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tv   PBS News Hour  PBS  July 5, 2022 6:00pm-7:01pm PDT

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judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight. the aftermath. police search for a motive behind the july 4th parade shooting that has shaken the community of highland park, illinois. then. the climate question. the supreme court's decision opposing the authority of the environmental protection agency raises questions about whether the u.s. can effectively fight climate change. and the cost of war. ukrainian refugees across euro struggle with the psychological trauma caused by the russian invasion. >> i've never felt this way before when you don't know what's going to happen, like in a month, what you're going to do with your life, where you're going to go. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour."
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>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: a seventh person has died from the mass shooting in highland park, illinois. police are charging the gunman with multiple counts this evening. officials said today that the 21 year old pre-planned the july fourth attack for several weeks. nearly 40 other people were injured after the suspect fired over 70 rounds of ammunition
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during a holiday parade. while the community grieves, law enforcement is still trying to determine a motive. lisa desjardins begins our coverage with this report.. >> the scene of chaos yesterday allegedly came from a calculated plan, weeks in the making. police in illinois today released more information about robert "bobby" crimo, the 21-year-old accused of carrying out yesterday's deadly mass shooting. officials say he used an ar-15 style rifle, with a second one found with him when he was arrested, plus other handguns at his residence. all were bought legally and locally. authorities provided no other details on how. deputy chief chistopher cavelli said the gunman climbed onto a roof via a fire escape before shooting down on the crowd. >> during the attack crimo was dressed in women's clothing, and investigators do believe he did this to conceal his facial tattoos and identity and help him during the escape with other
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people who were fleeing the chaos. >> authorities said concern about the suspect was raised twice in 2019. a suicide attempt which was handled by mental health officials and, sepearately, a threat to his family. >> a family member reported that crimo said that he was going to kill everyone, and that crimo had a collection of knives. the police responded, went to his residence, removed 16 knives, a dagger, and a sword from his home. at that time, there was no probable cause to arrest. >> today the parade route was behind police lines still scattered with abandoned belongings of those who fled in terror. the scene joined a bloody collage. a church, scho and grocery store. all have been recent sites of mass murder. this time, it was the heavily-jewish chicago suburb of highland park that was terrorized by gun violence. police said the shooter's motive was still unclear. >> we have no information to suggest at this point it was racially motivated, motivated by
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religion or protected status. >> witnesses described a community shattered. >> everyone is pretty shaken. i think you're used to hearing about this stuff elsewhere but it definitely hits a lot harder when it's not only your hometown but it's also right in front of you. reporter: the ages of those killed or wounded spanned from 8 to 85. among the dead, 78-year-old nicolas toledo, grandfather with children. -- with eight children. he was visiting his family, who described him as their guardian angel. another victim, jacki sundheim, a teacher and lifelong member of nearby synagogue. the congregation said her warmth and kindness touched them all. also killed, victims named today were irina and kevin mccarthy, parents to a surviving two-year-old. 64-year-old katherine goldstein. and 88-year-old stephen straus. the accused gunman who unleashed the chaos had a history of glorifying mass murders on far-right internet forums. the united states has seen at
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least 315 mass shootings this year, defined as four or more people injured were shot. at the white house, flags flew at half-staff to mourn a tragic and now very familiar american day. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. judy: let's go to highland park to hear more about how that community is coping and the questions surrounding this shooting. nancy rotering is the mayor and she joins me now. thank you for being here. you have our deepest condolences. we know that a seventh person has died, well over 30 people wounded. can you tell us any more about those who are still in the hospital? mayor rotering: the people that are in the hospital have a broad range of injuries scattered throughout regional hospitals, so we are obviously trying to
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respect t terror and sadness their families are experiencing right now in trying to give them their space, but understand that these were -- this was a weapon of war meant to destroy human life and so people are dealing with a broad range of injuries. >> what about your community? how are the people doing? >> we are in deep mourning. yesterday was more shock and disbelief. today is sheer sadness. wherever i go, we are hugging, we are crying. people are in so much pain right now. judy: we have just learned that among the victims were the both parents of a two year old child. what do you know about this and what's being done for that family? mayor rotering: that to me was one of the most heartbreaking stories of yesterday. my understanding is that the baby was retrieved from underneath his father, and was
