♪ ♪ judy: good eveni. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, at the extreme. a massive fire forces thousands to evacuate in california as millions of americans indoor a brutal heat wave. rapid spread. epidemiologists worn the united states is at a critical moment to counteract and contain the highly contagious monkeypox virus. tipping point. the glaciers shows further signs of potentially breaking off in antarctica. >> this is perhaps the most important glacier in the world in terms of its potential impact this century. judy: all of that and more on

tonight's pbs "newshour." ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> it is the little things. ♪ the reminders of what isit is wd advisors are here to help you create a wealth plan. a plan with tax sensitive investing strategies. planning focused on tomorrow while you focus on today. it is the planning effect from fidelity. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the "newshour" including.

the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at hewlett.org. ♪ ♪ ♪ 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: firefighters are battling

a devastating forest fire near yosemite national park in california. now in its third day. it has turned into one of the largest fires this year and forced thousands from their homes all as a heat wave is still baking major parts of the country. we begin our coverage with this report. reporter: in the foothills of the sierra nevada, the sprawling oak fire continues to rapidly spread across central california. the blaze erupted friday and has consumed 16,000 acres, half the size of boston. airplanes poured retardant on the fire from above while firefighters battled on the ground. crews announced they have contained 10% of the fire. they say it is now less extreme than on previous days but the distraction has left thousands fleeing their homes taking with them whatever they could. >> we got the call that we had

to evacuate and the fire was coming quickly. >> people were scrambling to get their stuff together. i don't know -- it is pretty difficult. reporter: this fast-moving fire is gaining ground to the southwest of 70 national park. it began within 100 miles east of san francisco. it has caused smoke to creep across much of the san joaquin valley. prompting fears of air pollution across the state. some expressed frustration with those that decided to stay behind. >> stubbornness is the worst thing and it does not -- if it does not kill you it will kill someone else. reporter: the cause is still under investigation but a mixture of extended droughts, overgrown vegetation and baking heat waves have increased the likelihood of wildfires. this one came as the u.s.

swelter through a weekend heat wave. across used coast, families tried to dodge the concrete heat. as temperatures cool on the east, stifling heat waves are expected to envelop the south and pacific northwest. the first half of the year has already been punishing. the federal government has estimated weather andlimate disasters have cost at least $9 billion in damage so far. for the pbs newshour, i am nicole ellis. judy: let's hear more about the situation in california from someone that has long lived in the community there. reporter: the exclude -- the explosive nature of the wildfire suggest another difficult fire season ahead. the executive director of the national wildlife center lives in mid pines, california about two miles from the western edge of the fire. thank you for being with us.

i know you are under pre-evacuation order. what is the situation now as you look across the horizon? >> frankly, as someone that has been up here 25 years and has been through 25 fires and had to evacuate three times, this is terrifying. this is a monster fire spreading in all directions. the two mile distance does not give me much comfort. there is smoke everywhere. i have helicopters and jets going overhead all the time. it is a little scary. reporter: the rapid spread -- it went from 4000 acres friday night to more than 15,000 acres on sunday. what is that like to have that going on around you? >> again, this is your community and watching the homes of your

friends destroyed and knowing you could be next is really heartbreaking. i am actually kind of angry. this is climate inaction. this is what happens when we do not address the climate change problem. we have die off of over a million trees caused by beetle infestation and climate change and we have great leaders in california. governor gavin newsom as a leader on climate. it also gets hard when people are saying -- it is a california problem. no! people in coal burning states need to help me fight the fire in my backyard. these are not even wildfires. these are monsters. it is quite terrifying. especially knowing we could have done something. reporter: this is the biggest fire so far this year in california but it is not the first fire in this area. you have had a number of fires

in the last three weeks or so. >> i have even lost count. we had two start yesterday. this is not normal. i have been here 25 years. when i first moved here, you had a big fire every 5-10 years. we are having multiple pager fires every year and smaller fires. th is climate inaction in action. it is a way of life. we know we have to coexist with fire. you are looking at my house in the background. i have metal siding on it and a metal roof. those are things you have to do if you are going to live up here because fire will not go away. reporter: how else have you adjusted to coexisting or living with the threat of fire so much? >> i will say i do all the things i just outlined what it

