geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. tonight on "pbs news weekend" -- war in ukraine: evacuations in a major ukrainian city, and widespread power blackouts, as russiaeploys drones supplied by a new ally. then, ildhood mental health and how it's being treated following recent recommendations that kids over eight should get screened for anxiety. and surfing for all: how one nonprofit is helping children with disabilities learn to ride the waves. mackenzie palumbo: how do you not get emotional when you have a child who is nonverbal and all he can do is smile from ear to ear because he's just so happy? geoff: those stories and the

day's headlines on "pbs news weekend." ♪ >> major funding has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. 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 by viewers like you. thank you. geoff: good evening. it is great to be with you. the white house is urging borrowers tonight to continue to apply for student loan relief, after a federal court of appeals put the plan on hold friday. the temporary block came the same day president biden touted the plan from his home state of delaware. the program would have started as early as next week but must now wait until the court hears a challenge from six republican-led states. the program would cancel tens of thousands of dollars of federal student loan debt, and tens of millions of people have already applied since the system opened late last week. the administration has until monday to appeal. the director of the centers for disease control and prevention, dr. rochelle walensky, has contracted covid.

she tested positive last night and is only experiencing mild symptoms, the cdc said today in a statement. walensky is fully vaccinated, and the cdc says she is isolating and holding meetings virtually from home. in ukraine tonight, residents of kherson are being told to leave immediately in anticipation of a ukrainian military effort to recapture the city. residents boarded buses, trains, and ships to flee the now-contested territory. kherson has been under russian control for months. meantime, across ukraine, hundreds of thousands of people remain in the dark. residents were hit with widespread power outages, as russia continues to pummel power stations, water supply systems, and other critical infrastructure with missiles and drones. nearly a third of the country's electric grid has been destroyed over the last two weeks. we will have more on the war in ukraine later in the broadcast. tonight, italy has a new leader. giorgia meloni was officially

sworn into office earlier today as prime minister. she is the first woman to hold the position in the country's history. meloni won the election on a campaign built around a promise to block migrant ships and anti-lgbtq themes. her far-right government is the country's first since the end of world war ii. and as china wraps up its weeklong meeting to install its new government, a former leader was forcibly removed from the closing ceremony. video shows an aide repeatedly trying to pull xi jinping's predecessor, former president hu jintao, from his seat and usher him out of the chamber. the removal happened without explanation and the 79-year-old apppeared to be reluctant to move. hu's whereabouts were not immediately clear. tomorrow, xi jinping is widely expected to be named leader for an unprecedented third term in office. still to come on "pbs news weekend," growing concern over childhood mental health and the treatments available to them. and making the joys of surfing

accessible to all kids. ♪ >> this is "pbs news weekend" from the home of the "pbs newshour" wknights on pbs. geoff: as russia loses soldiers, territory, and momentum, it is turning to other nefarious actors for support. chief among them, iran. the white house is concerned about the increased flow of weapons including the possibility of surface to surface position missiles. the pentagon confirmed an increase from tehran. we take a look at the partnership in the war. >> the relative calm of kyiv rocked by loud blasts earlier this week, crumbling buildings to their foundations. but these were not the now-familiar rocket fire or artillery strikes. they were a barrage of deadly

drones, dozens across several cities, in the largest assault of its kind on civilian targets since the war began. ukrainian investigators, combing through debris, found a fragment of an iranian-made drone with "for belgorod" written on it, a reference to a russian region hit repeatedly by ukrainian shelling. it's the latest evidence of an evolving partnership between russia and iran. iranian leaders deny supplying any weapons to russia, at odds with the u.s.' assessment. brig. gen. pat ryder: we know that these drones are from iran, as evidenced by the fact that they continue to export terror, as i mentioned, not only in the middle east region, but in ukraine. it's obvious that they're lying. >> despite some support from belarus and china, two of russian president vladimir putin's closest allies, they remain at arm's length. and with new sanctions from the

european union against iran this week for providing the drones, tehran stands alone in its level of support to moscow. geoff: mason clark joins us now. he's the lead russian military analyst at the institute for the study of war. thanks so much for being with us. mason:hanks for having me. geoff: and, these so-called "kamikaze drones" -- how exactly do they work and why have they become an increasingly urgent problem for ukraine? mason: right. so iran is providing russia what is known as the shahed-136. they're often, as you said, known as "kamikaze drones," and more technically are known as a 'loitering munition.' they're a very small, propeller driven aircraft, really powered by something the size of a lawnmower engine, and about as loud, that can orbit over a given target area, say downtown kyiv, for hours at a time, waiting to target a specific building or location. they then dive down towards the ground and detonate on impact, causing a good amount of damage, though they are quite small warheads, all things considered.