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carried to safety. we spent hours trying to locate the parents and when it became clear that nobody was asking about the child i suspected the worst. he is safely with his grandparents. there are two efforts to assist all of the victims of the situation. they're both available on our city websites front ge. judy: well, we can only imagine yet another incident like this, madam mayor, we watched the news conference that you and the police officers officials had a short time ago and we understand there were two encounters with the suspect in 2019, 1 in the spring of that year after he attempted suicide, his family contacted police, no charges then. your that year, there were knives, a sword, and so forth. no charges but police were made aware. should more have been done in
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2019? mayor rotering: i'm confident what the police did was under their capabilities under the law. we did notify the illinois state police in the 2019 event. and we will leave it at that. we need to talk about the fact that so many people in this country who should not have access to guns are having access to guns and that's an issue that is unique to the united states. we know that throughout the world, people have mental illness, anger issues, they do not have access to these large capacity magazines and weapons that are frankly used in combat. judy: and that'what i want to ask you about because these weapons to us apparently we're -- these weapons, we are still getting information but apparently they were obtained
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illegally. he is 21 years old. it begs the question, this is a community highland park, illinois where there are relatively tough gun control laws on the books and yet he was able to get these guns and do this. mayor rotering: right. within our assault weapons ban and large capacity magazine ban he obviously broke that law. but the problem is throughout our country, there aren't any -- there are not very many counities that are banning these combat weapons. we need a national approach. this is not part of what a civilized society has on its streets. we represented the values of our community ended did what we could within the confines of the law. i have been in touch with the governor and the senate president, the house speaker. we need to change legislation in illinois but frankly we need to change legislation in the united states. we are surrounded by states with very lenient gun laws. we are doing our part as much as we can, but we as a country need to come together and say enough with the carnage. this is an almost weekly event.
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i heard from several mayors yesterday, they themselves had been through this experience. there's a handbook that's sent to mayors in the wake of a mass shooting. that's unbelievable to me that this is what happens to a community who only wants to gather to celebrate freedom and ends up dealing with basically this horror on our hands. judy: i hear you saying this, madam mayor, and yet the congress, as you know, just passed a law last week they were applauded for finally coming together to do something and just today the senate, a republican leader, mitch mcconnell is saying the problem is mental health and it does appear to be an issue in this shooting. but clearly that is not enough. these shootings are still happening on a regular basis. mayor rotering: and let's pose
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the argument that there are people with mental health issues in other countries that do not have to endure this kind of violence on a weekly basis. so, mitch, you're right. we do need to put more resources towards mental health care. but there's a second prong and that is diminishing access to weapons that are used in combat. judy: our deep condolences to you and your community. mayor rotering: thank you so much judy. stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. we will return to the full program after the latest headlines. an update to the highland park shooting. the suspected shter has been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder. the illinois prosecutor says he will also ask a judge to hold the suspect without bail and more charges are expected to be filed. if convicted, he will face life in prison without a chance of parole. in ukraine, the governor of donetsk is urging the 350,000 remaining residents to
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evacuate from the last eastern province that's still partly under government control, as russian troops step up their offensive. meanwhile, a new wave of russian shelling pounded the cities of sloviansk and kramatorsk, hitting residential areas and a market. we will have more on all this later in the program . nato's 30 nations signed accession protocols today for finland and sweden to join the alliance. but each country's legislature still needs to ratify the membership bids. turkey's government said it might refuse if the two countries fail to meet demands to extradite people it perceives to be terror suspects. nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg urged allies to move swiftly. >> with 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer as we face the biggest security crisis in decades.
