i'm geoff nnett. tonight on “pbs news weekend,” investigating trump -- the latest fallout from the top-secret documents recovered at the former president's florida property. then, trees in trouble -- an urgent effort to try and save the more than 10% of tree species facing extinction in the u.s. >> at least visually, for a person who comes around and knew the place as they once did, they're going to see about half of the trees gone that they knew. geoff: and, katrina babies -- a filmmaker captures the emotional toll and long-term devastation experienced by hurricane katrina's youngest survivors. those stories and the day's headlines on tonight's "pbs news weekend."

>> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by. >> for 25 ars, 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. geoff: good evening. it's great to be with you. we start tonight with the latest surrounding the fbi's seizure of classified documents from rmer president trump's florida property. this thursday, a federal judge will decide whether to grant mr. trump's request for a third party, a so-called “special master,” to decide if some of the documents are legally protected. the judge has already signaled a quote, preliminary intent to do so. and, as we've reported, u.s. intelligence officials informed congress that they will evaluate the potential national security risks stemming from mr. trump's possession of the classified materials. hugo lowell, congrsional reporter for the guardian, joins us now to discuss. it is great to have you with us. the fact that this u.s. district

judge, was nominated by trump in 2020, the fact she is granting his legal team's request to review the documents seized during the fbi search, what does that mean practically? hugo: practically it means the doj is going to have to file a response and all the interested parties, so trump's legal team and the justice department, will go down to palm beach on thursday and make the case to either appoint a special ambassador or to oppose the notion entirely. it effectively means the judge in this case is suggesting that she is likely to grant a special master unless she hears arguments that compel her rule otherwise. geoff: the bottom line though is it does not change the underlying facts of the case, nor does it limit donald trump's legal exposure, is that right? hugo: it does not change

underlying facts or the investigation. the fact is the former president d a bonds of document at mar-a-lago that range from classified to top-secret, to some of the most classified sensitive government secrets the u.s. holds. the fbi is investing at in trump under the espionage act and also for potential obstruction. whether or not he gets a special master will not change the investigation, and that is the one thing trump's lawyers have fixated on and are worried by because they are not sure where this investigation goes next. geoff: we also learned this weekend that intelligence confessionals -- intelligence officials are planning an assessment of the national security fallout. this is the first known acknowledgment of the intelligence community of the potential damage caused by mr. trump's possession of these highly classified documents, including human source intelligence. hugo: the dni told congress on friday that she was going to initiate a risk assessment. it's a little different from a

damage assessment. a risk assessment means, was there a risk to national security through trump's mishandling of government documents he had hoarded at mar-a-lago. the fact it is a risk assessment suggests to me that the intelligence community is not sure whether they have been accessed by adversaries or spys or any people who did not have the clearance to look at these documents that might harm the u.s. so that is the preliminary basis. if they do the risk assessment and they find there was exposure to sources and efforts to the identities of clandestine sources, then it becomes a damage assessment and that is much more serious and that would greatly increase the legal exposure trump has. geoff: a big question here, i have been talking to legal experts and former prosecutors who say that their exists in the public realm, enough evidence to indict donald trump. the fact the doj has not done that the fact the doj fought the relee of this redacted

affidavit, suggests potentially that there is something else here, that there is something more to the heart of this case. is that your assessment, is that your read of things based on your reporting? hugo: i think that is right. the fact that this is still an investigation in early stages, that is what the justice department said last week, is really interesting. a lot of the obstruction elements and a lot of the sources and methods the fbi and justice department is using in this investigation were all redacted in the affidavit. that suggests this is ongoing and it do not know where this may lead. the fact of the matter is they have a lot of civilian sources and people close to the former president theyre still interviewing. i spoke to a number of people most of the former president and they said we have been contacted by the fbi but we have not spoken to them yet. that's a big development because that means the fbi managed to get a search warrant based on partial information, and it was already so damning that the

judge granted at and now they are moving towards speaking to people close to the former president, and that can really open the investigation much further. geoff: i was going to ask what you are hearing from people in the former president's orbit. i know you were just at mar-a-lago doing some reporting. what are you going to be watching for as this case progresses? hugo: the one think we will have to focus on is the obstruction element. people are really focused on the espionage element, because there were some declassified documents at mar-a-lago trump had hoarded there. but the real legal perilhat could arrive is the obstruction. did trump intend to impede an official investigation into his mishandling of these documents? did he try and stop the national archive from getting the documents back? did he mislead his lawyers, instruct his lawyers not to cooperate? that is the one thing the trump lawyers do not like talking about. they are happy to talk about everything else, but the one thing i think they are quite enters about is this

