captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evenin'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the war grinds on-- kyiv is hit by a new wave of russian shelling as civilians bear the brunt of the assault on mariupol in the increasingly deadlocked conflict. then, the passing of an icon-- former secretary of state madeleine albright, the first woman to hold that position, passes away. we examine her life and legacy. then, the questioning continues. supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson faces another round of interrogation from the senate judiciary committee. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

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with nis national security leadership, they'll be part of a trio of summits tomorrow with nato, the european union and the more sanctions against russian politicians and oligarchs are on the way, as the allies continue coordinating support for ukraine. meantime, the ukrainian counteroffensive continues around the capital kyiv, as russian forces remain stalled in many sectors of the cotry here again is jane ferguson, reporting from kyiv. >> reporter: firefighters in kyiv received the most emergency calls today since russia's invasion began. another sign that moscow is not letting up its assault on the capital. local resident svetlana's home is now smoldering rubble, only the charred remains of a past life. >> ( translated ): we were in

the bedroom, and i was sitting in the armchair watching television. when it exploded, i ran away to the kitchen. and there was already everything damaged. windows were blown, smoke and smell of burning and i could not take anything from the rooms and we ran outside. >> reporter: she was able to walk away. many others were not. in the besieged city of mariupol, subjected to the fiercest russian onslaught of the war, some fortunate enough to make the rare humanitarian corridor out, arrived in zaporizhzhya last night by bus. getting trapped civilians out of mariupol has become the gravest humanitarian emergency of this war so far. the ukrainian government says russian forces commandeered a convoy of 11 empty buses that were headed to mariupol to bring people to safety. >> ( translated ): for several weeks we have been trying to organize stable humanitarian corridorfor mariupol's residents and almost all our attempts have been, unfortunately, obstructed by shelling or deliberate terror by russian occupiers.

>> reporter: but a senior u.s. defense official said today ukrainians continue to push russia away from kyiv. russian forces remain outside chernihiv and kharkiv, and are now increasing their offense in the donbas region could include the use of chemical weapons, something which president biden warned of again today >> i think it is a real threat. >> reporter: earlier this month, and with no evidence, russia accused the u.s. of developing chemical weapons in ukraine, raising washington's fears that moscow may launch such an attack. julianne smith is the u.s. ambassador to nato. >> what worries us about those types of statements and accusations is they may be again set laying kind of a trap or not a trap, but a pretext for them to do something more or much worse inside ukraine.

>> reporter: the nato alliance is expected to bolster its presence in eastern europe, with new troops deployed to bulgaria, hungary, romania and slovakia. poland had also called for an international peacekeeping mission in ukraine, a move that today russia said could escalate the conflict. >> ( translated ): it will lead to the direct clash between the russian and nato armed forces that everyone has not only tried to avoid but said should not take place in principle. >> reporter: and to avoid the war from spreading, jens stoltenberg emphasized its commitment to protecting all allies, including from the risk of a nuclear war. >> russia must stop its nuclear sabre-rattling. this is dangerous and it is irresponsible. we convey a really clear message to russia that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought. >> reporter: but russia's

nuclear forces are on high alert, and last night the kremlin spokesman would not rule out the nuclear option. >> we have a concept of domestic security. so if it is an existential threat, a threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept. >> reporter: for ukrainians, there is little security anywhere. yet, hopes of rebuilding their cities endure, even while they are still under attack. a cellist played in kharkiv today, raising funds for humanitarian aid, and efforts to repair his city when this war is over. for the pbs newshour, i'm jane ferguson, in kyiv, ukraine. >> woodruff: the newshour's reporting from ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center.

>> woodruff: here in washington, she was just known as madeleine. most everyone in politics, statecraft, and journalism instantly know who that was. from the very heights of government and diplomacy, to fierce advocacy fodemocracy and refugees, madeleine albright set a new, and trailblazing standard. the first woman to become secretary of state died this afternoon in washington, but leaves quite a legacy. here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: from her childhood fleeing nazis, to in the 1990s becoming the highest ranking woman in u.s. history, madeleine albright was guided by one principle: >> i so believe that we are all the same, and we want to make decisions about our own lives, and the only way to do that is democracy. >> schifrin: she was born marie jana korbelova in 1937 in prague, czechoslovakia. her family lived under nazi occupation, and then communism,

