judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight -- aftermath. emergency response teams in florida rush to help those hardest hit by hurricane ian while the storm wreaks more havoc with a second landfall in the carolinas. then, land grab. russia annexes territories in southern and eastern ukraine after staging sham referendums. and it's friday. david brooks and jonathan capehart analyze the state and federal response to hurricane ian and recent election victories by right-wing political parties across europe. all that and more on tonight's "pbs newshour."

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>> 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. dy: hurricane ian is back on shore tonight and weakening to a tropical storm after its second landfall on the u.s. mainland. the storm struck near georgetown, south carolina this afternoon with winds of 85 mil an hour, heavy rain, and surging waves. in its wake, officials in florida confirmed at least nine people dead, with vast scenes of wreckage along the state's southwestern coastline. john yang begins our coverage again from florida. john: a coast guard rescue team

lands on sanibel island, still covered by several feet of water and isolated because the only bridge connecting it to the mainland collapsed as ian came ashore. >> how many are you? >> me and my wife. john: the team tells the couple to pack a bag of essentials. the woman clings to her cat. it is one of more than 700 rescues across southwestern central florida. stephen king rode out the storm on san carlos island. >> the way it was saying on the news, i thought it would eventually go over our heads. next time, we will know to get out. john: ed has run sarasota county emergency services for 17 years. >> you will notice the signs of logistics. this is the worst type of storm i have seen in my career and i have been through katrina, ivan.

this one was intense. i think they will end up classifying this as one of the most dangerous and largest in the history. john: the work of his team did not end when ian moved on. >> we transition from responding to recovery. we are still responding because we areringing in food and water. we are doing search and rescue operations. john: before and after photos dramatically illustrate the destruction ian caused in fort myers, leveling homes and wiping out entire communities. the residents returning to the city, the loss is palpable. >> we just got here and ts is what we found. we've only been here for six months. we pulled all of our money to buy it and it is gone. john: tyler placed his waterlogged family photo albums in the sun to dry. >> everything was submerged. we had three or four feet of water inside the house. john: at the white house,

president biden expressed the nation's sympathies. >> the situation in florida is far more devastating. we were getting to see the scale of that destruction. this is lightly to rank among the worst in the nation's history. it will take months, years to rebuild. our hearts go out to all those folks whose lives have been devastating by this storm. america's heart is literally breaking. john: high water remains a problem throughout southwest florida. officials say it could get worse in the coming days. that is because all that rain that got dumped on central florida is going to be carried by rivers down to this region. rebuilding lives won't be easy. at one point today, 1.9 million people across the state were still without power. many of them relied on gasoline powered generators, but gas is hard to come back. >> i have been waiting for about almost three hours in line. john: in south carolina, heavy

rains hit the coast as ian made its second landfall. >> it looks like it will be less thanlorida. but you never know. john: residents will be hunkering down for a long night. at sarasota county's emergency management center in florida, the director knows he cannot let his guardown. >> this is september 30. we have all of october, all of november, the remainder of the hurricane season. we are not taking our eyes off the atlantic. there could be another system that pops up. this has been a very quiet year in some people's minds until this. it only takes one and this was our one. john: this operation center has been staffed 24 hours a day, two 12 hour shifts since this past weekend. the director says he expects it to remain up and running for some time to come, although not necessarily around-the-clock, as

the long recovery effort continues. judy? judy: thank you. i want to ask you also, we have been seeing reports about a significant number of nursing homes, assisted living facilities that have had to be evacuated. do we know how many there are and what is their status? john: the officials at the florida health care association, which represents nursing homes, say there are about 8000 residents who have been evacuated. mostly in southwestern florida because of the win damage, the storm surge. also, some in central florida and eastern florida because of the torrential rain and flooding. some of these places don't have running water. some don't have power. and some are damaged structurally. judy: do we know what the plans are with regard to bringing them back to where they were and what they are doing in the meantime? and how that is all being managed? john: a lot of them are in

evacuation centers. the florida health care association notes that their caregivers have embedded, remained with them and gone with them even though their homes may have been damaged and withstood the brunt of ian. there are about 78 nursing homes without power, but have generators that are still in operation. it is a state law in florida that all long-term care facilities have generators and that once a state of emergency is declared, they have 96 hours of fuel on hand. and a number of the nursing homes that don't have running water are looking at bringing in water trucks so they can get the residents back in their familiar surroundings as quickly as possible. judy: the challenges seem to be endless wherever you look. john yang reporting for us from sarasota. thank you.

