judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, the war grinds on. russian forces continue to bomb mariupol and now the port city of odesa, but are pushed back in northeast ukraine, leaving ordinary citizens there to pick up the pieces. then, an uncertain future. a lawyer who argued against abortion rights before the supreme court discusses the justices' expected ruling to overturn roe v. wade. and, rethinking college. a colorado institution reconfigures campus life to reckon with the troubling legacy of boarding schools that aimed to erase indigenous students' way of life. >> i feel more acknowledged on this campus, rather than how it was before, was just like, oh, there's just some indian kids

over there, you know, they're not doing nothing. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> the landscape has changed and not for the last time. the rules of business are being reinvented with a more flexible workforce, by embracing innovation, by looking not only at current opportunities, but i to future ones. resilience is the ability to pivot again and again for whatever happens next. >> people who know, no -- know bdo. >> consumer cellular has offered can -- wireless plans to allow people to do more of what they

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judy: congress is considering a new aid package for ukraine tonight, including an additional $40 billion in weaponry and economic and humanitarian assistance. this comes as top intelligence officials told senators today that russia's president putin is aiming for a longer, wider war, not just in the eastern donbas, but with further flashpoints along ukraine's southern coast. national intelligence director avril haines warned, such plans uld push the conflict down a devastating new path. >> the uncertain nature of the battle that is turning into a war of attrition, combined with the reality that putin faces a mismatch between his ambitions and russia's current conventional military capabilities, likely means the next few months could see us moving along a more unpredictable and potentially escalatory trajectory. judy: haines added that putin seems to be counting on western resolve to weaken over time. also today, the ukrainian

government announced that russia isithdrawing some, if not all, of its troops from the northeastern region around kharkiv, ukraine's second largest city and a crucial base for its military. the announcement comes after ukrainian soldiers recently re-captured towns, including one east of the city, where nick schifrin reports tonight. nick: east of kharkiv, ukrainian soldiers are pushing forward. they patrol an area recently liberated from russian troops, and now, they're preparing for a counterattack. they build defensive positions, foxholes that will be linked to make a new line of trenches, made confident by recent success. and what is the threat from the russians in this location? >> mostly artillery, artillery and mortars. also, there could be, like, small reccie groups, but we're ready to engage. nick: captain jan fidra's mission is to prevent russian troops from moving through here,

south to the donbas. last week, they came under fire by russian cluster bombs. >> one of our soldiers died during the attack. our medics tried to help him, like, but he was dead before the body hit the ground. before we could take his body away, me and a few soldiers just spent a couple of hours with his body, like in that area. those woods in front of us, they're shooting at us from there. nick: we first met then-lieutenant fidrya in 2016, on the front line in eastern ukraine, faced o against russian-backed separatists. how's your leg? >> could be better. nick: we met him again this past march, after he was shot through the leg defending kyiv. >> first two weeks when i was in the unit, like, i couldn't -- i barely could walk, but i was working on it. like you see, i'm good right now. nick: how are the ukrainian

forces around kharkiv gaining such success right now? >> mostly, the russians, they're using right now mixed units. they're not organized, and that gives us more big opportunities, like, to push them back. they don't calculate their fire, and our artillery, they can find the positions, calculate the fire, and just destroy their positions. nick: his men are a company in ukraine's international legion. they're all foreigners, who write messages on their rpg's to the russians they target, and are paid and armed by the ukrainian government. some have faced combat, but never against a modern military. steve is from washington state. >> there are a number of us here who've been in plenty of gunfights before. and we all said the same thing. you know, getting into a gunfight with another human being is a different animal. here, there's no fighting back against death that falls from above. nick: how long will you stay? >> as long as it takes. i'm here until we win. >> you have two triggers. nick: they're just learning how to use the american anti-tank

javelin, so effective because it can be used from cover, quickly. >> fire, forget it, and that's all. nick: that's allowed ukrainian soldiers to destroy hundreds of russian tanks. they refer tthis as a lollipop, the shape of a turret blown off the tank body. this is another village, mala rouhan, liberated a month ago. today, ukraine fires artillery from nearby, but hasn't cleaned up abandoned russian barracks, with discarded russian uniforms and even russian borscht. the fields that residents used to till, the final resting place for a russian helicopter. 81 years ago, the nazis occupied mala rouhan. two months ago, the russians occupied and tried to convince these villagers to go with them to russia, including 48-year-old oskana. why did you refuse their offer to go to russia? >> i don't know. i had a bad feeling, because i didn't believe that ukrainians would reach russia without an incident. i didn't trust the russians that

