Skip to main content

tv   PBS News Hour  PBS  September 27, 2022 6:00pm-7:01pm PDT

6:00 pm
♪ judy: good evening. i am judy woodruff. hurricane ian heads towards florida, triggering evacuation orders for millions. then, widespread unrest. iran cracks down on demonstrators protesting the death of a young woman in police custody. and, continuing education. four-year institutions try to make it easier to transfer from community colleges, in hopes of boosting enrollment. >> i did not have to fill out applications to come to george mason. they did all the paperwork.
6:01 pm
all they had to do was keep good grades. judy: all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour." ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> consumer cellular. we can find a plan that fits you. visit consumercellular.tv. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions, including the following. >> kf.org. ♪
6:02 pm
announcer: this program was made possible by viewers like you. thank you. judy: hurricane ian is bearing down on florida. the storm while some punch over western cuba today, then began regaining strength. it could bring 130 mile-per-hour winds, 18 inches of rain, and a
6:03 pm
12-foot oce surge to florida tomorrow. correspondent: along the gulf coast, they are preparing for the worst, bracing f what forecasters say could be of potentially historic catastrophe. >> we are 100 meters from the beach. we are trying to take precautions. they are unavoidable especially when a hurricane unleashes the force it does. donbas shelves were empty. --correspondent: shows were empty. those not hunkering down, took to the roads. today, more than 2.5 one million floridians are under some kind of evacuation order. >> it will kick up water before it comes in. >> governor ron desantis said it is not too late to act. >> you don't need to evacuate to
6:04 pm
another state or hundreds of miles away. get the high ground and be in a safe structure. correspondent: president biden urged americans to follow guidance. pres. biden: the citizens in the impact area should obey local officials. evacuate was ordered. be prepared for when the storm come correspondent: earlier today, ian ripped through cuba with fierce rain and strong wind, striking the province growing tobacco, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate, and cutting our to one million more. others stay put in ride. >> i am a security guard. we need to go to work. correspondent: after passing cuba, iran will intensify into a more powerful storm as it feeds on the warm waters of the gulf of mexico. because of climate change, sea levels are higher, and in some
6:05 pm
places warmer come about that which can add fuel to storms. forecasters warned that the coast from fort myers to the tampa bay region are most at risk of life-threatening storm surge. tampa, home to more than 3 million people is particularly exposed. much of it sits on low-lying ground and has seen rapid development along the coast in recent years. it is a combination that makes it one of the most storm-vulnerable cities on earth. tonight, many residents can do little but wait and hope. judy: the approach of ian prompted rescheduling of sporting events and a january 6 committee in congress cited the storm as it council tomorrow planned hearing in washington. the latest on the hurricane projected path and the risks ahead, i am joined by the acting director of the national hurricane center. welcome to "pbs newshour."
6:06 pm
tell us now, what is the location and the latest information on the location of this storm, and his trajectory as you see it? >> yeah, as of 5:00, ian is located 230 miles south of sarasota, so closing in on florida. movement is north at 10 mes per hour, but it will start to slow down as it approaches and moves over the state. it is a category three hurricane , maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour. it's looking like a multi-hazard event will unfold as this relatively large hurricane sweeps across the florida peninsula. heavy rains and flooding inland. ally significant and potentially life-threatening storm surge around the southwestern coast of florida, so south of tampa around fort myers, port charlotte area.
6:07 pm
a band of heavy rain is developing along the i-4 corridor, and the damaging wind as the core of the hurricane moves in and across the state. judy: when you say multi-hazard catastrophe, what does that mean for the people who live in florida? who should be evacuating? how far inland? and who should be hunkering down? >> it is a good question. thank you for asking it. we evacuate because of storm surge, so if you are in a storm surge or hurricane evacuation zone and you've been ordered to evacuate, then you must do so. if you are not in a hurricane evacuation zone, then you should stay put unless you nod and a well-built home. if you're in a mobile home, rd, something like that, that is
6:08 pm
different, but if you're in a well-built home and not within the evacuation order, you should probably hunker down and stay put. judy: is that message getting to those who need to hear it? >> i think so. the lead time on this particular system was historic. i have been here for 23 years and i was struck by the fact we were able to predict a major hurricane days in advance, developing over the northwest caribbean and the eastern gulf of mexico. i cannot remember a time when the forecast would have not been possible, so i think that people have been hearing the message of taking action. judy: and when we just heard in that report from my colleague about the tampa area being particularly vulnerable, what is it about that part of forward of the makes it so vulnerable? >> it is the entire west coast of florida. everyone likes to focus on tampa, but it's the entire west coast of florida.