let's talk further about some of the relief efforts that are beginning to get underway. evan peterson is with the american red cross and he joins me from orlando. welcome to you. tell us what are you and your colleagues dealing with? what are you going to be having to do in the days to come? evan: it is kind of at a moment right now where we are all coming out of our shelters and figuring out what exactly happened, how much damage? we have been here since before the storm making sure we have resources ready so that when people come, we can start transitioning towards lo-term recovery. right now, we are slowly beginning that process. we have been in constant communication with our government liaisons, municipalities, emergency management services all across this they look florida as well as south carolina and georgia. making sure when they need help, when they need help to respond, we are able to do so.

last night, we had 10,000 people staying at a variety of red cross and partner shelters. that is the name of the game, beginning that pivot, assessing damage and making sure we are developing that plan to help people make that long-term recovery. judy: what do you think the greatest need is going to be first in florida where it certainly appears the worst impact of this storm has been felt? evan: right now may be too early to say with the greatest need is going to be. ahead of this storm, we moved in tens of thousands of different kinds of disaster supplies to help people, including hundreds of blood products. right now, people have been asking me what is the best way i can contribute to what the red cross is doing? i tell them if you have a blood appointment on the books right now, please keep that blood appointment. we moved hundreds of products down here ahead of the storm so that when emergency responders need to reach for that type-o,

they are able to do so. we need to keep that supply open. judy: i can see you are looking for donations. at this point, do you have any sense of where the greatest need will be in the florida area? evan: all across the state of florida is where we will be using this money to help us address this. obviously right now, when we hear meteorologists, hurricane center meteorogist say this is a catastrophic flood. right now, we are looking at the west coast of florida, the fort myers area is the first place that comes to mind because we are seeing a lot of damage, storm surg millions of people without power. it will be put to use everywhere impacted by ian. now, our attention is on those hardest hit places. judy: looking at a long recovery to come. evan peterson with the american red cross joining us from orlando, thank you. evan: thank you. judy: the flooding is so bad in some florida communities that relief agencies and others are having trouble getting in to

where they need to be. that includes many journalists, including our team. wendy powell is one of the local reporters who stayed to report on the storm and its aftermath. she's the editor of "the naples daily news" and joins me now. what are you dealing with in the naples, fort myers area right now in terms of what you have to cover? wendy: we are dealing with mass devastation. we have islands that disconnected from the mainland. the island of sanibel, the causeway collapsed into the bay. there's absolutely no way to get on that island. fort myers beach is another island where we have seen pictures. we have people on the island but we have not been able to go there. the devastation is beyond what i've ever seen in my entire career. judy: what are you seeing in terms of human -- the human

situation, where people are? are people stranded? you know any more about the need for either hospital or medical help that people have right now? wendy: we know they are still doing search-and-rescue efforts. we actually had a reporter that took a boat ride to captiva island and was on the boat with three of the last people that were rescued from that island. we had reporters and photographers on jet skis today trying to get out to another island to see what the situation was there. there is no power. this applies, some of the guest stations -- the supplies, some of the gas stations have opened and the lines are around the corner. the frustration level for those that are only without the power and connectivity. but then there are so many people that have lost absolutely

everything. and it's truly, truly a devastating situation. judy: it sounds almost unmanageable. we heard you say this is the worst you've ever seen. is it your sense that the relief efforts that people are going to need are going to be there? we heard the gentleman from the red cross saying they are still collecting information before they can go out and do anything. wendy: they absolutely are. the islands have been substantially cut off for the most part. we were on a boat where they will bringing some supplies out to a couple of the islands. the rescue efforts, the relief teams are from all over the country, including outside of the country. so, they are here ready to help. we have been watching as the coast guard has been in there and flying people out and lending them at shelter properties around southwest florida. so, they first have to go in and do some of the cleanup.