obstruction, and rather this starts t take on a whole new dimension on its own. geoff: great reporting, as always. hugo lowell, thank you for being with us. hugo: thank you. geoff: in today's other headlines, mississippi is under a state of emergency this weekend, and jackson residents have been told to evacuate, ahead of a major flood threat. some residents are already clearing out their valuables in anticipation of the pearl river overflowing. after record-setting rains this week, forecasters expect the river to reach 36 feet as soon as tonight. two u.s. navy warships sailed through international waters in the taiwan strait today. it's the first such passage by american ships since china began its provocative military presence in the area, following house speaker nancy pelosi's visit to taiwan earlier this

month. china has said any warships in the taiwan strait are considered threats to its sovereignty. the white house says today's passage by the two vessels was long planned. brigham young university has banned a white male spectator from ever entering any of the school's athletic venues after he threatened and shouted racial slurs at a duke women's volleyball player. she is the only black starter on the team. today, she took to twitter, stating byu coachingtaff and officials, quote, failed to take the necessary steps to stop the unacceptable behavior and create a safe environment. u is hosting duke, and several other universities, for volleyball matches this weekend. the saturday night match was moved to an alternate, off-site venue, attended only by team staff and family. byu said in a statement that it is, quote, extremely disheartened by what happened. and, a mint condition mickey mantle baseball card has shattered the record for the most ever paid for a sports

memorabilia collectible. the card sold for $12.6 million at auction today, beating by more than $3 million the previous record for diego maradona's 1986 world cup soccer jersey. so those old sports cars you have in the basement? you may want to check them. still to come on "pbs news weekend," the ongoing toll of hurricane katrina for the children who lived through it. and, receding waters caused by climate change reveal a forgotten past. >> this is "pbs news weekend," from weta studios in washington, home of the "pbs newshour," weeknights on pbs. geoff: it was president franklin roosevelt who said, "forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people." but a new assessment out this week paints a picture of the nation's trees in trouble. they face a host of threats, including invasive species, deadly disease, and climate

change. it's come to this -- injecting trees to try and save them. the tools of the trade include drills, pesticides, hard work, and a little hope. all in the quest to stop a tiny beetle from finishing off this ash tree. it's one of about 100 tree species in the u.s. now deemed at risk of extinction. here on the edge of the blue ridge mountains on the appalachian trail, parts of the forest are in real trouble and likely can't be saved. and that's why land managers and scientists are trying to conserve what's left. two of them were our guides for the day, deep in this virginia forest. ron hughes is a land manager, and johnny townsend is a botanist for the state. just walking through the forest so far, i've seen more dead ash trees than i've seen healthy ones. johnny: at least visually, for a peon who comes around and ew the place as they once did, they're going to see about half of the trees gone that they knew.

geoff: not long ago you couldn't see the sky under the canopy of trees here. now there are gaping holes. this forest's black and white ash trees are under attack from the emerald ash borer beetle. johnny: it's killed it over the last six or seven years. and a lot of the places where the borer has been, the trees have died and either fallen down or they're standing sort of skeletons. geoff: and when you say places where the borer has been, you can actually see it here. johnny: the larva go inside under the bark and form these, what we call galleries, these sort of u-shaped squiggles around in there. and they gouge out just enough of the growing layer and the nutrient layer conducting of the tree that they choke it off and eventually the thing dies, sort of starve to death. geoff: and across the country, the ash isn't the only tree in trouble. wesley: without trees, our ecosystems are broken. geoff: wesley knapp is the chief botanist for natureserve, a non-profit whose extensive database of trees helped contribute to a new sweeping

assessment of the state of native trees in the u.s. wesley: we had to first come to a consensus on what trees are, and we landed on 881 species of tree. so there's quite, qte a divee group of organisms. because each species tells its own tale and interacts in nature in its own unique ways. geoff: the study found 11% to 16% of native trees are in danger of extinction. and invasive species and disease are the biggest threats. followed by climate change, severe weather, logging, and agriculture. murphy: i don't think we fully understood how big of an effort it would be. geoff: murphy westwood at chicago's morton arboretum spent the last five years working on this first-of-its-kind study. murphy: before this report came out, we didn't really have a strong understanding of the state of the country's trees and their risk of extinction. i mean, imagine a forest without a tree. trees are also important to our everyday lives. they improve our air quality. they capture stormwater, they

