captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight:n a tense moment. the u.s. delivers more military aid to ukraine, as fears of a russian invasion remain high. we discuss the tenuous situation with the ukrainian ambassador. then, drawing the lines. the fight over re-apportioning congressional districts grows more intense, amid lawsuits, vetoes, and widespread gerrymandering. and, a painful choice. under taliban rule, the lack of opportunity for afghan girls forces one doctor to choose between her patients and her children. >> ( translated ): my career and me are one person, but my kids are three, and they should have bright future. and because of them, i can leave

everything. l >> woodruff: all that and more,f on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> architect. bee-keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> for 25 yearsconsumer cellular has been offeringn no-contract wireless plans, designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer servicep team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. >> johnson & johnson. >> fidelity wealth management.

>> the john s. and james l. knight foundation.ig fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.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: today, ukraine's leaders tried to reassure their population, despite more than 100,000 russian troops deployed near the nation's northern and

eastern borders, and despite new announcements of russian training exercises. the u.s. and western countriesou consider an invasion as possibly imminent, and that fear is being felt on ukraine's frontlines. nick schifrin begins our coverage. >> schifrin: on the frontlines of an eight-yearld war, thdefenses are centuries-old trenches. and the target practice? the man who has this site in his targets. ( gunfire ) in eastern ukraine, ukrainian soldiers skirmish daily with russian-backed separatists. since the spring of 2014, 14,000 soldiers and civilians haveso died. that toll leaves trps, already fighting a generational conflict, in fear of a new invasion. >> ( translated ): russia is no interested in talks. they have their own plans and tasks to execute. they won't stop; there's no egotiating with them. ( gunfire ) >> schifrin: there's no sign of russia stopping its buildup. today, the russian defense ministry released new video of soldiers training to fight near the ukraine border, and

deploying precision-guided, medium-range iskander missiles that could successfully target ukrainian airfields and bases. the u.s. is sending its own military messages. for the second day in a row, american ammunition arrived in kyiv, and the.s. made sure k to highlight it by organizing a press conference with the u.s.' top diplomat in kyiv, kristina kvien. >> let me underscore that russian soldiers sent to ukraine at the behest of the kremlin will face fierce resistance. >> schifrin: in parliament, british prime minister boris johnson warned a new ukraine war would be as deadly as any in europe since world war ii. >> ukrainians have every moral and legal right to defend their country, and i believe their resistance would be dogged and tenious, and the bloodshed comparable to the first war in chechnya or bosnia, mr. speakern or any other conflict that europe has endured since 1945.

>> schifrin: but ukraine's president says he does noten believe invasions imminent, and he released a video today urging the country to remain calm. >> ( translated ): protect your body from viruses, your brain from lies, your heart from panic. >> schifrin: in washington today, for the first time, president biden warned he would endorse sanctions againstt vladimir putin. >> would you ever see yourself personally sanctioning him if he did invade ukraine?he >> yes. >> you would? >> i would see that. >> woodruff: in the day's

other news, pfizer began a clinical trial of an updated covid vaccine designed to ward off the highly-contagious omicron variant. final results could take months to come in. but, the company said the trial won't affect its pledge to produce four billion doses of vaccine this year. there is new evidence that the omicron surge is slowing the world economy. the international monetary fundh today slashed its growth forecast, citing omicron and other factors. it now estimates global growth of 4.4% this year, down half a point om the last forecast the so-called pandemicnd "party-gate" scandal in britain has broadened. london's metropolitan police said today they will investigate gatherings held at the offices o of prime minister boris johnson during a covid lockdown in 2020. in response, the prime minister told parliament he is cooperating fully, and his office denied violating covidd

curbs. >> i welcome the met's decision to conduct its own investigatiou because i believe this will help to give the public the clarity it needs, and help to draw a line under matters. >> woodruff: johnson is already facing calls to resign over the scandal.da russia's crackdown on opposition leader alexei navalny and hiss allies intensified today. authorities added them to a list of terrorists and extremists-- freezing their bank accounts. navalny is already in prison for violating terms of a suspended sentence. north korea has fired off more missiles, for the fifth time this month. south korea's military said the appeared to be two cruise missiles that landed in the sea off north korea's east coast. the u.n. security council has banned north korea from launching ballistic missiles, but not the lower-flying cruise models. major roads and highways re-opened in greece and turkey today after severe winter storms dumped more than 30 inches ofdu