before fleeing first for london, then colorado. marie became madeline, and, at age 20, a u.s. citizen. in the 1970s she entered democratic politics and worked on president carter's national security council staff. she then became a professor of international affairs at georgetown university, focused on the soviet union. >> also with us tonight is a soviet expert from georgetown university in washington. she is madeline albright. >> if the west keeps the pressure up it is possible that they will make further concessions and further admissions, but we are not awfully good at predicting soviet behavior. >> schifrin: in 1993, president bill clinton named her ambassador to the united nations. >> i, madeline korbel albright >> schifrin: and then, in 1997, the country's first female secretary of state. she was confirmed, unanimously. >> madeleine albright has the strength and wisdom to help ensure that america remains the indispensable nation. >> schifrin: in that role, she pushed for nato's expansion east. >> the new expanded nato is a - not contrary to russia, but in

fact, is being designed in order to help provide security and stability in central and eastern europe. >> schifrin: in response to serbia's ethnic cleansing of kosovar albanians in the former yugoslavia, she led the charge for nato intervention. the bombing campaign lasted 78 days. >> why did you feel so passionately about kosovo? >> because it isn't just kosovo, jim, it is what was going on in the region. when we were fighting hitler, it wasn't just hitler, it was fighting against fascism. when we were fighting against stalin, it one just the cruelty of a totalitarian dictator like stalin, it was against communism that extinguished people's ability to be free. and when we're dealing with a now-indicted war criminal such as milosevic, it isn't just him, it is struggling against the concept which is that it is not appropriate, possible, or

permissible for one man to uncork ethnic nationalism as a weapon. >> schifrin: in a visit to kosovo following the campaign, and expressed a hope for europe, still unrealized. >> never again will houses and villages be burned, and never again will there be massacres and mass graves. >> schifrin: when she used those words, she hadn't yet learned her own family's history: her parents were born jewish, but converted to catholicism and invented a christian history, to protect their family. and 26 family members died in the holocaust. >> i had no idea. and it's one thing to find out you're jewish, which does add interest to an already complex background, but another to find out that relatives had died in concentration camps. and that was a stunning shock. >> schifrin: in 2001, she left public office in 2001. but her consulting group remained influential, and she

continued to advocate for democracy, including in ukraine. >> i do not speak for my country anymore but i do speak as chairman of the national democratic institute. we want very much to be in ukraine, to be supportive not only of the elections, but of all the work that is going to have to take place afterwards." >> schifrin: she endorsed senator hillary clinton in 2008 and again in 2016, after clinton had served in her old job. >> just remember: there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other. >> schifrin: in 2012, president barack obama awarded her the presidential medal of freedom. obama >> this is one of my favorite stories. once, at a naturalization ceremony, an ethiopian man came up to her and said, “only in america can a refugee meet the secretary of state.” and she replied, “only in america can a refugee become the secretary of state.” >> schifrin: her personality, always larger than her four foot-eleven stature. always humble always funny albright's family today called

her “a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt-and friend.” madeleine albright was 84 years old. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin >> woodruff: and just moments ago i spoke with former president bill clinton by phone from his home in new york. president clinton thank you so much for joining us, we're so sorry for your loss. we know that you and secretary clinton were very close to madeleine albright, what are you remembering tonight? >> i'm remembering first of all how proud i was of her, and the way she conducted herself at the united nations and at the state department. and secondsly, i have been think being all the meals we had, and how honored i was to go his-- his funeral and have madeleine speak, not me because she could stand up in prague in a very

cold cathedral and give a passionate, hot speech about her friend in czech. and they loved the fact that an american secretary of state was a refugee from their country. and she was so wonderful. have i been think being that. i was thinking about two years ago when we took our last trip to kosovo when they were celebrating the 20th anniversary of their victory and ours in ending the ethnic cleansing and the threat to kosovo's very existence. and we walked on a sunny day down the main street of town in a parade with all the kosovar officials and when we ended we are down in a little park-like area where they dedicated a beautiful bus to madelei and a tribute to the work she had done there. you know, i'll really proud of the life she lived and i'm so

grateful that hilary and i became friends with her. i met her in 1988 when she was working in the governor dukakis presidential kament pain and hilary became quite close with her. and she became a strong supporter of her as secretary of state, and i am so glad i did t she did a great job. >> woodruff: you named her u.n. ambassador shortly after you were elected president in 1992. and as you said, four years later you named her secretary of state. what were the qualities you saw in her then. she was the first woman to serve in that job. >> first of all, i thought she represented america's best possible future. she was an immigrant, a refugee, an american citizen. i knew she was a great teacher because she taught at my alma mater in georgetown and a couple of times was voted the best

