♪ geoff: good evening, i'm jeff and it. amna: on the newshour tonight, mass arrests in brazil after thousands storm buildings. geoff: the u.s. announces a strategy shift at thsouthern border. amna: and a navy veteran describes being held hostage in afghanistan in his first ever television interview. >> that may have stolen three years of my life, but i wasn't going to let them steal my soul and spirit.

♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ and with the ongoing support and and friends of the newshour. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to provide a better world. at hewlett.org. ♪

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, and well assault on latin america's largest democracy in decades. amna: supporters storm the capital demanding the military takeover and evicting the current leader. today bolsonaro, who is currently in florida, was admitted to the hospital. nick schifrin begins our coverage. nick in brazil's capital today, : riot police showed up in force and sent in the cavalry to try to dismantle the movement fueled by former president jair bolsonaro. yesterday they launched a

frontal assault on brazil's democracy. they rampaged through congress, hoping to reinstall bolsonaro. they assaulted the presidential palace and occupied it, hoping the military would overthrow new inhabitant, president luiz inacio lula da silva. they assaulted police officers who tried to resist. and they ransacked the supreme court and stole an official chair and a symbol of the state. two years and two days since the january 6 attacks in washington, the echoes were overt -- a violent attempt to undo an election, in the name of a losing candidate who claimed fraud. >> military intervention is what we're asking for. period. there is no going back. we're not leaving here. nick they kept it up, even as : they were arrested. >> this is an injustice. there are no criminals here. we were just protesting, we want to save the country. nick: authorities blamed public

security officials, and ousted brasilia's governor and the head of the capital's security. president lula, called the rioters fanatic fascists who committed terrorist acts. >> they will all pay with the force of law for this irresponsible, undemocratic gesture, this gesture of vandals and fascists. nick: bolsonaro never accepted defeat in october's election, but did not try to stop transition. yesterday he tweeted, peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy, but violence such as that occurred today escape the rule. bolsonaro remains in florida on a visa he obtained while still president. today the state department suggested he would need to leave or apply for a new visa within 30 days. >> it would be incumbent on the visa holder to take that action, either to depart the united states, or request that change that status. nick: the u.s. also promises to cooperate with any brazilian request for assistance in its investigation, and reply to any brazilian extradition requt. to discuss this more, i'm joined

by gustavo flores-macias, professor of government and public policy and associate vice provost for international affairs at cornell university. thanks very much, welcome to the newshour. elsinore has been saying the election is rigged. he's been calling for his supporters to take over congress, to take over the supreme court. was yesterday a culmination of his efforts to delegitimize his own defeat? >> i think that's right. i think yesterday showed the danger of undermining the credibility of the elections. we've seen this in the u. and we are sealing it in brazil. it's clear that to a large sector, lula is not the legitimate leader. after the first round of election, and even after the second round, what we're seeing is a direct response to that.

trust in elections is very difficult to rebuild. i think this will take quite a bit of time for brazil to recover. >> in this country would talk about how donald trump is no longer president, but his ideas are part of the mainstream. are his ideas here to stay in braz? >> i think that's right. one way we will see this idea secure is through congress. there will be a strong, conservative sector, a strong right wing contingent of parties in congress. it will be difficult for president lula to cover it without filling these positions to some extent. >> the challenges to these put pain and pressure on the -- it appeared yesterday the institutions help. can they? continue to hold in brazil? >> it has been an important test

for brazil's democratic institutions. i think the pressures will continue throughout the lula administration. if anything, they might become more frequent. it will be important to see what the new administration does to address and make sure there is punishment so that this doesn't happen again. otherwise, supporters of bolsonaro might be emboldened in their attempts toward more drastic measures in the future. what we saw yesterday is that the specter of a military coup may be alive and well in brazil. what we saw is that a lot of these people participating in the riots were very outspoken in terms of inviting the military into try to resolve the situation. nick: it seems that in the past,