snow. flights resumed at istanbul airport, in turkey's largest city, where hundreds of people had been stranded. in athens, crews cleared fallen trees and freed people who had been stuck inside their cars overnight. >> ( translated ): it's unacceptable that so many were trapped for so many hours with no help. it's not enough that they became trapped.tr aid came after dark. it's unacceptable. >> ( translated ): they could have at least managed the roads, they could have predicted it. i've known for the last ten dayf about this weather forecast. for ten days now, we've known that the weather was going toth be like this. >> woodruff: it is the second year in a row that a severee winter storm has struck athens. the greek capital rarely receives heavy snowfall. in pakistan, for the first time, a woman has taken a seat on the country's supreme court. 55-year-old ayesha malik was sworn in monday in islamabad. it is an historic move in an

islamic nation where men dominate the judicial system. back in this country, nancy pelosi, the speaker of the u.s. house of representatives, announced that she will run for a 19th term in office. the san francisco democrat is 81, and is the first woman to serve as speaker. it is not clear if she would try to remain democratic leader in the house, if she is re-elected. a second new york city policeman has died, after being shot last friday. he and his partner were attacked by a gunman during a domestic disturbance call. just yesterday, the city's new mayor, eric adams, detailed plans for ending gun violence in new york. the u.s. commerce department warned today that the nation's shortage of semiconductor chips has reached alarming levels. it said that companies are down to less than five days supply. the department's survey of producers suggested the shortage will last at least six more months. the s.a.t. college entrance exam

is going digital. the college board administers the test. it announced today that it will shift away from paper and pencil by 2024. the s.a.t. is trying to stay relevant, as more colleges make standardized tting optional for admissions. and on wall street, worries about inflation fueled another volatile day.fl the dow jones industrial average lost 66 points, after dropping more than 800 earlier in themo day. it closed at 34,297.d the nasdaq fell 315 points-- that's more than 2%. the s&p 500 shed 53 points. still to come on the newshour: hospitals continue to struggle with the nationwide influx of covid patients. the fight over congressional o districts grows more intense amid multiple lawsuits. california's largest utility company emerges from legal probati, after a string of deadly incidents.

and much more.an >> woodruff: we return now to the crisis over ukraine. as we reported, ukraine's leaders are urging their citizens to remain calm, even as russia poses a massive threat to the u.s. ally. nick schifrin has more from the view of ukraine's government. >> schifrin: thank you, judy. we turn now to oksana markarova, ukraine's ambassador to the united states. ambassador, welcome to the newshour. today, we heard president zelensky say that ukrainians should not be panicked, but from comments by president biden last week, all the way to prime minister johnson today, it is clear that the west thinks an invasion could be imminent. are you downplaying the threat

in order not to cause panic? or do you see the threat differently? >> actually, we do see the threat exactly the same way our partners are seeing it. so, russia attacked us in 2014. we know what they are capable of. we know that they illegally already occupied crimea and part of donetsk and luganskne territories. and we know that there's 100,000 troops around our border. it's not there just to be there. so yes, ukrainians are worried. but as our president said, we should not panic. we should get ready to defend our country, and this is what wu are doing. so in addition to the military offensive that russia is playing and portraying, they also are doing a lot to destabilize situation in the country.io so all the cyberattacks, this

disinformation attack, they want s to panic. and we will not panic.k, we will get prepared. we will also do everything inyt order to continue to build our country, to reform our economy, and we are resolute to defend our country.re >> schifrin: do you believe, as the u.s. does, that an invasion could be imminent? >> well, again, with the neighbor like russia, this is a reality with which we live for the past 400 years. we know the threat is there. we know the threat is very high. and the diplomats, together with all the government, with the t president, and together with our international partners andio allies, especially with the unit states, we are workingrk hard in order for the option a. as we say, the diplomatic w solution, to be still possible. and we are working very hard to dissuade russia from making this mistake. >> schifrin: in terms of trying to persuade russia not to make this mistake, as you puit, ying to prevent war, the ukrainian government is calling on the u.s. government to impose

sanctions now on russia, while the administration says that they are waiting for sanctions in order to maintain sanctions' deterrent value. why do you disagree with that? >> we are trying to prevent russia from further aggression and further invasion of ukraine. and that calls for next level oc sanctions. and we are working very closely with our partners and allies here on what this sanctions could be. and yes, ukraine is advocating that this sanctions should be very strong, and we are very pleased to hear from the t administration, from president biden, that the cost and the sanctions are going to be nothing that russia ever saw. and yes, there are also grounds for the sanctions to be appliedo now. so, both as the deterrent, the future sanctions, and the sanctions for what russiaa