6:09 pm
we think the peak surge will be here closer to fort myers, versus tampa, but tampa will get the heavy rain shields, the heavy precipitation and flooding from heavy rains. judy: well, we will be watching it very closely and i know that you certainly are too. we >> you. judy: and now let's hear more about the preparations and the concerns in the tampa area. william is back without. correspondent: as we have been reporting, major evacuations continued this evening and officials arwarning about a significant storm surge that could hit tampa and south was for to hard. the mayor of tampa joins me now from the emergency operations center in the city. mayor, thank you for being here. can you give us a sense of how preparations are going now? >> we are finished with the preparations. we have been in that for quite
6:10 pm
some time, but have called for a mandatory evacuation in zone a. for those not familiar with tampa, we have 120 miles of coastline in our city, so zone a are those individuals in close proximity to the water, so we have evacuated individuals in that zone and have given or 50,000 sandbags out. we have prepared as much as we can in tampa. our residents are heeding the rnings on leaving for higher ground. we have told them you do not have to that the state. we just need you to get the higher ground out of the storm surge, which at this point it still anticipated to be anywhere between 10 and 15 feet, which is separate catastrophic. correspondent: indeed. i want to ask you about those evacuations. the head of fema echoed a concern that some people showed that residents made not heed
6:11 pm
those warnings in part because it feels like, especially along the gulf coast, there are warnings often, and the residents of your city may not have had much experience with the direct hurricane coming into the neighborhood. argue competent that people are going to heed the warning and get out while -- are you confident that people are going to heed the warning and get out while they can? >> yes, what we have seen is individuals are leaving northward and easterly out of tampa. i think that looking at the severity of the hurricanes over the last couple of years, even the most seasoned of us flirty ends under -- floridians understand a 10 foot to 15 foot title surge is something you'd don't need to take for granted and don't need to see if you can ride that out. as with the newer residents in our community, hopefully they
6:12 pm
will heed the warning as well and understand that this is not something that we should wait and see what happens. we need to get out of the way of this. as we like to say, you hide from the wind and run from the water, so were trying to get everyone out of the way of that storm surge. correspondent: much of your city is low-lying, as you know, and there has been a lot of development along the coast because everybody loves to live near the beach. those two factors, the low-lying and lots of people living in the water, makes your city one of the most vulnerable cities to this kind of storm surge. how much does this were you this could ban unprecedented event for your city? >> that is certainly a concern for me, but what is most concerning our the geographic layout of the tampa bay area. our bay is very, very shallow,
6:13 pm
so the original predictions of hurricane ian stalling right outside tampa bay for 24 to 48 hours, dropping 20 inches to 30 inches of rain on us with 10-foot to 15-foot title surges is nothing short of catastrophic, so that concerns me more than the development or the idea iividuals will not get out of harm's way. correspondent: i know you spoke with president biden, among several mayors who spoke with him today. what did you can fake to him -- conveyed to him which you need now and later? >> first and foremost, i conveyed my appreciation. we have had incredible collaboration not only on the local level in tampa bay with our partners in hillsboro county, but in the state to come up with the state emergency manager and on the federal level with fema. everybody has been very
6:14 pm
collaborative.they have resources staged all over, so as far as governmental resources, we have them in the community or they are staged and available. and talking with our private partners, electric companies, communications providers, gas companies, just making sure that everybody has those resources pre-position to be in here as soon as the wind stopped blowing. correspondent: mayor, we wish you all the best and hope you get through this storm ok. thank you so much for talking with us. >> thank you very much. i really appreciate it. ♪ vanessa: we will return to the full program after the latest headlines. voting concluded in russian occupied regions of ukraine, and
6:15 pm
pro-moscow officials say all four voted to join russia. the announcement followed hours of counting ballots in hastily arranged referenda that much of the world had rejected. ukraine's president translated remarks to the united nations security council. >> this is an attempt to steal the territory another state. this is a very cynical attempt to force the male population in occupied territory of ukraine demobilized into the russian army in order to send them to fight against their own. vanessa: meanwhile, the former russian president insisted moscow is not bluffing about its potential use of nuclear weapons against ukraine. natural gas leaks along russian pipelines in the baltic sea have triggered questions of possible sabotage. video from sweden showed gas bubbles boiling to the surface today above the pipelines.