brazil has tolerated some of the extreme right. could this bring brasilia to do more to? reign it in >> in the eyes of some sectors in brazil society, the far right are playing with fire. it may be that perhaps they're willing to accommodate the sector en more and now they may not be able to tolerate this. there was an intense military -- hopefully in congress and the new administration they will have little tolerance for that and that will resonate in the sectors of society that used to tolerate these actions and they will hopefully have little tolerance for that in the future. nick: we have seen strains on other democracies. we are also seeing rising polarization. how important is brazil's internal response to democracy? >> priscilla's not only a

regional leader, it is important what brazil does. with think of just latin america in general come places like peru or ecuador where there's a lot of political friction and instability right now. it is important for democratically elected governments around the region to close ranks and expressed support for president lula to make sure this doesn't happen again in brazil or anywhere else. >> how significant is this in the global context of right-wing populism and threats to democracy? >> we see that right-wing parties, especially extreme right wing parties around the world, or adopting some of the tactics and strategies we have seen in the u.s., and places like spain, adopting a lot of the same slogans. we are likely to see more of it,

not less. as long as polarization continues to increase around the world, were likely to continue to see these situations. >> thank you very much. amna: the white house now says that the president spoke with lula to express support and agreed lula would visit in february. ♪ geoff: in the days of their headlines, california is confronting new storms blowing in from the pacific with seemingly no end in sight. a follow-up powerful storm systems that are blamed for 14 deaths. stephanie sy has our report. stephanie: flood warnings are in effect in major swaths of northern and central california. some 10,000 residents of

montecito and santa barbara county as well as 32,000 in santa cruz are under evacuation warnings. sacramento city unified was one of many school district that cancel classes. 135,000 california customers were without power as of monday afternoon. meteorologist predicted the storm could lead to a billion dollars in damages. many residential areas are in shambles. trees have fallen on cars and blocked roads. >> the power went out. all of a sudden i heard a loud concussion and i knew the streetlight had fallen over. >> a falling branch killed a woman in sacramento last night. california's governor encourage people to stay home yesterday. >> that is the imperative we are trying to express, the seriousness of purpose in terms of just being safe and being thoughtful. use your common sense. stephanie: californians are

counting their losses after a series of days of relentless rain and historic snowfall, including business owner dominic king. >> it's our family restaurant. it's definitely places where we've had a lot of good memories. it's more than just a business. it's really hard to see it in the state it is in. stephanie: the treacherous weather is not expected to let up until later this week. for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy. geoff: officials say it has eased dry conditions and help replenish the water supplies. the justice department is reviewing a batch of potentially classified documents found in president biden's former institute. a small batch of documents were discovered as biden's personal attorneys were clearing out the offices of the then biden center where the president kept an office after he left the vice

presidency. a special grand jury in georgia has finished investigating whether former president donald trump and his allies committed crimes, trying to overturn the 2020 election. a judge in atlanta dissolved the grand jury panel today. there's a hearing later this month on whether to make the report public. the local dtrict attorney will decide whether to seek indictments based on the findings. the u.s. house of representatives is facing a new fight after last week's showdown over selecting a speaker. this time the issue will be the rules governing the chamber for the next two years. some of the moderates are questioning the concessions he made too far right lawmakers to win his post. i ran since three more antigovernment protesters to death today after hanging two men on saturday. saying at least four condemned protesters have been executed since september. at the vatican, pope francis

broke his silence and condemned the executions. >> the death penalty cannot be employed for a purported state justice, since it does not constitute a deterrent nor render justice to victims, but only fuels the thirst for vengeance. i appeal, then, for an end to the death penalty, which is always inadmissible since it attacks the inviolability and the dignity of the person. >> despite the papal appeal, around supreme leader signaled the country has no intention of softening its position. on the war in ukraine, russia ejected the claim that moscow is floating a possible peace deal with european officials. a kremlin spokesman called it another fake, and russian attacks continued without let up. a large crater was left after hitting a market. ukraine officials say killed two women and wounded at least five other people. dozens of countries and institutions pledge more than $9 million day to help recover