already did, until it changes in behavior, are well supported by ukraine. >> schifrin: the ukrainianpo government has also been asking for more weapons from the u.s. government-- anti-ship weapons, surface-to-air weapons, even beyond what the u.s. has been providing this week. if-- do you think if the u.s. provided more weapons, it would deter russia? >> absolutely.ap last year, the united states support system for military assistance to ukraine has been the highest since 2014, more than $650 million u.s. dollars.l and during the past three days, we see on a daily basis how flights are coming in from the unitestates, delivering their military assistance from the $200 million package that has been authorized by president biden in december. so again, it's very much a united front that the civilized world is putting together, helping us-- because this is not a fight about ukraine;

it's fight about values and principles. so anyone who treasures freedom and democracy and believes that those values and principles are worth to fight for, are standing together with ukraine theseto days. >> schifrin: do you acknowledge that there are weapons the ukrainian government is requesting, that the administration is refusing to provide?id >> of course. i mean, if you ask me, do we need more javelins or do we need more weapons? yes, we do. i mean, we are only rebuilding our capabilities after we started building institutions in our country after the revolution of dignity there in 2014. but i think already we have large progress there, and our american friends and colleaguesc are the ones who we have to thank for it. >> schifrin: the u.s., as i mentioned before, believes the a threat to your government could be existential, including an

encilement of kyiv, and regime change, the british government said in its intelligence release this weekend. given the level of threat, are you willing to consider any concessions to moscow, from more autonomy for the regions under the control of separatists in the east, to your future in nato, in order to try and avoid invasion? >> there are principal issues which are very important for ukraine, as i said, to be independent, to be sovereign, to decide our future by ourselves, to be part of the european union and nato, and to be whole again to restore our territorial integrity. so we are peaceful people. we never planned any offensives and we never attacked anyone.ne but we are not ready to give up on our sovereignty, on our on our principle, values and beliefs.

so, you know, we hope that together with all of our partners and allies, we will send a very clear message to moscow and that moscow will realize that ukraine does not pose any military that to russia. and if they're afraid of us to be successful andemocratic, then, you know, they can-- they can, they can feel that. but it's not a reason in the 21st century to attack a t sovereign country. and no, we are not ready to give up because we know that when we are given up on something, likel it happened in the previous century, the result for ukraine is devastating. while we were occupied by the soviet union, ukraine suffered u from horrible tragedies.

we went through a series of wars and so we can only be successfu when we are independent and when ukrainians decide what do we want to do in ukraine and how do we want to live? >> schifrin: ambassador, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. t >> woodruff: all across the country, states are busy ate work, with new 2020 census data in hand, redrawing congressional lines at will help determine the balance of power ine washington for the next decade. to check in on the stas of this reapportionment in some key states, i'm joined by an expert on the subject: david wasserman of the cook political report. david wasserman, welcome back to the "newshour".ss". so, at this point in this process, which party has an

advantage? >> well, it depends how you measure it. the redistricting process is going better for democrats than initially expected because democrats did get favorable maps out of commission states, in california, new jersey and michigan.mi they also could benefit from the states where they got to redraw lines in illinois and oregon and new mexico, whereas republicans have drawn several defensive gerrymanders where they'vee focused on shoring up own incumbents in places like texas. but we're also watching a number of court battles unfolding and this will be the determinate of who comes out ahead, and democrats have been suing to overturn republican-drawn maps on state constitutional grounds in ohio and north carolina, and they just received a vorable ruling on racial grounds in alabama. >> woodruff: just a couple of basics -- what is this reapportionment supposed to accomplish? t it's every ten years after the

new csus numbers come out. what's it supposed to accomplish, and in most cases it's done by the legislature and in some by an outsidede commission? >> that's right. this happens in two steps. the first is reapportionment, which the census determines hown many seats each state gets in congress for the next ten years. we found that back out in april. texas picking up two seats. five other states picking up one seat each. seven states losing a seat including california for the first time since gainingin statehood, but the bigger impact ishow the lines are then redrawn inth every state to redraw popation according to the census data to the bloc level. republicans have more control c over the process than democrats in states where partisansa legislatures draw the lines republicans hold 20 statess totaling 187 districts whereass democrats have the final say in eight states totaling 75