6:16 pm
monitors registered explosions before the leaks. in poland, the pri minister charge that it was clearly deliberate as he opened a new pipeline to bring gas from norway. >> today, we faced an act of sabotage. we did not know the details, but we see clearly this is an act of sabotage which likely means that further step of escalation of the situation in ukraine. vanessa: other officials in the baltic save russia damaged its own pipelines to increase pressure on europe for supporting ukraine. in japan, a state funeral honored former prime minister shinzo abe, who was assassinated in july. he had already had a private fural. today's ceremony took place as thousands of protesters marched. they opposed his promilitary record in the cost of the state funeral. in this country, jury selection began for the founder of the far right oath keepers and the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. he and four others are accused
6:17 pm
of seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases arising from the riot. the u.s. senate advanced a bill this evening that funds the federal government through mid-december, and prevents a government shutdown this weekend. that came after the west virginia democrat joe manchin dropped his provisions to streamline and speed up permitting for energy projects. republicans have objected to those provisions. >> they decided to put in extraneous, partisan language. in fact, a poison pill. this extraneous poison is not related to keeping the government open. it was not negotiated across the aisle. >> because american family should not be subject to a republican manufactured government shutdown, senator manchin has requested, and i have agreed, to move forward and past of the recently filed continuing resolution
6:18 pm
registration -- legislation without the energy and independent security act of 2022. vanessa: republicans have criticized senator manchin when he helped to pass a major budget and climate bill. americans on medicare will pay lower premiums next year for part b, covering most doctors visits and outpatient care. the 3% decreases the first in a decade. program administrators set the date it is due in part to unexpected savings on a pricey alzheimer's drug. the biden administration announced the goal of ending hunger in the u.s. by 2030. the strategy calls for expanding benefits to help low income americans buy food and for promoting healthy eating and exercise. also, california governor gavin newsom signed more than a dozen abortion protection bills today in direct response to the supreme court's decision to overturn roe v. wade. one new law prohibits state law enforcement from cooperating
6:19 pm
with out-of-state in portion -- abortion investigations. their team states now ban most abortions. still to come, puerto rico residents remain without power more than a week after hurricane fiona made landfall. the university partnering with colleges to help transfer students are in bachelors degrees. cheating allegations rock the chess world, and much more. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour --this is pbs newshour west, from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: protests led largely by women have spread in iran and around the world, sparked by the death of young woman in the custody of iran's so-called morality police. she was arrested because she was allegedly not wearing the required head covering. now, thousands of iranian women are saying enough is enough.
6:20 pm
correspondent: over 10 days, astonishing images from across iran, women burning headscarves, cutting their hair, and marching in the thousands, chanting death to the dictator. all to protest the requirement for women to wear the hijab. solidarity marches have erupted. in iran, protesters are facing a crackdown in the streets and online. for the latest, we are joined by our special correspondent, who is in tehran. thank you for joining us. it is the middle of the night. we know these protests tend to pick off once the sun goes down, of telus with the latest is in which you are seeing. >> it was a religious holiday in iran, and very quiet. during the daytime, things have
6:21 pm
been quiet, but when the sun goes down and not call comes, that is when the protest happened. on tuesday night, the question is, are protesters coming out? there are severe restrictions here. the authorities have severely curtailed internet service. they have blocked messenger apps like whatsapp that has roughly 50 million users in iran, blocked instagram, another 50 million users, and what what we have had to do is drive around town to monitor the situation, and monitor secondhand accounts of protests that cannot be independently verified, and monitor immature videos posted online. those can be difficult to verify. over the past 40 hours, seemingly, we say this with caution that there has been a decrease in immature videos posted online. that cld be because people are having a tough time uploading
6:22 pm
videos, or it could be because the protesters have died down and it is abating, but it is unclear and we cannot report that for certain. vanessa: we are lucky we have you there. correspondent: we should mention the depth sparked the first protest nationwide after those due to a rising fuel prices. back then, protesters were met by a brutal, brutal crackdown by the regime. you said they've curtailed communications and responded in the streets. is there a concern that the crackdown will also become more brutal? correspondent: there is a concern, and the response by the government has evolved over the past 12 days. initially soon after these protests started, the government and leadership signaled that they sympathize with these
6:23 pm