from across many parts of the country. we send newport news virginia are still trying to figure out what drove a six-year-old boy to shoot his first grade teacher. the teacher remain hospitalized today in stable condition. the police chief said she had no warning of the attack. >> mrs zwerner was providing class instruction. and the six year old child displayed a firearm, pointed it at her and fired one round. she took a defensive position where she raised her hand, the round went though her hand, exited the rear of her hand and into her uer chest. >> the chief called her a hero who managed to shepherd her students to safety before receiving first-aid. thousands of nurses went on strike today at two privately

owned hospitals in new york. they begin walking picket lines after contract negotiations stalled. their demands include better staffing and higher salaries after nearly three years of the pandemic. the hospitals have proposed -- postpone nonemergency surgeries. nfl player damar hamlin is back in buffalo for the first time since he suffered cardiac arrest during a game a week ago. he was transferred from hospital in cincinnati to one in buffalo today. he tweeted that he is happy to be back. dr. say he is now able to walk and is undergoing therapy. and on wall street, stocks struggle to find much direction. the dow jones lost 113 points to close at 33,517. the nasdaq rose 66, and the s&p 500 slipped by three. republicans wrangle over wch rules will govern the house of representatives.

the cdc warns of rising strep throat infections among children and the true story behind one of the most damaging spies in american history. >> this is the pbs newshour, from w eta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: today, president mine -- president biden and his counterparts kicked off a summit. the mexican president greeted president biden in mexico city ahead of that bilateral meeting. talks come after president biden made his first visit to the southern borr since taking office. yesterday he joined border patrol agents in el paso, texas, and met with migrant advocates and local officials. laura is following all of this and me here. obviously that meeting is going

to be -- immigration is going to be a key issue. what is the white house hoping to get out of these meetings? >> jake sullivan today said the three biggest issues are going to be about cracking down on fennel trafficking, trade, supply chains, and the third is migration migration enforcement. recently mexico said they would take some 30,000 migrants per month from haiti, cuba, nicaragua, and venezuela. part of the discussions today, jake sullivan said, could be that they might take more than 30,000 per month. amna: receiving those migrant populations, what we know about those conversations and what they want from the white house? >> i spoke with advocates who met with biden yesterday and they are concerned that the program means that migrants will

have to stay in the country and apply for asylum from their, and that migrants cannot afford to wait. i spoke with ruben garcia who helps migrants on both sides of the border. he had this to say about the sheer number of venezuelans coming to the border. >> you know, i've been doing this for 45 years. this is the first time that i have seen as many individuals from one country that have no or very, very few sponsors to receive them. we cannot we cannot simply dig a hole and stick our head in that hole and think that it's going to go away. we're going to see more individuals fleeing their country and i mean fleeing their country. >> they said their message to the president as well as white house ages they are hoping the white house and the administration could provide a 48-hour window where those

undocumented venezuelans and a number of other migrants who are basically stuck in el paso could turn themselves in to authorities and not -- and be reassured that they would not then be deported to mexico or to another country. but the president and his aides told them yesterd that their hands are tied by the court. amna: we also know those border front-line officials are severely taxed. the folks who are responsible for apprehending, processing, enforcing the border. >> the law enforcement spokesman i spoke to said they are stretched insanely thin right now. he said it is like controlled chaos, and alternately they need more resources. they are having to do humanitarian work that they are not trained for. they as well as immigrant advocates say the only thing that will fix thilong-term is going to be comprehensive immigration bill. amna: how likely are we to see

comprehensive immigration reform? >> in short, we are very unlikely to see it. there was a bipartisan group of senators in el paso today so there might be some appetite among the senate. the house, there could be one republican in texas, tony gonzalez, who had this to say about immigration. >> if this insurgency caucus decides to put anti immigrant legislation on the floor and masqueraded as border security policy, that's not going to fly. and i will do everything in my power to make sure that type of legislation fails on the floor. >> saw tony gonzalez could be one house republican the white house could work with, bu ultimately is no indication that house republicans will go along with senate republicans and work with the white house on a deal. amna: our white house correspondent, good to see you. ♪

