lisa: good evening. i'm lisa desjards. geoff bennett is away. tonight on "pbs news weekend," an all-nighter in the u.s. senate paves the way for historic legislation on climate and drug costs. then, how shipping companies are navigating some complex waters, moving grain from war-torn ukraine to the outside world. and, tiny dancers -- how an endangered shrimp is both entertaining and educating. >> when the shrimp start eating, their arms start going really quickly and they love being in little groups, so it looks like they're synchronized dancers. lisa: all that and the day's headlines on tonight's "pbs news weekend." ♪

>> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no-contract wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the "newshour." this program was made possible

by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. lisa: good evening and hello. the u.s. senate has passed a historic bill to combat climate change and lower health costs after a marathon night of voting to amend the legislation. the bill is a pared down version of build back better, the legislation democrats struggled with since president biden took office. but today's vote, along party lines, is a major win for the president and democrats. >> and i'm really confident the inflation reduction act will endure as one of the defining feats of 21st century. the world will be a better place for my grandchildren because of what we did today. and that makes me feel very, very good. lisa: the bill would be the largest climate investment in u.s. history, and makes major changes to health policy, including allowing medicare to

negotiate prices. house passage is expected friday. we will have more on the bill later in the program. today, president biden left the white house for the first time since getting covid-19 last month. he tested negative for the second day in a row, clearing him to emerge from isolation after a rebound case. the president and the first lady are in rehobotbeach, delaware, before traveling to kentucky tomorrow to meetith families affected by recent flooding. a ase fire in gaza went into effect tonight after days of strikes and counterattacks from militants. this after israel killed another senior islamic jihad official in ga. thousands of palestinians gathered to mourn the death of the local islamic jihad commander and six others killed in a strike in a refugee camp. the attacks and counter attacks are the worst violence in over a year. gaza officials say 31 palestinians have been killed, including civilians. for the fourth day in a row, china made a show of force near

taiwan. warships and fighter jets swarmed close to the island, firing missiles into waters and conducting offensive drills. china's foreign minister defended the exercises today, saying they were appropriate and legal. the military exercisesegan immediately following house speaker nancy pelosi's visit to the self-governing island last week. still to come on "pbs news weekend," the daunting journey grain ships are making out o ukraine. and drawing awareness to an endangered shrimp, through social media. lisa: now, closer look at the historic legislation that the senate just passed. the democrat's reform bill is the largest investment in climate policy in u.s. history, including over $300 billion to address global warming.

it also sets a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by the year 2030, and creates an electric vehicle tax credit. joining me now to discuss what this will do and what it won't, is reverend lennox yearwood jr., climate activist as well as the president and ceo of hip hop caucus. let's jump right into this. i know you are in washington today, but you are from louisiana and you mainly deal with communities that are feeling the impact of climate change. what does this bill really mean on the ground? lennox: on one aspect this bill assist to work and it is a critical bill for he meditate. not a bill for a democrat or republican, but for humanity. this bill will ensure we can begin to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. but you are right, i am from louisiana, from the gulf coast, and there are provisions in this bill that hurt our community, that lock in infrastructure as far as leases on the water and on land.

that is the wrong direction, and literally will put those communities, those next to fossil fuel infrastructure, in harm's way. continue this cycle of sacrifice zones in america. lisa: you are talking about the expansion of some offshore drilling, and also leasing a federal land. do you think the bill -- i know the folks who wrote it were trying to balance things, and they added a slew of tax credits to encourage clean energy. do think that balance is out? hear your concern, but in sum total where does the bill stand? lennox: in regards clean energy, it is exciting. it is where we have to go. this is a bill for not only future generations, but it is for us right now. this truly was our moment for the 21st century. we had to pass this bill. that being said, clearly there are those within the fossil fuel industry who don't want to give up their reign on power, and

they don't want to begin to transition to clean energy. and so they make sure that these things were written into the bill. i want to say this to people, that is problematic because there are communities who are living next to these facilities who will now get cancer, asthma, emphysema, and it will cause them to have a horrible life. we cannot balance that, having us pushing for polluters and not people. lisa: i know that you feel that in the communities that you represent. i also wonder what other climate impacts that you are concerned about that you think may be these tax credits, this expansion may be of the electric vehicle tax credit, or this new tax credit, what would that mean in places may be seeing rising shores, different temperatures. what are we talking about? lennox: the things in this bill from the greenbank to the investments in clinical justice -- we have to work on that long-term. but ultimately, this bill is