protesters, or that ishat they tried to convey to quell the protests, the supreme leader, the president while in new york, failing to investigate this matter. annette did not quell things -- when that did not quell things, that is when the crackdown got more severe and obviously over the past several days according to human rights groups, more than 70 people killed, more than 1200 arrested. we are seeing activists and journalists arrested. i personally know a fellow journalist who was detained roughly 24 hours. so if indeed these protests are dying down, it could be because of the intensity of the crackdown. it could also have something to do with the fact that these protesters, as valiant as they are but they don't have leadership or strategy, and how long can you sustain theight with the security apparatuses
6:24 pm
like iran's if that is what you're facing? correspondent: are you seeing something fundamentally different from previous protests that say these will lead the change? correspondent: it is impossible say with this will lead to, but it drives him once again that there is a lot of grievances here, a lot of anger, frustration, and in the event can start protests like this. this time it was a woman's wish to express herselfhe way she wants to, and that sparked the protest, and what is interesting is there are other sectors of the population facing a struggling economy, joblessness, unemployment, inflation, they have joined in, and you also have celebrities, actors, television hosts, they have joined in with their voices. that is something we have not seen, but what we have seen in
6:25 pm
the past is despite tse voices, the government has the power. they have the weapons. and they usually snuff out these protests. i know a lot of people who do not like this government inside and outside iran one to push the narrative that this time it is different with that these protests are a legitimate reat to the government, then you have the government pushing their own narrative that this is no big deal and things will calm down in the coming days. we will see what happens. correspondent: that is our special correspondent. thank you. ♪ judy: now to the aftermath of hurricane fiona and its lasting impact on puerto rico. more than one week after the stm hit, the island's electric
6:26 pm
utility says two thirds of customer power has been reached toward, but -- has been restored , but hundreds of thousands are still in the dark and patience arwearing thin. correspondent: the hum of generators and people's lives filled the streets in puerto rico monday, eight days after hurricane fiona made landfall. >> we spent a week without water or power. the authorities have not been anything for us. we are in rough shape. we lost everything. correspondent: that sense of desperation was also evident in the long lines at gas stations across the island. people continue to fill cans to fill generators powered lights, water, pumps, refrigerators, and more. >> my generator and refrigerator broken. i had to throw away over 100 paces of food here that is awful. correspondent: there is growing anger with the islands power
6:27 pm
operator for moving slowly to restore power to the hundreds of thousands still in the dark. >> you know how this goes. there is no money. what happens to us? what happens with utility? they do nothing. we are abandoned here. we don't have water. nothing. correspondent: fiona hit five years after hurricane maria, a category five storm with wind over 100 miles per hour, killing thousands. fiona was a category one storm, but it's flooding has devastated the island. washing away bridges, ruining homes and cars, and initially leaving more than one million americans without electricity. in the central part of puerto rico, maria showed us around her house as she cleaned up what was left. >> everything got ruined. i don't have the boxes to throw them away because everything got ruined. all this garbage, even this new
6:28 pm
air conditioner we were going to install got damaged. everything got wet. this was too much. correspondent: because of the blackouts, her groceries have gone bad multiple times. the power failures are hurting the islands most vulnerable too. >> right now on the eighth day, we still have hospitals without light, electricity. they are running on the generator. correspondent: he is a doctoral candidate in public health. the islands health have been weakened by irma and maria, earthquakes, and the covid pandemic, and now he says, many hospitals are relying on generators. >> in puerto rico, there are more than 60 hospital centers were thousands of lives depend on our connected to the ventilator or medications that will ruin due to a electricity or service, for example, dialysis centers. people who depend on it, depend on electricity. if there is no electricity, that
6:29 pm
person can die. correspondent: for decades, the power grid was run by a state-controlled entity. in june last year, a private consortium of american canadian companies took over operations and maintenance. >> nothing improved. we are paying for a very expensive service. we are one of the most expensive in the united states. correspondent: he is a historian and anthropologist. before fiona hit, he says his electric goat newly tripled this year, and blackouts were freaking. -- frequent. he blames negligence and corruption for the problems today. >> was the government gives the contracts to them to improve the electricity services and to upgrade it. the electricity infrastructure puerto rico is -- when the army corps of engineers came over here after maria, they
6:30 pm
found the equipment was from the 1940's. this is the level of the negligence from the government. correspondent: since maria, the federal government has allocated $13 billion for rebuilding the utilities, but so far less than half of that has been spent. it says it expects up to 91% of customers that have power by friday, if there is enough capacity. still, many in puerto rico expect a long road to recovery and to a more dependable power grid. ♪ judy: a short-term funding bill was unveiled late last night as the deadline to fund the federal government fast approaches. preventing a shutdown is one of a fallen tree list of items that lawmakers are scrambling to