is still scary. i work in wildlife so i promote coexisting with wildlife a lot and that is easier than fire. fire is a big and scary animal. i think you also have to have plans. i have an evacuation plan. even before the fire i have a few options of wonderful friends i can go to. i have five dogs and two cats. you have to have a plan and know how to get out. you have a go bag. you do not wait. you are on alert all summer. you also do not travel. these days i don't like to go anywhere especially getting on a plane in fire season because i won't be able to get back in time. reporter: what is the effect on the wildlife in the area? >> that troubles me as well. as someone that works and wildlife conservation, this is just as impactful on wildlife and in some respects even more

so. i can evacuate to an air-conditioned friends house but they have no option. as we see with climate change making fires longer and hotter burning more space, that is introducing an element that wildlife cannot adapt to. any plant or animal in california has adapted to a natural fire cycle. they have strategies. they are not adapted to firestorms. for instance, the habitat itself, since it burns hotter and longer, may not be suitable when they go back. it is really tough on the wildlife. and i have not mentioned the smoke. you can hear my raspy voice. especially in the last five years, we are getting a lot of smoke thrown at us. i just bought a heavy-duty smoke filter from my house but the wildlife does not have that. the impact of smoke has to be substantial. reporter: the california regional executive director of the national wildlife federation

in mid pines, california being threatened by the oak fire. thank you and good luck. >> thank you for having me. ♪ ♪ judy: in the days other news, myanmar's military government confirmed it hanged four democracy activist, the first executions in decades in the nation. a state run newspaper said the activists committed what it called terrorist killings. the united nations, the u.s. and others condemned the executions. we will take a closer look at this later in the program. there is word that ukraine could resume exporting grain in a few days under an agreement with russia. u.n. officials say all parties have re-committed to the deal despite russia's weekend missile attack on the port of odessa.

ukraine's president today questioned russia's commitment. >> and we now see, not even we but the whole world saw that less than 24 hours had passed since the agreement was signed thathe missile attacks began. the next question is for the u.n. and turkey -- to what extent can they control the russian federation which has shown it can launch missile strikes even after an agreement. judy: russia's foreign minister said moscow's goal is to oust zelenskyy's government. separately, russia has announced deeper cuts in natural gas supplies to europe. the state owned utility gazprom reduced the flow to 20% of capacity and the nord stream one pipeline to germany. pope francis has made a historic apology in canada for the role played by the catholic church in indigenous schools. more than 100 50,000 children

were forced to attend the state-funded institutions until the 1970's. the pontiff visited a former school in alberta and prayed at a cemetery. he told survivors and others, i am deeply sorry. >> i think back on the stories you told. how the policies of assimilation systematically marginalized indigenous peoples. how also through the system of residential schools, your languages and cultures were denigrated and suppressed. how children suffered physical or verbal and spiritual abuse. judy: the pope is making a weeklong pilgrimage in a bid for reconciliation with indigenous peoples. the white house physician reported that president biden's covid symptoms are almost completely resolved. the president himself said he is feeling great. today he hosted a virtual discussion with business and labor leaders on a bill to boost semiconductor manufacturing in

the u.s. the u.s. department of justice today filed a settlement with poultry producers over the alleged abuse of workers. it involves kargil, sanderson farms and wayne farms and a data consulting firm. they were accused of sharing information to limit wages and benefits. the settlement would establish a federal monitor. on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained 90 points. the nasdaq fell 51 points. the s&p 500 added five. in veteran actor -- and paul serino died today in jacksonville, florida. he was best known for his gangster role in goodfellas and as a police detective on tv's law and order. his daughter became an all square winner in her own right in 1996. pulse were vino was 83 years old. still to come on the "newshour"

virginity testing continues in rural mongolian schools despite the condemnation of the practice by the united nations. we examined the latest political headlines. singer joni mitchell plays her first full set in over 20 years at the newport folk festival, plus much more. ♪ >> this is the pbs "newshour" from wt -- w eta studios in washington. and arizona state university. judy: the world health organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency this weekend. the number of confirmed cases is very small, totaling under 20,000 so far, it has sprd quickly to dozs of countries in less thathree months. some argue the alert from the who is necessary because the response in many countries has been to slow including the u.s.

