judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight. the votes are in, kansans preserve abortion rights in their state while victories by candidates who denied the 2020 election results prompt ncerns about the future of american democracy. then. an uncertain future, tensions rise between the u.s. and china following house speaker pelosi's visit to taiwan. and, toxic reckoning, after much political wrangling, the u.s. senate approves a measure to give veterans exposed to harsh chemicals medical treatment. >> i think that the primary victory in getting this bill passed takes the burden off the veteran of proving that they have a

deployment related disorder. judy: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> moving our economy for 100 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> cfo. caregiver. it clips chaser.

a raymond james financial advisor taylor's advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems. >> the lemelson foundation, committed to improving lives through invention in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at limo send.org. supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just and peaceful world. more information at mac found.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. 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: backers of abortion rights and of former president trump are claiming big wins, in tuesday's primaries. in kansas, voters rejected a state constitutional amendment to let lawmakers restrict or ban abortion. meanwhile, in arizona, mark finchem, a 2020 ection denier, won the republican primary for secretary of state, overseeing elections. and, michigan republican congressman peter meijer lost his primary bid. he had voted to impeach mr. trump over the january 6th attack on the u.s. capitol. we'll have much more, after the news summary. a sitting member of congress, republican representative jackie walorski of indiana, was killed today in a car crash. it happened as the 5-term representative was traveling in her district. two young aides also died in the accident. walorski was seen as a rising

star in gop ranks. she was 58 years old. president biden has signed an executive order to help women who cross state lines for abortions. it offers breaks on medicaid costs for states where abortion is legal, so they can assist women from states where it is not. activists had urged mr. biden to do even more, but the white house defended his actions today. >>he president has been very clear that he's going to do everything that he can, it doesn't stop with this, but we also understand he can't be the only person working on this, that's why we asked congress to take action. judy: the presidents event today was once again virtual. he tested positive for covid for a fifth day, after his infection rebounded over the weekend. nancy pelosi's visit to taiwan has ended, but the fallout continues. the speaker of the u.s. house of representatives met today with president sy ing-when, before flying to

south korea. in response, china said it's launching military exercises this week on all sides of taiwan, which it claims as a renegade province. we'll return to this, later in the program. the u.s. began annual military drills with indonesia today, amid china's aggressive moves. australia, japan and singapore are also taking part. more than 5,000 soldiers kicked off 2 weeks of exercises on indonesia'sumatra island. this year's maneuvers are the largest since they began in 2009. the first ship carrying grain from ukraine, under a wartime deal with russia, is now en route to lebanon. the ship was inspected by an international team off istanbul, turkey, today, then cleared to sail on. in kyiv, ukraine's president zelenskyy said he wants more shipments, soon. >> thanks to the u.n., in

partnership with turkey, we had a first ship go out. it's still nothing, but we hope it's the start of a trend. in total, the consequences of this war are horrible, not only for ukraine, but for the whole world. judy: ukrainian officials say that 17 more grain ships are waiting for permission to sail. the u.s. senate moved this evening to admit finland and sweden to nato. it's a crucial step in expanding the alliance, in the face of russia's war on ukraine. all 30 nato members have to approve any new members. an illinois man pleaded not guilty today in the shooting massacre at a fourth of july parade. robert creemo allegedly killed 7 people and wounded dozens. he appeared at a brief hearing, facing 117 counts of murder, attempted murder and other crimes. eastern kentucky faced a new danger today after last week's devastating flood that killed 37

people. relief workers labored in heat index is climbing to 100 degrees. cleanup operations continued. governor andy beshear urged caution in the hot weather and also warned of the flood disasters emotional toll. >> a lot of the grief that we've suppressed these last seven days trying to get the mud out and take care of each other when it rained again, or it's so hot, that's going to come to the surface. if you need help, ask for it. remember, it's okay not to be okay. judy: we will take a closer look at the disasters aftermath later in the program. and, on wall street: stocks surged on strong corporate earning reports. the dow jones industrial average gained 416 points to close at up 1%. 32,812,the nasdaq rose 2.5%. the s&p 500 advance 1.5 percent.