districts. ten states havedi independent or bipartisan commissions, six states where control is split between the parties and courts may need to step in. >> woodruff: let's talk about what it looks like so far. of the states that have dealt with this and had their maps, they are redrawing lines approved, ing think 33 of the 50 states at this point have had their maps approved.p >> that's true, and some are pending litigation.io but for the most part, because geographic polarization is so high and straight-ticket voting is so high, how lines are drawn pre-determines election outcomes.ou and, so, you know, if you have a district that's drawn -- thatt trump would have won with 55% or that biden won with at least 55%, you can be reasonably sure that that district is going to go blue or red. and, so, parties who are redrawing these lines, they have every incentive to draw safe seats so they don't have to keep

spending money on them. we could see the number of competitive districts decline bb as much as a third this cycle.. >> woodruff: as you mentioned, dave wasserman, the courts have gotten involved in a number of these states. one of these states, alabama, you mentioned it a moment ago. tell us what's happening there.. >> this is a surprising rulingin because the federal panel that issued this ruling blocking the republican-drawn map, two out of the three judges are trumpmp appointees, and, yet, the federal court decided that the map was a racial gerrymander because it failed to create a second black opportunity ortu majority seat. keep in mind that both the current republican-drawn plan and the one republicans in alabama adopted for the next ten years only drew one majority black seat out of seven, even though black residents make up out 26% of the voting age population. so this could bepo a landmark

case. it's going to be appealed to the supreme court directly by the state republicans, and the outcome at the supreme court could haveco reverberations acrs the deep south in situations where the voting rights act is open to interpretation.er >> woodruff: all eyes are going to beye watching this, as you said a minute ago, democrats doing better in some cases. but we will see what happens in that particular instance. one other example i did want to ask you about, dave wasserman, is new york, where there was supposed to be a bipartisansa commission drawing these lines. >> that's right, and in a number of states, there were reformsor undertaken that resulted in an advisory commissions but, ultimately, the legislature has the final say. and this is a way for partisans to kind of get around the desire for reform. in new york, it's likely that democrats who already control 19 out of 27 congressional seatss there will end up drawing the map in albany, and they could

seize as many as 23 of the 266 seats that new york will receive for the next decade, if they're able to gerrymander the boundaries the way they'd like so. so these decisions over maps in s.a.t. capitals will have enormous implications in the race for control of congress, not only in 2022 but the entire decade. >> woodruff: enormouseou complications and only two-thirds of the states have their maps approved, so it'ss very much a live process still s working its way through. dave wasserman. we'll be checking in with you later again this year. thank you. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: the highly- contagious omicron variant has brought new daily case numbers to record highs this month,

and theagnitude of infections have left many hospitals once aga under tremendous pressure and on the brink. in texas, where just 58% of the state is fully vaccinated, hospitalizations have risen dramatically. amna nawaz has our report. >> nawaz: judy, this month, the city of san antonio is reporting the highest average of cases since the pandemic began. on monday, health officials reported more than 7,000 new cases, the positivity rate has climbed to 38%, and over the last two weeks, hospitalizations have increased 80%. dr. jason bowling is an infectious disease specialist at university health, and an assistant professor of infectious disease at u.t. health-san antonio. dr. bowling, welcome to the "newshour" and thank you for making the time. you guys in san antonio are now dealing with the fourth covid surge, hospitalizations there tripled since the start of january. what is it like for you to go into work every day?

>> well, it's incredibly busy, as you can imagine, with the numbers increasing so quickly. we are really seeing a lot of hospitalizations and app lot of business in our outpatient settings in the clinics, with this most transmissible variant, the number of cases has gone really high and even though it's relatively less severe than the delta variant, given the high number of cases it sti leads to a lot of people ending up in the hospital still. >> reporter: tell us about the patient, mostly breakthrough infections? vaccinated or unvaccinated getting infected. >> the majority in the hospital are unvaccinated. we do see breakthrough infections in the hospital setting often in people with issues withheir immune system, but most to have the people really ill or ending up in the i.c.u. are unvaccinated and e majority of the patient hospitalized. more vaccinated patients may be seen in the clinic or primary care. >> reporter: for the unvaccinated patients, do you talk to them about getting the vaccine? >> i do. i think most the providers do.