teacher on the faculty. but the students and-- by the students and i thought she would be a clear voice in the united nations, so the world we were trying to build after the berlin wall fell. you know, keep in mind my first term was the first full term any president had served since the end of the cold war. although president bush had more than half of his time there too. and i thought it was really important that we build alliances and stand up for freedom because just because the berlin wall fell and the sov yent union broke apart it didn't mean that there were no more enemies of democracy and the rule of law and freedom. and so i thought she was important. and she was great in handling the issue around bosnia, and

later as secretary of state, great with kosovo and many other things that we did, in asia and latin america and around the world to promote peace and freedom and security. >> woodruff: of course being from czech vacia, born in czech, she was part of eastern europe, a woman for that era with so much change in that part of the world. >> oh yes, she was. and you foe she and her family were basically had to leave the czech twice, first they were running from hitler and then they were running from stalin. and she developed a keen appreciation of the importance of liberty and the rule of law. and she lived the rest of her life trying to bring it to everybody else.

>> and of course that part of the world right now president clinton is in turmoil again, with the with the cries nis ukraine. have i to ask you, what more at this moment do you believe the united states and nato could be doing to help the ukrainian people and what is it going to take to stop vladimir putin? >> well, first of all, let's give credit where ced sit due. the first to the ukrainians. they have fought and fought and fought and russia can drop more bombs and fire more missiles from ships on dessa but ukrainians have fought like the devil and they have put the light of the whole-- dsht lie to the woll whorld of putin-- that they really want to be part of musha it is not true, so i think that president biden has done a

good job of helping to unite the europeans and unite nato. and i say this with all respect to switzerland but it has been a rare occurrence in the last 50 years when the swiss have walked away from the privacy of their banks an their politics. >> woodruff: president clinton, we thank you so much for joining us and again our condolences on the loss of your and secretary clinton's good friend madeleine albright. >> thank you, she was a treasure for >> woouff: and now with me, one of madeleine albright's successors as u.s. ambassador to the united nations, susan rice. she w serves as president biden's domestic policy advisor. she was a close and longtime friend of madeleine albright's. for joining us. and we're so sorry for your loss. tell us about you, about your connection to her, she knew your

family from the time were you a little girl. >> yes, judy. thank you so much for those kind words. and thank you for doing this segment. i was privileged to know madeleine albright from the time i was four years old. my mom and she were friends. and i grew up with her daughters. anlong before she was my boss, she was a role model as a professional woman in a field that i ended up joining, in national security. but she was also just a regular warm kind supportive mother and friend. and there is not a single professional decision i made, have i made thus far in my life without the benefit of her advice and wisdom. and we've heard so much from president clinton and in your package about her extraordinary accomplishments as a diplomat, as a scholar, as a teacher, as a champion of democracy and human

rights. but one thing i really want to stress is what an incredible men tor she was to so many. not just me but all of her students at georgetown, all of the many, many people in foreign policy and national security who looked up to her and had the benefit of her wisdom and support. and especially to young women, she formed recently the albright institute for global affairs at her alma mater wellesley college, where her aim was to lift up and support the next generation of women. and that was one of the many, many important and unique aspects of her. >> yes, i saw first hand how much she cared about bringing along other women. susan rice, how much do you think her background growing up as she did in czechoslovakia escaping as president clinton said twice from the nazis. she was affected by what was in the soviet union, how much did that background do you think

shaped her and drive her? >> enormously. i mean she was proud to be a refugee. and deeply proud of being an american. but she knew first hand how brutal ought october crassee was and is,-- autocray was and s she was so passionality-- passionate about democracy and human rights and her leadership at the national democratic institute where i was proud to serve with her on the board for a period of time. her writingses on fascism and the threat it opposes, her teachings to her students, about the importance of western values and western cohesion and natdo and our alliance structure. these were all products of her personal experience as well as her enormous scholarship and her professional experience. >> what do you think was the secret sauce, if you will. i mean you're right, i mean she

was a mentor, she was a great dip will mat. she was an intellectual. what put it all together? >> she had an extraordinary sense of human irand a playful sense of fun. one of the things that people maybe don't remember and i hope somebody will play the tape, was when she did the mackarena in the security counsel will other diplomats. that was, you know, a side of her that was very genuine. she had a sharp and biting wit at times. but always, you know, always warm, always caring. she brought it all together. i mean she really truly, swrudy, as you will appreciate, was the consummate professional and mother and did them both simultaneously and that was sort of indicative of who she is. >> i have hard side and soft side and they blended. >> i have heard people describe her as not only talented diplomat but also a good indoor politician.