veterans respond to the congressional deal that expands health benefits for those affected by toxic exposure. we remember the legendary voice of the dodgers, vin scully. plus, much more. >> this is the pbs newshour, from w eta studios in washington, and in the west, from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: voters in kansas turned out in record numbers yesterday and overwhelmingly rejected a proposed amendment that would have removed the right to an abortion from the state constitution and opened the door to the republican legislature passing restrictions or an outright ban. the vote no side celebrated its victory last night. >> i'm super proud to be from kansas tonight and i feel like my state just showed and boldly told me that they going to take care of me and my female friends and everyone that can get pregnant in the state of kansas. we are protected tonight.

judy: ali rogin was reporting for us from kansas in the days leading up to the election and has been watching the vote. you were there, you were watching closely last night. these results were a surprise. tell us what happened. >> it was a pretty stunning defeat for this amendment. the vote w 59 to 41. experts we spoke to expected this vote to be close, whichever -- even though they weren't sure which side would prevail. this was a bigger margin than most observers anticipated. why? one big reason is turnout. take a look at the numbers. during the last primary in 2018, just over 405,000 people turned out. compare that with this vote, about double that, more than 900 -- 900,000 kansans. and it's just slightly less than the turnout in the 2020 general election, which was about 1.3 million voters. now, practically speaking, this

means that abortion remains the same as that was in kansas before this vote. the procedure is allowed up to 22 weeks. but the pro amendment side said this was just a temporary setback, and that their fight in kansas will continue. judy: i know you been talking to people, what does this mean for the november midterms? >> this is certainly just e beginning of state-by-state votes on abortion. take a look at the map. four other states have already certified abortion-related ballot measures for november. and a fifth in michigan, they have collected enough signatures to get it on the ballot. that certification will likely come later this month. of course, each state is unique, and you can only extrapolate so much from what happened in kansas. but kansas is a reliably red state. consider a purple state like

michigan, that is likely going vote on a measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, basically the mirror image of the vote that took place in kansas. if the amendment was defeated so soundly in a red state like kansas, that doesn't seem to bode well for its prospects in a purple state like michigan. one of the thing is clear, the abortion issue is driving voters to get out and vote. that's reflected today in a new monmouth university poll which found that a quarter of democratic voters nationwide said their number one issue going into the midterm season is abortion. judy: we knew it wasn't in -- an issue of importance and interest to many, but this is definitive proof. ali rogin, thank you. meantime, last night's elections also showcased the continuing strength of the so-called big lie in the republican party.

candidates who ran on the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen won primaries up and down the ballot. and they won in two of the states at the center of that conspiracy, arizona and michigan, setting up stark contests for governor, congress and secretary of state in november. for more on the results and what they mean, i'm joined by our own stephanie sy in phoenix. and jessica huseman, she's the editorial director of votebeat. hello to both of you. thank you for being with us. stephanie, i'm going to start with you. a lo of the most closely watched races last night were in arizona, where you are based. a number of republican candidates there running on the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. tell us about what they were saying and what happened. stephanie: judy, if there was any doubt about former president trump's influence on the

republican party in arizona the , results of this primary are unmistakable. all five of the candidates officially endorsed by the former president won or are winning their races. all five won trump's endorsement by repeating conspiracy theories about the 2020 election that multiple court cases, audits, and even a republican-led partisan review here in arizona have proven to be untrue. for the us senate nomination, for example republican primary , voters chose political novice blake masters as their candidate. he was virtually unknown in politics here and behind in the polls for most of the race, until he gained trump's endorsement earlier this summer. that was after he said that he would have objected to certifying the 2020 election if he had been senator on january 6th. we also saw a resounding victory for the trump-endorsed candidate for secretary of state, mark finchem. finchem, a state representative, has been linked to qanon, and recently said he believes the

