geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. tonight on “pbs news weekend,” countdown to the midterms. with one month until the november election, judy woodruff joins us from madison, wisconsin with all the latest on the hotly contested race for senate. then, the nfl changes its coussion protocols, but do they go far enough? we hear from the doctor who discovered the brain disease cte, and his advice for the miami dolphins quarterback sidelined by head injuries. dr. omalu: my strong advice to him would be to hang his helmet, and cherish his life. geoff: and climate change in alaska. how warming waters are decimating salmon populations and forcing native people to change their way of life.

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

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: good evening. it's great be with you. we start tonight with the latest from ukraine. overnight missile strikes on the city of zaporizhzhia reduced high-rise apartment buildings and homes to rubble. 12 people were killed and dozens more wounded. residents spent the day combing through the debris looking for survivors, and shared their despair after more than seven months of war. >> there is nothing. no industry, no military, no military factories. why are they bombing us? why? geoff: the misle strikes come just one day after an explosion led to the partial collapse of the kurch bridge, which links

the crimean peninsula to russia. it's a critical russian supply route for the war. zaporizhzhia is one of four regions illegally annexed by russia late last month. in florida, some residents of fort myers beach were allowed to go back to their homeso assess damage, nearly two weeks after hurricane ian hit the state. the fire chief there says no structure in the town was left untouched by the storm. in hardest-hit lee county, where fort myers beach is located, tens of thousands of people are still without power. the state medical examiner's office confirms that 94 floridians have died from hurricane ian so far. and just in time for kickoff this sunday, the nfl and the players association have announced changes to the league's concussion protocols. had this change been in place last month, miami dolphins quarterback tua tagovailoa would not have been able to re-enter a game when he suffered an apparent head injury and stumbled back to the huddle. the new criteria will keep a player from rerning to action

if he displays abnormal balance and stability. we'll have more on concussions in the nfl, and their lasting consequences, later in the broadcast. and still to come on "pbs news weekend," medical perspectives on concussions and football, as the nfl makes changes. and, how salmon shortages in alaska's kon river are changing the way native people eat and live. >> this is "pbs news weekend," from weta studios in washington, home of the "pbs newshour," weeknights on pbs. geoff: with the midterms just a month away, control of the u.s. senate hangs in the balance. republicans only need one seat in the senate to regain control for the remainder of president biden's term. wisconsin's senate race is one of the most closely watched, and that's where judy woodruff has spent the last few days. she joins us now from madison. it's great to see you. thanks for being with us. so judy, as you well know, wisconsin is a state known for

close elections. so how is this one shaping up? judy: that's right, geoff. the last few presidential elections here in wisconsin have been razor close and this race this year between thdemocratic challenger, 35-year-old mandela barnes, the lieutenant governor, who's going against the incumbent republican senator ron johnson, looking no different. the polls we've seen in the last few days, in fact, one out just today by cbs, shows them just a point apart -- so, effectively tied. in the airwaves here in the badger state, filled with negative ads, each side aiming at the other, reflecting record amounts of money that are being spent in this campaign, more than half of it coming from outside the state, which reflects the stakes this year, with the senate evenly split. for his part, ron johnson has been seen as vulnerable because he is a big supporter of former president trump.

he has defended the former president's actions on january 6. he's called the insurrectionists who attacked the capital that day, quote, largely peaceful. he's also been strongly pro-life. he's been for tightening abortion restrictions, and in a year when women voters in particular are energized by the supreme court decision overturning roe v. wade, it was felt by many that this would be a good year for democrats to turn out their vote. however, as we get closer to this election, there are other issues that are coming to the fore that have republicans feeling more confident. geoff: yeah, and we know nationally that republicans are stressing the issues of crime and public safety. how is that playing out there in wisconsin? judy: well, johnson and the outside groups who are supporting him are zeroing in in particul on what mandela barnes said, and his social media postings in the aftermath of the murder of george floyd in 2020, focusing on what he said