we focus on that tonight. reporter: vaccinations against the monkeypox are picking up in the u.s. but access and speed of delivery remain issues. in some cases people exposed have struggled to get the vaccine and other patients with the virus cannot get the drug which helps with symptoms. we spoke to a few people from new york, los angeles and baltimore about their issues getting the vaccine or treatment and this is what they shared. >> i noticed a blister on my finger that i thought was just an insect bite at first. eventually, another blister showed up on my body and that was when i knew it was not just an insect bite. >> i called my provider and they asked me to send some pictures of the lay-ins -- some legions. >> on friday in june i got a

call fm my friend who i'd been hanging with the weekend prior. >> i was exposed to someone with monkeypox at the end of june. i have not gotten the vaccine. and not without trying. i was lucky enough that i did not develop monkeypox but i was scared out of my mind and really wanted the vaccine. >> they sent a prescription for the antiviral to my regular pharmacy and my pharmacy called and said, they have no way to get that. finally, a got a call from a different pharmacy saying they had it and they were the only pharmacy in new york that did and so they were able to deliver it to my apartment thankfully. >> for about 5-7 days it felt like i had crazy abdominal

cramps constantly. i struggled to have bowel movements. it was really, reall horrible. and then taking care of these legions -- lesions all over my body. >> it is really frustrating. there is a way this experience could have been less painful and quicker. >> i was worried, afraid, and in pain. i was not sure how i was going to get this medicine that was supposed to help. >> i showed up to this public school and realized there were a lot of men hanging around outside the public school looking very frustrated. when i came there they said -- it is closed and no one is there. we were all outside.

we all lost our appointments. >> i don't think our medical system was prepared for an outbreak of this nature. what is the best medically recommended way to get these lesions to heal as fast as possible? should i keep them covered? open to air at home? there has been no guidance and that is hard for people that have this infection which is really scary. >> our community is being hit the hardest right now. it is not limited to us. we should be realistic in who it is affecting so we can target treatment and preventative measures. reporter: there are just under 3000 confirmed cases in the u.s. but many experts believe there are other cases that have not been confirmed yet with testing. a lack of testing is just one part of the overall respon from the biden administration

that has come under criticism. greg is a key public health boys making that case publicly. he is an epidemiologist and a well-known global activist. professor gonzalez, thank you for joining us. we just heard from those folks and i want to get some context on this. they had trouble accessing treatment and the vaccine. others told us they were misdiagnosed in the first cas how rare are their stories? >> i think this is characteristic of what has happened and the last two months in the context of the monkeypox outbreak in the united states. i have heard similar stories from people having trouble getting tested and getting access to the vaccine and trouble finding access to treatment even though we have all of these commodities that you should be able -- that should be able to contain the outbreak and treat the individuals that need help. reporter: the numbers -- about 3000 cases. a lot of people look at that and

say, it does not down like that much but you have called it a crisis. why? >> may 2022 -- we have gone from no cases to over 3000 in the u.s. we went from zero to 18,000 around the world in a matter of time going from a small series of countries in western central africa where the disease has been a pandemic. reporter: the biden administration has said -- this is what we are doing. we have shipped over hundred thousand vaccine doses across the country -- 300,000 vaccine doses across the country. you have called the response a mess. what could they do today that they have not? >> the point is they have moved incredibly slowly. early criticisms that the

testing for monkeypox was being too tightly controlled by the state health departments and the cdc. a couple weeks ago, the federal government gave commercial to large commercial diagnostic providers to ramp up testing but it is creating a bottleneck in the system. the drug that can treat the infection is available under very strict scrutiny by the fda and federal government in which the doctors have to do several hours of paperwork to get the drug for one patient. and then there is the vaccine. there is one. it is available to prevent this infection. we have the largest stockpile of this vaccine in the world and yet we have only been able to distribute about 140,000 doses in the last few months. there are 200,000 doses sitting in a warehouse in denmark.

it is unclear the administration knows what it is doing in terms of coordination. there is enormous physical pain these men are experiencing and they are going into the hospital to be treated for this and ming out with hospital bills that strain their finances. this should have been set up and staged 6-8 weeks ago in the beginning of june. now we are hearing, we will have enough vaccine by thanksgiving. thanksgiving? the big thing here is that we could have contained the outbreak and stop it in its tracks. now there is a chance of it becoming endemic. we may be looking at living with monkeypox for a long time to come and not just in the gay community. it's bills over into other communities.