i would be safe. nick: do you ever get used to the sound? >> no. nyet. nick: she walks me through the village, past a destroyed car. you can still see the tracks of the tank that ran it over. so what happened here? she says a cluster bomb landed right outside eir house, throwing shrapnel at the front door. she stayed, despite her husband's wanting to leave, because of her cats. they bear the wounds of this war, as do families that once considered themselves cross-border. oksana was born in russia, and moved to ukraine when she was 12. >> i feel sorry for russians who did this to us. no one will respect them after what they have done. even though i'm russian myself. i don't know, it's hard to explain. something feels wrong in my soul. nick: for weeks, russia used mala rohan to bombard kharkiv, just 12 miles to the west. the fiercest fighting in this area took place in a village up the road, vilkhivka.

8000 people used to live here. now, it is no more than 50. even though the major fighting ended weeks ago, this place is a ghost town. there is literally nobody out on the streets. and parts of this village still smell acrid. you can still smell the war. the russian army didn't bother to pick up their dead. dozens of homes took direct hits from russian artillery. and in the street, leftover russian munitions, just a few feet from the colored tires that outline a playground. in this village in ruins, we found oleksandr. he grew up here, and said he would never leave, no matter what. what's life like here today? is there any food, is there any water? >> water? what water? water, gas, electricity? the wires have been cut. what are you talking about? food is scarce. some people go to the city, some people share their food. humanity is being tested. nick: so what happened here?

down the road, yaroslav bodyrev ows me what used to be the back of his friend's home. it was blown out by an artillery shell just two weeks ago. >> when the fighting was very heavy, people were hiding in the basements and had to take all their food with them. and at some point, i was living on the street, all by myself. nick: he's living here now, despite the damage. and he, too, vows to never leave. >> i never could understand how people could live in syria. they've have war for many years. and people just go about their lives. the same for us here. we got used to it. and now, when it's quiet, i have this strange feeling that something is missing. nick: a lot is missing here, including the children who used to fill the village's only school, now bombed and burned. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin in vilhivka. judy: and a reminder that our coverage of ukraine is supported in partnership with the pulitzer center.

♪ for stephanie sy with newshour west. we'll return to the full show after the latest headlines. president biden defended his economic policies in the face of the worst inflation in the u.s. in 40 years. instead, he blamed the pandemic, the war in ukraine, and spending from the trump era. the president said his proposals, from taxing billionaires to cutting drug prices, could help. >> i think our policies help, not hurt. think about what they say. the vast majority of the economists think that this is going to be a real tough problem to solve, but it's not because of spending. we brought down the deficit. vanessa: meanwhile, triple a reported average gas prices nationwide are $1.40 per gallon

higher than a year ago. in other economic the senate voted firm she can state economist lisa cook to the federal reserve board of governors today. cook will be the first black woman to serve on the board in history. vice president kamala harris cast the deciding vote. treasury secretary janet yellen argued today that abortion rights are key to economic health. she told senators that legalizing abortion helped women control their lives, go to school, and get jobs. she said if roe v. wade is overturned, it will damage the economy and set women back decades. the rate of gun killings in the u.s. jumped 35% in 2020, the most in more than 25 years. the cdc reports total gun deaths topped 45,000, the most on record, as the pandemic spread and firearms sales jumped. gun homicide rates rose the most among young black men.

they were 20 times more likely to be killed than young white men. the head of the world health organization today criticized china's no-tolerance approach to covid-19. under that policy, much of shanghai has been locked down for nearly 6 weeks. but in geneva, the w.h.o.'s director-general said strict quarantines are no longer the answer. >> we don't think that it's sustainable, considering the behaviors of the virus now, and what we anticipate in the future. and especially when we have now a good knowledge, understanding of the virus and when we have good tools to use. vanessa: another top w.h.o. official said any benefits of a zero covid policy must be weighed against damage to economies and human rights. in the philippines, ferdinand marcos, jr., son of the one-time

dictator, called for unity after winning the presidency. he asked to be judged by his actions, and not by his family history. but hundreds of students protested outside the election commission in manila. other activists charged that marcos won because he whitewashed his history. south korea's new president took office today. conservative newcomer yoon sook yohl was sworn in during a ceremony in seoul. he campaigned on a harder line on north korea and its nuclear weapons program, but today, he talked of conciliation. >> if north korea genuinely embarks on a process to complete denuclearization, we are prepared to work with the international community to present an audacious plan that will vastly strengthen north korea's economy, and improve the quality of life for its people. vanessa: the british pliament opened a new session today without queen elizabeth presiding, for oy the third time in her 70-year reign.