6:31 pm
tackle before leaving town for the midterm election season. our correspondent is here with the latest. hello. lisa, as we know, we are three days from the deadline for getting this funding figured out. where does congress stand? correspondent: in the past couple of hours, this complicated not that funding seems to be on twisting itself in the senate, as reported earlier. senator joe manchin, a key figure in this fight, epped back and removed his requirement for the short-term funding bill which was as we talked about last week, reform dealing with energy permitting. said he realized, he didn't say it this way, he realized he did not get the votes to get past a procedural hurdle, and so he took the demand off. if youook at the senate floor as we speak, look at this.
6:32 pm
this is the quiet side of progress. look at that. no trauma. as you know in the modern senate, when it is quiet, that is a good sign. this is the senate voting on the procedural vote to move to this funding bill. let's talk about what this bill will have. these are important policy instrument sometimes as well. it will fund the government through december 16. there are $12 billion in ukraine aid, some to the government, some military aid and all sorts of funding for ukraine. $3 billion in here would be transferred to help with resettlement of afghans who made it to this country, and then there is $20 million for mississippi water infrastructure , and also some housing many in this well. so this will be a significant bill, not just with the continuing funding of government, but for specific problems. judy: there are the critics. what are they saying? correspondent: simple. democrats on the biden
6:33 pm
administration is disappointed because the request for tens of brains of dollars to help with monkeypox and the coronavirus is not in this bill. one reason why is the president himself set on 60 minutes a week ago that in his words, the pandemic is over. the white house explained that just means that we still have work to do, but republicans are using that statement to say we do not want to fund that. judy: so that is happening. we know it is a busy week in general. tell us about the january 6 committee announcing today that they are postponing or canceling tomorrow's hearing, which had been scheduled up until now. and also where we stand on electoral reform. correspondent: it was one of those interesting days on capitol hill, little bits of news that were important. the january 6 postponement from the committee said. they wrote that in light of hurricane ian bearing down on florida, we have decided to postpone tomorrow's proceedings
6:34 pm
and we are praying for all those in the storm's path. one of those on the ju january 6 select committee is a florida representative and her district is in the path potentially of the hurricane. it is more internal and on the gulf hosted should not be a category three hurricane, but that was one factor. multiple sources are telling me that the committee did not want to compete with potential cable news coverage of a hurricane bearing down. they wanted people to watch their hearing, and they did not think tomorrow would be a good opportunity. they were also concerned about viewership, and that is one reason this will be postponed indefinitely. not a lot of time before the midterms. we don't know if we would see this before the election. judy: and on electoral reform what are you hearing about that? correspondent: a breakthrough today as well, the house senate rules committee passed its version of a bill that would reform the act, trying to prevent a genuine-six style run
6:35 pm
at overturning election results. that passed 14-1. only senator ted cruz said it is federal lysing elections, but overlies -- otherwise, support, including mitch mcconnell. we should watch for that. it will come together after the midterm election. one other thing we're watching is a bill that would prevent members of congress from trading stocks, while in office, and that could get a vote in the house this week, but the votes are close on that. it is not clear it has the votes to pass. judy: a lot going on. correspondent: nothing like the clock to motivate congress. judy: lisa, thank you. ♪ judy: as four-year colleges and
6:36 pm
universities look to boost enrollment and reach underrepresented students, a growing number are focused on community colleges, transfer students who tend to be racially and socioeconomically diverse. some of the most selective colleges, transfer acceptance rates are higher than first-year acceptance rates. many community college student still struggle with the transfer process and completing their degrees. our special correspondent reports for our series, rethinking college. >> it comes with struggles does correspondent: it has been a topic on social media, youtube. >> not everyone will transfer well. correspondent: tiktoks and even an nbc sitcom. >> will you be attending the transfer ceremy? correspondent: the community college transfer process is often a bumpy ride. most students at a community college one to earn a bachelor's
6:37 pm
degree, but very few do. according to the community college research center, out of every 100 that one too, only 31 will transfer to a four-year institution, and only 14 wl complete a bachelor's degree. one of the biggest hurdles is transferring credits. students typically lose about 40% of their credits when they transfer, often d because of not taking the right courses or the institution not accepting credits. that means very few transfer students, only 8% can successfully complete one of the cheapest routes to a bachelors degree, two years at a community college, and two years at a four-year institution. this 25-year-old northern virginia resident is on track to do just that. >> i did not have to fill out applications to come to george mason. they did that paperwork. all i had to do was keep my good grades.