we may be dealing with this on a much larger societal scale. reporter: what we have seen so far it -- is it has been mostly limited to the gay, bisexual, and transgender community. some s it is like hiv all over again. it is being ignored because it is largely impacting only certain communities. is that what you see? >> it is very hard to not think here we go again. it is unacceptable that a disease that could have been stopped in its tracks when we knew about it in may and early june is now heading towards several thousand more cases. reporter: a lot of your criticism sounds like you could have been talking about covid and the government responds early in the pandemic. are those lessons we should have learned? >> indeed we should have but it was clear there were fundamental

weaknesses in the public health system prior to covid. we expect the system to act like a ferrari out of the showroom. instead of a fractured used car. we have a fractured and tattered social safety net in this country. we came into the covid pandemic unprepared for what happened. you would have thought we would have fixed these things by 2022. now, we see a new pandemic in the u.s. and all the mistakes that happened in 2020, all the deficiencies in our public health care system are out on full display once again and one has to wonder when we will learn our lesson. reporter: that is greg gonzalez from yale school. professor, thank you for your time. ♪

judy: it is been a year and a half since the military in myanmar launched a coup, deposed a democratically elected government and installed a dictatorship. the execution by hanging of four pro-democracy activists. from independent television news, we have a report. ♪ reporter: what is the point of my life saying myanmar's most famous rapper? an activist and a politician. he campaigned for democracy and became an mp but today his life was taken from him.

one of four political prisoners executed by the country's military junta. state tv said he was a terrorist but the opposition sees him as a martyr. >> laid down his life or freedom and democracy and human rights. just imagine that. that is who he is. reporter: another well-known democracy activist known as co-jimmy was also killed. in the first executions for half a century. a sign the junta that seized the power last year will broke no dissent. >> i think this is an attempt at instilling greater fear and intimidation against the population. if they cannot rule by the consent of the people of myanmar which they obviously cannot, they will try to terrify them even more than they have to this point. reporter: nonetheless, a few

brave protesters came out onto the streets today with banners saying -- we will never be frightened. and filmed themselves so the world could see even the prospect of execution will not cow them. [chanting] last february after democracy later aung san suu kyi won a landslide election victory, the military staged a coup and she is now in prison. after soldiers suppressed widespread protests, many activists fled into exile and others into the bush. now, peaceful resistance has turned to armed rebellion. they call themselves the people's defense forces. ♪ footage that is never been seen before shows a graduation ceremony for new fighters in central myanmar. an army helicopter launches an

air strike. both the recruits and the camera crew have to take cover. the military has also launched aerial and ground attacks on villages. there are widespread reports of the wounding and killing of civilians by myanmar soldiers. this is a cruel and rarely seen civil war. today's executions are a sign of how much more cruel it is set to become. judy: that report from independent television news. ♪ judy: in addition to its connection with the extreme heat and weather events here and around the globe, climate change is also having a measurable impact on a much slower moving development -- the loss of

glaciers and the melting of the ice. science correspondent miles o'brien has been chronicling one scientists to track what is happening with one of the most important glaciers and here is his latest update. reporter: it was like a scene from star wars when climate scientist david holland finally made it to ground zero. >> just absolute insane fun and i thought i was going to die. we flew the helicopter through the crevasses. reporter: these eyes canyons are in the antarctic appeared it is the so-called doomsday glacier and you are seeing it in its death throes as close as anyone ever has. >> this is perhaps the most important glacier in the world in terms of its potential impact this century. reporter: the size of florida, it stores enough water to impact global seawater -- 10 fee if the ice is held in place.

and here the ices melting at a stunning rate. 100 meters, more than 300 feet a year. how long can it last? >> that is the question we are pushing for -- we want to have an ice forecast. without that we have no insight into our future. reporter: holland is a professor at new york university. there, we watched some scenes from his epic voyage. year after year he risks his life in pursuit of elusive data. for starters, he wants to know the water temperature below the cracks but the probe holding the instruments is not breaking through. >> there is a thin film of ice, maybe an inch or so. when you drop the probe it hits the ice and will not go through. reporter: finding a way through

that layer of ice was the umpteenth challenge he has experienced in this long arctic campaign. >> this was the most difficult mission we have ever been on. reporter: they arrived in christchurch, new zealand on december 20 and it took three weeks for their covid quarantine to lift and equipment to arrive. >> ready to set sail next week. reporter: funded by the national science foundation and its counterparts in the u.k., canada and south korea, three dozen researchers joined the south korean icebreaker. bringing -- brimming with deer, it set sail. >> the idea was to go straight to the ice shelf. brilliant idea lead to failure because we were not planning on sea ice. reporter: seemingly true to her name, the ship cuts through most