-- politician, the way she could workpeople if you will. how did you see that? >> well, it is not a surprise that she was our first woman secretary of state. she, you know, was well positioned to do that, coming out of the u.n. but she was a politician. and she played her she had political skillsk well crafted, when she left office as secretary of state she formed a group that she called madeleine and her ex's, these were ex foreign ministers from other foreign countries that she had worked with primarily in europe but elsewhere that she had formed close relationships with while she was ambassador and secretary of state, but they maintained a network that stays very close and did important policy work together. and influenced the decision making in their capitol. so she did know how to network. she did know how to bring people along and bring people together.

and even though she was clearly a committed democrat, big d as well as small d, she worked across the aisle sherks close relationships on a bipartisan basis, all of her professional life and prided herself on that. so she really was the whole package. and judy, we will all miss her mightily. >> woodruff: for sure, i have been watching the outpouring of statements across the political spectrum, from the chamber of commerce to members of congress from both sides of the aisle. susan rice, thank you so much for joining us, especially on this rainy night at the white house. thank you. and we're sorry for your loss >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, federal judge ketanji brown jackson pledged she would have no agendas, if she becomes

the first black woman on the u.s. supreme court. she faced a second day of questioning by the u.s. senate judiciary committee. republicans again painted her as soft on crime, while democrats defended her. we'll return to this, after the news summary. the supreme court today threw out new maps for wisconsin state legislative districts. the democratic governor endorsed them, but republicans argued the districts were racially gerrymandered. at the same time, the justices rejected a republican challenge to new maps for wisconsin's congressional districts. the new orleans area has spent this day recering from tornadoes that ripped through, overnight. one person was killed, and the governor declared emergencies in four parishes. community correspondent roby chavez has the story from new orleans. >> reporter: overturned vehicles, downed power lines and street lights, homes completely destroyed. >> that's ross the street from us >> reporter: this is the

devastation left behind after a tornado tore through the lower 9th ward in new orleans and surrounding areas tuesday night. >> it was definitely, i would say, almost worse than a hurricane. you know, so was, i don't know, it was definitely traumatic. the house is shaking. so we hurry up and got in the bathroom and then the towel in the bathroom fell on us. so yeah, it was pretty traumatic experience. >> reporte new orleans mayor latoya cantrell spoke to reporters today: >> we are declaring, and that's being prepared right now for my signature, a state of emergency to enable access to any federal resources that we will be eligible for. >> reporter: meanwhile, residents like devin in the hardest hit area of st. bernard parish, just five miles from the french quarter, are ft with piles of debris. the storm hit in an area battered by unusually strong storms, including hurricane ida and a powerful tornado in 2017. the intense weather has stunned residents in this working-class community, which still hasn't fully recovered from hurricane

katrina. that's when 68,000 residents were left homeless. louisiana has activated hundreds of national guard personnel to clear up roadways and assist in local search eorsu oleft unaccounted for. the storm hit louisiana after more than a dozen tornadoes roared across central texas earlier this week, prompting residents to quickly seek shelter at this walmart in round rock, just outside austin. near the oklahoma border, a 73- year-old woman was killed as twisters continued wreaking havoc across the deep south. as the storm moved through alabama overnight, significant damage was reported just south of tuscaloosa. and at mississippi state university, in starkville, several cars on campus were crushed by falling trees. for the pbs newshour, i'm roby chavez, in new orleans. >> woodruff: meanwhile, the united nations is calling for worldwide access to early

warnings of natural disasters, within five years. the initiative announced today aims to give developing countries the same warning systems that rich nations already have. more than a third of the world's population now lacks access to early warnings. on the pandemic, moderna says its vaccine proved effective in children younger than six, in early findings from a new study. the company says it will soon seek emergency authorization for two, small-dose shots. some 18 million children will be eligible, and white house officials say there are plenty of shots available. >> we will be ready operationally if the vaccine, and when the vaccine, is authorized and recommended. and we'll have those vaccinations available at tens of thousands of locations across the country that parents kno and trust. >> woodruff: also today, the world health organization reported an increase in global infections for a second straight week. idaho has become the first state

