippi. what does this do to the discussion, the debate around abortion rights now in this country? tamara: well, with the texas law, this is now going to continue to work its way back to the lower court working its way through the courts, 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 in abortions being performed, if they are performed in that state. there has already been a huge chilling effect on the procedures taking place. i think the other thing to note is that 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 midterms, because of that decision, whatever it ends up

being. judy: and that is on the part of both parties. amy: right. we're really -- it's really unclear what the saliency of this issue is going to be. and even some democrats are warning that, 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. and 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. the top issue in state is the border, 33% of voters say, that is our top concern. only 9% picked abortion. and even among democrats, just 15% 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, and 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 very -- i think it is like 19% or so of americans believe in banning abortion totally, the majority of folks are somewhere kind of in the middle, not keep it -- not have no restrictions on abortion, but also d't restrict it completely. so that is a very challenging ground to try to figure out. judy: and just 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, abetting, if you will, an

abortion. this is something that we are seeing action, reaction to across the country. tamara: right, because this is attempting to do an end-run around judicial review. and in the dissent in the texas decision, you had supreme court justices saying, beware what you ask for, because if you take a constitutional right and move it outside of judicial review or decide the it can't be subject to judicial review, then why wouldn't that happen with other constitutional rights, which is what gavin newsom, the governor of california, is now saying he might try to do with gun rights. judy: and didn't waste very long after that texas decision to announce it. tamara: no. judy: tamara keith, amy walter, thank you both. amy: you're welcome. tamara: you're welcome. judy: and that's "the newshour" for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. 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. >> raymondjames financial advisor taylor's advice to help you live your life. life well planned. >> consumer cellular. johnson & johnson. bnsf railway. the kendeda fund, committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org. supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org.

and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >> this is "pbs newshour" west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -today on "cook's country," i'm making the fastest batch of old-fashioned chicken noodle soup. toni is taking us back in time to tell us the history of chicken noodle soup. jack's telling us everything we need to know about store-bought broth. and christie's making beer-batter cheese bread.