i talk with them about the vaccine. i think at this point, trying to find a pla where you're just providing information. obviously, there's been a lot of information out for quite some time with the vaccine. we're further along with our experience with that. i'm happy to share my experience with people that have been vaccinated. with people sick enough to be in the hospital, many of them are more amenable and listen to talk about the vaccines. there are still some people that don't want to talk about it and they will usually tell you that right away. i'm careful to respect those boundaries, but we definitely want to provide helpful information, let them know what's recommended. also it's important even when infected, you need to get vaccinated. >> reporter: updated c.d.c. guidelines for healthcare workers, you've had staffing issues library every hospital around the country. the c.d.c. says if any healthcare worker has a potentialers exposure they recommend testing before returning to work but with the

rates you are seeing in managing in the hospital is that even possible? >> yeah, that's a great question. so we really have had to look for a way to balance the c.d.c. recommendations with what's practical. one of the challenges with having cases so high here and the test positivity rate so high is we see people with multi-million high risk exposures within a week. we're finding people need to be tested two or three times in a week and that the a rale challenge where we were trying to test the symptomatic people for diagnosis. so we've had to find a balance to find a practical approac we want the work environment to be safe sohey're not infecting g the coworkers. >> reporter: tell me about the staff and what you're seeing. we're hearing stories, well into year two of this, of healthcare workers around the country saying they are burned out and they feel like shorter isolation periods and having to go back to work even if they've tested

positive just to fill a staffing shortage, it really adds to the burnout. one nurse i read in a report in "the washington post" in california said the more i give, the more you want, i have nothing left to give. i wonder if you're seeing or hearing that sentiment among your staff. >> well, we are certainly seeing road, it's been a long pandemic. people have given a lot of time. now what we're seeing with this most transmissible variant is lots of healthcare workers in a unit may be out at the same time and, so, we're asking the ones that are left to cover more hours. so it has been hard. i realize whenou ask people how areou doing, you're asking with an intensity you hadn't asked before because you're concerned. but i've also been really impressed with the volunteerism, people stepping up to cover for colleagues that are out, people asking if they can come back in five days because they know people have been covering for them. so a mix of emotions. definitely we're seeing fatigue. it's bn a long time. but i've also been impressed

with how people have stood up and ridden to this challenge, despite it going on much longer than anyone anticipated at the beginning. >> reporter: dr. bowling, you have been're in a sense, staffing shortages, supply shocialghts, another surge in your area, i wonder if you thought two years ago you would be where you are today. >> so i don't think anybody can honestly state they would think this would go on for this long. people have predictions, so, no, i didn't anticipate that. certainly, it does feel like we have been here and i think one of the words that's known in webster's dictionary a blursday holds a lot of meaning because i t seems to be the same day over and over again. but i see glimpses of progress. we have vaccines now, better strategies, trying different things. we have made progress. there's been impressive scientific advances throughout this. we need to continue to embrace those so we can get further past this so days coming forward don't look exact same as the

days we've had in the past. >> reporter: dr. jason bowling from u.t. health san antonio joining us tonight. dr. bowling, thank you so much and your team for everything you're doing. we appreciate it. >> thank you very much. >> woodruff: since the taliban took over control of afghanistan last year, the future of the country's women has been in peril. many girls are barred from receiving an education, and women are prevented from holding many jobs. back in 2019, special correspondent jane ferguson met with a female doctor in kabul, and she recently returned to find that same doctor now faced with a previously unimaginable choice. >> reporter: long before the taliban seized power in afghanistan, dr. najmussamar. shefajo's expertise stood out. one of the country's top gynecologists, she offered a crucial service to thousands ofo

women, advised the government, and from the clinic she built in the capital kabul, pioneered advanced medical technology for expecting mothers. >> for the patient, we reach to the diagnosis soon, and there is no need to go out of the country. >> reporter: so it saves lives? >> yes, of course! this is the nose, this is the mouth. >> reporter: to dr. shefajo, interaction with her patnts is important. >> here the mother sees the baby, her own ultrasound. >> reporter: and how do they react? >> they are very happy. right now, they know this is the head, this is the heart, this is the stomach, because i each them. >> reporter: that was dr. shefajo in late 2019, speaking with us in her clinic. her calling card: a passionate, collaborative physician. she began her career delivering babies in secret, on mud floors, when the taliban was last in power in the mid-1990s. when weirst spoke with her in 2019, that all seemed like a fading memory.