buckingham palace blamed what it called mobility issues. instead, her son, prince charles, heir to the throne, stood in. he read the queen's speech detailing the government's agenda for the coming year. back in this country, a boston city judge acquitted celebrity chef mario batali of indecent assault and battery. his accuser said batali forcibly kissed and groped her in 2017. she was one of 4 women who accused him of inappropriate touching. batali apologized, but denied any criminal wrongdoing a new record for american art. andy warhol's 1964 silk screen of maryn monroe, titled "shot sage blue marilyn," sold monday for $195 million. christie's auction house new rk says it's the highest bid for any work by an american artist ever. there's no word on the identify -- the identity of the buyer.

still to come on the newshour, former secretary of defense mark esper discusses his fraught relationship with former president trump. india suffers an earlier than usual heat wave, with major implications for agriculture. a highly contagious strain of bird flu plagues farmers across the u.s. and much more. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from w eta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: it has been weeks since a leaked draft of a supreme court opinion showed justices appear poised to overturn 50 years of precedent on abortion access. advocates on both sides are turning up the pressure. john yang has more. >> following protests outside

the homes of conservative justices, congress is considering a bill to provide security for their families. dozens of people marched outside the home of samuel alito last night, the author of the leaked draft opinion that could result in the biggest change to a version right since the 1992 case planned parenthood versus casey. that reaffirm the right to an abortion while allowing some restrictions. at the time, the pennsylvania attorney general argued the case, asking the court to overturn roe. he joins us now. i would task your reaction to the leaked draft opinion from last week. >> it is a terrible thing. i have been practicing over 50 years and i have never seen a draft opinion leaked at any court level, local, state or national courts. it doesn't happen. this has to be investigated thoroughly.

>> when you say it is terrible, it is the leak itself, not the proposed outcome in the draft? >> there are two things. the leak is bad and the opinion, whatever it will be, i don't know but the opinion will be. we don't have the opinion yet. it is speculative to say it will be one way or the other. the fact is, we have seen indications from the draft which is a tense draft, that there is a tendency to overturn roe. the vote doesn't occur until the end of june, when the opinion is released. it has called down a little bit. let's wait and see what they say. >> your experience in casey, you know there can be a change from the first draft opinion. >> absolutely. the chief justice changed his mind at the last minute. we were having the statute upheld but the chief justice

changed his mind before the opinion was announced. so relax and let's see what happens. >> how likely do think it will be that the outcome of this opinion will change, that they will not overturn roe? >> i don't know what to speculate. i argued for the overturning of roe in 1992 when represented governor casey in the commonwealth before the court. the governor sat behind me. it is not unheard of that where people ask for overturning roe, we ask for it in the 1992 case and we didn't get it. we got the gutting of roe legally, because it took the strict scrutiny standard and eliminated that, put the undue purdon -- burden standard in, and put the viability standard in which is what this is about. a viability standard than was

23, 24 weeks. you could get a viability at 17 weeks. mississippi said weeks. that is where the battle is over. >> yesterday we interviewed the opposing counsel in casey. i want to play what she said. >> we have had five decades of support for roe v. wade. entire generations of women have relied upon this decision, and frankly ordered their lives, millions of women obtained abortions as a result of roe and all of that is being rolled back because five individuals decided my view, willy-nilly, to change the law. i think that is a real hit on the institutional integrity of the court. >> what do you say to that? >> the case hasn't been overturned yet. let's see what the opinion of the court will be. the fact is there has always been a contest as to whether roe was constitutionally properly

decided from its inception and whether there was a right to life or right to abortion. the only thing i know in the constitution is, there is a right to life but i don't see it written, a right to an abortion. that will be up t the states. if thispinion holds, it is not the end of abortions, it is the transference of the regulation to the states. states are already doing it. new york, california, virginia and others are putting forth state statutes that regulate or allow abortions up until even the moment of birth. so it is not the end of the world, but the other thing you have to recognize is that we have new science. the new science is that we can have viability of the fetus that starts at 17 weeks. we also have the pill, the abortion pill which we didn't have then and which now, almost half the abortions in america are done by pill.