showing that we can cut emissions down. we must do it in this decade. ultimaly that will help our country and our world. this is the thing, i am from louisiana, and as we all know, i went through with many of our family and friends, hurricane katrina, and in hurricaneda again last year, on the exact same day. that means when you have seen your family and your hands literally drowning to death in the richest country in the world, there is no bill that can help bring them back. but ts is a start in the right direction. lisa: what do you thi about the electric vehicle tax credit? $7,500 for people. but there are questions about exactly how many cars qualify. but most americans will be able to do that. do you think people you know will start thinking about electric cars now, or is it a long-term cultural shift? lennox: i have to put on my hip

hop caucus hat, this is the fun part. we in the culture have been really pushing towards moving towards ev vehicles and these tax credits will allow folks really begin to put their gas guzzlers away. so we can finally begin to move to a place where we can have electric vehicles in our community, ande importantly we can put charging stations, that is also part of the bill. we want to make sure there is not a road or charging anxiety within our community. so that's an important part. also the fact that people do not put solar on their homes and their communities, that would be a big deal and helping cut energy costs. again, those pieces are exciting, this bill is historic. but again, at what cost? we cannot begin to pick who will live or die with this climate crisis. and i'm afraid this bill may be setting a precedent in which we are not looking at which communities, either the gulf

coast, appalachia, alaska, which counities will survive and which communities wl not. that is a trend as americans we cannot put forward. lisa: so much that is importan to think about. thank you so much, reverend lennox yearwood. lennox: thank you. lisa: now to another major piece of this bill, healthcare. as part of the package, democrats are within reach of a longtime goal, allowing medicare for the first time to negotiate drug prices, starting in 2026. 48 million americans get prescription drugs through medicare part d, nearly a third of prescription spending in 2017. but medicare has had no ability to negotiate prices. this bill would change that for some drugs. the bill also would cap out-of-pocket drug costs for those on medicare. and it increases help for low-income families, with new subsidies, and extends affordable care act subsidies for the next three years. stacie dusetzina, associate professor of health policy at the vanderbilt university scol of medicine, joins me to discuss

what all this means. let me just ask you the big question. how significant is this in health care? stacie: this is a really big step forward in the medicare program in particular. so, i would say, huge. lisa: let's talk about it specifically. the drug market, and medicare's ability to now negotiate some prices. some. is this too limited to affect the overall drug market, and what we expect manufacturers to do? could they raise prices for everyone else? stacie: very good questions. this is a modest start, but you have to put it in context of the fact that when medicare part deprogram was first -- part d program was first devised, they were banned from negotiating drug prices. so this is a huge step for bringing it into the program for a first time. it is a margin -- modest start. part of it is to recognize the

fact we have limited information and research to understand the effects on innovation. so this is a way to give us experience with drug price negotiation, and to understand the balance that that takes when it comes to investment in the industry and development of new drugs. so, for new drugs coming onto the market, they would have the ability to increase their prices. but for existing drugs, the bill also includes limits on price increases to the rate of inflation, and that, again, is a new policy for medicare. it is something we have had in the medicaid program and has resulted in a lot of savings for that program. , this would be a risk for brand-new drugs, but not necessarily brand-new drugs that are currently on the market. lisa: one of the items a lot of folks were following is what would happen with insulin drug prices in particular. we have seen such high spikes in insulin prices the last decade. this bill would originally cap

those out-of-pocket costs, $35 for month supply of insulin. that is out of the bill because of -- what do you make of the fact that now insulin prices, for now, will not be changed by this? stacie: there's an important distinction between the price we pay manufacturers for insulin and the co-pay that people pay when they fill their drugs under the health lands -- plans. the version of the bill they attempted to pass today included a co-pay cap for people on medicare and in the commercial market. it did not include price negotiation per insulin, which would potentially reduce the cost of insulin for everyone, including uninsured people. so, i think that it is very disappointing for those who were rely hoping to see additional progress on insulin coverage, that it came out of the bill. buta t the same time, i think