and, in principle, these munitions are very effective at picking out and targeting very specific items. on the battlefield, they would be used to target ukrainian command centers, artillery positions, and that sort of thing. but, instead, the russians are using them in these terror attacks on ukrainian civilian targets, power stations and, in some cases, simply residential areas and apartment buildings. geoff: what does this weapon sharing relationship between russia and iran suggest abt the overall state of the war in ukraine right now? mason: iran and russia have had close ties militarily for quite some time, most notably developed through their involvement in the syrian civil war, as they both promote the interests of the syrian dictator bashar al assad. they've had ties before that, as well. and, as russia has gotten more isolated on the international stage and run out of its own munitions, it's had to look to partners such as iran to replace those losses. most notably, now the russians are getting supplies from iran, as well as north korea, and they sought various support from

china earlier in the war that they haven't really gotten. in terms of these actual drones, the russians are using them to replace their own advanced precision missiles, known as the iskander and caliber, most notably. early in the war, this is the main way the russians struck ukrainian rear areas, civilian targets, and that sortf thing. but the war has gone on much longer than the russian military anticipated, and as they're running out of their own missiles, they're now having to supplement those with these iranian-provided drones. geoff: well, question about that, because could the increased flow of weapons from tehran offset the huge losses in russian military equipment since moscow started this invasion? mason: it certainly could help backfill some of those capabilities and is enabling the russians to continue their strike pattern against kyiv and other main ukrainian cities. however, it isn't a 1-to-1 replacement. these drones aren't as effective as the iskander and caliber missiles. and most notably, they're hard to integrate into russian operations.

as, of course, has been widely rerted, there are iranian trainers on the ground in crimea, helping operate these drones, and that has to be done externally. they can't be directly operated by the russian personnel the same way that the russians could use their own munitions. so, the targeting isn't as precise, and it requires this additional footprint from iran to be able to even carry out these attacks. geoff: a big picture question, as we wrap up our conversation here, because, as you mentioned earlier, it's not just iran. u.s. pressure is really driving russia, iran, and china closer together. what do you see as the significance? what do you see as the implications of that trilateral relationship? mason: certainly, it's different for all three actors, which is very important, of course. russia seeks to win its war of conquest in ukraine and is seeking any means it can do so. the iranians see this as a way to reshape their relationship with the russians. for a long time, they've been more of a subordinate partner in terms of military aid, and now they're having to be taken much more seriously by the kremlin.

they're getting things in return such as spy satellite launches earlier this year, likely more favorable trade deals, and things like that. and tehran is almost certainly taking advantage of this to reshape its relationship with the kremlin. now, on the chinese side, china, for lack of a better term, doesn't want to 'back a losing horse,' and is watching how the russian operations are not going how putin planned at the beginning of the invasion. and, we assess, is not wanting to overtly back the russians and suffer the consequences of that, even while in principle, china supports the kremlin's efforts to push back on the u.s and nato and attack ukraine. geoff: mason clark with the institute for the study of war. thanks so much for your insights. i appreciate it. mason: thanks for having me. ♪ geoff: we are going to shift our fos now to the topic of kids and mental health. an influential national panel of health experts is remmending for the first time that children

ages eight and up be screened for anxiety. the cdc estimates that in 2020, nearly 6 million kids in the u.s. were diagnosed with anxiety. but the pandemic has put a spotlight on the severity of the problem, given the combination of mental health issues and isolation. this past week, we spoke with parents about their experiences and challenges accessing mental health care for their kids. >> my oldest was, i think he was in first grade, so he would have been six. we moved to boise, idaho, and he started having a lot of anxiety with that move. and we weren't 100% sure how to he him and kind of what was going on. >> i don't know why. it's alys been hard for me to talk to my parents about, like, deep things or things i've been feeling as well. and i would just say, like, it's all about -- it's mostly about

like, whenever you're ready and it's not about whenever you feel like your parents or your peers or your friends are going to be ready. it's about like when you're ready to share whatever you feel like sharing. >> it was really difficult to find a therapist for her because she's younger. there are a lot of resources through the schools, so if parents feel overwhelmed, see, maybe they don't have insuran. that's another piece, is therapy can be really expensive and feel like it's not accessible. >> you just want them to be ok, right? you want your kids to be happy and to have a normal childhood. when you know they're struggling and you don't have the tools or the me or the money or the help you need, everything feels overwhelming. but hopefully, hopefully, we can find what we need sooner rather than later.