6:38 pm
we signed up for classes and they pretty much took care of the whole thing. correspondent: she graduated last spring with an associas degree from northern virginia community college. she is in her first semester at george mason university, and enrolled in a unique transfer partnership between the institutions. the goal of the program is to help students like her who want to earn a bench degree, but may face some challenges getting there. >> on did not think i would be attending george mason. it feels unreal to be honest. right out of high school i wanted to go to college, but i couldn't afford community college. i wanted to work at various restaurants, attic up to the point where i told myself i need to do something with my life and i needed an education. i've always had a dream of becoming a psychologist. correspondent: launched in 2018, it offers eligible students automatic admission to george
6:39 pm
mason while completing their associates degree. on a recent evening, advanced students and their families gathered for a well openi -- welcoming on campus. it is one of a small but growing number of dual programs around the company -- country between two-year and four-year institutions designed to ease the transfer process, buthey have implemented a number of other supports as well, including 87 academic majors that allow advanced students to earn an associates degree in bachelors degree in four years. that educational route saves advanced students $15,000, compared to students who spend four years at george mason. special financial aid for advanced students helps to reduce those costs even more. >> at its heart, advance is about making transfer effective. correspondent: the president of
6:40 pm
nova, the second largest community college in the united states, with more 75,000 students across six campuses. >> when you look at our partnership with george mason, even before advanced in a we sent the majority of our transfer students to george mason. when you look at the ability to graduate within two years of transferring to mason, it was not what it should be, so that is the nexus of advanced, giving students the transparent information so they know from the jump when they sign up exactly what it will take to graduate in two years or less, and in fact, more than 90% of the advanced students do that. correspondent: the program open to all nova students who meet eligibility criteria, including a 2.0 gpa or higher, has grown from 150 students four years ago to 3300 today. about 40% are low income, and a majority or students of color. 83% of advanced students are still enrolled at nova was year after joining the program that
6:41 pm
is 20 points higher than the national one-year retention rate for community college students. nova students in the program have access to the george mason campus, and some take classes there as part of their major. >> since i had been here because of my previous nova experience, i felt welcome here. i knew my way around the library, because i would spend my time there. to be honest, i feel like this is my home now. >> we have students who are being integrated socially, academically into the george mason culture before making that hard transfer. correspondent: they are employees of nova and george mason in a program using state an tuition dollars from both institutions and contributions from donors. >> we have moved from this idea to being major-ready. we know the difference to transfer with an english degree from a community college to university and the differences
6:42 pm
without and engineering are vastly different. that first year was crucial. we have done a lot in that first year to bolster the services we have. two correspondent: those services include regular meeting with advanced coaches who help students navigate courses and offer supports for challenges outside the classroom. >> what would you do in that moment? correspondent: she is one of those coaches. today, she works with more than 500 advanced students. 10 years ago, she was a student at nova who found the transfer process difficult to navigate. >> i was low income. i wanted to make sure that the money going towards my classes was going to count and it would transferred to a bachelors degree. i work with a huge population of low income students at nova. i think it is not only understanding what that means from a financial aid standpoint and a credit standpoint, but from a life standpoint. i understand what it is like to have to work to pay the bills or
6:43 pm
to contribute financially to your family, and the weight they carry with that. correspondent: one of the most important way students are supported is less visible. >> we actually have courses to fill that pathway. correspondent: faculty collaborations and meetings. >> we needed to free those credits and give them something hands-on. correspondent: like the one between amy richardson at nova and an associate professor in mechanical generic at george mason. these meetings have been essential, according to gregory washington, president george mason university, but he says it's not only easy. -- always easy. >> it requires people to sit together in a room and requires people in both ends to modify classes and make them work together, so all of those hurdles are real hurdles come but if we provide the proper pathway, they can achieve and be successful. we can say that we have learned