about defunding, or reducing funding for the police, and for abolishing i.c.e., which, of course, is a federal agency charged with policing the border. barnes has pushed back. he has tried to put what he said in context, and he's trying to turn the attention back to ron johnson and talking about his actions in support of the insurrectionists on january 6. but barnes has also had to deal with relentless advertising by republicans framing him as dangerous, someone who would take the state in a direction where voters wouldn't be safe. i caught up with mandela barnes yesterday in milwaukee and asked him about it, and here's part of what he said. mandela: ron johnson is always using fear tactics because he can't run on his own record. from day one we set out to build a broad coalition that encoassed the whole, not just the whole of the party, but the whole of this state. our coition includes family farmers who are working people right in the inner city,

independents, you name it. even republicans who are frustrated by ron johnson. like this is a broad coalition that truly represents wisconsin. the issues we're taking on, they're not even left or right, red or blue, it's about people have been at the top like ron johnson, the people he leaves behind. judy: and geoff, we have tried to, of course, to talk with ron johnson, but his campaign has not responded, and they have not shared his campaign schedule. geoff: so, judy, what kinds of things are you hearing from voters as you travel across wisconsin? judy: well, you do hear both voters and the experts we've spoken with say they believe this is turning increasingly into a campaign based on fear, that both campaigns are relentlessly talking about how the other side, the other party would take the state in a different direction and would change their daily lives in a way that would not be what voters want. of course, you hear these refrains and ads, you hear the candidates talking about it, how radil the other side is.

but i will also tell you, geoff, that we've spoken with voters, some of whom say they'd like to see the parties work together. they'd like to see more unity in american politics. one voter we spoke with said, you know, he said right now we only have three or four senators out of 100 who are even willing to work with the other party, which is crucial in getting in getting legislation tasked, and he said, i'd like to see that at 20 or 25 members of the senate. geoff: judy woodruff reporting tonight in madison, wisconsin. judy: thank you, geoff. geoff: time now for a weekend re-think. they're just over four weeks left until the midterm elections. we have already focus on the races in florida and pennsylvania. our focus today is georgia. the governor's race is a rematch of 2018 competitive and contested election when

republican governor brian kemp edged out democrat stacey abrams by just under 55,000 votes. in the state's senate race, we have an unfolding scandal. republican candidate herschel walker, a hard-line abortion opponent, he's due nine reports he paid for a former girlfriend's abortion in 2009. walker is challenging incumbent democratic senator, the rev. raphael warnock. tia mitchell is washington correspondent for the letter journal constitution and joins us now to talk about all this. it is great to see you. the water campaign as you know, it fired its political director at the end of the week with about one month to go until the election. how is this scandal resonating among voters? even before this, herschel walker's had issues as a candidate. there were accusations of the mystic violence, he had problematic tv interviews where he did not seem to grasp basic issues. but republicans have stuck by him. tia: yeah, and i still think the

vast majority of republican voters in georgia are planning to stick by herschel walker. we see them saying he has denied it and that is enough for me. that a lot of republican voters still think he is the person who will best represent their interests in washington. now, what we are looking at are those voters who may be a little bit in the middle, more moderate, or perhaps even some of those conservatives who are sway about -- are swayable if they feel a candidate is not living up to those values, those family principles some conservative voters are really serious about. geoff: georgia also has a split ticket voting and it is a question as to whether or not people will come out and vote for kemp and then warnock running for the senate seat. so while republicans have come to walker's defense, how have warnock and the democrats reacted to, responded to this scandal?

tia: warnock in general has avoided weighing in too much. in his prepared remarks, he has not focused on the recent scandals at all. however, in his media gaggles where he has been asked about it, what he has said for the most part is, hey, what i hear is disturbing to me, but this will be for the voters to decide. geoff: let's talk about the governor's race. we have democrat stacey abrams, she has trailed republican governor brian kemp throughout the campaign, trailed him in terms of polling. she is still within striking distance, but she is down by a greater margin than when she lost to him in 2018. so why has this year's election been more of a challenge for? tia: i think there are a lot of factors at play, but the biggest one is stacey abrams is no longer running for an open seat against someone who is trying to