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judy: the move would be the biggest expansion of nato in decades further isolating russia from the west. in australia more than 50,000 people in and around sydney are now under evacuation orders or warnings due to a flood emergency that's left hundreds of homes completely inundated. several days of torrental rain have flooded roads, submerged entire neighborhoods, and caused waterways to overflow leaving residents in disbelief. >> we've been here 25 years and this year it's been the worst. we've had three major floods in three years and it's just been shocking. >> absolute lead devastated. it's really hard. so we don't know. we are just doing one day at a time getting through it. stephanie: weather forecasters say they expect the rain will subside by tomorrow. britton's prime minister boris johnson is facing more political pressure today after two of his top cabit ministers and one of the government's top lawyers
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resigned. treasury chief rishi sunak, health secretary sajid javid and solicitor general alex chalk quit, citing johnson's lack of integrity. resignations came as johnson, who narrowly survived a no-confidence vote last month, apologized for appointing a lawmaker to a top position in spite of sexual misconduct claims. back in this country, the special grand jury investigating former president trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election results in georgia has subpoenaed his personal attorney rudy giuliani and republican u.s. senator lindsey graham. subpoenas were also issued t members of the trump campaign legal team. it marks a new phase in this probe as prosecutors seek testimony from mr. trump's inner circle. a wildfire burning in california's sierra nevada mountains is growing, forcing the evacuation of more than one thousand residents in amador and calaveras counties. the electra fire erupted
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yesterday and may have been sparked by fourth of july fireworks or barbecue. 1200 firefighters are battling the blaze, which has burned more than 3000 acres. still to come, the family of a black man in ohio, who was shot dozens of times by police, demands accountability. russian forces set their sights on new targets after a key victory in eastern ukraine. a deaf actor challenges musical theater norms by starring in the music man, and much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism. judy: the supreme court's recent decision to limit the authority of the environmental protection agency has many worried about whether the biden administration can reach its climate goals. the president had pledged that by 2030, the country would reduce its greenhouse gas
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emissions by 50 percent from 2005 levels. that now seems even more unlikely. amna nawaz has more. reporter: that's right. the court ruled 6-3 that the clean air act does not give the epa blanket regulations against power plants. many environmentalists see the ruling as a serious setback in the fight to slow climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. i am joined now by michael oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at princeton university. he is one of the six scientists who filed an amicus brief in the scotus case. and mustafa santiago ali, who formerly worked in the epa office of environmental justice and is now with the national wildlife federation. gentlemen, welcome to you both. thank you for joining us. the ruling clearly leaves the administration with far fewer tools to fight climate change, but the epa administrator last -- administrator and other
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officials insisted they can still meet their goals, it will just take longer. do you buy that? >> that is a very optimistic view and even under optimistic view, this decision is going to seriously slow u.s. progress in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and avoiding a dangerous climate change. what i mean by dangerous is much more of the kinds of weather we have started to see. record heat, record drought. flooding in coastal areas and intense rainstorms, in some cases drowning people in their own bedrooms. so what is the government going to do about that? well, congress number one could act and number two the administration could develop regulations. in the absence of congressional action. because congress has been so deadlocked, the administration and administrations going back to obama started developing regulations that -- the whole process was slowed and disrupted
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by the trump administration. the biden administration had a very good plan that looked like it might get is on the track to avoiding dangerous climate change. i'm afraid this decision will disrupt that possibility for the u.s. and the world. reporter: let me ask you about the danger that michael oppenheimer just mentioned. when you talk about communities that are most impacted by things like this, who are we talking about? >> african-american communities, latin communities, asian and pacific islanders, indigenous brothers and sisters, and also -- because of previous policy, have often been placed in sacrifice zones. when we look at where coal-fired plants are located, they are usually close to our most vulnerable communies, impacting their health, extracting wealth from those communities, and at the same time, we know that our communities -- so we have to
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deal with all the crises that were just mentioned. reporter: you grew up in west virginia not far from a coal power plant. what did you see growing up that informed your view today? >> across the river we had a coal-fired power plant, the emissions would blow into our community, which was up higher than the community across the river. we had cancers. my family has had multiple cancers. my best friends mother and grandmother died of cancer. throughout our community we had multiple cancers. really a cluster if you will. we never had analysis done because we did not have the language for the things that were necessary at that time, but others across the country have found direct correlations between the burning of fossil fuels, both things like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury , particulate matter, all these things have huge impacts in our country and we should pay
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attention because we have over 200,000 people dying prematurely right now from air pollution in our country so when the supreme court makes this decision, it is also adding the burden onto these communities. we know we have 24 million people with asthma and 7 million kids. disproportionally it is african-americans and latinx going to the emergency room and losing their lives. that is why we have to act now. reporter: you mentioned you don't see much hope in congress acting, though they retain the authority to do something. when it comes to the administration this ruling does not say the epa cannot regulate the emissions. it just says they have to find a different set of tools to do so. what could the administration be doing right now? >> anything the administration tries to do, they will be right back in court and the case will have to work its way up to the state supreme court -- to the same supreme court that has shown itself to be antithetical to the idea of dealing with climate change.