devil conspired to steal the 2020 election. finally, we are still watching the governor's between another election denier kari lake who , former president trump has been stumping for for months and he was here just a few days ago stumping for her and karrin , taylor robson, who was endorsed by former vp mike pence. today she declared victory, but that is premature. the results are still not in. if she were to lose the nomination, she has been sewing doubt into the election process, a direct play from the trump playbook. judy: we just heard stephanie mention mark fincham, the nominee of one denomination to be secretary of state in arizona. he is now one of six nominees to be secretary of state around the country who are election deniers. how important do we think that

is going to be, not just for november, but for future elections? >> it is crucially important. in 2020, a lot of the reason the country did not fall into complete chaos was because of the actions of one of whom was the secretary of state in georgia. that said it would be crucial not only to the well-being of that state's government, b to the national government as well, to democracy as a whole. so i don't think it can really be overstated how important these positions truly are. judy: i will come back to you, stephanie, because we know arizona is a purple state, a state that joe biden won in 2020 by something like 11,000 votes. what does that mean these

republican candidates could be facing? stephanie: a current secretary of state and an astronaut. whoever wins the gop nomination for governor will be up against katie hobbs, the crent secretary of state. hobbs was the highest election official in 2020 when trump supporters protested en masse claiming fraud. she was up against that. she certified the election alongside republican governor doug ducey, but has faced death -- who has been censured by the state gop party, and she has faced death threats ever since. she tweeted today she is ready to take on whichever extreme republican is nominated. then in the general election in november, a key senate seat here may determine the balance of power in the upper chamber. blake masters, who was a silicon valley chief operating officer for trump ally peter thiel's company will face democrat mark kelly, a former astronaut. kelly has already received the endorsement of nearly 50 prominent indepedents and rebicans, incuding a few

republican mayors, who were turned off by the options on the gop side. independent voters are very important in this state. they make up about 34% of voters in the state. and one big question is whether those voters will put off by these candidates' conspiratorial views, and like they did in 2020, swing the other way. judy: jessica, let me ask you about another state where we are seeing this divide play out in the republican party, this is in michigan. at is standing out to you about? jessica: i don't think i was particularly shocked by any of the successful candidates in michigan. i will say that the dead -- dynamics and michigan are really interesting. the person who won for republican nomination for governor has been asked, but has

dodged several questions about whether or not she believes the 2020 election was stolen. she said she did once, but has not given much more detail on it's very convenient for everyone republican in micgan that they have someone on the ticket who is very full throated and verbal that the election was stolen, tipping well into conspiracy, well beyond normal republican concern about election integrity. in a lot of ways she gets to be the voice for those questions, and everyone else will just kind of fall in line. judy jessica, another way we are seeing former president trump' influence play out is in congressional races. three of the 10 republicans who voted to impeach him were on the ballot. that face primary challenges. tell us what we saw here. jessica: it was a good night for donald trump last night.

he has continued to have a stranglehold on the party and i don't think we are getting out of that anytime soon. it puts us in a really interesting place for november, where we have a very extreme candidate and a midd-of-the-road candidate. we'll see how it plays out in november but the republican party at least is still certainly very much in trump's corner. judy: so much to look at from these results last night. jessica and stephanie, thank you both. ♪ judy: it was one of those controversial and perhaps consequential visits to taiwan in decades. the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, has now left the self-governing island, but the fallout remains to be seen. nick schifrin looks at her trip, and what comes next.

nick: in taipei's presidential office building today, the second in line to the u.s. presidency received taiwan's highest civilian honor. and presented u.s. support, as part of a global struggle. >> today, the world faces a choice between democracy and autocracy. america's determination to preserve democracy here in taiwan and around the world remains ironclad. nick: speaker of the house nancy pelosi's trip to taiwan lasted 19 hours. she leco delegation to meet president tsai ing-wen. >> thank you so much for your presence. nick: taiwanese lawmakers, in a speech broadcast on local tv. and visited the national human rights museum, which acknowledgesaiwan's past history of martial law. pelosi also met with famous pro-democracy advocates who've been jailed by beijing, and who helped lead the 1989 tiananmen square protests. >> chinese police abruptly a tiananmen square ceremony by three members of us congress today. nick: her trip culminates more than three decades of criticizing chinese human rights, from tiananmen square --