build name recognition statewide, just like she is. she is now running against an incumbent who voters know, and many voters will say, you know, i am doing all right, things seem to be going ok for me. do we need a change? we also know that the enthusiasm factor isn't there. not that people are not fired up about voting, or there is something against stacey abrams. i think she is just not the fresh, new voice she was four years ago. again, people now know stacey abrams as well. and so, i do not necessarily think people are saying i have turned my back on stacey abrams. i just think some of the factors that helped fuel her campaign four years a are not as much in play as they were then. geoff: we talked about some of the personalities in this race. that's talk about the policies. what has been the central issue for georgians so far heading into the midterms? tia: so, we've done a lot of

formal and informal polling at the atlanta journal constitution and what we are seeing enjoyed your is what we are seeing playing out across the country, which is that inflation, the economy, those pocketbook issues are number one among voters. what also motivates voters, maybe not number one, but also important to them, are things like climate change, abortion rights, crime. those are still important. the number one factor for voters regardless of parity -- party or political affiliation is the economy. geoff: tia mitchell joining us for our weekend briefing. thank you so much. the nfl and nfl players association have agreed to update the league's concussion

protocol following a joint investigation into the league's procedures. that's after miami dolphins quarterback tua tagovailoa crumpled to the ground last week, showing a telltale sign of a traumatic brain injury. tua started in that game, despite being sacked four days earlier, and suffering an apparent head injury. the severity of his injuries reignited debate around the effectiveness of the nfl's concussion protocol. i spoke with dr. bennet omalu, the neuropathologist who is credited with discovering the brain disease known as cte. he says over the years the nfl, instead of seeking his counsel on how to handle concussions, never contacted him and instead tried to undermine his work. dr. omalu: nobody has ever reached out to me. in fact, what they have done is that they have gone on doing a smear campaign to delegitimize me, sometimes very racist.

every time they mention my name, theyay, he's nigerian-born, so that people in the subconscious would begin to associate with the scam emails you get from nigeria. so, it's a shame, in my opinion. but again, it doesn't bother me. it doesn't really bother me. i still have to speak my truth, and help save lives. geoff: dr. omalu also says that tua should retire from the league. dr. omalu: with the two documented concussions, he must have suffered thousands of repetitive impacts to his head. now, remember, the brain is not like the liver. the liver, you damage it, it regenerates. the brain doesn't do that. the injury is permanent. and there was a reasonable probability that at some point the damage becomes progressive and becomes a neurodegenerative disease. my advice would be that it's time to hang up your helmet. sometimes the stronger person,

and the smarter person, is he who walks away. geoff: for more on the league's new procedures, i am now joined by dr. ann mckee, the director of boston university's cte center. thank you for being with us. the league and union agreed change the league's concussion protocol to include the term "ataxia." what is that exactly? and do these new rules go far enough? dr. mckee: so, ataxia is imbalance, or difficulty maintaining your position in space. and they added that to the concussion protocol. i am not sure that that is a major improvement. they already had gross motor incoordination, whicto me covers ataxia. so i am not sure the afterword really makes a lot of difference. geoff: what should the nfl be doing than in terms of handling these concussions? dr. mckee: every concussion is different and a need to take

everyone quite seriously. they need to identify players who have concussions and those include a lot of the signs that tua was showing during both games. to me, looking at just the replay, it looked very concerning that he had a major blow to the head. as far as return to play, it's a very individual process where the individual goes through steps gradually with increasing exertion, increasing activity, until they are finally cleared to resume the game. geoff: your work really studies the risks oflaying football over a long time. a lot of the effects do not show up while the players are still active, is that right dr. mckee: that is right, although it can show up while they are active. but it shows up much more often after they are retired from the game. geoff: how does it display itself? dr. mckee: first, let me just

say that cte isn't just from concussion. that seems to be a misunderstanding of disease. it actually is triggered bthe hits to the head, many of which are non-concussive. and many non-concussive hits occurred during the play of football. it is the accumulation of those hits over time that leads some individuals to develop cte. the manifestations tend to be behavioral, personality and mood changes early on, but it can lead to dementia and severe cognitive impairment in older individuals. geoff: what would you say to people who might say, football is a violent sport, it always has been, always will be, and these players knew what they signed up for? dr. mckee: i don't think that's true that the players knew what they signed up for. there has been such an emphasis on denial, and just ignoring the evidence. there is overwhelming data from

our work and many other researcher's work, that the risk for cte is dependent on the number of years playing football. there is a direct dose response between number of years playing football and your risk for cte. and i don't think that message is getting across to younger athletes, to families, to parents, and i don't think it is coming across to professional players either. i don't think they are educated in what their real risks are. geoff: dr. ann mckee, thanks again for your time. dr. mckee: thank you. geoff: and now a story from alaska, where conditions on the yukon river are forcing native people to change how they live and eat.