capture carbon. so they're a very strong and powerful nature-based solution to the climate change crisis that we're facing. and they also give other co-benefits like cultural value, spiritual value. they even increase the value of your home, your property. they make our cities cooler. geoff: many of the tree species identified as most at risk are in the southern u.s. -- florida, georgia, alabama, texas, and out west in california. many are recognizable species -- hawthorn, oak, and pine, among others. that brings us back to the struggling ash tree. we trekked deeper into the forest, off the trail and through streams to find one of the largest living black ash trees in the forest. is the threat posed just by the insects or is climate change a factor here as well? ron: a species like this, which is actually a northern species and survives in a few places in virginia where the climate is just right. and that means a little cooler.

when you start getting increases in temperature, then you start affecting that plant that likes a different climate. when you get a tree that is a very integral component of a forest and it goes away, it's a disruption in the whole system. and there are microclimate changes that happen when you open a part of the canopy up. geoff: and to your point, i mean, we've got the sun beaming in right now. i mean, five, 10 years ago, that wouldn't have been the case. ron: that's correct. geoff: in the 20 years since the emerald ash borer made its first appearance in the u.s., it's destroyed tens of millions of trees in 30 states. nature's deadly graffiti was all around us in vginia, an example of just one of the threatened trees on the new list. wesley: this is about prioritization of our limited resources. i'm very hopeful that sothing that what seems like maybe an academic exercise to figure out what the rare trees are will yield on the ground meaningful conservation action. ron: i know there's a lot of

battles out there, a lot of tough ones, but that's the challenge of the job. and if we do everything we possibly can to benefit and to conserve, that makes me feel good. even at the end of the day if i come back in and half of the trees i'm treating are dead, at least i know that we have done the best we can to conserve it. geoff: and deep in the forest, that conservation work goes on, one tree at a time. 17 years ago, hurricane katrina devastated the city of new orleans. the storm caused more than $100 billion in property damage. and more than 1800 lives were lost. the hurricane also wrought a huge emotional toll. many of those who lived through the storm were children at the

time, traumatized by the experience. >> i don't want to cry. sorry. >> just take your time. it's ok. wait, so, have you ever talked about this before? >> no, i haven't. geoff: her story, and others, are captured in the new hbo documentary "katrina babies." now, as adults, they share how they've dealt with the pain and anguish caused by the storm, the inequities of the recovery since then, and katrina's indelible mark on our nation's history. the lmmaker edward buckles, jr. is a native son of new orleans, and he joins us now. thanks for being with us. edward: thank you so much for having me. geoff: where did this idea come from to collect the stories of the youngest people affected by katrina? edward: a story that i wanted to tell was one that drew parallels between what happened in 2005 and what was currently happening

with the young people in new orleans, which was, you know, a lot of trauma surfacing. so that's where the initial idea came from. you know, i just wanted to draw those parallels because it seemed like we were getting blamed for the way that our traumaas surfacing. geoff: the clip we played, you talking to your friend miesha, and you ask her, has anyone ever asked you these questions about how you feel? and she says, no. that was pretty common among the folks that you spoke to, that they really hadn't processed this ongoing trauma. how can that be? i mean, th was the question i came away with, was how can that be that this trauma has been overlooked for some 17 years now? edward: when you ask me how this can happen, you know, first of all, i think that children are often an afterthought when it comes to traumas and big disasters anyway. but when it mes to black children, i think that it's just, you know, amplified. right? and, you know, i'm old enough to assume that, you know, it's because of the fact that, you know, there's a lack of empathy

and love for black people. because as a child, when i'm not asked, you know, about one of the deadliest, you know, disasters or hurricanes that ever, you know, came to america, it just makes me think that no one cares. geoff: the effects of katrina, as we mentioned, are ongoing following the storm. there were so many people who were displaced in new orleans, and this comes through in the documentary. a sense of place is defining for people. the neighborhood that you grew up in, the war that you come from is connected to people's identities. and so much of that now doesn't exist anymore. i mean, how does that manifest right now? edward: so, when you strip that away from a child, as well as stripping away their neighborhoods, you know, currently we have people -- well, we have natives who are being displaced within new orleans because of gentrification and because their rent is becoming so high. so, you know, you're dealing with children who don't even understand what they come from because their parents have been displaced. and, you know, if you don't know