geoff: in a first big test of kevin mccarthy's speakership, the house is voting on a controversial rules package that will set the procedural plans for this new congress the package includes concessions mccarthy made in closed door deals with republican hardliners to help him get elected speaker. concessions that many worry could lead tmore gridlock to walk us through all this, i'm joined by our congressional correspondent, lisa desjardins. lisa, republicans have a speaker. but the house can't really get down to work until the chamber passes the set of operating rules. the all-important question these days appears to be, do they have the votes? lisa: this is the first big test of this republican you house. i will say that going into today, we do have the freedom

caucus folks who negotiated this, they like the bat, they like how it changes the house. but there's a question that comes from moderates who are upset they didn't have a seat at the table. here is republican nancy mays of south carolina, speaking yesterday. >> are represent a purple district. i have to represent republicans, democrats and independents. i want to know that the positions that i have are going to have a voice that it will have weight in the conference. there are a lot of members like me that have issues with some of the policies that we're going to be working on. lisa: it's our understanding that she will vote against tonight. that is a big yes vote and relief probably to kevin mccarthy and other republicans. some like chip roy, who was known as the opponent of mccarthy, who got these rules going, he spoke on the glenn beck radio show toy about what he sees as the importance of his

philosophy behind these rules. >> we're doing what we can, we think, to move the needle in this town towards openness and a sense that we're going to try to do the work of the american people and empower your congressmen, not just a few people, to be able to execute for them. lisa: this is a real question of how this republican conference can get along, right now my sources indicate that think they will have this vote, but predict in the direction of this body, telling people it's a bit like predicting the direction of a group of loosely tethered huskies that don't seem to have a musher. geoff: help us understand why this hold up matters. lisa: these specific rules, there is a 55 page document we have seen and another three-page document in secret that has been going around that contains some concessions that are not public and not on the radar.

let's talk about the things we don't know yet. we don't know the exact requirement for raising the debt ceiling. that will be a major factor in our life in the country's life as we get that debt ceiling deadline likely at the beginning of the summer. there is not a clear standard for the scale of spending cuts that republicans are saying they agree to amongst themselves. and finally, we don't know the extent of the freedom caucus on the committees and on what committees. we learn from someone who made a name for himself in florida as one of the alternate candidates for speaker, he has been placed on the all-important steering committee. that is the committee that decides who goes where, who gets what power within the house republican committee structure. clearly there was a sense of reward for him and a big foothold for those he

represents, those folks who are watchful of kevin mccarthy. geoff: there are lawmakers who say that these concessions increase transparency around how major legislation comes together. there are also lawmakers who said that these concessions basically bake in dysfunction, to make it difficult for the house to do pretty much anything. what are the pros and cons of the republican approach here? lisa: it is so important to stress that. there are many republicans and democrats who would like a more open house. kind of going back to the early 19th century and there was vigorous, open debate on the floor. some believe that could be good, as well as some of the physical things they have here. let's look at the one major issue with the national debt. in 2013, $11.5 trillion. now, $24.5 trillion. it's about 95% of our gdp.

while these maneuvers seem like they would allow for more spending cuts, it can also motivate for cutting taxes, something that adds more red ink. it's also not clear if the republican party in the house will be able to control itself and be disciplined about getting these things done together. geoff: lisa, thanks. as house republicans get to work, one member in particular is coming under increased scrutiny. a campaign watchdog group filed a complaint today with the federal election commission, accusing newly sworn-in congressman george santos of illegally using campaign funds to pay personal expenses and of masking the true source of those funds. the complaint marks the latest potential legal trouble for the new york republican, who has admitted he lied about his family history, resume and education -- all following a bombshell report from the new york times last month.