let's take a look at what we've got. we have to focus on, let's get better care for women and children once the child is born. let's have better instructions on, what can we do about avoiding pregnancies? what can we do about taking care of women during pregnancy and after pregnancy? we have wasted hundred of billions of dollars the ppp program willy-nilly. it wouldn't be wonderful to take $100 billion and use it to help people and keep families together and safe and healthy. >> the argument you talked about, rights not found in the constitution, the supreme court has ruled in the past that they do exist. do you think justice alito's argument should apply to some of those? marriage, contraception, that sort of thing, do you think this argument should apply? >> i don't. look. let's focus on one at a time.

there was a debate as to whether there was a right. there has been a decision made in 1973 that there was a right. there has been a contest ever since that there wasn't a right. let's see with the supreme court says on the case itself, then we will take it from there aso whether it will apply to anything. i doubt it. but i don't want to get into the speculation game. let's wait until the end of june when the decision comes down. >> thank you very much. >> during the 18 months mark esper served as secretary of defense, he clashed at times with former president trump over proposals to use the military in ways esper thought were inappropriate. trump fired esper in november 2020, a few days after trump lost re-election.

i sat down with esper yesterday to discuss his experiences, which he details in a new book, "a sacred oath: memoirs of a secretary of defense during extraordinary times." mark esper, thank you very much for joining us. inhis book, i think there are so many questionable, even asnishing ideas that you write about, that emerged from either former president trump or the people arod him, that it was hard to keep track of them all. i wrote down, firing missiles from the u.s. into mexico to go after the drug cartels, striking iran, sending 250,000 u.s. troops to the southern border. how is it that none of these actually came to happen? >> well, i think, judy, that there were myself and others in the cabinet who successfully, at times either individually or together, were able to talk the president and others out of

these ideas, which which we thought just didn't make sense, and would could end up doing more harm than good. judy: in particular, you open the book with june 1, 2020. this is in the aftermath of the murder of george floyd, when there had been protests in washington. and there'a meeting in the white house where former president trump is asking you and others to do something about it. tell us about that particular day, that meeting. >> well, as i recount in the book, general miller and i get called to the white house early that morning, and we report in and people are already assembled. and almost immediately, the president begins, you know, shoutinghat he's very irate that the protests were occurring, and that, you know, so much was happening. and it was true that we did have violence taking place. people were hurt. you know, park police, national guard. and it seemed to be that violence was breaking out, at least to him, all around the country, as well. and so his frustrion, you know, really

grew to the point where he was talking about the invocation of the insurrection act and the deployment of 10,000 active duty troops into the streets of the nation's capital. and it was at that point in time that i, bill barr, and with general miller's assistance as well, began pushing back on that notion. and my view was that this was a law enforcement problem, that the military, the national guard, could support and should support as needed. but this was a law enforcement issue, certainly not a matter for the active duty forces to be involved in. judy: but at the time, the public didn't know exactly what the president was asking for. he also, as you say in the book, in your opening page, was saying, "why can't you just go out and shoot the protesters in the legs?" it was later on that you and general milley and others walked with the president over across lafayette square, stood in front of the the church, there he was holding the bible. what was going on in your mind at that time? >> look, it was obviously a very shocking and troubling remark, for the president to suggest that we shoot protesters, we

shoot americans in the streets of the nation's capital. and needless to say, i, and i suspect others, they were all taken aback by that notion, and successfully were able to push back on that and come up with, you know, a proposal that didn't call for that. but, you know, clearly it took hold of us for the day, and it obviously resulted in, or led to the mistake in terms of walking across lafayette park. and i think general milley feels the same way, as well. judy: what do you say, mark esper, to those who look at what happened that day, what the president was suggesting, and say you should have spoken up at that moment, and y should have even resigned your position? >> boy. look, it's i's a great comment. and i wrestled with this constantly about what to do. and you've got to keep in mind the context, because it always matters. it was in the in the weeks and months leading up to this that other proposals were put forward, such as shooting missiles into mexico, the deployment of a quarter million troops to the border, possible strikes against venezuela. and

each of these i was able, with with the help of others at times, to to kind of push back on. and my view was that, look, i thought i was serving the country better by staying in the job than by resigning. and then, of course, i had no idea who he would put in behind me. and that was my bigger concern, was, would the president put in an uber loyalist who would really carry out these ideas that he and others were putting forward? i still wrestle with it nonetheless. it is a lesson, something i want people to think about and take from this book. judy: i've seen that some people have said why -- you would watch this president. you had seen what happened to your predecessor, james mattis. why did you take the job in the first place? >> well, look, i've been serving my country since the age of 18, when i went to west point. served ten years in the army, both during war and peace, and then another 11 years in the national guard. i worked on capitol hill. look, i believe in service to country, and i thought i could make a difference. and i do think i made a difference. i think all the great people i had the honor of working with the pentagon really served their oath