6:44 pm
that. correspondent: jennifer says after she graduates, she hopes to get a masters degree and possibly a phd. >> there are not a lot of psychologists who speak spanish. i can use spanish and help the community and help people like me. correspondent: george mason is currently expanding the advanced model to other community colleges around the state. ♪ judy: one of the greatest chess champions of all time is accusing a fellow player cheating, sending the chess world into chaos. we explained. two this is the --correspondent: this is the biggest scandal of the game had seen in decades. magness carlsen is the curled world chess champion, and last night he expressly accused the
6:45 pm
19-year-old american hans niemann of cheating and lying. in a recent match, he beat him, then he pulled out of the tournament, issuing some comments. he was much more explicit in his statement yesterday saying "we must do something about cheating , and for my part, going forward , i don't want to play can speak who have cheated repeatedly in the past." he offered no further proof for his accusation. hans neiman has admitted to cheating when he was 1 and 16 and what he said were inconsequential games, but denies foul play when he played magnus carlsen or in any other major tournaments, so here to unpack it all is a grand master inducted into the u.s. chess hall of fame in 2016. marise ashley, an honor to have you, thank you for being here. just to reiterate, there is no evidence we have seen that hans neiman cheated, but magnus
6:46 pm
carlsen in his statement said thatn the game where he lost to this younger player, that hans neiman seemed to not be concentrated in the key moments in seemed to be playing far beyond his abilities. i wonder which you make of this whole accusation. >> well, this is an incredibly difficult situation for chess, chess fans like myself who have been involved in the game for four decades, to hear these allegations is troubling, and coming from may be the greatest player who has ever touched a chess piece, that is truly troubling. and devastating for the young man let's not make any bones about it. buwhat evidence does he have. he says he cannot reveal anything unless hans neiman gives him permission. who has ever heard of an accuser asking the accused to give permission for information against them? it is really a strange situation. judy: he is the highest rank --
6:47 pm
correspondent: he is the highest ranked player ever. he is not infallible. he has lost. there are two possibilities. either hans neiman is the greatest up and, in the game or there was some foul play going on here. where do you come down on that? >> let's be clear, magnus carlsen hasost to players even younger than hans neiman. he lost to a player from india 16 years old. you can't lose -- can lose despite being the greatest player in the game. it's impossible to lose a single game, but a match, that is a tall order indeed roots of this one-game, he did not play very well, and admittedly, made some mistakes. so it is possible that in this individual match he simply lost, but he felt based on how hans neiman was acting in on some kind of data he must've had from before hand that this particular
6:48 pm
game is one of those he says, no, he does not think it was played above board. correspondent: underlying all of this is the fact that computer processing has gotten so good that with my little phone here, theoretically using a good chess engine, i could beat magnus carlsen if i could rely on the computer. again, there is no evidence hans neiman did that in this match, but given that it's a possibility, how is it that chess officials try to protect against the cheating? >> this is a real issue for the international chess federation and federations worldwide. during a chess tournament, you are not allowed to bring in the trustee cell phone. yes, programs are now so sophisticated that even magnus carlsen could not take down your smart phone. however, they have these scanning devices to make sure no electronic devices are being brought into the playing area,
6:49 pm
the playing hall, but can you detect absolutely everything? that is the question. even if a player does not have one of those phones, computer programs in the what if they have a device in their ear or somewhere on their person where somebody else, and outside accomplice, is watching the game live during a broadcast and as may be sending some kind of signal, one buzz is a bishop, two means a knight. players like hans neiman are good enough to figure it out on their own with that scan information. that is the trick, to stop outside interference. correspondent: again, we should say they're all sorts of wild rumors about different devices or signals hans neiman might have been getting during the game. again, no evidence of that. magnus carlsen in that gainsaid cheating is an existential threat to the game of chess. do you believe that is true? >> do you believe that -- absolutely.