who you are and if you don't know where you come from, how can you possibly know where you're going? so i think that we're dealing with a big, you know, identity, you know, situation in new orleans when it comes to, you know, just how much we're moving around and how much we're being displaced. you know, we're kind of all over the place right now. geoff: how has the aftermath of the storm these past 17 years, how has it affected you? edward: you know, it's -- it's interesting when you watch this documentary. i am all throughout of it, right? you know, i am the thread that, you know, holds it together when it comes to story. and what's interesting is that it took me seven years to make this film, but i didn't include myself in it until year six. and that was because of the fact that, you know, i was resistant and, you know, i di't think that i had trauma because i was always like, well, you know, i evacuated. i didn't stay during the storm. but, you know, what i learned by making this film was that trauma is trauma and that, you know, i

did have trauma and i learned that recently. so, when i say it was important for, you know, tools and resources to be put in some place so that children can have the information to know how to deal with the trauma once it surfaced later in their lives, with me, it surfaced at 29. right? and i didn't know i didn't really know how to deal with it on my own. so now i'm just in a place where i'm just being gentle with myself. i'm having grace with myself. then, you know, i'm actually learning from this film. i'm actually learning from this process, you know, that like i still have some healing to do from hurrica katrina and from, you know, just growing up in a disenfranchised black community in new orleans. so, you know, i've acknowledged it. i've accepted it. so now it's up to me to go and seek the healing that i need. geoff: edward buckles, jr., i appreciate your time. edward: thank you so much for having me today. geoff: the hbo documentary film "katrina babies" is available on hbo and hbo max.

now we look at an unexpected result of climate change and drought. as the water recedes, some of the world's forgotten histories are being revealed. a prehistoric stone circle emerges from a drying up reservoir. for archaeologists in spain, this summer's drought has meant a rare chance to study the normally submerged rock formation known as the spanish stonehenge. >> it a collective tomb. burials took place in it for more than 2000 years. geoff: the site is between 4000 and 7000 years old and was first discovered in 1926. it's only been fully visible four times since then. another shrinking reservoir in western spain has unearthed an entire village frozen in time -- 1992 -- the year it was flooded

to create the reservoir. in italy, the remains of an ancient bridge have appeared in rome's river tiber. it's believedo from the reign of emperor nero. on the dwindling danube river, near the serbian port of prahovo, dozens of nazi warships are seeing their first daylight since they were sunk during world war ii. many of the warships still have ammunition and explosives onboard. at the historic chatsworth estate in england, the scorched lawn has revealed broad, ornate patterns in a 17th century garden. the drought isn't just in europe. china's yangtze river is at its lowest level since records began there. the receding river has uncovered the base of a 700-year-old temple that normally appears to float on the water, and a trio of 600-year-old buddhist statues that were once submerged. closer to home, dry conditions across the western u.s. have pushed nevada's lake mead to

dangerously low levels and brought to light a host of items, everything from sunken boats to the more grim discovery of human remains. and one more historical note before we go. today marks the 59th anniversary of the march on washington. on august 28, 1963, an estimated 250,000 people marched to the lincoln memorial in washington, d.c. where they heard the reverend dr. martin luther king, jr. deliver his now famous "i have a dream" speech. to commemorate the anniversary, president biden released a statement today, saying quote, nearly six decades later, this dareminds us of how far we've come, where we need to go, and how far and how much longer the journey is.

and it reminds us that each of us must engage in the painstaking work of perfecting our union. and on "newshour" online tomorrow morning, after almost 50 years, nasa is returning to the surface of the moon. you can watch our live-feed of the artemis 1 launch on monday. all that and more is on our website, pbs.org/newshour. and that's our program for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. for all of us at "pbs news weekend," thanks for spending part of your sunday with us. have a great week. >> 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.

actor: (as ali) this is the legend of cassius clay, the most beautiful fighter in the world today. there'll never be another muhammad ali. he was something fresh. he was something we'd never seen. actor: (as ali) this i predict and i know the score, i'll be champ of the world in '64. narrator: since he first fought his way to public attention, g the most charismatic and polarizing cultural figures on the world stage. big mouth, loud mouth, louisville lip. both: float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. ahhh! you said, "muhammad ali," you said, "voice, mouth." and this might shock and amaze ya, but i will destroy joe frazier. ali is the people's champ. ali is the revolution. cassius clay is a name no more, is that right? yes, sir, it's muhammad ali.