ice like butter at 14 knots. most ice. for unknown reasons, a huge conglomeration of cis floated in the sea between them and their destination. eventually, it was too much. >> the dreams of reaching our destination have been dashed. reporter: what were your thoughts? >> we lost the prize. we were not going to be able to get the data. reporter: all geared up with no place to go, team holland started eyeing a consolation prize. >> it is monday morning, january 24. we arrived here at the ice shelf. reporter: the datsun ice shelf is stable. not a threat like the other. but it is a local target of opportunity so they got busy deploying the scientific field camp they had designed for the first destination on datsun. >> the hilo operations are

moving at lightning speed. reporter: they had to airlift 50 tons of gear one ton at a time. >> our base camp is about 20 kilometers inland. reporter: the mission there -- drill a one foot wide corridor mile deep hole, drop instruments in and leave a mooring behind to monitor what is happening where most of the melting occurs. they drilled with hot water made from snow and hand shoveled into a 2600 gallon container. as a set up the gear and started drilling, holland scrambled to make his complex mooring work and the pressure was on. >> we think we will be through in about six hours and after that we are ready for the mooring but it is not ready. reporter: up to this point, the weather had been benign by antarctic standards.

on the day that everything had to be ready though, -- >> the weather has gone [beep] and the snow is really starting to blow. reporter: --there was no time to hunker down so down went the mooring fingers crossed. >> it is wednesday, february 10th. the mooring was installed about a day and a half ago. 1300 meters or 4000 feet below me is an instrument that is talking right now with this computer. woo hoo! a little bit of restraint now. yes! [cheering] there was a lot of screaming even though it was in the middle of a blizzard. it was like -- ts worked! reporter: he wanted the

instruments beneath the place where the glacier meets the land. there warm seawater interacts with cooler melted fresh water from the glacier. a boundary layer which creates turbulence. >> it is that turbulence at the boundary layer is how warm water on the ocean gets through the ice. we don't understand the turbulence. we want to capture it. reporter: as the ice fractures and melts, the water flow gets more complicated. understanding this is crucial for david holland if he is ever to succeed at creating an accurate ice forecast. but for now, any crumb of data helps which brings us back to where we began. with time and fuel just enough for a few extended flights, holland and his team flew to the open wound. after the probes brimming with instruments refused to penetrate the eyes, they filled a few with

shackles from the ship. >> we called it a shackleton bomb and this incredibly heavy piece of metal, you throw that out the door first and it creates a whole and then you throw the real probe after it and it worked brilliantly. reporter: they got a dozen readings. >> it is the first ever data from western thwaites. what we saw was data that the warmest water anywhere in antarctica is under their, almost four degrees centigrade above freezing. crazy warm for water near ice. report: that is 40 degrees fahrenheit. you don't have to be a climate scientist to understand how serious that number is. it appears the ice forecast that david holland is so determined to create will not predict if but rather when. until then, the world will have to wait and wonder how long the glaciers can teeter on this

precipice. for the pbs newshour, i am miles o'brien. ♪ judy: former president donald trump will be returning to the nation's capital this week for the first time since he left office. this comes just days after the january 6 committee wrapped up a summer full of hearings putting mr. trump at the center of a conspiracy to subvert the results of the 2020 election. to talk about all of the politics, i am joined by our politics monday duo, amy walter and cameron keith. how low to both of you. let's talk about the january 6 committee. they wrapped up their eighth hearing last week at the end of the summer run. we will hear more in september.