but the times wasn't the first to report on santos' fabricated biography. a small local paper on long island, called the north shore leader, broke the santos scandal before the november election. by the time other outlets picked it up, santos had been elected. grant lally, publisher of the north shore leader, joins me now. is great to have you here in your paper back in september, you wrote about his rise and his reported net worth basically nothing in 2020 to some $11 million by 2022. an inexplicable rise, is how your paper characterize it. how did your reporters catch on to the story? >> he was a prominent personality while he was running for office. we are pretty attuned to the political activities ♪ of folks on the north shore. so a lot of people with the newspaper and a lot of people i knew outside the newspaper were

following him and tracking him and looking at what his claims were. what we all concluded was that he was a fraud. he was making things up and lying and boasting and putting people down, claiming he was such a rich man, when he clearly wasn't. so we all smelled a fake and we started looking or his campaign finance reports. we saw a lot there that looked fraudulent and really over-the-top. geoff: what is your theory for why other outlets did not pick up your papers reporting until after the election? >> it was very disappointing that that didn't happen. we did send the paper out to a lot of the media. but it was a busy year in new york. we had a very hotly contested gubernatorial election that dominated the news cycle. we also had aot of other open commercial races in the

neighboring districts. so a lot of the media can't distracted and looking at the bigger race, not the local races. geoff: you are a lifelong republican who ran three times for three distri seats, the seat that santos now occupies. your paper reluctantly endorsed a democrat in the run-up to the election, saying, he boasts like an insecure child, buddy's most likely just a fabulist, a fake. >> we knew santos was a fraud. we knew what he was claiming and filing was fraudulent. that is ultimately what is going to get him in trouble now. he can lie about who he is, his religion, he can claim he is a jewish descendant of holocaust survivors. that's tefl catch up with you. but you file false reports with the house of representatives and the federal elections commission , that's going to get you in jail. every offense is a felony and it

will get you five years in federal prison. geoff: your papers reporting speaks to the importance of local journalism. this is an area or we've seen hundreds of local papers close in recent years. the disappearance has left millions of people without access to vital, local news. what do you see is the significance of your papers reporting on santos in that context? >> i've spoken touite a few of the other local papers and publishers around the area. they are very cheered by this development, that we rebel to break the story, and it is now a national story. unfortunately, but it is a national story, and we broke it. it has reenergized a lot of the local newsrooms here in new york, but also around the u.s.. it's a tough business to be in. but it's also a niche, because

nobody else covers the local news and local communities like local newspapers. geof lastly, how are voters feeling about this, that there local representative lied his way into a seat? >> in this district, they are furious. particularly the republicans, because they feel ever used. santos took money from them. he took time from them. he got them into his scheme and got them to go out and talk to their friends. so they feel completely betrayed. andemocrats are outraged. the universal sentiment is that this is an outrage and this guy has to go. geoff: grant lally, thanks for your time. we appreciate it.

♪ amna: it's been nearly 17 months since u.s. pulled out of pakistan. and they departed, that left an ameran behind. he was kidnapped and held hostage by taliban forces for over 2.5 years. he was released as part of a prisoner swap last september and is now adjusting to freedom and life back in america. i went to lombard illinois where he is staying with family to sit down with mark in his first television interview since being freed. >> just imagine russell's relaxing from your toes, your ankles, up to your shins. by the time it gets to your head, you can't feel your body, for me, anyway.

it's like you are sleeping, but you are awake.ur brain is totally aware of what is going on in a room, and you can do whatever you want. amna: this is how mark says he survived two point five years held hostage in afghanista his mind and body under brutal conditions. he has just marked three months of freedom, back in his hometown. he spoke exclusively to newshour in his first television interview. amna: growing up here in illinois, did you dream about traveling the rest of the world? >> i was in the navy and did a lot of traveling. that got me interested in what is going on in the rest of the world. this is stuff i sent here from afghanistan. amna: he left the navy in the mid-1980's, moved back to the midwest and became a contractor, ilding on his love of craftsmanship.