>> the massacre was shocking to us as it is to everyone in the world. nick: tibet. >> the situation in tibet has challenged the conscience of the world. nick: and xinjiang. >> this genocide must end now. nick: but china considers taiwan a breakaway province, and pelosi's trip, a threat to its sovereignty. >> what pelosi has done is by no means a defense of democracy, but a violation of china's territorial integrity. the relevant measures will be strong. nick: those measures so far chinese naval drills in the , taiwan strait. and today, fighter jets crossed the median line that splits the strait, just 80 miles wide at its most narrow. beijing vows now to hold military exercises in six areas around the island, including inside territorial taiwanese waters, the largest drills since 1995. taiwan calls that reckless. >> china's announcement on its

drills is equal to sea and air blockades. it has severely infringed our country's territorial sovereignty. nick: and to discuss speaker's pelosi trip, i'm joined by bonnie glaser, director of the asia program at the german marshall fund, a think tank. and yun sun, director of the china program at the stimson center, a foreign policy institute here in washington dc. welcome to both of you. bonnie, let me start with you. should speaker pelosi have gone to taiwan? >> i think she should've gone to taiwan at another time. i really think the timing of this visit that makes it particularly sensitive him a dangerous even, the chinese certainly do the timing of the visit as provocative. the problem is this is the run-up to the republican party congress and the leadership meetings that will come up and take place this summer. i think there was pressure on xi jinping to demonstrate a very

strong resolve to warn the united states and taiwan to not go down the path of provoking their interest. nick: it almost forces xi jinping to escalate. >> the argument can be made both ways, the fact that the party congress is coming up could be a factor to put pressure on xi jinping to act. at the same time, you could argue tt the party congress is so close, it's only three months later, xi jinping's top priority is stability. therefore he is not going to take a forceful act in terms of military response. so i feel the pty congress is a factor that can be argued on both sides. nick: why does beijing seem so upset about this trip and the timing of it, and also, president biden has been saying, you refer to u.s. policy. he has referred three times to

the possibility that the u.s. would support taiwan militarily. bonnie: i think the president has the prerogative to say he would come to taiwan's defense if he believes that would strengthen deterrence. and yes, he has said that three times. what is more problematic for my perspective is that the president has repeatedly said we have a commitment to do so. he is of course referring to the taiwan relations act from 1979 which does have some obligations that the united states has, particularly supplying weapons to taiwan. t the united states, since 1979 when we broke our mutual defense treaty with taiwan, does not have a commitment to come to taiwan's defense. so i think that in particular has been confusing, and probably in china has been interpreted with some concern. nick: what is not been confusing this week is beijing's anger and

some of the training exercises beijing has lunch in the last few days in response to speaker pelosi's visit. do you see those as particularly aggressive? >> actually, no. i see aging's responses being underwhelming. especially if you put it into context of what the chinese threats have been before the pelosi visit to tom on. they threaten missile exercises, if pelosi was going to visit taiwan. but none of those actions were taken before she landed in taiwan. now that she is gone, she is out of taiwan and they are announcing sanctions on taiwanese products. they also announced a ban on exports to m1. the chinese reaction has been

primarily focused on punishing taiwan, rather than reacting to the united states. nick: has the response been underwhelming? bonnie: i do disagree, if you look at the declared closure zones which is where china is going to fire missiles. they are very close to taiwan. in some cases, they overlap with taiwan's territorial sea and airspace. we will find out when these missile exercises begin, which is on thursday, but it looks like the chinese plan to fire missiles in taiwan's airspace and perhaps actually fly aircraft in that airspace, the tabloid, the local times which sometimes is correct, has said that china will fly its aircraft over taiwan. any of tse things would be extremely provocative. i would like to highlight that these closure zones are close to