how good a job do you think they have done laying this out? and in the last 24 hours, they have put out another video showing the day after henry six how the former president was still reluctant -- showing the day after january 6 how the former president was still reluctant to -- the election. reporter: he said in the statement that he had immediately sent the national guard and other law enforcement in when the started which was also untrue. it is defining how effective it has been in different ways. was it effective at changing people's minds? how people felt before they hearing and today? it does not look like many minds have been changed. this is from the npr newshour pole, - poll, this question was

asked -- 49% said yes then and more recently, 50 percent. how responsible is donald trump for what happened at the capital? 45% in july -- 43% in january said it was a big deal and only 45% now. not a lot of movement now. when you talk to republicans, activists or rank and file voters, what you start to here is a weariness ending weariness and maybe trump fatigue coming in. they still like him and they do not support the january 6 commission but what they are starting to pick up is -- boy, voting for donald trump again comes with a lot of baggage. there are other candidates that want to run for president that

have allf this trumpism without baggage. reporter: it could be having some impact. i think it is going to be hard to tell because there have been other times over the last 5-6 years when there has been trump fatigue among republicans. there has been a republican establishment effort to take out trump. they have not been able to mount enough of a force to get behind one person that could be an opponent to him and be able to take him off the political scene. there are a lot of republicans who say -- back in the day, i wish he would have -- i wish he would not have tweeted so much but i will still vote for him. bill barr said the claims of election fraud were b.s., he did not use that term, but if he was the nominee, he said he would vote for him again.

liz cheney believes donald trump is a threat to democracy and what she argued is that his behavior on january 6 itself and the lead up to it means he should not be allowed to be elected again. have they convinced rank and file republicans? it is unclear. judy: and to the point that people are skeptical that he will be held accountable i noted in the poll that half of the americans believe he has committed a crime but more than 60% believe he will not be prosecuted. reporter: there is a reason people believe that -- he has been imputed -- impeached twice and not convicted. if the public is following the cues of the past, there is no reason for them to believe something different will happen. the chief of staff has been called before a grand jury in washington, d.c. and there are indications there are and the --

there are investigations getting more serious even outside of the congressional investigation. judy: meanwhile, as we were saying earlier, the former president coming to washington for the first time since he left . he will speak at a conservative conference. his own former vice president, mike pence, was due to speak there today causing all of us to look at how are these republicans lining up as we think about 2024. here is a piece of the poll. looking at favorability among these party leaders -- just republican voters, 77% have donald trump and 66% have ronald desantis and -- have mike pence

and liz cheney. reporter: the remarkable thing about the desantis number is that he is the governor of florida. that is a pretty large number for somebody who just recently came onto the national scene. he comes up in conversation with rank and file republicans as someone that they like. he has broken through. the thing about pence, folks aroundim believe there is a lane for him. there are enough republicans out there who want to see someone that supported the policies of donald trump without the baggage or they want to see someone that has real evangelical, conservative values. it comes from that wing of the party. we don't see much evidence that republican voters are hungry for a mike pence candidacy. the fact that he has a 59%

suggest they do not necessarily just like him -- dislike him but they are not tripping over themselves excitedly to support him. reporter: i'm not saying crowd size matters but they held rival events in arizona over the weekend and trump had a rally with several thousand people while mike pence held an event that was not meant to be a rally but rather a campaign event for a gubernatorial candidate at an employer in arizona with a couple hundred people. a very different tone. that is reflective of who they are but also the fact that trump gets people excited. he gets his voters excited still. judy: even with the january 6 going on but the committee, drip, drip of information but we have over two years for voters to sort out what they think about him. reporter: and we have

potentially legal action in georgia and the department of stice as well. judy: that is right. reporter: the atlanta -- it seems to be moving along. we don't know where it is headed but we know a lot of the names that have been brought before the grand jury. we could be looking at something before we hit 2024 from a legal perspective which is also interesting -- arizona, the pence and trump camps are fighting proxy wars. mike pence is for kemp. judy: we are watching these all over. the subject for another politic monday. thank you oath. -- thank you both. ♪

judy: as the debate continues into the u.s. over reproductive rights, in the republic of mongolia teenage girls are fighting not to subjected against their will to so-called virginity tests in schools. the practice was officially banned by the government last year but it continues nevertheless. this story was produced in collaboration with the global press journal which is an international news organization that trains local women journalists in the world's least covered places. reporter: in the hinterlands of mongolia, young girls are made to go through dodge no exams at school a tangibly to see if they have had sexual intercourse. doctors perform the invasive exams by order of school administrators without the permission of the students or even their parents. >> did they have your consent to do this? >> they do not ask for consent.