you always put a secret compartment into what you build? ? ? why did you do that >> is just my trading card when i build stuff. amna: he jumped at the chance, first to iraq, then to afghanistan in 2009, where he put his skills to good use. you were there building things, guess is the best way to put it. >> the afghan national army, which included complete bases with hospitals, dining facilities, maintenance facilities, classroom and office facilities, living quarters. amna: you have always liked building things, right? >> it is fulfilling for me to take nothing and turn it into something. amna: submittal sun with two sisters, the shy kid who turned to magic as a way to connect with others.

over 10 years in country, he built a life. before long, he was relaxed, and up to his old tricks. you do everything in your to an years there, i might get kidnapped? >> no. i mean, you can't not think about it. amna: mark says he kept the same driver and security for eight years, but in january of 2020, as he drove the familiar road to check on a construction project, the worst case scenario. there's been a horrific accident, you believe your team is dead, you yourself are badly injured. what is the moment that you realized this has gone horribly wrong, i think i'm getting dnapped? >> remned in ditch under the hood of the car, nobody was helping me.

finally they helped me up out of the ditch. so i'm thinking, these guys are going to help me to the hospital. amna: what does it feel like in the moment? >> i could barely walk. i was half conscious, half not conscious. they dragged me, and as they were dragging me, and these are words i will never forget, probably the worst words of ever heard in my lifetime. taliban good, america, no good. then he took my shoes and kicked me in the jaw. so that's when i knew. amna: and they started driving. how long are you in that truck, do you know? >> at least two days. amna: he thought he was taken to a stronghold of the taliban group who u.s. officials believed were holding him.

>> i could tell they were organizing things before hand. amna: you call th kids, were they like teenagers? >> like teenagers with guns. even if i could get away with the -- away from these people, where would i go? i thought there were just going to kill me. they seemed like they didn't know what they were doing. amna: u.s. officials say they believe mark may have been surveilled, but that the kidnapping on the heels of a horrific car crash was a crime of opportunity. you were kept and what you've described as a room with a dirt floor and very little else. what do you remember about what it felt like in that room? >> people. -- evil, cold, dank, actually

dry. it rained a few times, the roof leak. mice running around. i had a bat flying around for a couple of nights. scorpions. amna: what did you sleep on every night? >> just the dark brown, hard dirt. amna: what did you eat every day? >> bread and water, mostly. stale bread, dirty water. amna: could you move around freely in that room? >> no, my wrists were chained and my ankles were chained. amna: for how long? >> two years. amna: what did they do to you? >> basically physical abuse. beat with a chain several times.

kicked in the head more times than i can count. just punched in the head more times than i can count. when i was down on the ground chained up. open palm ear smacks, that was probably the worst. amna: 32 months, your mind goes to a lot of different places. what do you remember thinking about? >> besides meditating, i thought a lot about my childhood. amna: mark took me to those childhood spots he would visit in his mind. this is where i used to i skate -- ice skate when i was a kid. it's not very deep, if you fell through the ice, you wouldn't drown. it was a safe, secure time when

you are a child. maybe a way to distract myself. amna: distract himself from his reality. held hostage in a remote part of afghanistan. during his isolation in captivity, he had no idea about the coronavirus pandemic, or that his government had brokered a deal to withdraw all u.s. troops from afghanistan in 2020 one, a deal that did not include his release. you were watching your country leave. what do you think? >> collateral damage. do they even know i'm here? do they even know i'm here? amna: as a cruel joke, his captors showed him videos of the u.s. pullout in august of 2021. >> the last planes leaving. amna: despite feeling abandoned by his country, mark says he never let his fear show. >> the three years, i never