taiwan's ports. they are close to its international airport. this is clearly a signal of capability to blockade taiwan. so that is dangerous and provocative. nick: how dangerous are the next few days? >> the chinese are trying to gauge how taiwan is going to react to this series of activities planned by china. and whether the united states will come to taiwan support or rescue in terms of the chinese land military exercises. nick: and the longer-term impact of speaker pelosi's trip, not only to beijing and taipei, but also here, considering the taiwan policy act which would dramatically increase u.s. military support to taiwan. >> i think there is nonpartisan support for increasing military support and perhaps providing

financing for taiwan, actual resources and selling more offensive weapons going forward, maybe even designated -- designating taiwan as a non-nato ally. dude not know whether it would -- we do not know whether it would pass but it is indicative of the growing sensing the -- in the united states in congress and the executive branch that the united states has to do more to help taiwan defend itself. nick: the growing sense of urgency in a bipartisan way in washington? >> that is quite obvious for the chinese as well. understanding that u.s. support for taiwan is only going to become stronger as time passes by. should they take actions now if they know the future is only going to be more difficult for china to achieve its unification agenda, and there is a voice asking for it. can china really succd if it takes action now? that's where the chinese

military is more reluctant to provide us with an answer. so the situation is dangerous, and when we look down the road will probably get even more tense as these interactions continue. nick: thanks very much to you both. ♪ judy: turning back to domestic politics, the question looming over capitol hill is whether handshake deal will hold, allowing democrats to pass the 700 plus billion dollar chunk of the president's agenda. lisa desjardins is here to break down all the latest development as lawmakers scramble to complete the work ahead of the august recess. i want to ask about the tragic news today that a member of congress from indiana was killed

in a car accident, along with two of her staff members. you been talking to people on the hill. tell us what they are saying. lisa: it's a state of shock on capitol hill. she was tough, she was intense on her issues, but she was also known as kind, someone whose word you could count on. liz cheney was being shown the door out of leadership, she was many people's favorite choice. also i can tell you she always like to talk about rv manufacturing. it was an important industry in her district. a very big loss to everyone, of course. judy: absolutely, such a tragedy. the agenda before congress, only days to go before they try to get out for the august recess in the senate. we are talking about a half trillion dollar deal in the

balance. what is the hold up in what is going on? lisa: one big portion of it is for climate change aspects. they also would address drug prices and also reduce the deficit. depending on how you count, between $100 billion in $300 billion, so a very big deal. senator joe manchin, you can see he is the key vote that brought this deal together. and kyrsten sinema, she has not yet gotten on board this dea they're really at odds over an important aspect of the bill. i want to show some footage from the senate floor yesterday. kyrsten sinema was chairing the proceeding. there is senator joe manchin. they had a long talk yesterday and did not resolve their differences.

the parliamentarian must also ok that everything in the bill fits the budget process. all in all, the timing on this might get pushed back but still expect at least some action this weekend. judy: they are so often together, this time we don't know what will happen. so this snag right now is called carried interest. it has been around for a long time as an interest. lisa: what carried interest is is a tax provision that has a lower tax rate, especially for the fund managers of things like hedge funds. they play up -- they pay a 20% tax rate. senator joe manchin wants to end that, she -- he looks at it as a loophole. senator cinema disagrees and there is no agreement between them. judy: meantime, the senate has been getting something done having to do with veterans.

lisa: a huge bill passed yesterday. i want to play some sound after that happened, which was just after our airtime. >> today, finally, at long last, america lived up to its ideals by sayinto our vs have been exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits, we have your back. >> congratulations, thanks to the united states senate for democratic -- demonstrating when there is something good for a good cause, this place still works. lisa: anoth bipartisan vote just happened on nato expansion. there are some things happening in the senate. as for that pact act for veterans, the president plans to sign it on monday, parts of it will take effect in september. judy: a few days ago it was hanging in the balance. lisa, thanks very much. and for veterans, getting to