more needs to be done around the price that we pay for insulin and how people who don't have insurance access insulin. so i think it may be best tackled in additional legislation, and hopefully bipartisan legislation, given how important the topic is for so many americans. lisa: i'm so glad you said that. just to clarify, folks on medicare will see the 35 million -- the $35 limit. it is is the millions without -- i want to talk to you about low income americans. what is in this bill for them? stacie: so, there's a new provision for people who have low incomes in the medicare program. these are people who qualify for extra help on the medicare part d benefit. they are between 135% and 150% in the federal poverty income and tend to have low assets.

it's a really big step forward. it is a group of patients we know have typically had a very hard time affording drugs based on how the benefit was designed up until now. lisa: what else have i missed here that is important? stacie: the thing i am most excited about is the cap on out-of-pocket costs for medicare beneficiaries. it would put a $2000 hard limit on the medicare part d limit. this would have huge implications for those with expensive drugs. this is a major, major improvement over today's benefit, and i am very happy to have seen it as part of this about. lisa: stacie dusetzina of vanderbilt school of medicine, thank you so much. stacie: thank you.

lisa: in ukraine today, four new merchant ships left black sea ports carrying corn and other food products. they are part of a wartime deal with russia which is temporary lifting its blockade to allow critical worldwide food deliveries. the ships depart from three ports in ukraine, through treacherous black sea waters, and on to destations around the globe, including volatile markets had inflation. as those first ships leave the black sea, another one that was set to arrive in lebanon today but is experiencing delays. ali rogin reports on the complicated choreography and delicate diplomacy of these voyages. ali: bound for lebanon, the ship razoni carried a small fraction of ukraine's stockpile of grains. but the statement she made was giant -- trade from ukraine's black sea ports has, however slowly, resumed.

two weeks ago, ukraine and russia struck the deal, russia would lift its blockade of three ports, and allow shipments of grain and other products. ukraine is one of the world's largest providers of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil. but since russia's invasion, 20 million metric tons of grain and oil seeds have been stuck, driving up global food prices. ships in the ports sat idle. international crews were evacuated. >> there were 2000 seafarers on ships in ukrainian waters at the start of the conflict. we now estimate there's just over 400. so, some of these ships had no crews at all. ali: john stawpert is a manager at the international chamber of shipping, which advocates for the maritime industry. russia is a party to this deal. they're also the country that invaded ukraine. how unusual is an arrangement like this? >> certainly, in my experience, i've never seen an agreement like this. these are o parties that are in conflict. ali: and for a wartime trade

deal, there is wartime protocol. military personnel board and inspt the ship, then radio an all-clear. a tugboat attaches to the ship, to guide her through the black sea, filled with russian mines. before her final stop in lebanon, there's one more inspection, in istanbul. turkey helped broker the deal with the united nations, and is overseeing the shipments. >> the merchant vessel razoni, is loaded with two commodities in short supply, corn and hope. ali: but hope no substitute for logistics. the international chamber of shipping estimates it would take 400 shipfuls to export ukraine's stockpile. and that's not counting this year's harvest, which has been made more uncertain by war. >> there is no good price for our grains. the front line is not far from here. at any time, it can be finished in one moment by bombing. ali: ukrainian officials s that before the deal, there were about two dozen ships in total, ready to depart the ports. the

average vessel can transport 20,000 to 50,000 tons of cgo. and more ships are coming in. on sunday, the commercial ship fulmar s arrived at the chonomorsk port, the first incoming vessel since february 24. but this deal only lasts about four months. do you think this mission can be accomplished in 120 days? >> in the end, definitely not enough time for delivery of all grain. huge work to be done before the vessel to leave the port with cargo. ali: vitaliy panchenko is co-chair of ukraine's international maritime association. he says the government should allow ukrainian seafarers to man the vessels. right now, martial law prohibits men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country. >> now all those vessels operated by bulgarians, romanians, they are good guys. they are quite experienced,