one of our eyewitnesses that was on fort myers beach compared the levels of sand that were scooped off of the main road sort of like the aftermath of a snowstorm where you see those piles of snow at the bottom of the hill. they're d oing -- i believe they are doing the best they can at this point. it will be frustrating. it will not be a quick recovery for anybody. our journalists alone have been impacted, have lost homes. they are dealing with that as well. judy: it certainly does sound overwhelming. we thank you so much for talking withs. wendy powell of the naples daily news. wendy: thank you. ♪ judy: in the day's other news, russia's president vladimir putin sharply escalated the war in ukraine, signing treaties to

illegally annex four regions. he vowed to defend the newly-seized territory by "all available means." meanwhile, russian fire rained down on ukrainian cities, killing 30 people in zaporizhzhia. we'll have a detailed report after the news summary. the war in ukraine has sent natural gas prices and overall inflation soaring across the european union. new numbers today showed the eu's inflation ran at 10% in september, compared with prices a year ago. in brussels, eu energy ministers approved a windfall profits tax on fossil fuel companies. but, they could not agree on curbing gas prices. >> i believe we could impose a price cap on all russian-imported gas, including lng. however, some member states see this as a sanction and we don't yet have a consensus on this step.

judy: germany has been a leading opponent of capping prices over concerns it could limit gas supplies. a suicide bomber in afghanistan attacked an educational center in kabul today, killing 19 people and wounding nearly 30. it happened in a shi'ite area, as hundreds of teenage students were taking practice entrance examfor college. some of the students were among the dead. there was no immediate claim of responsibility. rare public protests have broken out in cuba over lingering power outages from hurricane ian. the storm caused an island-wide blackout this week, and some areas are still in the dark. overnight, several hundred people protested in havana, demanding power be restored. ey banged pots and pans, started fires, and complained their food is spoiling. >> this isn't working, enough of this. all my food is rotten. why? because we don't have electricity and this will not

last anymore. this does not work, brother. judy: cuban utility officials say only about 10% of havana's two million people had electricity, as of thursday. back in this country, congress gave final approval to a short-term spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown this weekend. it will finance federal agencies into mid-december and it also includes military and economic aid for ukraine. president biden later signed it into law. on wall street, major stock indexes finished a miserable month. the dow jones industrial average was down 500 points today to close at 28,725. the nasdaq fell nearly 162 points. the s&p 500 slid almost 55. for the month, the dow and s&p lost nearly 9% or more. that's their worst september in 20 years. the nasdaq slid 10.5%, the most since september of 2008.

and, justice ketanji brown jackson had her ceremonial induction today as the fir black woman on the u.s. supreme court. president biden and vice president harris attended the brief investiture ceremony. jackson had been confirmed by the senate in april and formally joined the high court in june. the court begins its new term on monday. still to come on the "newshour," what's at stake as brazilians prepare to vote in a highly-divisive presidential election. david brooks and jonathan capehart consider the week's political news. two ukrainian artists who cannot return home form a new community in the u.s. plus, much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: in a grand ceremony at the kremlin today, russian president

m putin signed papers to formally but illegally annex four regions in ukraine, an area the size of ohio, after what the west calls sham referendums. the u.s. and allies responded with tougher sanctions and reiterat their support for ukraine. that all happened athe same time as one of russia's deadliest strikes on civilians. ck schifrin begins our coverage. nick: today's reality, the body of the ukrainian civilians killed by a russian rocket. today's alternate reality, the red square celebration of conquest. a euphoric concert marking russian annexation. reality, ukrainian soldiers re-seizing their own territory from russian occupiers. alternate reality, a handpicked audience cheers russian president puitin, calling today a day of truth and

justice. and yet, today's formal annexation signing with the four russian appointed leaders of ukrainian districts is the war's largest escalation since invasion. >> we will defend our land using all forces at our disposal and will do everything we can to protect the security of our people. nick: and to an ecstatic audience of elites, putin rallied against the west and what he defined as the culture. >> to maintain its unlimited power is the real reason for the hybrid war the west is waging against russia. we want schools that there are other genders? such a rejection of faith and traditional values begins to look like a perverted religion. outright satanism. nick: putin raised his rhetoric by recalling u.s. attacks on world war japan. >> the united states is the only