this point, where they can receive va benefits after becoming sick from toxic exposure in warzones, has been a very long and frustrating road. nick schifrin is back now with this story, produced by dan sagalyn, that looks at the heavy price veterans and their families have paid. nick: in decades of war, american marines and soldiers faced an enemy willing to kill. with the fog of war including actual smoke and toxic fumes, it could be just as deadly. many of the -- the three point 5 million americans who served in uniform since 9/11 breathe in the fumes from the garbage that the military burned, everything from plastic water bottles to styrofoam, batteries, paint cans, tires, even ammunition. the toxic smoke filled the sky

and bases where service members lived. it is believed to be one reason why they contracted higher rates of lung disease and cancer, including her husband, jason. >> they talked about how everything was on fire. they burned everything. nick: he was the son of a soldier who became a marine and deployed to iraq in 2003 and 2004. he was always fit, healthy, and loved to run marathons. jennifer blames the toxic smoke for his diagnosis of glioblastoma, and aggressive brain cancer that usually occurs in much older adults. she says the ba resisted providing benefits because there was no proof that he got sick because of his service. >> i have filled out more forms and resubmitted the same form more times than i have time for.

by the time i finally got it all back together and submitted it again, his body was giving out from treatments. nick: we filmed this interview in april, 2021. three weeks later, he died. they had been married for 19 years. jennifer, thank you so much for doing this. we spoke again about the new legislation. >> i would hope now people can get the support in the services right away so that they can get the care that they need, get the support that they need, and enjoy the time that they have instead of spending it fighting. nick: the pact act claims that veterans asthma, cancers, and emphysema and other specified diseases shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated during active military service. notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of

such service. >> here we have our own version of hell. nick: decades of policy that forced veterans to prove toxic exposure, something families found impossible to verify. before jason died, how much did you have to fight? >> a lot, for a long time. time i wish that i could have spent just being with him and not fighting. ok, sorry. nick: what are you thinking? >> i just miss him. sorry. i'm sorry. >> the primary victory in getting this bill passed takes

the burden off the veteran approving that they have a deployment related disorder. nick: dr. robert miller is a professor of medicine at vanderbilt university medical center. in 2004 he started seeing soldiers with serious breathing difficulties. after long biases -- biopsies, they discovered they have a disease where small airways are destroyed, which is difficult to detect. >> n i have the peace of mind that now i know why i am short of wrath. nick: he met with congressional staffers to lobby congress to change the law so veterans could receive the benefits of the act. >> as a result of this bill, there are 23 new conditions that are now considered presumptively related to deployment. nick: it also covers veterans

exposed to oil well fires during operation desert storm in the 1990's, agent orange in vietnam, and crash sites of b-52 bombers in the 1960's and 1970's. the legislation expands the time that veterans can take to enroll in v.a. health care from five to 10 years after they are discharged. cynthia is one of the veterans who worked to convince congress. the newshour first met her in 2015. her company deployed to kuwait and iraq in 2003. when she got back, she struggled to breathe. she says it first the v.a. told her the problem was in her mind. >> when i first started going to the v.a. and explaining my symptoms, automatically they were telling me it was anxiety, i was hyperventilating. they tried to put me on

antipsychotic dedications and things of that nature. -- medications and things of that nature. i was telling them no, my shortness was something physical. nick: we talked to her again as the legislation was wake -- was making its way through congress. >> basically, if you were there in those areas and you are presenting with the symptoms, we automatically have to grant you compensation. there is no going to a million doctors, having a millio tests, having a lung biopsy. it just is what it is, for a change. nick: how are you doing today? >> not super well. i'm sorry, i just had some tests , and it's hard for me to breathe and do things, but i just do them anyway. i have beautiful children to

fight for. i have a wonderful fiance. i have a wonderful life. life has given me so many amazing things, so i just keep fighting. nick: other veterans fights also continue, despite the bill. james had a 25 year career in the army and army reserves. the v.a. acknowledge his service caused his illness. he took a pulmonary function test like this and when he scored well, the v.a. denied him disability compensation. the pact act does not fix that. >> the issue comes in whenever you start exercising yourself or have a lot of physical stress. that's when the bronchiolitis kicks in. as far as i know, the v.a. has no method for actually determining the level of injury. nick: the veterans affairs