geoff: joining us now to talk more about this is dr. leigh beres. she's the former president of the american academy of pediatrics andpecializes in child mental health. and elana bernstein is with us . she's a school psychologist in ohio and professor in the school of psychology at the university of dayton. thanks to you both for joining us. and dr. beers, how does anxiety show up in children and how to health professionals actually screen for it? >> anxiety can show up in children in a variety of different ways. we may see kids who are having, you know, some stomach pain or changes in behavior or, you know, retreating into their rooms. but it's not always as typical as we think of in in adults and in the pediatricians offe there's a wide variety of ways we can screen for it. but as as the recommendations discuss, really the the best way is to use a very straightforward, short, structured screener that could really get at some of those questions that we can ask for

kids to identify whether they're experiencing anxiety. geoff: and professor bernstein is age eight an appropriate age to start screening kids for anxiety or should it start even younger? >> the panel's recommendation was a really driven from the research literature that shows most mental health problems, but particularly anxiety emerge typically in those early middle elementary school years. they made that specific distinction in the recommendations, but they did talk about family history and being aware of the kids, their own risk factors and their family's background as being important to consider. geoff: what are some simple basic steps that parents can take right now to help support their children's mental health? >> so, i think one of the first and most important things is just making sure that you can have an open dialog about these things in your house. really going back to the basics of, of, you know, making sure your kids are getting enough sleep and eating regularly and good nutritionnd getting exercise, all of which i know

can be, i'm a parent too, can can be hard to do. but then also really focusing in on the things that your children love to do and trying to find those those opportunities. but then if you do have concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to arofessional like your pediatrician or a mental health professional or someone at the school. geoff: and on that point, professor bernstein, i mean, you have the practical experience of being a school psychologist. how can schools help support children with anxiety? >> i think in schools what we can foc on is delivering services in what we kind of what we consider a multi-tiered system of support. and so, what that looks like is providing llness and emotional wellness for all kids in the building regardless of their background or eir risk factors. but then what we call kind of tiered services, where once we can identify or screen kids and identify need, then we can provide services and a little bit more of an intensive or small group setting. and then, we can al work with community providers, medical providers, is really going to be the best way to see the best

outcomes for kids. geoff: as i understand it, nearly 80% of chronic mental health conditions emerge in childhood. so, what does that say really about the overalimportance of addressing mental health concerns at a really young age? >> i think there's a couple important pieces of that. the first is to know as a family that if you're worried about your child, you're not alone, and that this is the time when when we do start to see concerns. i think the second piece is i tell parents that, you know, just like every single other health, health condition or concern that i treat, the earlier we identify it and begin to address it, the better. you know, i think about with asthma, if i can pick up early that a child is having signs of asthma, i can do, you know, simple treatments that we can take care of, you know, in the office or at home. and it doesn't get to an emergency department visit or hospitalization. it's the same for mental health concerns. if we can identify it early, we can really focus on supportive treatments, we can focus on on,

you know, things that can really help the child be well. and if it does get worse and it does escalate, then we can make sure that that gives us the time to make sure we can get kids into the care that they need. geoff: and professor bernstein, given that there are some barriers to accessing mental health care for children, help us understand more about the economic and the racl aspects of some of those barriers. >> we know and think it was mentioned, but we know that a good portion of kids, if not maybe three quarters of kids that need mental health supports, aren't really receiving them. and that of those th do receive them, 70% to 80% of them receive those services in school. we know from research as well that if we provide that multi-tiered system or that kind of comprehensive, prevention -oriented services in a school setting, that by doing that, we can reduce disparities in health access, you know, access to health care, access to mental health care.

geoff: what are some of the best practices in terms of thinking about equity when we talk about access to to child mental health care? >> i am glad we're talking about this because it really is such an important issue. i think all children and families who need mental health care or struggle with access, but it is much worse for many populations. i think some of the things that we need to think about are really prioritizing that we make sure that mental health services are available in the places where our children live, learn , and play. so in their in their pediatrician's office, in their schools, in theicommunities and really focusing on that, i think it's also important to remember that the financial barriers a really significant for children who live in low income housing and households. making sure that we're thinking about how do we make those those services available for children who whose families really can't afford to pay out-of-pocket. geoff: dr. lee beres and professor elana bernstein, thank you both for your time and your insights. i appreciate it.