country in the world to use nuclear weapons twice, destroying the japanese cities. actually, they set a precedent. >> putin's actions are a sign he is struggling. the sham referenda he carried out. nick: president biden vowed never to respect any russian claim ukrainian land. >> he cannot sees his neighbors territory and get away with it, as simple as that. nick: the u.s. government sanctioned more than 1000 russian people and companies, including elyra, russia central bank governors who has helped the russian economy survive. almost 300 russian lawmakers. family memories of the russian national security council. russians accused of torturing ukrainians. president zelenskyy used today to fmally apply for an accelerated plan to become a nato member and he ruled out negotiations with putin. >> it is obvious that this is

impossible with this russian president. he does not know what dignity and honesty are. therefore, we are ady for a dialogue with russia, but with a different president of russia. nick: national security advisor jake sullivan said ukraine's nato membership should be taken up at a different time, but putin's nuclear threats top the administration's current concerns. >> there is a risk given all the loose talk and nuclear saber rattling by putin that he would consider this. we have been clear with the consequences would be. nick: to examine putin's nuclear threats and annexation announcement today, and where this leaves the war, i'm being joined by fiona hill, senior fellow at the brookings institution. thank you very much, welcome back to the newshour. the kremlin has faced battlefield setbacks in the last few days and weeks. putin has recently been criticized by china and india. what do you think is the context for why putin is announcing annexation today?

fiona: it is clear, to change the entire nature of the battlefield. what he has done in annexing this territory is basically transform this into a defensive war as opposed to an offsive war, at least rhetorically. he saying these territories are part of russia. he has said part of russia forever. therefore, any kind of attack on the territories, regions, as well as any of the territories in the donbass, and even crimea, will not be seen as an attack on russia itself. his hope is that the call-up of russian troops, the mobilization we have seen over the last several days will in fact encourage now people to the battlefield. you won't be seeing so much defections because people would realize they are on this all-out battle with the west, not just the ukraine. and this is a battle for russia's survival. he has taken it up several notches. he is therefore justifying any kind of action against the west.

nick: you just set any kind of action. jake sullivan said nuclear saber rattling. putin said the u.s. created the precedent of using nuclear weapons. how serious do you think putin is? fiona: i think taking that on the rhetorical level where he has been serious about creating this framing, i tnk we have to take this to the course of international reaction. take this to the united nations and get pushback. we have to take this threat seriously. putin is always the kind of person that when he threatens something, he wants to deliver on it. i think we should be very serious in diplomacy to pushback and point out how outrageous noe claims and distortions of history. nick: the push on diplomacy would require ukraine and president zelenskyy said he would be happy to negotiate with russia once putin was no longer

president. there are no negotiations today and not much of a chance on either side for negotiations, but does zelenskyy's statement and the annexation further forestall any possibility for diplomacy? fiona: it does not forestall diplomacy but what it does make very difficult as some kind of negotiated compromise settlement. putin is basically saying there's no room for compromise. we just annexed this territory. he's got his eyes on the further extension of the military. we have seen throughout all the appearances since 2014, russia talked about this idea of new russia. we have seen attacks on odessa, threats against moldova. that might also follow into this rubric of new russia. he repeated new russia several times during his speech. the point is he's basically saying i will not negotiate on the basis of this territory i

have taken. he's basically wanting to have ukraine negotiate for the terms of its surrender. this is the largest annexation since world war ii. it has turned the whole global strategic balance on its head. there has to be a commensurate international reaction. that is where the next phase of the diplomacy has to be focused, which is getting other countries worldwide to pushback on this act that putin has undertaken today. nick: finally, the pipelines that take natural gas from russia into europe exploded earlier this week. today, president bid said the damageas deliberate act of sabotage. jake sullivan said there were few countries capable of such an act of sabotage but that the damage was not caused by a nato country. do you believe russia could have sabotaged their own pipeline? fiona: i do, especially given one element in his speech tay which i was watching closely. putin calls the u.k. and united