secretary acknowledge the problem. >> goes back generations. my guess is we don't always get that precisely correct. nick: after decades of fighting, the new law helps veterans when the battle, but for meaning, the war goes on, and many have been lost along the way. for pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. ♪ judy: residents in kentucky are beginning to clean up the damage and debris from the flash floo that submerged more than a dozen counties in the eastern part of the state and parts of appalachia. john yang has an update on the relief and recovery efforts. john: judy, more than 400 national guard troops are deployed across the region to help residents, many of whom are displaced, their homes ruined, and they are facing enormous

challenges. and today, those challenges include triple digit heat and oppressive humidity. relief groups are also heavily involved, including the american red cross. misty thomas is the executive director of the western kentucky chapter of the red cross. she joins us now from lexington. misty, you were in eastern kentucky earlier this morning. we've all seen the pictures on television and in newspapers. you were there. what is the essential get by being there that pictures don't necessarily transmit or give the rest of us? misty: it's different when you drive into the actual impacted area. there is a feeling of sorrow that you take on, and people are carrying it on their faces and asked they are working to clean up their houses and just working for recovery. you can feel that sorrow.

but it is interesting in this disaster, one of the common themes i'm hearing is how much compassion and love they are showing each other and how much they are showing up for each other. so it has been heartwarming and sorrowful at the same time when you are in the atmosphere. john: in terms of your on the ground response right now, what are the greatest needs and the greatest challenges to addressing those needs? misty: we are working to make sure we are providing shelter. we saw a ride at 470 people come into shelters -- right at 470 came into shelters last night. we are also making sure we are feeding them. the shelters are asked -- acting as a distribution point as well.

the american red cross has trained volunteers that are health services. we are making sure that any of those impacted have evacuated their homes who left medical devices behind, prescription medicines, eyeglasses, dentures, we are assessing and helping fill those needs forgetting those replace. we also offer mental and spiritual care for our volunteers. as far as the greatest needs, those are the greatest needs. john: a great number bridges have been washed out by this flooding. are there houses, areas and neighborhoods that are inaccessible, where people may not be able to get to your centers? misty: yes, i drove through the area today and there is a neighborhood in one area that it is my understanding you cannot get to it. but as i was driving through there today, the hardest thing i've seen so far, the guard

rails on our roads are acting as a strainer for the water and was catching the debris. an entire house collapsed and was forced into that guard. it takes your breath when you realize that is someone's entire , everything they own is right there and the guardrail caught it. we saw that multiple times driving throughout that county today. there are reports i have been given personally of inaccessible neighborhoods. i experienced some rough terrain today. the topography has been affected greatly and there are many inaccessible roads. john: eastern kentucky is coal country and it is a very hardscrabble life there, even in the best of times, a hard time. you talked about the hardship and sorrow in that area.

what is it like? >> i expected that hard-hit, heavy hearted sorrow, and it is there. but what i was refreshed in my own spirit with was just how compassionate and how resilient they are. every person i have spoken to, volunteers who had deployed many times that i've never been to a disaster where the community has come in and checked on their own community. we give them a list of things we need and that bring them back immediately. they are very compassionate about their recovery. they really lock arms and they are walking forward very resiliently, very compassionate. it is surprising to me, because even in the worst of times, there is still a sense of pride and joy that they have in their community and for each other. so it is touching.

john: misty thomas of the american red cross, we wish you, your colleagues, and everyone in eastern kentucky all the best. thank you very much. ♪ judy: finally tonight, remembering the legendary sports broadcaster vin scully. the baseball world is mourning the lost of the hall of fame sportscaster who died yesterday at the age of 94. vin scully called game for the dodgers 467 years, both in los angeles and when the team was originally in brooklyn. that is the longest tenure he broadcaster has had with -- has had with a professional team. many said he was the best there ever was. los angeles mayor eric garcetti said his death is the end of a chapter of our city's history. former dodgers steve garvey road, los angeles has had one clear sound, and that was the