to follow texas in banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, and letting citizen lawsui enforce it. the republican governor signed the measure today. but, he said he doubts the enforcement mechanism will prove constitutional. the texalaw remains in force, pending a court challenge. in southern china, investigators think they've found the cockpit flight recorder from a monday's airliner crash that killed 132 people. state tv today showed workers at the wreckage site placing the orange-coled device into a bag. officials said it could provide key clues to what happened, despite being mangled. >> ( translated ): at the scene, investigators conducted a preliminary inspection of the recorder. the appearance of the recorder was severely damaged, and the storage unit was also damaged to a certain extent, but it was relatively complete. >> woodruff: officials also say they found human remains at the mountainde crash site. but, work was interrupted by

rain that could cause landslides. human rights watch accused armed attackers in iraq today of brutalizing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. the group reported widespread kidnapping, torture and murder. one transgender woman told of being assaulted with razor blades and screwdrivers, then, set on fire. the report accused police of doing nothing, or even contributing to the violence. taliban leaders in afghanistan have reversed themselves, and ruled that girls will not attend school beyond the sixth grade. the decision was confirmed today. it could spark an international backlash at a time when the taliban are urgently seeking humanitarian aid. a u.s. diplomat in moscow visited american basketball star brittney griner in a russian jail today. the state department says she appeared to be in good condition. griner has been held since mid-february on an alleged drug

violation that could mean 10 years in a russian prison and, on wall street, oil prices shot back up to $115 a barrel, fueling new unease in the stock market. major indexes fell more than one percent. the dow jones industrial average lost nearly 450 points to close at 34,358. the nasdaq dropped 186 points. the s&p 500 gave up 55. still to come on the newshour: supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson again faces questions from the senate judiciary committee. and the pandemic leads to a dramatic rise in alcohol-related deaths. >> woodruff: today was the final chance for senators to question federal judge ketanji brown jackson.

as john yang reports, republicans continued their attacks while democrats defended her record >> yang: the final day of supreme court nominee ketanji brown jackson's testimony was marked by more heated questioning from committee republicans on sentences she gave to child pornography offenders. texas senator ted cruz: >> looking at your cases, and i have now examined all of the child porn cases you've had as a federal district judge, there is a very consistent pattern. >> senator, i've said what i'm going to say about these cases. no one case can stand in for a judge's entire record ani- >> okay, but i'm discussing every one of these cases. so if you're not going to explain it - >> senator, would you please let her respond? >> no, not if she's not going to answer my question. >> yang: south carolina senator lindsay graham: >> you think it is a bigger deterrent to take somebody who is on a computer looking at sexual images of children, in

pervise their couter habits to versus putting them in jail? >> no, senator i didn't say versus. >> yang: jackson sidestepped questions from committee republicans on other issues like abortion and court packing. >> so there is no suggestion that after 20 weeks that a child can live independently correct? >> senator, i am not a biologist. i haven't studied this. i don't know. >> you don't know whether an unborn child can live outside the womb at 20 weeks gestation? >> what i know is that the supreme court has tests and standards that it's applied when it evaluates regulation of the right of a woman to terminate their pregnancy. they have a, the court has announced there is a right to terminate up to the point of viability subject to framework in roe and casey and there is a pending case right now that is

addressing these issues. >> you acknowledged you have an opinion, did i understand that right, you have an opinion on court packing? >> i have a lot of opinions, i have opinions on, i am a human being and i have opinions on a lot of things. i understand that it's a political question and that is precisely why i think that i am uncomfortable speaking to it. >> yang: democrats sought to paint jackson as a fair-minded, highly-qualified nominee. as the first black woman nominated to the supreme court, jackson also spoke of how far the country has come on civil rits. >> my parents grew up in florida under lawful segregation, and i do consider myself having been born in 1970 to be the first generation to benefit from the civil rights movement from the legacy of all of the work of so many people that went into

changing the laws of this country, so that people like me could have an opportunity to be sitting here before you today. >> yang: she talked about what she would bring to the high court. >> what i would hope to bring to the supreme court is very similar to what 115 other justices have brought, which is their life experiences, their perspectives. and mine included being a trial judge, being an appellate judge, being a public defender, being a member of the sentencing commission. in addition to my being a black woman, lucky inheritor of the civil rights dream. >> yang: tomorrow the committee will hear from legal experts before they vote on sending jackson's nomination to the senate floor. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang.