states the anglo-saxons together. the u.k. and united states might have done this as a diversion, blowing up the pipelines, as he says, rupturing the whole edifice of european energy security. then he says, while people speculate on who does this benefit? and then he smirks. you can see this because the camera in the kremlin auditorium honed in as he said this. it is almost like he couldn't stop himself from smirking. he said, of course, the person who benefits is the person who did it. it made it very clear to me that this was ordered by the kremlin. what he does not mention is he's basically continuing to export oil. that is the next front to be mindful of. putin always does something like, something destructive when he things he can leverage some thing else. nick: fiona hill, thank you very much. fiona: thanks, nick.

♪ judy: brazilians go to the polls sunday in a hotly-contested election that has drawn the world's attention. voters will decide whether to re-elect their right-wing president jair bolsonaro or return the twice-elected former president, known to everyone as "lula," to power. in partnership with the pulitzer center, special correspondent jane ferguson reports from the atlantic coast state of bahia, north of rio. jane: it takes a strong person to survive the slums, known as favelas, of panama city. on top of crushing poverty and crime, people must fight just to keep a roof over their heads. under the government of jair bolsonaro these last four years, efforts by farmers and land developers to push the poor off unoccupied lands, often with violence, have increased.

>> it's terrible because he armed the land speculators. they say that we are troublemakers, invaders, and they arm the farmers and say that we don't have the right to land. jane: nildes araujo leads the fight to defend her home, this small patch of land she shares with 60 families living in tiny, makeshift houses. she works with a land rights organization, and after speculators sent gunmen to chase them away, araujo got a lawyer, went to court, and won the right to stay, for now. >> these conflicts have always occurred, but with the bolsonaro government, it worsened because they do not give us the right to housing. and if it were up to him, we were all on the street. jane: millions of brazilians live in favelas on land they don't own or rent because they cannot afford to. residents connect illegally to local power and water sources and the areas are often blighted by gang violence. but there are few other options for the country's vast population living in poverty.

marines andrade lived onhe streets for most of her life before araujo helped her come here. her organization gave andrade this small wooden home to live in four years ago. the memory of life on the streets is still painful for her. >> i have suffered for 58 years, my whole life has been suffering. i used to beg by the church and i had to hide my children when they were small so they wouldn't get killed. jane: andrade will vote on sunday for luiz inacio lula da silva, known to everyone as "lula." president from 2003 to 2010, left-wing worker's party chief lula was jailed on corruption charges eight years after his presidency, charges that were later overturned. in a sweeping comeck, he is now the frontrunner in sunday's presidential election.

his opponent, the populist inmbent president jair bolsonaro, is trailing in the polls. bolsonaro came to power in 2018 amidst economic and political turmoil in brazil, with a right-wing, often combative message of god, family values, and fervent nationalism. in this favela, his message does not resonate. maria farias has only ever voted for the worker's party. who are you voting for on sunday? >> lula, lula. jane: did you vote for lula in the last time? >> always. my vote was for him every time, ever since he ran. lula, lula, lula until i die. jane: the social programs lula put in place have had a direct impact on her family. >> because of lula, my daughter got a full scholarship to a private school. we didn't have to pay anything and now she has a degree and works as a tcher. i am very grateful to the lula government.

and my husband managed to get a car, too. jane: but that is exactly what bothers aldo telles, farmer from the central region of mato grosso. >> his majority works very little, produces very little. it's not about giving things away. the spirit of the worker's party is to give things away to left-wing people. those people do not get out of misery. they are always captive to vote for them. jane: telles lives in bolsonaro territory, a farming community resentful of land distributions to the indigenous people, and left-wing government handouts to the urban poor. >> the problem is that lula is left wing. you must be aware of the problems in venezuela, the problems in argentina now, and so many others that are doomed to failure. lula doesn't think about teaching people how to fish. he thinks about giving the fish away. what generates wealth, what generates work is production. and if you just give things away, what will happen? the country would be in chaos. that is our fear.