honorably. and and that was my view is if the nation calls, i think we should all serve and look at the bottom. the bottom line is duty. if good people don't serve, then you're left with the bad people. and that's not what our nation needs, particularly now in this era of extreme partizanship from both sides. we need good people to serve in government, to stay in government and do the right thing. judy: but you did you had seen how he operated as president, and you still went to work for him. and you stayed with him for 18 months. >> i was serving the constitution. i was obeying my oath. i didn't work necessarily for the president, or for the party, or for a certain philosophy. my duty, my oath was to the constitution, hence the name of my book. and to me, that's the important thing. judy: you do write in the book, mark esper, that you said the most shocking and troubling event of the trump presidency was the, quote, "organization and incitement of the pro-trump mob that attacked the u.s. capitol." as you know, we know, he was impeached for that. should he have been convicted, do you

think, by the senate? >> you know, i'd obviously like to see the senate have a hearing and tease that out. but to me, it was a very troubling event, the moment. it was an insurrection, an attempt to overturn a free and fair election and to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. and it was right to be impeached, and he likely would have been convicted. i just don't know. but i'd want to see that trial play out. judy: had you voted for him in 2016? >> yes, i did. judy: and do you think he's qualified? he is clearly thinking about running again. is he qualified to be president again? >> i hope he doesn't run for president. in my view, any candidate for president, from either party, by the way, should put country over self. they have to have, you know, a level of integrity and principle that will carry them forward. they've got to be willing to reach across the aisle and work with others. and president trump just doesn't meet those marks for me. judy: i do want to read you, mark esper, some of what president trump has said in the last 24 hours, and some your comments have come out. he has said, quote, "he was you were a lightweight, a figurehead." he

said, "mark esper was weak, totally ineffective. he said he would do anything i wanted." >> well, clearly, i didn't do anything he wanted. and if you recall, i think another author published a story where president trump's head of personnel put forward a two page memo outlining all the reasons why i should be fired, because i didn't agree with the president or i disagree with him and push back. and look, that's the bottom line is i would expect no less from the president to do some degree of name calling and badmouthing. but that's fine. look, people make their own decisions about about him, about me and and about who's telling the truth. and look, what i what i'm trying to do is tell an important story for the american people, for history about a very tumultuous and consequential time in our nation. and that's the purpose behind me writing this book. judy: mark esper. the book is "a sacred oath: memoirs of a secretary of defense during extraordinary

times." thank you very much. >> thank you, judy. ♪ judy: extreme heat is gripping large parts of india and pakistan, affecting hundreds of millions of people in one of the most densely populated parts of the world. temperatures in india's capital rose above 100 again today. fred de sam lazaro reports from india. >> may is the hottest month in india, a time when schools are out and kids learn various ways to cope with the stifling heat, like sharing this muddy pond with the water buffalo. >> it is too hot inside. the water has stopped coming to our house. my mother told me go to pond and take a bath. >> for many mothers, the daily

routine makes it difficult to escape. >> it's really hot here. when i cook, i get flashes of heat from the stove. it's hot even in the shade. >> temperatures like these are not unusual for may. but this year they came early, really early, and across a much wider swath of the country >> it is the hottest april in 122 years, march was the hottest march in 122 years. >> i met urmi goswami, a journalist covering climate issues for india's economic times, in one of delhi's poorer neighborhoods. >> it is getting hotter, you're building more and more cars on the street, there are all kinds of other things that are happening, water stress is increasing. so clearly, the factors that add to your discomfort are growing. i mean, just look around, the housing that you see, its not really conducive to any weather.

>> only about one in ten indian households have access to air conditioning, but the sharp spike in electricity demand due to the heatwave has caused rolling blackouts. that stops the ceiling fans sometimes for hours each day, the one coping mhanism for many lower income people. the heat has been particularly stressful for those who labor outdoors outdoors. >> i was working every day last week, even though it was making me sick, my eyes were getting red. that's why i stopped working today. >> it's hard to measure the full toll on human health from all of this heat. several dozen deaths have been reported as a direct result of heatstroke. but that doesn't take into account the many deaths that go unrecorded, and long term consequences of sustained heat exposure, like cardiovascular disease, respiratory distress, and liver and kidney failure. the government has implemented early weather warnings that have allowed local municipalities to