>> woodruff: and for more on this, i'm joined again today by marcia coyle of the "national law journal." and our lisa desjardins. lisa joins me from the capitol, hello to both of you, you have been watching this all day long, and this is the third day, marcia, she again as we just saw facing very challenging questions especially from the republican members on the committee. how is she doing overall. >> i think she's holding her own without a doubt. and she chose enormous patience. i thought that for a few of the senators on the republican side there was a noticeable change in tone. it was harder, especially on her rulings again in the area of pornography, child pornography cases, with senator graham even going a step furthered and talking about one of her immigration opinions and

accusing her of being exhibit a for judicial activism because he said she disagreed with the trump administration in that case. so i thought it was harsher. and i also got the sense that they really weren't listening to her. senator graham cut her off repeatedly as she tried to explain her sentencing of the child porn defendant. and if fact i think senator durbin had to intervene and say let her answer the question. so my sense was that they want to make their points now, this is the final chance to do it. for their base or the tv or whatever. but she was very patient. >> woodruff: and lisa, pick up on that. we did see this afternoon there was this back and forth between chairman dik durbin and the republicans over documents. tell us what that was about. >> ten republicans on this committee lead by senator ted cruz are requesting access to the presentencing reports, especially in the cases

involving child pornography that have come up so much in these hearings. senator durbin's initial reaction was almost a flat no. he said that he is concerned about the many people mentioned in those presentencing reports including the victims, including innocent third parties, that a lot of damages can be done to many people by those reports being disseminated in anyway. republicans say it is fine if they want to pick a redacted important, they will take it in any form they can. right now we believe that the two conferences will meets and discuss if those reports will actually come through or not. that is something that has never happened before. but as john yang has been pointed out in our coverage strks rare to have a trial judge up for the supreme court at all it just really speaks to the tension here, if these reports were to come out, it would delay the confirmation, i just think the democrats are going to be very very relux tenant to have this happen for a number of reasons. >> and marcia, this reminded us and again we saw it earlier, so many questions about the work

she did as a trial judge and in sentencing. >> yes. >> one of the for child exploitation, do we have a better understanding of all that? >> i think she has ride, if people were able and it would be very difficult to go back over her testimony beginning yesterday through today, she did explain how she sentences and that it is all there, but if was not satisfactory to those who were questioning her. i recall that one of the questioner, i don't know if it was senator graham or cruz or another one who asked her did she not regret, i think it was senator holly, didn't she regret giving three months to this one child porn defendant. and i think at that point, you know, she said what she regretted was that so much attention has been paid to a subset, a small subset of over 500 of her opinions. that is the only time i saw her feeling a little exasperated that this was continuing after she had answered it so many

times. >> and democrats pointing out that 80% of judges handed out the same kind of sentence, very quickly but it still looks as if she is on track for confirmation. >> that's right. quickly i want to show the faces of six senators, we will talk more about this in coming days, senator joe mansion a democrat, always a critical vote, he has had positive things to say, democrats absolutely need him and then there are knife other republicans that were watching for different reasons. judy, today was a very duff tough day as martialia said and we will be watching to see how that affected some of these republicans, some of them mi not like the kind of tactics their fellow republicans were using today. some may have other concerns that really aren't impacting by these hearings one way or the other. >> a lot to unfold here, lisa desjardins, marcia coyle, we thank you both. >> always a pleasure, >> woodruff: for more insight on today's hearing i'm joined by saikrishna prakash. he's a law professor at the university of virginia and a former clerk to justice clarence thomas.