jane: chaos might be coming regardless. bolsonaro has for months questioned the election results, casting doubt in the electronic voting system of brazil and praising brazil's military dictatorship that ran the country from 1964 to 1985. fears have grownhat he may refuse to concede if he does not win, claiming instead that the vote was rigged. the head of the cia, bill burns, reportedly warned bolsonaro last year to respect the democratic process, and lawmakers in the u.s. and europe have undlined that they will quickly move to recognize the election results. every bolsonaro supporter we spoke to say that they don't listen to journalists and don't read the papers or watch television news. and that they get their information from social media and encrypted messaging services like whatsapp. as a result, they all say despite what the polls say, they are confident of a sweeping bolsonaro victory.

his campaign has convinced many of his supporters that if he doesn't win, it's because the voting system is corrupt. to farmers like celso nogueira, it will be a fair election only if bolsonaro wins it. >> bolsonaro has already proven this when we brought people from outside several countries to show that the polls are only fraudulent. if we have a clean election for both of us in the middle of sunday, october 2, we will have a very clear win for bolsonaro. the population doesn't want lula. jane: brazilian political analyst and author marcos nobre says this brand of populism is completely different. >> there is a populist tradition in brazil, but quite different -- this is completely different because for one thing, it's far right populism. and in this sense, he was able to circumvent the usual gatekeepers in the media. he was able to convince some

groups that felt underrepresented that going with him will change everything. jane: if all this sounds familiar, it should. bolsonaro has been widely praised by former president trump and bolsonaro's inner circle are known to have close connections with former trump strategists like steve bannon. >> we still don't know if this movement will organize itself as a movement likened to an international authoritarian movement. but what we know is that they have connections and they exchange information and techniques. jane: not all who are planning to vote for bolsonaro are die-hard supporters. as brazilian politics becomes even more polarized, the options for those voting on sunday are far on either end of the political spectrum. >> we don't want to have a president of the extreme right nor of the extreme left.

we would like to have a center president who wishes the good of the entire population because we are experiencing a very dangerous moment in brazil. jane: there is a growing realization in brazil that politics here has fundamentally changed. the increasing polarization, and angry rhetoric, has many on edge. as brazilians use their right to vote on sunday, their country's democracy feels increasingly fragile. for the "pbs newshour," i'm jane ferguson in cuiaba, brazil. ♪ judy: as hurricane ian is leaving a swath of death and destruction in its wake, it also has the potential to affect local, state, and national politics as we near the november elections. to discuss this and more of the week's news, we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that's "new york times" columnist david brooks, and

jonathan capehart, associate editor for "the washington post." hello to both of you. it is friday, thank you for being here. i do want to start, jonathan, with this awful storm we are very focused on and rightly should be. ian has worked its way across florida, causing death and destruction. now landfall in the carolinas. it's taxing resources of government at every level. we don't know what that ulmately will be. as we just said, there are political consequences to this. we have seen our leaders in the past handled them well, not handle them well. what is at stake for these leaders? jonathan: so far, it seems like the leaders are doing what they are supposed to be doing, and that is tending to the needs of the people. the president declaring a disaster in florida. working surprisingly with the governor, republican governor of florida ron desantis to bring aid to the state of florida.

the governor of florida who spent a lot of time criticizing the president and the white house and democrats. but when it comes to focusing on the people of florida, he has nothing but kind words. i think in terms of doing the job that needs to be done, they are doing the right thing. the politics of it all. governor desantis is running for reelection, so he's got to focus on the people of florida and put politics aside. he even said as much on fox news. judy: what are the pitfalls at this point? governor desantis clearly thinking about running for president. you have president biden going down there in a few days. david: i think what's happening is we are focusing on the people. there have been so many interviews -- i saw an interview with a couple who stayed in their home, they were terrified, and fled. he was killed, she survived. i saw a couple in a life raft in their living room rising.