they just say go. >> what happens when you do not consent? >> if we do not agree, our teachers said we have to and no one should be left unexamined. reporter: she is just one of the girls still being subjected to virginity test even after the government of mongolia banned the practice last year. the band was in response to student led protests and pressure from the united nations which in honey 18 condemned the practice and declared it an act of violence that degrades teenage girls. some 20 countries still implement virginity tests according to the u.n. a and -- an investigation found the practice has continued in rural schools with impunity. >> have you and your friends been able to speak your family about this? is there also a fear of stigma? >> i do not talk to my family

about it. i am afraid of the stigma so i go along with the task. if you don't, many people will insulted. >> are you and your friends subjected to bullying and humiliation after the tests are conducted? what is the environment like in school? >> if you don't, people think you are pregnant. i had one friend who said she would not do the test and she was pregnant but she wanted to keep it a secret. her teacher discovered it and the rumor spread and she was bullied a lot by the students. the whole school insulted her terribly and she finally moved to another school. >> what made you want to speak up about this? >> we do not want to go through these examinations. they tell us we have to do this. i wanted to raise my voice about this. >> last year there was an uproar after the stories came out about the tests and the tests were banned.

does the school administration not fear any action taken against them? >> school administrators are not worried about it because no action has been taken against them as far as i know though they are still conducting the examinations. reporter: the reporter spoke with the "newshour" from the capital city what have you found about how many schools in mongolia are still implementing this invasive exam? >> i found out that at least 10 schools around the country have reported undergoing virginity tests. i found out this information from students and doctors and school administration during my reporting. reporter: what do principles of the schools say to justify giving these girls this exam? >> they claim the exams prevent teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases and right now the abortion rate is quite high though there is no actual

data to back there, -- to back their claims. reporter: what is the point of these exams? >> the government claims the main purpose is they want to come up with the exact numbers and data to keep a check on how many abortions and unwanted pregnancies are happening. reporter: i know there has been a lot of protest in the country over these exams. how much pressure is a government undertook banned the exams altogether? >> the activists are calling for a complete ban on virginity tests even though the government had restricted the conduct of these exams in the school environment last year. some schools are still doing it secretly. that means the measure is still not effective. they say they will continue fighting and they are educating the victims to protest. i interviewed many girls and they all said they went through the exam without any consent.

right after class they are forced to go to the doctor's office and they have to have their regina screened there are. they told me how challenging it is for them and it leaves them traumatized. they have to stay in line outside the doctor's office and take off their clothing. some girls cried during the interview and it was quite a hard moment. reporter: she said they were willing to talk and relive the trauma so other girls would not have to endure what they did. >> no one has the right to touch our bodies without our content -- without our consent. it is a violation of our human rights. every voice is important especially girls and their families. everyone needs to speak up. ♪ judy: we end tonight on a point in an beautiful note.

over the historic newport festival, nine time grammy winner joni mitchell surprised fans and played her first full set in over 20 years. mitchell who last appeared at the festival 53 years ago in 69 sat center stage as big-name musicians joined her in playing a mix of her masterpieces. six time grammy award winner brandi carlile has worked to ensure agile's place in popular music history in the years following mitchell's 2015 brain aneurysm. here she sings for 1966 song "both sides now" with brandi carlile joining n. >> ♪ but now they only block the sun and they rain and they snow on everyone so many things i would have done

but clouds got in my way i have looked at clouds from both sides now from up and down and still somehow -- it is cloud illusions that i recall i really don't know clouds i really don't know clouds at all ♪ judy: wow. that is something. joni mitchell. and tonight, on newshour online the city of st. louis passes an ordinance that allows for the use of federal funding to help his variance seeking abortions outside of the stage.

is a move that is met resistance from the states attorney general. that is on our website, pbs.org/newshour. and that is the newshour for tonight. im judy woodruff. join us online and here tomorrow evening. for all of us here at the newshour, thank you and stay safe. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal is to provide service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of plans. to learn more visit consumer cellular.tv. ♪ >> the kendeda fund, committed to investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendeda fund.org. supported by the john t -- john

d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. more information at mac found.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions -- ♪ ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation from public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

♪ ♪ he everyone. welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. president trump did not fail to act, he chose not to act. >> damning new evidence as the january 6th committee shows how trump refused to stop the attack on the capitol. i asked former federal prosecutor how he rates the case against the former president. then -- >> this is a city. >> back on the air. tv ray relaunches from abroad afterng shut down by the kremlin. editor in chief joins me with the details. and -- >> i knew what i was going to do. had already planned it all out. i was going through the school, the doors to the food court or the mall food court.

>> imagine