the river has faced major salmon shortages in recent years, and that's blamed on warming waters. olivia ebertz of alaska public media has this report. olivia: in emmonak, near the mouth of the yukon river, yup'ik elder james kameroff is bringing home a box of frozen donated chum salmon. chum was one of the most abundant types of salmon on the yukon, until its numbers unexpectedly crashed last summer. this chum is likely the only chum his family will eat this ar. james: and so, it's gonna help us taste salmon in the winter months. we prefer toet our own salmon put away ourselves, but since we don't have it, i'm happy for these. olivia: normally in summer, yup'ik families like kameroff catch, smo, and put away hundreds of these fish for the winter, in a process known as subsistence fishing. t now that's not allowed due to the collapse. state scientists have attributed the salmon crash to marine heatwaves, caused by climate change. now, mt lower river residents

will only get one or two state-donated salmon the whole summer. and no donation can replace the loss of a way of life. more than 15,000 alaska native and first nations people are experiencing this loss, from the yukon river's mouth to its headwaters in british columbia. james: culture-wise, it's not going to be the same anymore. because all the work i used to do in subsistence, helping my parents, my kids or my grandchildren are unable to do that now. olivia: the many yupiit who used to work in the yukon river's fish industry are now taking whatever summer jobs they can get. captain daren jennings and first mate justin kameroff used to work as drivers for a fish processor, hauling fresh catches downriver to the plant. now they are taking donated frozen fish upriver to deliver to lower yukon tribes. on the way upriver, jennings stops off at a fish camp where some friends are staying for the summer.

allen afcan, like most lower river yupiitgrew up spending summers at fish camp. but most of the nearby camps are empty now. his neighbors would rather stay in the village now that there are no chums and kings to process. allen: this rack would be full, you know? from front to back. and we'get all our subsistence done in no time. olivia: this year, they can only use a handful of their nets. the smaller ones geared towards whitefish and a species of salmon called humpies. neither species is as nutritious or tasty as chum and chinook. afcan spends time that would otherwise be used for fishing repairing his nets. he has barely seen chum and chinook this summer. last summe the annual upriver migration of chum salmon dropped to a tenth of its average size. this year, the annual king migration dropped to about 20%. there's no quick solution for a

climate-change caused issue like this one. but many river residents are calling for an end to regulations that allow bering sea commercial fishermen to scoop salmon bound for the yukon river in a process known as by-catch. some scientists say with a crash this drastic, getting every female fish back into the river matters a whole lot. upriver from emmonak, in st. mary's, the long-thompson family receive a box of several frozen chum and sockeye saln donated from the state of alaska. >> since they are already gutted, it will go down this way. cut the head off, open it this way, and clean the blood out olivia: it's been two years since jolene's 11-year-old daughter nicole has had the opportunity to cut fish, so she's a little out of practice.

>> pretty sad we have to wait for fish to come, one or two at a time. if we had a lot more i'm pretty sure she'd have it down quicker. really do miss fish camp. olivia: this is hardly enough fish to last the familthrough the winter. they plan to eat it the very next day. for "pbs news weekend," i'm olivia ebertz on the lower yukon river. geoff: and that is our program for tonight. on tomorrow's "pbs newshour," a look at the reckoning at cultural institutions and universities over the handling native american remains and artifacts. i'm geoff bennett. for all of us here 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.

nouncer: explore new worldsds and new ids through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: judy collins, tom and dick, the smothers brothers, the kingston trio, the highwaymen, the brothers four, glenn yarbrough, the limeliters, roger mcguinn, barry mcguire, randy sparks and the minstrels unite for history in a special celebration of american folk music... next on pbs. ♪ ♪ rows and flows of angel hair ♪ ♪ and ice cream castles in the air ♪