when you focus on human beings, it does take you a little out of the political. i have been impressed with the reporting on this program and elsewhere that the locals seem to be doing their job. to me, it has an effect of making me feel better about the country and our circumstances that we came together. as jonathan said, desantis is no trump. he can behave like a normal governor. judy: we have been covering climate change. will be seeing more and more of these climate disasters. calling on political leadership, but also the resources that

governments will have to spend to clean up, restore life. jonathan: restore. at this point, and has to be not just restoring but improving so when the next storm comes by in week two after a previous one that folks can survive. we are looking at more severe storms happening much more frequently. this storm, hurricane ian, coming through the coast, raking across florida, ramping back up to the atlantic, raking across the carolinas. you've got people and politicians who are looking around and thinking how do we address these things? how do we address the climate? how do we repair? the other big question becomes where does all the money come from? that is the key thing. if washington doesn't get its

act together and start doing things more boldly to address climate change, then addressing the climate is super expensive. repairing and restoring communities after they have been decimated for the fifth or sixth time is even more expensive. judy: there is this divide about what to do about climate change right now. david: i'm old enough to remember when republicans talk about climate change, including john mccain and lindsey graham. it got turned partisan like everything else. globally, it is a big collective action problem. where the costs of addressing climate change are right now but the benefits are long-term. now if we get more natural disasters, the costs are also short-term. you see this logic were people are saying we cannot afford not to do. whether that can kick in, i confess i am not optimistic with china being where it is. you cannot help not be startled by the way the pattern is. judy: and watching this terrible

human aftermath in florida, and perhaps elsewhere has to get everyone's attention. to europe, we don't often talk about politics overseas, but it has come to our attention this week. jonathan, with the election of a woman named giorgia meloni, the leader of the brothers of italy political party, has ushered in what has been described the most far right government in italy since world war ii. this is after a few weeks that sweden showed a relatively high vote for a right-leaning party there. what does this portend? how worried should the rest of the west be? jonathan: the west should be worried. italy has had its fascist past. giorgia meloni sayson't worry, i'm not that kind of fascist, don't worry. i remember at the aspen ideas

festival in 2016, newt gingrich gave a presentation talking about the populist, right-leaning movements happening around the world. he marched all the way across the globe and brexit was the big story. then, there was the 2016 presidential election in the u.s. and he predicted donald trump would win and that would be part of this global march to the right. well, we are seeing it, that march is still happening. not just giorgia meloni in italy and what happened in sweden, but let's not forget poland, orban in hungary. this move towards either authoritarianism or autocracy or turning to the far right. the fact that this has happened in italy, a nato member, is just another pressure point. what president biden has been talking about -- democracy has to prove it can deliver, and

right now whether it is in sweden, italy, hungary, poland, you name it, a lot of people aren't so sure about democracy. they are looking too far right or authoritarian figures who are about exclusion as opposed to bringing folks together. judy: how concerned do you think the west should be? david: the west should be concerned about immigration. in italy and sweden, immigration was the top issue, as it is for donald trump. the swedes have a higher immigration population then we do. if you don't get your immigration under control, a lot of people will be upset. it should be a big message for joe biden. got to control the borders. if you don't do it, countries where you don't do it, the centerleft collapses. the second thing, there was a miloni video that went viral that said here are my identities. i'm an italian, i am a woman, i'm a mother, a christian.

and those people are out to destroy every one of my identities. that is the cultural message that all these different conservative movements have. even vladimir putin, talking about gender changing in the middle of a war. the cultural element is not to be underestimated and i would say it is the cultural critique of modernism, whatever you want to call it, urbanism -- it is coherent around the world and we see it in almost every western country. judy: and gives us pause. finally, jonathan, this week, we saw something we were not sure was going to happen and that was supreme court justice clarence thomas, his wife ginni thomas, testified before the january 6 committee. the chairman came out later and said what she said among other things is she does believe today that the 2020 presidential

election was stolen, that donald trump actually won. what does that say? [laughter] jonathan: it is -- it's shocking. we are almost two years after the 2020 presidential election. an election that donald trump's own cybersecurity expert said was the fairest and safest election, presidential election probably in american history. the myths about election fraud, all of those things have been debunked. yet, here is this person who is a leader in the conservative movement, even before this, is still clinging to this notion that the election was stolen from donald trump. it is a lie. there's a reason why it is called a big lie. yet, she still holds onto it. the problem with that, in addition to her believing that, is who she's married to.