when you were working under taliban rule, did you ever imagine that one day, you would have a clinic like this, equipment like this? >> i had hope.ad >> reporter: that hope faded overnight when the governmenof afghanistan collapsed last year. on august 15, 2021, presidentt ashraf ghani and his aides fled the country, and the taliban overtook the capital city. thousands of panicked afghans, many who worked with u.s. and allied forces, rushed to thed airport, as chaotic american-led evacuations took place. among them, many professionalss afghan women. not dr. shefajo. she was here at her clinic. >> all the patients who came to me on that day, they really,ll really needed people, needed women, they needed health careed services. and some people with very severe

depression, even when they lay on the bed, they started to cry. it was really terrible. >> reporter: fearful the country'medical care would collapse under taliban rule, women begged her to induce laboe right there. >> so, most of the women, even their pregnancy period was not completed, they pushed me to do cesarean and take the baby out from the womb.b. otherwise, if the situation deteriorates, there will be no doctors, and who will do the delivery for us? >> reporter: so they were asking you to push the deliveryt forward? >> yes, yes, by force the delivery. >> reporter: because they were afraid of? >> not having the doctors, not having the services. >> reporter: when we first metwe dr. shefajo, the trump administration was in talks with the taliban about leaving the

country. at the time, women like her were worried about what might happen to them should there be a peace deal that could bring the insurgent group to power.er >> we want our rights, as a woman, as a doctor, as a mother, and as an afghan, as a muslim. >> reporter: you have daughtersh what do you hope for their future? how do you picture it? >> for my elder daughter, i wan her to be a pilot. she is also interested to travel a lot. but for the others, they are interested to be a doctor. >> reporter: like their mother. we returned to kabul several months into taliban rule, i to find dr. shefajo changed, her spirit diminished, and the futures she dreamed for heru daughters? gone. after their takeover, the taliban banned all girls from attending public school. a few months later, they relented, allowing those under age 12 to go for an education. dr. shefarjo decided to send none of her girls, encouraging solidarity among the sisters. you're an educated woman,

working in an elite field, with a 14-year-old daughter who's not allowed to go to school.o how does that feel? >> my two kids are small, and they are allowed to go to school. they are under sixth grade. but my eldest daughter is at eighth grade, so she is not allowed to go to school. that's why i do not allow the two youngest ones as well. she will feel that "i am at home and not allowed to study, and my sisters are at school," and she will be disappointed. >> reporter: she encourages them to study independently at home, but knows an even more painful choice lays ahead. >> although i love my country, i love women, i love my patients,nd i love my job a

lot, and a lot. a lot like my kids, my heart, my body. but still i have to go out of the country because of my kids. >> reporter: dr. shefajo never r feared the taliban, and chose to stay in kabul to provide services to her patients. but she fights two battles now: a mother's love for her children and dedication to her patients. >> i love both of them a lot. but in comparison, my career and me are one person, but my kids are three, and they should have bright future. and because of them, i can leave everything. >> reporter: it's impossible to overstate what she leaves behind, as an afghan, as a doctor, and as a self-made professional. >> it took 48 years to reach myy goal, and i will not have this mu life to start from zero and

reach my goal, so it will take so much time. one of my friends went to canada and she was very good, verys famous and very professional doctor in afghanistan. over there, she is nothing. but she went because of her kids. >> reporter: that is all too common for many here, fleeing for western countries.tr once top specialists in their field, now trying to get qualified for assistants' work: >> right now, also, i am depressed and i take medication for depression. my condition will deteriorate a lot. and i know, i know, i will lose everything, because i invest a lot-- invest all my money in my hospital. i do not have anything in mye hand, but still, i am thinking about my kids. >> reporter: dr. shefajo doesn't know yet when or where

she will go. getting visas to move abroad is tough for afghans, but she is resolute about getting her daughters out of here and into a classroom, anywhere. the choice she is making-- the sacrifice-- is one countless afghan men and women will continue to make, as they flee for the sake of their children. surrendering their whole life's work, in hopes their sons and daughters will never have to make the choices they did. for the pbs newshour, i'm jane ferguson in kabul, afghanistan. >> woodruff: as climate change's impact grows, so does the risk of ever-larger and more frequent wildfires. no state knows that better than california. but, the golden state is also grappling with the role of one of the country's largest utilities in all of this, and,

whether the company will do what's needed to prevent or stop fires. stephanie sy has the story. >> sy: it's been five yearss since the california utility pg&e was placed under criminald probation for its conviction in the explosion of a natural gas pipeline which killed eight people in 2010. the probation ends today, but pg&e remains a "continuing menace," wrote the supervising judge in a concluding report. federal judge william alsup says pg&e has failed to rehabilitate itself, and says californians remain "trapped in a tragic era of pg&e wildfires because, fore decades, it neglected its duties."ti by the judge's accounting, while on probation, pg&e has irt off 31 wildfires, killing 113 californians, burning nearly 1.5 million acres, andll destroying almost 24,000 structures.