provide shelter, water and relief. but for many day laborers in india's economy, to get paid, they have to go to work. >> it's severely hot. if i work 10 minutes, i have to sit for half an hour to take rest. it's so severely hot, i feel like i could faint. >> extreme heat, more than anything else, impacts productivity. and that itself is an issue when it comes to economic output >> >> that's especially true, and worrying, in agriculture, where the searing temperatures damaged this spring's wheat crop. at this market just outside delhi, farmer raghubir singh khatri showed us the difference between this year's crop and the last year's. >> if it wasn't for the extreme heat in march, we would have had 20% more harvest. the grains are smaller this year. if temperatures were cooler, they would have looked

bigger, like these. >> that definitely has an impact on the quality of the production and the nutrition aspect of the wheat. and, and i think that will affect the sale value of the crop itself >> surichi bhadwal, a climate scientist at the energy and resources institute in delhi, says there's no imminent danger of food shortages. india still has substantial reserve stocks and a free food distribution for low income households that began but as india and so many countries lurch from one extreme weather event to the next, bhadwal says these become ever louder warnings of a climate catastrophe absent global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. >> no country is spared from the ill effects of the consequences of climate change, whether it is floods, cyclones, or tornadoes, or storm surges or heat waves, you know, today we are facing it. so we do need very stringent action to make sure that we are

not converting this world into an uninhabitable place to live. >> yet india's heatwave illustrates the difficulties countries face in living up to their coals to transition to cleaner energy, says journalist goswami. >> look what happens as the first sign of a crisis. you go running back to what you know best to meet your demand. what you can do quickly -- >> which is coal. >> which is coal! uh, is it is the transition easy? no. is it necessary? it's essential. it's critical. >> today, 70% percent of india's power supply comes from coal, and it has had to step up production and imports of the polluting fuel tcope with the surge in heatwave driven demand. on a more hopeful note, the june monsoon is forecast to be normal this year. for a billion people across the subcontinent, june - d that rain - cannot come quickly enough. for the pbs newshour, i'm fred

de sam lazaro in new delhi. judy: and a note that fred's reporting is in partnership with the under-told stories project at the university of st. thomas in minnesota. ♪ judy: the u.s. is in the midst of its worst bird flu outbreak in years. millions of poultry and wild birds have been killed. and although the risk to human health is low, the impacts are trickling down to consumers. william brangham recently traveled to the midwest, where producers and scientists are desperately trying to stay ahead of the virus. and a warning, some viewers might find images in this story disturbing. >> this is the only way to get one to the barn. >> for minnesota turkey farmer john zimmerman, there are some added costs of doing business these days. >> this is the dirty side and anything from past that mark is considered clean, inside the

barn. every time zimmerman, or one of his employees, enters this barn , home to some 7500 turkeys, they have to put on fresh boots and coveralls, wash their hands, and slide on gloves. it's all meant to prevent the spread of a deadly avian influenza, or bird flu. this strain is so contagious that a single case found in any of his barns would likely force zimmerman to kill his entire flock. >> it's just a little bit more stressful now because that uncertainty of that virus can come in and in the morning the birds can be fine. and at night you're going to be picking up hundreds, if not thousands of dead birds. and, you know, oh, crap, what do i do now? >> this new virus spread from migratory birds coming from europe. many birds carry flu viruses all the time, and it doesn't usually harm them. but sometimes a strain can get passed to domestic birds, like chickens, ducks or turkeys, and with the

right mutation, can then spread like wildfire. in 2015, during the last big outbreak, more than 50 million birds were killed or died nationwide. with this new strain, over 37 million birds are dead across more than 30 states. every morning i get up and i look into the sky and make sure i don't see any ducks or geese flying overhead. we check our barns. >> if you see ducks or geese, they could be dropping feces that might be loaded with virus. >> es. if it is a knee-jerk reaction, since 26 -- since 2015 my son knows daddy doesn't like accent geese. they are the worst demos in the world. he grows up bad. -- duck bad, goose good. >> this strain could travel on airborne bits of dust and dirt, leaving farmers on edge. in the morning you go check your barns and you make sure you don't -- your mortality's not up

and the birds are healthy and active and y breathe a sigh of relief that you've made it through another night. >> but what happens when farmers do see signs that their birds might be sick? here at the minnesota poultry testing lab scientists test about 100 samples a day for bird flu, using the same p-c-r process used for covid tests. jerry torrison directs the veterinary diagnostic lab at the university of minnesota, which jointly runs this facility with the state. >> producers, veterinarians, animal health regulatory people have to decide the fate of a flock of birds. they have to decide if it's negative, it's business as usual. if it tests positive, if they have flu, then that flock is depopulated and they want to make those decisions as soon as they possibly can so that everybody can respond accordingly. >> the state expanded this lab in the heart of minnesota's turkey country after the 2015 outbreak. it's part of a nationwide network of labs tracking bird flu, with positive results reported to the u.s. department of agriculture.