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really the possibilities are at the state level where a lot of states have moved forward. the trouble is some of it is also dependent on clean air authority and the same fossil fuel interest and others that do not want to see this problem solved going to be going and suing the state's. beyond that there is the possibility of industry itself taking the lead, voluntary action, the auto industry may say we are going to move ahead with electrification, motor vehicles anyway. the solar energy industry. that is not going to be enough. you need tough laws from congress and regulations from the administration to be able to get this done quickly enough, and i'm afraid things are just going to be slowed down until there is a different view among not just the congress, but the judiciary as well. reporter: do you believe this makes it harder for the u.s. to push other major emitters like india and china to act?
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>> some countries like china are going to do what they were going to do anyway. more or less regardless of what we are doing. europe, if it does not get -- if the whole energy system is not thrown into disarray by the war in ukraine, they made in the end be able to continue the road toward cutting emissions of carbon dioxide. but they are our countries like india for instance that have not decided which way they are going to go. those countries may be seriously affected by the u.s. lack of inertia in the right direction on this issue. we will have to see, but i'm very worried. reporter: i don't hear much hope from michael oppenheimer. what about you? do you think there is hope for meaningful action to address this climate crisis? >> i do. grandmother says you have power unless you give it away. we should be raising her voice.
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there are $550 billion sitting on capitol hill. we need senator manchin and senator cinema and the biden administration and republican brothers and sisters to come together and do the right thing and make sure we are -- we have adjust transition, that we are making investments around a clean economy and lowering emissions. we can help the states and counties and cities who have been doing incredible work to have what they need for this long journey that we have in front of us to address the climate crisis. you can also make sure that we utilize our vote and make sure we are voting in those who care about our communities and those who want to see a brighter, more sustainable future. reporter: my thanks to you both. judy: protests erupted last night in akron, ohio, despite a citywide curfew.
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dozens were arrested. this came one week after the fatal police shooting of 25-year-old jayland walker, an unarmed black man. hundreds of protesters demanded justice after the release of body camera video showed officers in pursuit followed by a hail of bullets. walker sustained more than 60 wounds. stephanie sy has details. reporter: judy, the family of jalen walker is calling for peace amid the protests, but they also want answers and accountability from the police. to tell us more about what justice would look like for the family as a member of the legal team representing jayland walker's family. we have also asked for an interview with the mayor and police chief. thank you for joining the news hour. the overall narrative from the police chief in akron is that police believed jalen walker fired a gun when he was in his vehicle and that officers fear he would fire again.
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they gunned him down. we have seen the disturbing videos. we now know he was unarmed when police opened fire. my first question is have you seen or heard evidence to the contrary? >> have i seen evidence to the contrary? yes. in that police account right now is something that is very, very concerning to us. there is evidence that the gun was not found in the front seat according to the preliminary autopsy report my team reviewed. there was evidence that gun was found in the backseat. there is some concerning questions about the nature and quality of the video that was being used to substantiate some kind of flash. whether or not the door was open i challenge anyone to crack open their door while going 60 miles an hour and try to point it at a police officer without sticking your hand out the window or fire -- or firing into the door. so we have some serious questions about some of these allegations. reporter: what can you say about
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how the akron police department has handled this case so far? i want to go back to the chase. this all started as an alleged traffic violation or some sort ofehicle violation. there's been some question about why this even ended up as a chase. >> this should be a huge question as to why this ended up as a chase. that's one of the most outrageous facts of this case. it is outrageous that they chased this man and that they gunned him down with more than 90 bullets, more than 60 striking his body. there was a guy yesterday that opened fire on people in you know in a park and he was approached if you saw the video he was approached with please and ank use and put on the ground. my client was running away from the police when he was shot at from behind from the side from the front. it is a totally different treatment for black americans in this country. reporter: i want to talk about that and of course you are referring to the highland park
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shooter. i want to ask you about racial bias. statistically black people are 3.5 times more likely than whites to be killed by police when they are not attacking and when they are unarmed, which was the case again when jayland walker was killed. there are questions about whether police knew he was unarmed when they killed him but do you think ultimately -- this is sadly another data point proving racial bias of some kind? >> i hope it is not just another data point proving racial bias. i hope this case gives us pause to consider the value of every american life and causes law enforcement in the city of akron to do two things immediately. get dashcam's. do you know that not one car has a dashcam in that city? that is unbelievable. the second thing is they need to revise their chase and their firearms policies. there were eight officers that shot my client as he was running away and we have to address both
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of those things immediately. reporter: jayland was only 25 and i read that he worked at doordash. up until this incident he had no criminal record. he had recently lost his fiancee in a horrible car accident. why is it important for us to remember his humanity as we look at this case, and what else can you tell us about who he was? >> what a beautiful question. his humanity is what we are. we are all a collective american family. there is no need to divide ourselves anymore and there's no need to take this case into the spotlight as an example of another black life lost unless we ignore that another black life was lost. so we have to confront the issues that this case highlights . look, the way men are treated, who are african american is documented to be different.