6:50 pm
i am terrified that this game i love so much and have been part of for more than half of my life, the reality is, chess, chess information is everywhere. i mean, we study chess books. we pour over encyclopedias, chess openings, games from the past so we can get ideas to defeat our opponents, but if you can just get information at the click of a mouse or a buzz in your ear or somewhere else in your body, then you simply append everything that is -- upend everything fair in the game. it's not just hans neiman, other players have been caught in the past. he will not unfortunate be the last. this represents a threat to the purity of our game and moving forward, particular the online chess where it has thrived. how do you please this? it is a big concern for officials overseeing this.
6:51 pm
it is not something that will go away soon. correspondent: marise ashley, chess grandmaster, thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. ♪ judy: like millions of americans , karen robertson about euchre, mississippi believed in conspiracy theories, until one day she had an experience that started to challenge her own beliefs. she spoke about that moment with our student reporter, who is with mississippi public broadcasting's youth media project. the conversation is part of our student reporting lab series on this information, moments of truth. >> it was easier to believe that there was someone, something out there to get you, and that is why my life was as bad as it was. [laughter] i am karen robertson.
6:52 pm
i am 30. i am a single mom. we are here to talk about the fact that i actually believe in conspiracy theories. once upon a time ago. corresndent: can you tell me some of the conspiracy theories you believe him? >> there was one i don't know how to describe, apparently our birth certificates look like some kind of shipping things where we are shipping things to china, and china owns us, and there's a movie won -- called zeitgeist, and at some point they go into 9/11 being an inside job. i straddled the fence on that one. correspondent: what resonated you -- with you about the conspiracy theories? >> i was in an abusive relationshiphat i did not realize at that time was abusive. i was trying to make the world make sense, and it was easier to
6:53 pm
believe it was a bad place and something was out to get you, and that is why my life was where it was at as bad as it was , and i had to realize i made bad choices. correspondent: can you tell me why you research the things you believed in? >> there was a specific night that caused this. this guy and i were talking and he knew about all these different conspiracy theories. then towards the end of the conversation, he was like, get this, flat earth and i was like, i thought he was joking. he's like, dude there is evidence that earth is flat. a little while later, i saw them use a very hard drug. it made me realize that i find thinking like somebody like that, then i should reconsider my belief system, so the very next day i actually search how to disprove the conspiracy theory. a month, maybe even less, went
6:54 pm
by before my bring kind of clicked and i was like, all of this is a bunch of hogwash. correspondent: if you could go back in time and talk to a younger version of yourself that believed all those years ago and what would you say to her? >> i would definitely tell her that things will get better, because i think that was part of her problem. it is hard to change minds, so that would ultimately be really cool. it just a couple of people could decide to look up something and challenge their own beliefs. that is going to be the moral of my story, because when i challenge my beliefs, it changed my world and made my life better. judy: what a great conversation. we salute student reporting labs come and are unreported. on the "pbs newshour" online, read about how building solar panels is generating power and saving water, part of the effort
6:55 pm
to reach a net zero carbon emissions by 2045. that is at pbs.org/user. and that is the newshour for tonight. i am judy woodruff. ons online in here tomorrow evening for all of us. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] thank you. please stay safe. we will see you soon. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> architect, beekeeper, mentor. a raymondjames financial advisor taylor's advice to help you move your life. life well-planned. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in innovation, democratic invasion, and the advancement of international peace and security, at carnegie.org.
6:56 pm
the target foundation committed to advancing racial equity in creating the change required to shift systems and accelerate equitable economic opportunity. 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. ♪ ♪ this is the pbs newshour --this is pbs newshour west, from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ ♪
6:57 pm
6:58 pm
6:59 pm
7:00 pm
pati, voice-over: when a young widow made an offer on this shk in allende, nuevo león, to open a business and support her kids, she was refused because she's a woman. but she was persistent. and 40 years later, dolores and her sister chiva have one of the most popular lunch spots in nuevo león-- las comadres. and they only serve one dish-- carne con chile. pati: that's why they don't offer anything else, 'cause you don't need anything else! pati, voice-over: and just 10 minutes away, in downtown allende, is another restaurant that's been perfecting their dishes for almost 50 years-- capri. capri's known for their mouthwatering empalmes, one of nuevo león's classic traditional meals that's like a stacked taco tower filled with a stew.