>> it's like we're in the fire watch tower and watching the lightning strikes hit out in the forest. and so we're we're the fire spotters. and that's different this year in that there are so many more premises. there are actually more sites, more flocks already this year than there were in 2015. >> right now, there is no evidence this flu is a danger to humans. last month, an inmate in colorado did test positive for the virus, after helping remov chickens from an infected barn, but he's recovered, and officials stressed that risk remains very low perhaps the greater impact of this outbreak on humans is to their wallets. >> chicken and turkey prices are about 20 to 30% higher. egg prices are actually up almost doub since the same time last year. >> jayson lusk is an agricultural economist at purdue university. while the flu outbreak plays a role in higher prices, lusk says so do other factors, like supply chain issues and rising feed

costs -- driven partly by the war in ukraine. >> while it's true that a very large number of birds have been affected by bird flu, they represent a very small share of the overall inventory for -- and it that's been hit by bird flu, it can be devastating. >> this virus is also proving deadly to certain wild birds - like this eagle - who've been hit much harder by this strain than in past outbreaks. >> we've never seen this before. >> dr. victoria hall directs the university of minnesota's raptor center, well over 100 raptors have come into the center suffering with avian flu, seizing, unable to stand, unresponsive. only one lucky owl -- which may have had a lower viral load -- has survived so far. it's not clear why this year's outbreak is so much worse for wild birds than in 2015, back then, not a single raptor at the center tested positive. >> we know there are species like bald eagles that have made

a comeback historically. now they're still challenged with things like lead poisoning. what happens when you add highly pathogenic avian influenza on top of that? >> another difference this year? many more backyard flocks have been hit by the virus, compared to 2015. >> welcome to the coop. >> stacy decorsey started with three chickens at her house in suburban minneapolis about seven years ago. she's lost count now of how many chickens, turkeys and ducks she has, even though she knows all their names. >> scarlett johansson, caffe -- chevy chase. >> they are very happy to be with humans. while decorsey can't implement the same bio security as a commercial producer does, her birds were healthy before, during, and after our visit. to avoid attracting any migratory birds, she's not leaving food or water outside. but she doesn't have the space to keep her birds cooped up indoors.

>> it's stressful. i know i lost sleep the first the first week, first two weeks. and then, you know, my grandpa, a farmer from iowa that just kicks in and it's a farm animal and it's a bird and we can rebuild. i certainly feel really bad for those who their livelihood depends on their flocks. >> while affected farmers are eligible for some compensation from the federal government, john zimmerman says recovery is not that simple. >> you put a lot of time and energy, your heart and soul into raising these birds. and the fact that you have to destroy that is incredibly tough. now, we understand we're doing that. we're euthanizing these birds to save other birds, but it's incredibly difficult and it's emotionally, physically and mentally devastating to the to the farmers that they have to do that. >> so for now, he's keeping everything as clean as possible, watching the skies closely, and hoping he makes it through thi outbreak. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham in minnesota.

judy: over the course of my hundreds of thousands of native american children in the u.s. were removed from their families come placed in federal boarding schools, and forced to abandon their native language and culture. one college in colorado, also one of the top native american degree conferring institutions in the country, is recognized -- recognizing with that. >> on a recent evening, the pounding of drums signaled the start of an annual tradition at fort lewis college in durango, colorado. after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, a sold-out crowd packed the stands to watch the powwow which dates back to the 1960's.

while the mood was celebratorya -- was celebratory, the nights team was somber, remembering those who never made it home. those being honored, the unknown number of native american children who died atndian boarding schools across the country, including one with a historical collet -- connection with this college. >> there is a reckoning to say that institutions must take a look at their racialized history and understand the implications. that racialized history is embedded in the fact that we started as an indian boarding school. >> tom is the president of fort lewis college. over the last three years, the school has been engaged in an effort to explore and acknowledge that history, and provide a more supportive learning environment for native american and alaska native students, who make up about half

of the school's enrollment. the histo and native american ition waiver weren't a secret, but they also weren't widely understood by the campus community. >> tuition waivers are connected to the fact that the students who are attending today potentially had ancestors who were abused and traumatized by native american boarding schools. those are connected. indigenous communities paid a tremendous price. >>his is the original boarding school site, about 15 miles from the fort lewis college campus, which moved to the current location in the 1950' toda the land is used by the college for agricultural education. only two of the original buildings remain. for twenty years, from 1891 to 1910, several thousand native american children went to school here where they were stripped of their language and culture. the -- and quite frankly, their