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and we have to deal with that from a law enforcement perspective. reporter: thank you so much for joining the newshour. >> thank you for having me. judy: after more than four months of intense fighting, russia has claimed victory over one of the two provinces in ukraine's eastern industrial heartland. but that victory comes at steep price with russian forces suffering heavy losses. nick schifrin brings us up to date. land, and called it victory. russian state television showed off its soldiers' handiwork in lysychansk, a city that had to be destroyed to be captured. journalists who entered with russian forces filmed the symbols of ukrainian governance
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gutted and overturned, but also the humanitarian center volunteers say was hit by 50 bombs. the market where civilians shopped. the church where they prayed in the same language as their russian tormentors. residents, no choice but to switch their loyalties east. >> what am i going to do? i'm going to see my kids who are in russia. that is all for now. hopefully i stay alive. reporter: and now moscow's onto the next urban target. today, a market in sloviansk, where the mayor warned residents to evacuate. an apartment complex in bakhmut. all doors and windows blown out . by the russian rocket whose remnants remain on the street. over the weekend, russian forces captured lysychansk, the final ukrainian-held city in luhansk. that allows them to focus on the parts of the donetsk region they don't already occupy including today's targets sloviansk, bakmut, and kramatorsk. that's where scores of residents lined up outside a humanitarian center to pick up food. it's run by jose andres' humanitarian organization, world central kitchen.
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each bag, enough provisions for a month, for those who've stayed. 83-year-old valentina has nowhere else to go. >> i am not going anywhere. we have no money to go anywhere. what will be will be. if they kill me, they kill me. reporter: yesterday, russian prident vladimir putin declared victory in luhansk, but also hinted the next phase could have to wait. >> the units that took part in active hostilities and achieved success, victory in the luhansk direction, of course, should rest and increase their combat capabilities. reporter: but russia may have no other choice. some western artillery is arriving in eastern ukraine, giving ukrainian soldiers more accuracy and mobility. it's an artillery war, as american issac saw up close. >> it is incredibly intense. i would say that it probably resembles world war ii more than it does any of the more recent conflicts. reporter: isaac, who requested we use only his first name, has been fighting with ukraine's international legion.
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he filmed this video in severdonetsk as they came under artillery fire. he's now temporarily back in the u.s. >> the artillery is both incessant and on the russian side, it's also indiscriminate. there are cities that don't exist in the practical sense of the word. there are no services. the infrastructure is completely destroyed. reporter: you served in iraq, you served in afghanistan with the u.s. military. what is the difference? >> we were the big guys. we had significant material assets. in this case, the tables are turned. in this case, we are outmanned and outgunned. reporter: and where you going to go back? >> the atrocities and the level of disregard for the rules of war that i've seen the russians do. i have also been encouraged by the courage of ukrainian forces. reporter: ukraine now estimates what the russians have done, will cost $750 billion to
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reconstruct. that is five times the country's gdp and is also the gdp of switzerland, where this week european leaders pledged to help the country recover. >> they want to undermine ukraine's very existence as a state. we cannot and we will never let that happen. reporter: we turn once again to michael kaufman, research program director in the russia studies program at the center for naval analyses. good to have you back on the program. what is the significance of russian forces seizing t luhansk region? >> with those cities, now that they have the rest of the region , they are part of the way toward their objective, seizing the entire territory of the donbas. however, the harder fighting is still ahead for the russian military area the ukrainian military conducted a withdrawal from that area and they are
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building a new defensive line. they are going to fortify around the main cities. well you could say russia has made incremental or fitful progress, it is still far short of their actual goal so far in this war. reporter: russia's ability to seize those territories short-term in the donetsk region, why will it be difficult for them to do that? >> those areas are more fortified and the russian military -- like the ukrainian military has taken substantial losses this has become a war of attrition. territorial gains tend to be incremental at best and they require tremendous amounts of artillery and other types of fire. i suspect we are going to see battles grind on the next month or two. the outcome is indeterminate. these things are difficult to predict. but even if the russian military is able to take this part of the
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donbas, these successes are not decisive losses for ukraine. the russian military is likely to pay a substantial price in trying to gain this territory. reporter: longer-term, a war of attrition. what's going to determine russia's ability to sustain that fight? >> at the end of the day these wars often come down to manpower, material, who is able to replace their losses the best, who's able to adjust and build a force that can sustain the conflict. both sides have significant challenges. the russian military enjoys a local advantage, particularly of firepower and artillery, in the donbas. the ukrainian military is in a valley in terms of capability, slowly trying to assimilate western equipment, artillery, trying to change the kind of equipment and munitions the force depends on. this is a very challenging time for the ukrainian military. probably the coming two months in particular.