voice of vin scully. in 2009, jeffrey brown had a chance to spend a day with scully at dodger stadium. we have an excerpt from that story. it brings us the man, his work, and his love of the game. >> >> it's a voice that generations of dodger fans have grown up with, savored, and loved. >> ground ball to third, backhanded by blake. easy ending for randy wolf. >> in los angeles, but also incredibly coy -- incredibly, going back to brooklyn in the 1950's. >> there are days where you think, i would rather sit under a tree and read a book. what is grady's, you come to the park, you do the routine stuff,

and then the crowd comes in and the team takes the field, and the crowd roars. and all of a sudden you are as delighted as a kid in a candy store. >> in an age when the sports broadcasts booth is crammed with two or even three announcers, scully preferred to work alone. his style, mastery of language, and longevity have made him a legend in sports circles. it all began, he says, with lessons in attitude from his mentor, red barber, who gave scully his first big break, and he brought them into the booth in brooklyn in 1950. >> one of my many jobs as junior partner would be to get the lineups every day. let said that one day i brought up alana per smith was hitting in front of brown. the next day brought up alana and brown was hitting in front of smith. red would ask me why. the first time he asked me why,

i didn't know. however, after that, i knew. be there early, be very well prepared, and then you are ready to go on the air. >> who are you talking to when you're doing the game? you are one of the few who still does it alone. so who are you talking to? >> first of all, i have to make people understand, it's not an ego thing. it's not that i just want to be on all by myself. this goes back to brooklyn, where red's philosophy was simply this. if i want to sell you a car, is it better for me to talk to you about the merits of the car, or have you listened to so-and-so and have them tell you about the merits of the car. so what i'm doing, i'm talking to the listener. i will say, by the way, i foot to tell you. i don't want the microphone to be in the way. i want them to know i'm sitting

next to them in the ballpark. yankee stadium shivering in its concrete foundation right now. >> you call john larson's jim for the program yankees in 1966. >> got him. >> nine years later, scully was therefore sandy koufax's perfect game. >> swung on and missed, the perfect game. high fly ball into right wheel. she is gone! in a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened. >> then there was the famous 1988 world series walk-off homerun by humble kirk gibson.

that crowd noise in the silence from the broadcast booth is another scully trademark. >> when i was very small, maybe eight years old, we had a big radio that stood on four legs and it had a cross piece underneath it. and i used to take a pillow and crawl under the radio, and i would listen to a game that meant nothing to a kid growing up in new york. when someone scored a touchdown in the crowd roared, that crowd noise would come out of the speaker like water out of a showerhead and just cover me with goosebumps. i used to think, i would like to be there to feel that rural of the crowd. and it has never left me to this day. so that when something happens, i love to shut up and hear the crowd. i love it. you know how i know i love it? because when there is a great play on the field and the crowd

roars, i still get goosebumps, just like that kid under the radio. >> a drive to left field, down the line, it is gone. grand slam homerun. judy: what a life. vin scully died at his home in california san fernando valley on tuesday. during his career, he called 25 world series, a dozen all-star games, three perfect games, meaning no one gets on base, and 18 no-hitters. and on the newshour online, native and indigenous people continue to be underrepresented in television. but reservation dogs, on f-x and hulu, has set out to change that with an all-indigenous crew and regular cast. as the show releases its second season, we look at the lessons it is teaching hollywood. that's at pbs.org/newshour.

and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us on-line and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helped people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no contact plans. our service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more visit consumer , cellular. >> the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front line of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for 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.] ♪ >> you're

♪ ello and welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. >> now justice has been delivered and this terrorist leader is no more. >> al qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri is killed by a u.s. drone strike. m joined by retired admiral william mcraven, the man who led the raid on osama b laden on the planning, therecision and the execution. then -- >> it's really important that this agreement is implemented. it's really importa we watch it very closely. >> the world watches as ukraine's grain shipment makes its key city. my conversation with the u.s. ambassador to ukraine bridget brink. >> plus. the chances that we'll have a recession within 1