identity. the impact of that cultural genocide is still being felt today. >> my father grew up not learning the dakota language because his parents again made a difficult decision that my dad would be better served if he just spoke english without any accent. many, many descendants of boarding school survivors know that experience. >> fort lewis college associate professor majel boxer's grandparents attended boarding schools in other locations around the country. she's an enrolled member of the fort peck assiniboine and sioux tribes of northeastern montana. her research is focused on the history of the boarding school which was called the fort lewis indian school. >> it served agricultural purposes. >> while the original boarding school grounds have not yet been searched for unmarked graves, a bill has been introduced in the colorado legislature that would fund culturally appropriate exploration later this year. boxer says that process will be an important part of the

healing. nick: tribal elders no children have passed away, so part of that reconciliation includes truth telling. >> the reconciliation process is due in largeart to this woman. >> i'm jocelyn lee, assistant professor of chemistry at fort lewis college. i am enrolled for the pueblo of laguna they are one of the 19 tribes of new mexico. >> as a student at fort lewis college in the early 2000's -- and returning as a new faculty member in 2019 -- she was troubled by panels under the college's prominent clock tower that depicted the boarding school history and captions it included, quote, the children are well clothed and happy. >> i did get upset again. this is an inappropriate resin presentation -- representation and i'm not sure why we are allowing that.

>> she send an email about his concerns in 2019 and the college president agreed. the history committee was formed to begin a concerned introspection of the schools boarding school history. one big step was removing the boarding school panels during a special ceremony last year. >> it felt good to be listened to love raising the concern rather than having the college professor saying you are right. let's remove them. we spent a good year in town halls to see how we can improve our campus and understanding of the indian school history. >> other efforts include an indigenous language revitalization program, three new faculty hires in the native american indigenous studies department and a land acknowledgment before college events and before classes at the start of the school year. >> this land is situated upon

the ancestral homelands and territories of people who were forcibly removed by the u.s. government. >> [drums] ♪ >> senior noah, saying he has seen a champ us -- a change since this began. >> i feel more recognized, more acknowledged on this campus rather than what it was before were it was like, there are indian kids over there, they aren't doing nothing. >> he says there is work to be done. >> i would like to see more indigenous staff here on campus. we need more indigenous counselors. it is hard to talk with a counselor who doesn't share your cultural identity. >> a big part of the work still to be done is getting students across the finish line. the six-year graduation rate for

native american students is about 30 sent, slightly below the national rate. before the pandemic the school was starting to see gains in first-year retention rates. >> the panic has eroded those gains. i think when we put the notions around academic support together, the broad cultural responsive work we are doing in terms of acknowledging the importance of native culture, we pick up the gains we started to see. >> for jocelyn lee, the work is meaningful. >> this has opened up discussion on how we can learn more about each other's culture. i'm hoping this is a more holistic approach to learning about each other so we can all start to get along better. >> there has been a steady uptick in the number of native american students enrolling. the college expects a record number of applications this spring. judy: so important to know that

history. later tonight on pbs, watch the season three premiere of "be the canvas" which features interviews and profiles with the brightest stars in music, art, literature and more. tonight'episode focuses on the art around us. >> on beyond the canvas we revisit artists finding ways to change the world. >> when you take the breast of the campus you are looking -- the canvas you -- >> nervous as a director. >> for most people in underrepresented communities, it is unconscionable. >> this is a transformative moment. >> you can watch the first of the five of us odes starting tonight on most pbs stations. check your local listings. right now, follow live coverage

of the primary election results for congressional and gubernatorial races in nebraska and west virginia. that is at pbs.org/newshour. that is the newshour for tonight . join us online and again here tomorrow evening. from all of us at pbs, thank you and please stay safe and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been divided by -- >> architect. beekeeper mentor. a raymondjames financial advisor taylors device to help you live your life. for life well planned. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org.

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- [danielle] there's an ancient ayurvedic proverb that says, "when diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. "when diet is correct, medicine is of no need." we explore the idea of functional foods and tell stories of individuals who are looking to heal the body, spirit, and global community, one meal at a time. accomplished multihyphenate, waris ahluwalia, celebrated chef, su-mei yu, along with nimay gupta, a farmer who is dedicated to practicing ayurvedic agriculture, shows us that consciousness and intent are two of the most powerful ingredients in life.