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ukraine has long-term advantages. it has conditioned and sustained western support because ukraine has the manpower and access to western military equipment and training to use that equipment. over time it can develop significant advantages. reporter: ukrainian officials are talking about launching counteroffensive's against russian forces using those heavier weapons you just talked about. how will those weapons affect ukraine's ability to receives territory -- re-seize territory at all? >> western military equipment will help equalize the current substantial disadvantage ukraine has relative to the russian artillery firepower. that said, both forces are only capable of localized attacks. ukraine has been conducting small localized counteroffensive's than other parts of the front trying to set themselves up in a better positioned down the line. neither military really has the
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force capacity left for big offensives or breakout attacks, the things that can generate momentum. nor is either military close to collapse. over time ukraine may be in a position to conduct a substantial counteroffensive, perhaps in one of the other regions. but that does not just depend on military equipment. people tend to fixate on technology and capabilities. they make a significant difference. they are rarely game changers. you have to look at the quality of the force and the overall military. reporter: do you believe on the russian side they can wage the same kind of war they have been waging in the east in definitely ? >> indefinitely is a hard test to pass. the russian military is playing to its strength, leveraging artillery firepower which minimizes the disadvantages and taking territory incrementally.
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they can sustain it for quite some time, but they have big challenges when it comes to manpower, sustain the fight,nd the solutions they have taken to keep the russian military in the fight of what is likely to be a protracted war have their own drawbacks. they come at the expense of long-term degradation of the russian force. they may not be that sustainable going into a much longer timeline. reporter: thank you very much. >> thank you for having me back on the program. judy: the war in ukraine has forced more than 5 million refugees to flee to other parts of europe, with more than 700,000 of them seeking refu in germany. the tangible sufferings of the war aside, there is a hidden cost they have to bear. that of trauma. this is especially true of the youngest refugees. in partnership with the global health reporting center, special correspondent will wintercross
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reports from berlin. and a warning, there is discussion of suicidal thoughts in this story. >> i've never felt this way before. when you don't know what's going to happen, like in a month, what you're going to do with your life, where you're going to go. reporter: valeriy escaped zaparisia in southern ukraine in early march, when russian troops began bombing nearby. he arrived in berlin and was sent to norfunder hostel, currently home for 50 children and their mothers. all ukrainian war refugees. it is run by awo, a major german charity which helps the children find places in german schools and critically, get psychological support. eight-year-old danylo shekhovtsov fled ukraine in early march as the fighting intensified. >> when there were explosions, we sealed the windows with
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adhesive tape. so that fragments would not hit us. reporter: 11 year mariya samoilenko also escaped the war. >> the thing i miss the most in my city right now is my dad and i really miss his love and care right now. >> i miss my home, my dad. i was very sad that he had to stay back. >> what would you do now if you saw your dad? >> i would have to cry from joy. it is like my country. i have a half a feeling that it will win and half a feeling it won't. >> and if it doesn't win, how will you feel? reporter: research shows that
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extended separation from a parent or caregiver is one of the most stressful things that a child can experience. and of course, so is war. stresses accumulate. for children like mariya and danylo, the impact is mental, physical, and potentially lifelong. says melanie eckert, a german psychologist. >> we know the long-term effects are really bad if we don't get help immediately at the point after traumatization. long term effects can be, for example, sleeping disorders, depression, anxiety, up to really intense feelings of suicidality or even suicide attempts. reporter: but this harm is not inevitable with the right help. eckert, who co-founded kirsen chat, a 24-hour crisis hotline, added ukrainian speaking counsellors to her organisation to help the newcomers. >> we extended our platform which was our network together
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to set up very quickly crisis help for young people who are directly affected by the war in ukraine. >> the hotline is part of a broader german effort, to help what sometimes seems like an overwhelming number of new arrivals. this reception center in berlin has processed over 300,000 ukrainian refugees so far, a quarter of them have been children, many of which have been suffering from severe mental trauma. barbara breuer from the main charity helping ukrainian refugees at berlin central station, explains that they learned from the syria refugee crisis that integration doesn't happen by itself. >> we have to help people. it shows that we see you. we are here for you. we have over the years open arms and that is the first thing you have to do. reporter: breuer points out why rapid integration is so key to helping vulnerable children. >> so they don't get depression, so they have something to do, so they find friends, even if it is