and melody barnes. she is the executive director of the karsh institute of democracy at the university of virginia. she previously served in the obama administration as director of the white house domestic policy council and as chief counsel to senator ted kennedy on the jiciary committee. and we're welcoming both of you back to the newshour. let me start with you. you heard both lisa and marcia saying how much even more agress ich the questioning today was from republicans, so much of it centered on judge jackson's sentencing around child exploitation. what is going on here, do you think? >> i think the republicans are trying to use the meme of democrats being soft on crime so they are speaking to their constituents, possibly speak being future offices. and so they are focused on an issue that they think gives them political mileage. they don't expect this will de

rail the nomination. they know it will when they decided to-- speak to their political base. >> so they are using it, you said for political mileage. >> yes, i mean i think as you said yesterday, judy, these hearings aren't really only about trying to find out more about the nominee. they are also about politicians using the platform they are on to advance their agendas and their careers and both sides are doing this in various ways. they know that the attention of the nation is upon them. and they are going to use that time for their purposes. and perhaps soakeddarily for the purposes of the nation. >> and melody barnes, is to what extent is all of this you think cutting into the impression that the nominee and the white house want to leave with the public about who she is? >> i think that's a great question. i completely agree about what is going on here and in fact there say term, friends of mine use,

their thr are appointments being made, questions that are actually really only statements and ways that they want to, the republicans are trying to draw a picture much judge brown jackson. but i think overall she is pairing with republican senators quit well. she is making her point and doing so in a way that demonstrates the kind of judicial temperment that her former colleagues an peers in the white house have said is natural for her. and it's what you would want from a supreme court justice, so i think she is managing this quite well. i do think that lisa desjardins was pointing to these six senators that we're looking at but there is a question about how some of this is affecting them. and certainly as we look at senator graham, who was a supporter of hers when she was nominated to the circuit court. >> woodruff: and sounds very much like he will not shall a supporter this time although we don't know, of course, until he

casts his vote. sy, do we come away with a better, i mean given all the knows that we have just been talking about, do we come away with a better sense of who she is and what kind of justice she might be if she is confirmed? >> i think so. i ink so very much, judy. i think we met a remarkable person, many of us didn't know much about her. a very poised person, a very jud di shus person and interestingly enough a person who is open to more conservative approaches to the law like originalism. i think many people on the right are remarkably surprised by some of the things she said. that suggest a more limited judicial conception, a more limited judicial role than many people on the left might have supposed that she represented. >> woodruff: and i mean flesh that out for us a moment. what more do you think people would have liked to hear, would have liked to hear her question about that maybe would have

helped or hurt letter? >> well, i think as i said yesterday, i think more focus on judicial philosophy, less focused on individual cases. there is no one on earth who has hasn't issued an opinion or said something that they disagreed with later on. and the fact that she might have done that sometime, she might have come to a different conclusion today than in the past just isn't, i think,-- think,-- dispositive about whether she should be consented to by the senate and appointed by the president. i think there say bit of a gotcha game going on with respect to the republicans that doesn't really have to do with whether she should be appointed to the supreme court. and i think probing her views on judicial fill os fee, what she called mettology would have been a more useful use of their time today. >> melody barnes, of course so much attention placed on the fact that this is the first she would be the first black woman to serve on the court. how much has race do you think play a role in these hearings if

at all? >> well, it is absolutely played a role. the white house when she was announced back during the campaign, then candidate biden made it clear that he wanted to put forward an african-american woman, so that firmly put it on the table. and i think the argument there is there have been 115 people who have sat on the supreme court and only two african-americans, no african-american women, you cannot believe in 200 years that there are no african-american women who were qualified to sit on ts court. so this is redressing, or this is putting someone on the court who deserves to be there, who has every qualificion to be there. and starts to bring greater diversity to the court. but at the same time there are other issues at play here. we were talking earlier and i think marcia coyle was talking about this soft on crime narrative and that is a 50, 60 year old narrative and not only

attaches to liberals and democrats but one that people try to attach to african-americans as well. so i think that that certainly is playing out here. and certainly the january is rogers brown nominations and what happened there in the grieveance there and that she would have been, so they say, a nominee to the supreme court and the first african-american woman nominated but she was denied that. but also without acknowledging that this is beyond just one nominee. this is about the judicial philosophy that would play out and how it would impact all of the country. and that's someone that even george will said was out of the mainstream. so there are a lot of different threads at work here. >> and you are mentioning a nominee, as you say, conservative january is brojers-- rogers brown nominated back in the early 1990. it was filibustered but then she was eventually confirmed. but very quickly, sy, your sense is that she is confirmed. you don't see anything standing