the utility is blamed for some of the biggest fires in the state's history, including last summer's dixie fire in northern california, which burned more than 963,000 acres a and destroyed 1,300 structures. the utility is also charged in the zogg fire in 2020 that burned more than 56,000 acres and killed four people. the company pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter in the deadly camp fire of 2018, which destroyed the town of paradise. >> my house, and all my things that i've been saving and collecting from family members that passed away, and pictures, are all gone. and that kind of hurts the most. it really does. but otherwise, what do you do?he >> it's kind of surreal. it's hard to believe this was once a beautiful place and i lived here and loved it, and now it looks like a war zone. >> sy: the company filed for

the judge wrote that systemic problems at pg&e remain entrenched. the company has failed to inspect and maintain outdated transmission lines. the judge deemed "inadequate"" its reliance on outside contractors to clear vegetation around its power lines. judge alsup has recommended that the company be split into two separate utilities. pg&e spokesperson james noonan said in a statement, "we acknowledge that we have more work to do," but added that they "have become a fundamentally safer company over the course of our probation." the majority of the survivors, the judge noted, are still waiting to be compensated, andd, some remain in mobile homes. only $7 million of a $13.5 billion fire trust fund have been disbursed to date.rs joining us to talk about pg&e's troubled history is brandonnd rittiman, he is ann investigatorrive reporter with

abc10 in sacramento who has covered extensively pg&e's role in california's wildfires. brandon rittiman, thank you sok much for joining thee "newshour". your reporting has reallyll focused on the power of pg&e politically in california, so in want to start there. as we talk about what wasn't done in this probation period acrding to this scathing final report from this judge, how does that power play into the lack of change we've seen in improving safety when it comes to california's wildfires and this ompany? >> well, thanks for having me and thanks for the question.st the power of the company is really difficult to overstate.ta it has a natural monopoly over electricity to 40% to have the state of california, one out of every 20 americans.s. and because they own the infrastructure, they have this monopoly certificate from the state, and that's really not been challenged in anyy

meaningful way. inme fact, the state governmentn has taken very much the opposits approached and helped prop up the company's books in responsen to these calamities, which happen to be criminal. and that's sort of where the rubber meets the road.. this is criminal behavior, criminally negligent behavior by this massive company that 16 million people have no choice but to buy their produc >> you know, the judge really has a long rap sheet of not only what they did bore the probation period but during the probation period. so i guess one question is whyy isn'the probation period being extended if any individual criminal was to reoffend during their probation period in the ways this judge describes ins this report, they'd stay locked up. >> yeah, that's absolutely true' i mean, legal experts i've talked to say if pg&e was aa person, it might be looking at a death sentence by now if not a life sentence, but prison isn't an option for a corporatera

entity, so even though we have corporate personhood baked into our laws, this idea that a corporate entity can be held accountable for crimes just like a person can, the fact is on the punishment side of that, there are no prison bars, there are n, handcuffs. if the corporate entity is the one found guilty or pleads guilty and pg&e has done both, trials and pleaing guilty. >> reporter: pg&e said it will let state regulators monitor its practices for years. the judge said there seems to be an engrained culture of keeping meters turning, even during those power shutoffs that pg&e has done in the last few years in an effort to prevent wildfires from being sparked.d. does that suggest to you as you read the report that this is a company that is putting profits ahead of safety and that california's regulators are allowing it to do so? >> well, it -- what really

suggest it to me is they stood in a courtroom and pled guilty to 85 felonies and said theyth would stop putting profits over safety and a federal judge says they haven't lived up to the commitment they made.. that's what's troubling to everyone. >> reporter: pg&e often says climate change is really to blame and, you know, there is evidence that climate change changes the behavior of wildfires. allowance,et any given the impact, of the change in climate on california, andfo does the judge address that in his concluding remarks? >> absolutely, the fires aree worse because of climate change and also because of overgrown, you know, conditions out in the wildland. we'vewi suppressed wildfire for more than 100 years in the west, so there's a big bonfire up u there, everything is dryer and warmer and we have more daysys where it can burn. all of that is drew and the reason why criminal negligencege has to be snuffed out so that we don't have a fire spark that is