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not for long, maybe a year or as long as this war may last. they should feel at home for this time and not be afraid and feel homesick all the time in the syrian crisis, germany was very slow to integrate children into the german system of school for example. now we are more fast. it is very important we are fast to integrate the ukrainian children into the normal system because they all experience kinds of trauma. reporter: mada ou zoubis escaped syria for berlin with her family, when she was 10 and also went straight into the german school system. >> what i think was very well done, is i was put into a vilkommen class, which is like a welcome class. and its supposed to teach you german, integrate you into the german school system, and we all got along very well. it's my happiest memory of my first year in germany. reporter: mada and her younger sister julia, who is 15, had their home bombed in syria and witnessed their father being arrested by the secret police, a
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fate that often ends in execution. their father spent 60 days in solitary confinement. >> i realised my dad's laptop is in the backseat. i was 100% sure that if they found us, they will take him for good. so i went to the backseat and i sat on the laptop, which was in a bag. and i told julia to sit on my lap so that they wouldn't see anything. reporter: julia describers the affect this had on her. >> at least for the first two years in germany, it was very difficult for me to adapt i think. simple things could trigger me crying or me running away from things. when i would see people wearing military clothes, for example, orf people seem suspicious and i would think they found some way to travel to germany and get us. reporter: the old fear has not
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disappeared. >> this was just one event that probably caused me to feel ostracised and wanting to put up a fight every time i spoke to someone and just constantly trying not to get hurt. reporter: i returned to the hostel to find out danylo and valeriy were getting on. >> as long as i do not think about it i feel very good. when i start thinking about data i feel very bad -- about dad i feel very bad. reporter: -- >> of course it's great that i'm in berlin, not in ukraine right now under bombings, sitting in the basement, it's great, but still it's really hard to adapt. reporter: as 2000 ukrainian refugees continue to stream into germany per day, it's clear the authorities have their work cut out, and as for the young recent arrivals, it's a new house, but not necessarily a new home.yet -- a new home, yet. for the pbs newshour i am will
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wintercross, in berlin. judy: the classic american musical the music man. has been a big hit this year with its revival on broadway and on many regional and local stages across the country. john yang went to see a novel take on the standard. and how art can be a model for a more inclusive society. a note that american sign language interpreting was done simultaneous to the interview. that live process may affect the complete accuracy of the english interpretation. this story is part of our arts and health coverage on canvas. ♪ 76 trombones led the big parade ♪ reporter: the spirited musical numbers, the scam, the midwestern americana, all the
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familiar touches of "the music man" are on display in this production at the olney theater center in maryland. ♪ remember what trumpet players did to the walls of jericho ♪ reporter: but this is not your grandfather's river city. it's envisioned as a place where the deaf and hearing communities live side by side, and not being able to hear is not a barrier. half the cast is deaf or hard of hearing. there were see-through covid masks so the non-hearing actors could read lips and facial expressions. american sign language interpreters were positioned across the stage. the set was created by a deaf designer with a minimum of stairs, so deaf actors don't have take theieyes off their signing castmates. and a special lighting system let the nonhearing cast members know when therwas a problem. >> there will be a supertitle screen so it will be particularly helpful to those in
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the balcony. reporter: jason loewith is in his tenth year as artistic director at olney -- one of the country's leading regional theaters. his philosophy? let the art lead. >> there is a pool table in town. reporter: the words are almost nonsense, but listeni and watching the words be translated into asl was revelatory. i thought, this is a brilliant new way to experience the musical. and then, of course, our desire to provide, create a community that is more inclusive by doing theater that is more inclusive. it felt like the sky was the limit. reporter: he wasn't quite so enthusiastic about six years ago when first approached by james caverly. >> it was akin to frankenstein's monster approaching the scientist and saying, make me a new wife. right? same concept i think in my pitch. but i would say the pitch itself was different. reporter: deaf from birth,