a supreme court justice who did not recuse himself from a case earlier involving donald trump. there could be other cases involving donald trump. and the question and the pressure will be on justice thomas to recuse. personally. but pressure on the supreme court to do something to hold justices accountable for things like that. judy: how significant? david: it is a lie, as jonathan said. she's always been on the fringey, avant garde of the right even when the right was a little more normal than it is. a lee atwater phrase, a certain kind of conservative. ther are some people that have forearms growing out of the four heads -- foreheads. she's always been a little over there. the question is should justice thomas recuse? i would be a little hesitant to go there. i don't think the opinions of

the family -- i don't think the justices will let that influence their jurisprudence. she claimed they don't talk about the decisions. i don't know. i am not on their pillow, i don't know. i do know couples in washington that are in security jobs, top-secret jobs, and they literally don't talk about work at all so it is possible. judy: it's possible. something for us to think about for days to come. david brooks, jonathan capehart, thank you for giving us something to think about. ♪ the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in ukraine extends far beyond its borders. days before the war started in february, two ukrainian artists boarded a plane for tennessee to exhibit their work and teach workshops.

seven months later, they are still unable to return home. wtcibs in chattanooga tells e story of this resilient couple and the support they've received halfway around the world. it's part of our arts and culture coverage, canvas. >> my name is victoria. my husband and i are artists from ukraine. >> we got connected to them probably about four or five years ago. the proposal was for us to have a show and also a workshop taught by victoria. >> everybody was talking about the family that came to chattanooga to participate in an art exchange. >> we left for kyiv on february 22. without suspecting anything, we arrived intent new got -- in chattanooga.

i connected to wi-fi and received a picture from my father as he was pulling up to a gas station. on the horizon were explosions and black smoke. everything was clear what was happening. >> everything turned upside down. everything changed in an instant. our plans, our entire life changed. >> nobody knows when they can become a refugee. it is such an unpredictable situation. these are people who never did anything wrong. just external circumstances put them in extreme situation. >> we are seeing in real time our city being bombed. our neighborhood. it feels as though 10 of my closest relatives died at the same time. and it is such a tragedy.

i paint because i cannot not paint. it is somewhere where i can escape, where i feel safe. it's somewhere where i can escape from the real problems in the world. >> life becomes before and after. you start thinking about those who were left behind in ukraine. in a peaceful environment, you see people walking on the street smiling, going to restaurants, living their normal lives. >> imagine preparing for a year and a half for a solo show and to teach a sold-out woshop. we had people from all over the country to take his workshop with her and dennis. they have to attend an opening and teachd and deal with the

shock and horror and all of the emotions of being away from home. >> i knew that they know how to deal with it because we know that art is healing. >> it was so amazing how many people came to the opening, in support of ukraine. people were wearing yellow and blue. and in support of dennis and victoria. we started a gofundme and raised like $17,000 in like a week. people would drop by checks, givebacks it's -- gift baskets. people would call and say do you need a studio, place to live? anytime dennis and victoria would come here, i would have something to give them. >> i am just very grateful for people of our community to author an opportunity -- offer an opportunity for ukrainians. to wait out this terrible situation where they are -- with

welcing hands, open hearts. where they are loved, where they are understood. >> my gratitude is just endless for every person who even thought of us. and whose heartesponded to help us. >> it restores this idea of faith in people. that people can help each other and create, not just destroy. you begin to believe in people again and understand, yes, there are bad people but there are good people too, and there are a lot of them. judy: heartwarming in what they have been through. that report from wtci pbs in chattanooga. that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. for all of us at the "pbs newshour," thank you. please stay safe and we'llee you soon. >> major funding for the pbs

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♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. catastrophic storm ian continues its destructive surge through america's southeast. i a climate policy expert leah stokes what makes ian so powerful and is this the future. then, russia prepares to illegally annex ukrainian territory as military-age men there vote against the war with their feet. historian nina khrushcheva weighs in from russia on the next phase of the conflict. also -- >> i went to an offer, and i realized that out of the thousands of artworks in front of me not a single one was by a woman. >> art historian katie hessel puts women back in the picture.