in the way? >> she will be confirmed, judy. and the president will appoint her. the only question is how many republican votes does she get. and i think she should get more than she is likely to get. >> sy d-- both, university of virginia. thank you both. we appreciate it. >> woodruff: and you can watch the final day of the jackson hearings tomorrow, starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern on our website and utube page. >> woodruff: we've regularly reported on the continuing rise in opioid and overdose deaths during the pandemic. but what's gotten far less attention is a sharp increase in alcohol-related deaths as well. william brangham looks at a new study about that crisis and the reasons behind the surge. >> brangham: judy, alcohol- related deaths were going up before the pandemic started, but

at far lower rates. a study this week in the journal of the american medical association found that during the first year of the pandemic, alcohol-related deaths increased dramatically, by 25%. in 2020, deaths jumped from about 79,000 a year to 99,000. and this spike was seen across all drinking-age groups. so what is driving this? katherine keyes is an epidemiologist at columbia university's mailman school of public health. she focuses on substance abuse, addiction and psychiatry. katherine, great to have you on the newshour. so as i mentioned, alcohol related deaths had been rising before the pandemic, but then really took off. when you look at that, those results? does that make sense to you? >> yes. you know, certainly what we know pre-pandemic is that alcohol consumption and alcohol related deaths have been going up in the united states for about the last 10 years. and what we know is that during

the pandemic, there were a couple of factors that have really contributed to that acceleration. one is the loss of connection with alcohol related services and treatment programs for people who have a history of alcohol related problems. and that's then combined with the stress of the pandemic and financial stressors that are associated with it, that created the conditions that led to relapse and other increases in heavy drinking, especially among people with a history of heavy drinking and related problems. >> brangham: and does it the things that you cited that people are stuck at home, it is stressful. perhaps it's not as expensive versus if you're drinking out, it costs a lot more than if you've bought that alcohol yourself. does that give any sense as to what we ought to be doing as far as trying to prevent these kinds of deaths from happening? >> sure, of course, yes, there were many changes in alcohol policy that occurred across many

states that made alcohol less restrictive and lower cost, especially people who are drinking at home. and what we know from decades of public health work is that population level interventions such as increasing the price of alcohol have a population level effect. so bring down alcohol consumption sort of at all points along the distribution of people who are consuming alcohol. so certainly increasing price and providing more tighter regulations on access to alcohol would be an evidence based and effective intervention to reduce alcohol related death. >> brangham: what are the other ways that people may not be as aware of that alcohol hurts the human body? i mean, how is it that alcohol is causing this many deaths? >> yeah, alcohol is a carcinogen and that affects many systems in the body. we know that heavy levels of alcohol consumption can be associated with cardiovascular disease and even acute cardiomyopathy and other conditions that might affect otherwise healthy people, even

at young ages and at older ages. a cascade of deaths related to alcohol can involve both heart disease, liver damage and other are other sources of chronic morbidity, including cancer in many older folks. >> brangham: we mentioned earlier that there were certainly a surge in opioid related deaths during the pandemic that had really begun. those had also been going up, but really took off also during the pandemic. are those things connected? is there an often an overlap between alcohol use and other drug use? >> yes, that's right. alcohol and opioids can be a very fatal combination. and we know that many people who die of an opioid overdose. there are more than one substance involved and oftentimes that does involve alcohol. so these poly substance related deaths are increasing across the united states, and the contribution of alcohol to opioid overdose can't be understated. you know, certainly what we're seeing in terms of this acceleration of alcohol related deaths intersects very directly with the opioid overdose

epidemic. >> brangham: i mean, you touched on this before, but certainly anyone that has ever tried to get anyone into psychiatric care or substance abuse treatment knows that it's a very, very difficult thing to do with access and insurance and just availability. and that seems like that's going to be an ongoing issue that even if the virus recedes, that this is going to be a real problem, that people are going to have a hard time getting care for. >> yes, although i would say, you know, now we have a variety of relatively low barrier outpatient interventions for people who want to reduce their drinking. you know, even for people who don't want to be completely abstinent from drinking but just feel like they're drinking too much. and so i would certainly encourage anyone who is concerned about their drinking level or the drinking leveof a loved one to talk to a health care provider about the different types of interventions that are available. because oftentimes this is a condition that can be treated in an outpatient environment. >> brangham: all right, katherine keyes is as an

epidemiologist at columbia university's mailman school. thank you so much for being here. >> thanks so much for having me. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. newshour, thank you,lease stay safe and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has bn offering no-contract wireless plans, designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. the rules of business are being reinvented, with a more flexible workforce, by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead to future ones. >> people who know, know b.d.o.

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