>> happy to do it. ♪ geoff: finally tonight, a story from the beaches of little compton, rhode island. rhode island pbs weekly's senior producer justin kenny brings us the story of one nonprofit knocking down barriers to surfing for children with disabilities. >> we surf with over 3000 athletes and family. we do surf therapy. they are typically neurodivergent. we are for all kids. we built our program on inclusion. over 95% of our athletes have autism, down syndrome, adhd, depression, or anxiety. >> they are 13 years old. they are twin boys.

they were diagnosed at 15 months of age with autism and a handful of other diagnoses. both of my boys are pretty much nonverbal. these are kids tt typically do not get invited to birthday parties or sleepovers. to see them having fun doing something that typical kiddos do, it is a feeling like no other. every time i stand on that sure and watch my kids on the board, i always think to myself, this is what parents of typically developing children must feel like when they watch their kids play baseball or football or soccer. and you just feel so proud. >> abby was not meeting milestones. around six months, her pediatrician suggested we look at an m.r.i. to see if there was

anything else going on. it showed she had lesions on her brain and elevated lactate. at that point, what they knew about the disease, they said she had about two years to live. that has changed. she is 11. she has been in a drug study. we are trying to do as much as we can to live a full life for our whole family and abby getting out and doing stuff like surfing and horseback riding. we try to do what we can. abby loves adventure. she loves water. any type of water play, water actity, always brings her to life. when we had the opportunity to try surfing, we will try it. i was nervous about how they would support her since she is 100% reliant on somebody to hold her up. she cannot sit up on her own or walk. i saw some videos and said they seem thave a good handle on it. the first time i came, it was

like, mom, don't worry, we've got it. even pushing her across the sand, i am so used to doing this stuff. to get all the control away and watch it, it was so enjoyable. her smile, her laughter. and everybody around her. it was awesome. we cannot wait to have another opportunity to do it. >> do you like surfing? >> yeah. >> it has saved my life. i have struggled with adhd, depression, anxiety. when i'm out there on the waves with these kids, everything slows down and calms down for me. i truly get my medicine just like these kids. it has made my life 1000 times better. i am lucky enough to know what my purpose on earth is. do i eve cry? absolutely. i try to shelter the tears a little bit from the families

because i know it is emotional for those parents, too. it makes me emotional to know we are delivering something to this family they don't normally have the opportunity to partake in. and to see the parents smile and tear up and to see their child breaking barriers or proving the scholars wrong is something that is truly meaningful and deep for me. >> how do you not get emotional when you have a child who is nonverbal and all he can do is smile from ear-to-ear because he is just so happy? how do you get emotional when you have a child who is wheelchair-bound or medically fragile and you see them out on the board? those are things you never picture for your own kids. and you see them doing something

that makes them find joy. >> she can be feeling crappy at home or even in the hospital. she starts to perk up just sitting her at the sink and playing with water. it makes her happy. being out there surrounded by it, she is in her element. are you a surfer girl? yeah. can you say thank you? thank you. ♪ geoff: online, we look at why fall smells the way it does. and no, it's not because of all the pumpkin spice. we have the science of changing temperatures and decomposing vegetation to thank for the at. that's at pbs.org/newshour. and that's our program for tonight.

i'm geoff bennett. for all of us at pbs news weekend, thanks for spending part of your saturday with us. we will see you tomorrow evening. >> major funding has been provided by -- ♪ and with the ongoing support of these individuals and instutions. 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 performeby the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

- five, four, three, two, one, zero. (explosion) - support for downwinders and the radioactive west, is made possible in part by the contributing members of pbs utah. thank you. (dramatic somber music) - an atomic cloud rose over the nevada desert on may 19th, 1953. soldiers and civilians watched as the plume was blown by prevailing winds. the blast was a nuclear test conducted at the nevada test site, 65 miles from las vegas.