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caverly was working as a carpenter in the theater's scenery shop. after seeing deaf west theater's production of "spring awakening" on broadway, he went to loewith with an idea. >> let's do the music man. let's do this. and i don't think that he was totally convinced of the idea at the moment. it took a few, maybe three odd years of really pursuing it to convince him. hey, the music man. don't forget. ♪ and that starts with t and that rhymes with p and that stands for pool ♪ reporter: "the music man" is an american musical theater classic. it tells the story of harold hill, a charming traveling salesman in early 20th cenry iowa who dupes townspeople into buying instruments for a non existent children's band. marian paroo, the town piano teacher and librarian, sees through him immediately but then begins to see another side
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of him. by the time the final song is sung, they have each been transformed by love. >> what i wanted was let's shatter the perception that disabled people can only play roles that are designed or written for disabled people. the world that is river city and the music man is a perfect choice for that. reporter: after testing the idea in a 2019 workshop with a hearing actor as harold hill, another twist. what if he was deaf? >> so if you compare harold hill has a hearing man, he is selling musical instruments. that's believable. he doesn't have to work additionally or extra hard to convince people that he could lead a musical band. now, a deaf harold hill is a different story. he's a guy who really has to turn it up, really become a charmer to be able to convince a community of people that, hey, you should buy these musical instruments. because guess what? i can lead a musical band, right?
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so i think it amplifies the character in a way, and you have to really, really increase that art of deception. >> so it makes harold hill not only the ultimate con man in a way, but also what you were saying before, the ultimate salesman of dreams. >> absolutely. absolutely. reporter: caverly, fresh from his breakout role in hulu's only murders in the building was cast in the leading role. artistic director leowith estimates this production is about 40% more money than a traditional staging. among the added expenses: the dozen sign language interpreters, a director of artistic sign language, and two directors hearing, one deaf. , one the deaf director is sandra mae frank, a star of the 2016 broadway revival of spring awakening that sparked the idea for this production. she wanted this staging to be different.
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>> i wanted to include american sign language, but i didn't want it to be anything that i'd seen before. we've had deaf and hearing mixed productions in the past, but they're usually shadow hearing individuals voicing for deaf individuals, speaking their lines in english. actors would then sometimes sim-com, which is speaking and signing at the same time, speaking english and signing at the same time. that's very commonly what you see in the world of theater. and with this, i wanted to do something different. reporter: so while all musical numbers are sung aloud, some scenes will have dialogue only in sign language, with supertitles to aid hearing audience members. for frank and director of artistic sign language michelle banks, who had the job same for -- the same job for this year's broadway revival of "for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf," it's that combination of signed and spoken words to tell a story that is both groundbreaking and promising. >> this is not just a one off.
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this is not just for the arts. this can be a part of who we are as a humanity, as society, that this is how we can interact and engage with each other, to look at one another fully, completely asur intersection identities present, how we each navigate the world. this is beyond theater. you have to attend to the show. you may not know what's coming next, but you're going to constantly have to be attuned and your eyes, it's going to be a lot to absorb. but that is what the experience should be. do you hope directors, producers and casting directors will take something away from this? >> absolutely. my hope is that through this, this is not the last. ♪ reporter: as this diverse cast of actors unites their voices and hands in harmony. the show is to run through july 24th. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang in olney, maryland.
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judy: tt is the newshour for tonight. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at pbs newshour, thank you, stay safe, and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> architect. beekeeper. mentor. your raymondjames financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting foundations and education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. the target foundation, committed to advancing racial equity and creating the change required to shift systems to accelerate
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equitable economic opportunity. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.
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alejandra mos: tonight on "the great american recipe"... we want you to create that one recipe everyone always loves. dan: my grandmother and my aunt taught me to make gnocchi when i was a little kid, and i'm the last one in the family that i know of that makes it. alejandra: there's another fried rice happening in the room today. the battle of fried rice. tony: hey, foo, i'm coming for you. brian: here you go. woo! those peppers. there is spice in the air. graham: yeah. oh. oh, man, what is in that? alejandra: what makes a great recipe? are they the dishes that are passed down to us through generations of home cooking? bambi: i love to make my mom's honey turkey wings. alejandra: are they the ones that tell the story of who we are and where we're from? silvia: i make mantecadas. it's like a mexican muffin. tiffany: if this is what it feels like at your home,