nothing to say. but it was our port, it was our place where we can work. ukrainian seamen could do this. everybody sending messages to president. maybe president not a seaman, that's why he not understood properly what we are, what we able to do. ali: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy hasn't said whether he will allow ukrainian seafarers to join the voyages. but he has expressed optimism about the deal itself. >> if the partners of the grain initiative will keep their end of the bargain, concerning the security part of it, then the food crisis, which looked so threatening, could be overcome. the more of our grain will reach world markets, the lesser will be the crop of political chaos, first of all in african and asian countries. ali: in the horn of africa, that crop of chaos grows, but not much else, thanks to consecutive dry seasons. the u.n.-run world food program is planning a shipment of food aid from ukraine. but so far, the cargo leaving

ukraine is headed for commercial markets. sean granville-ross directs the africa program for mercyorps, an aid organization. >> as acute hunger worsens, the deal is not -- this deal is not immediately going to put people out of the situation they're in, and food on the table for them. ali: the goals are ambitious -- stabilize food markets and alleviate global hunger. but with steep demand and challenging logistics, an unforgiving clock has already started to tick. for “pbs news weekend,” i'm ali rogin. lisa: dance craze is and -- dance crazes and cute animals are unavoidable on the video-sharing app. but look below the surface, underwater to be more precise, some special, critically endangered crustaceans have

unintentionally hopped on the trend. ♪ it's called a shrimp rave. electronic music. synchronized grooving. glowing shrimp. these exclusive extravaganzas can be seen on the “shrimply beautiful” tiktok account. it's run by conservationist and california state fullerton student, timothy utterback. >> i would put educational videos, a kind of lo-fi piano, relaxing videos of the shrimp. and i would put captions listing how they're endangered and this and that about their species. and they never really seemed to pop. once i started putting the entertaining music on, a lot of people were drawn to it. lisa: the stars of the show are cardinal sulawesi shrimp, a small species of critically endangered critters who once hailed from an ancient

indonesian lake. t no one has recorded them there since 2013. many blame nearby nickel mining, along with other factors, for wiping out the population. they might now be completely extinct in the wild. utterback says his ultimate goal in breeding them is to help extend their festivities beyond his room raves that are streamed live on tiktok. >> if the captive population is high, then we could end up reintroducing them, whether it be five years, 10 years, 20 years down the line. once they were happy, they bred like crazy, they bred like rabbits. and i went from 30 to having over 1000. lisa: they gained their tiktok stardom not by actually dancing, but by feasting. >> they love being in groups. lisa: these shrimp raves can't just happen anywhere. it takes a lot of work to replicate their home environment

half a world away. lake matano is an estimated one million to four million years old. it's also one of the deepest lakes in the world and is rich in minerals and biodiversity. >> i kind of look like a mad scientist whenever i'm taking care of the aquariums. i always have five or six test tubes just hanging out in my room. i'm doing all these water testings just to make sure the shrimp have a great environment. lisa: striking the chemical balance is a tricky task, but utterback says he wants to make videos that show people how to do it for themselves so the shrimp's numbers can grow, and bring people a little happiness in the process. >> it brings a ton of joy to people and some people tell me they've had a really bad day or, you know, they got fired from work, their boyfriend dumped them, whatever. but then they see the shrimp rave and somehow it just makes them feel a lot better. >> shrimply beautiful. shrimp rave. lisa: millions of views later, utterback and shrimply beautiful

are bringing big awareness to one of the planet's smallest endangered animals. ♪ lisa: those shrimp make you want to move. also makes me think we need a dancing shrimp emoji. that's our program for tonight. i'm lisa desjardins. for all of us at “pbs ws weekend,” tnks for spending part of your sunday with us. >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by. 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 watching pbs.

my name is jim henson and i'm a puppeteer. he just kept wanting to push the boundaries of what was miraculous and magical and real. (henson speaking) -i want one that fits. -(chuckles) is this the best you can do? narrator: he was an artist of boundless talent and imagination. jim was someone of terrific curiosity, ambition and drive. he was always going. he was always working. he was always on. help! i was undoubtedly a great deal more comfortable... (henson speaking) hi-yah! narrator: jim henson's muppets won the hearts of fans around the world. he created a family of unforgettable characters.