utterly preventable and lose more lives for mo reason. >> reporter: finally, brandon,on where do payments stand for the many victims of these wildfires and why has it taken so long for them to get relief? >> yeah, so most but not all of pg&e's wildfires were rolled into its bankruptcy which itit emerged from back in 2020 around the time it pleaded guilty to the camp fire. the scheme proposed to the victims, they got a yes or no o vote, there weren't other choices, was take your settlement half in cash, half in stock to be held by a trust which would then sell the pg&e stock and use the money from the sale to pay you. so you have the people who have lost their, you know, livelihoods, loved ones' homes in pg&e disasters essentially being put in the position of owning a big chunk of theth company that burned them out. it's never been worth the amount they were told. some of them. have gotten their

first payments but none haveve been paid in full and they may y not be for years. >> reporter: the judge writes mean while pg&e management pays itself handsome bonuses and salaries. wall his reports can be found at firepowermoney.com. thank you so much for joining the "newshour". >> thank you.ew >> woodruff: as students across the country continue to experience the many changes the pandemic has brought, some are struggling to adjust to their "new normal." as a part oour student reporting labs, student reportes teri bell followed up with school counselor edith porter at caesar rodney high school in camden, delaware, on her

predictions for students' mental health in 2022 and what schools can do to help. >> reporter: hi, mrs. porter. thank you for speaking with mean today. >> hi, teri. thank you for having me. >> reporter: last year, student reporting labs interviewed you i about teen mental health during the pandemic, and your predictions for this schoolpr year.ye let's take a listen. >> there will be more check-ins. i'm predicting that parents will be more open to resources, that we can have open conversations about race, about gender, about the pandemic, about mental health. i predict that when we come together, we've learned something-- we've learned how to treat each other a little bit better. >> reporter: so, what have you seen this school year, and are y those things still happening? >> yes. so, this school year, i have

seen more students referring themselves to mental health therapy. teachers emailing. more parents coming into the school looking for help for their children. i've seen a lot of children bring their peers down, slipping i'm finding that the conversations about grief have increased, because, as you know, teri, you know, during the pandemic, there was a lot of loss. a lot of the students have lost family members. they haven't been able to grieve properly, and they haven't had any grief counseling. >> reporter: what mental healtha issues are you seeing students struggle with this year, and is it the same as last year? or are new issues becoming more common? >> you know, our kids areid worried about what just happened and how to have a new normal. a lot of kids are struggling with how to stay organized, making classes, how to balance work life, being introduced bac into having friends, and socializing with a mask on in the school. some kids have struggled over covid with substance issues.

you know, smoking, vaping, drinking, things like that. and parents have contacted me tt sort of give resources and help those kids. >> reporter: what do you think students need most right now to improve their mental health? >> one of my favorite things is, people need to be held, heard, an understood. so, a lot of times, we need to ask young people like yourself, what do you need? how are you doing? how does that feel? and not be afraid of what the answer is. because sometimes you guys can say some interesting things to us. and as an adult, my job is not to judge you in mental health, it's to hear you and to understand what's going on, and allow you to say it, and express yourself, and know that you're okay. because of the internet, everybody's already diagnosed themselves.

so sometimes, i have toind of stray them away from that and just focus on-- on yourself. if you're anxious about this, let's figure out a solution. so, what's the problem that we t can handle right now? can't handle what will happen in five months, right? let's get you focused on, let's get back to class.le i have a test. i'm anxious. okay, let's breathe. let's focus. let's see if we can get you back 30 minutes into that, and we're goi to do one thing at a time. so, it's teaching them how to bh present. >> reporter: so, i'm a senior. what advice would you give seniors that are getting ready to leave high school, but missed such a critical part in their social development due to the pandemic? >> involve yourself in clubs,el introduce yourself to more people, less social media. sorry! but, you know, more face-to-face engagements as possible, because when you go to college, there ih

going to be a lot of interaction with new people, and you want to feel confident about that. >> reporter: if you could give one piece of advice to schools around the country to help their students with mental health, what would it be? >> mental health therapists, knowledgeable people that cankn provide resources in and out of school, able to train the staff in the importance of mental health, and understand that this is something that's not going away-- that it's something that we need to continue on for years to come. >> woodruff: to hear more about how students are adjusting to life during the pandemic, tuneth into student reporting labs' special, "our new normal." you can find that right now, on our website, pbs.org/newshour. 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 pbsan

newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and we'll see you soon. fe >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democraticñuy3 engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> the target foundation, committed to advancing racial equity and creating the changere required to shift systems and accelerate equitableconomicle opportunity. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made>>

possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. andy contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. th captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you're watching pbs. you're watching pbs.

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