broke down and cried. came close, but i wasn't going to let them. they may have stolen nearly three years of my life, but i wasn't going to let them sit -- still my soul and spirit. geoff: his responsive what did the room feel like, evil, that speaks volumes. what have the last four or five months been like for him? amna: just a whole new journey that is unimaginable in so many ways. what this man endured is so staggering. even more impressive for the efforts to release him, what his family went through and what he is going through back at home now. we will get into all of that in part two tomorrow. geoff: i can't wait to see it. ♪

geoff: the cdc is investigating a rise in severe cases of strep throat among kids in the us. veral children's hospitals across the country have reported an increase in strep cases since november, includinin colorado where two children died. the cdc has since issued an advisory warning of the surge of strep a among kids ages 5 through 15. for more on all this i'm joined by dr. peter hotez. he's the co-director of the texas children's hospital center for vaccine development and dean of the national school of tropical medicine at baylor college of medicine. it's great to have you here. the cdc is investigating this strain of strep. what makes it so severe? >> it produces every year. it can cause more invasive diseases such as scarlet fever, what's called necrotizing

fasciitis, toxic shock syndrome. we are seeing an uptick in the number of those basic streptococcal infections. it could also lead to rheumatic fever. and it's not only happening in the united states, it's also happening in europe and australia. so there's a concern number sile worldwide increase in this illness. geoff: as we mentioned, at least two children in the us have died. it's shocking to think that strep throat could be fatal. how do y characterize the risk? >> well, i think what's the point is we can treat it the treatment is usually either oral amoxicillin or penicillin. we actually have an amoxicillin shortage right now. you can even get an intramuscular injection of what's called vincentian penicillin, if you can't get amoxicillin. so the point is, these cases should be preventable with early diagnosis and treatment. parents are not often aware of it, but if you see an addition to your child, struggling to swallow with high fever, that's a sign that there's severe strep

throat that requires medical intervention. if you have a bright raised red rash, all over the body, that's assigned. if you start seeing a cut or bruise and your child and you start seeing streaking red rash around it, that's another tip-off. geoff: we are struggling with a season of horrible viruses and we got strep, covid, flu rsv, , complicating things. pharmacists and parents are struggling to find children's pain and fever reducing medications surpassing what we saw at the peak of the pandemic, so how long do you expect that particular problem the availability of acute pain medication to persist? >> well, in terms of the fever medication, remember, the fever is the body's natural response to these infectious agents, kids do mount high fevers. so that's it's really important that parents closely monitor it. but of course, fevers can make ds uncomfortable, and so it's it's nice to treat it if you

can. hopefully, the supply chain management issues around these anti fevers anti pain medications will will start to subside fairly soon in the coming weeks. so it's just a matter of getting through these next weeks. but remember, if your child does have high fever and appears ill you want to have again, that low threshold for having that relationship with your pediatrician. and by the way, geoff, i'm recommending to parents, that they have that relationship. don't wait to your child to sick in the middle of the night to suddenly start scrambling or looking for a phone number or trying to figure out where you take your child in the middle of the night have that plan worked out with your pediatrician at the time. geoff: good advice. parents in ohio have experienced another unexpected threat to their children's health. it's a measles outbreak, dozens of hospitalizations, many of those children as i understand it are unvaccinated. many of them young. >> yeah, that's right. typically we give the first measles vaccinations called mmr measles, mumps rubella vaccine

towards the end of the first year of life. my understanding is that the 80 plus cases about more than 70,75 have been unvaccinated. so this is in many respects a self inflicted wound that a lot of these cases are all of these cases could have been prevented had those kids received their routine mmr vaccination. so what i'm really worried about, geoff, is this a spillover from all the anti vaccine activism we saw really take off around covid-19 vaccines for adults. remember, the numbers are horrific, an estimated 200,000 americans needlessly lost their lives because they refused the covid vaccine, even after vaccines became widely available, and it's happening because of a rise in what i call the anti vaccine anti science aggression coming from activists. and now i think they're going to try to target all childhood immunizations, and measles is a deadly illness.

in the year 2000, half a million kids about 500,000 kids died annually from measles. and now that number we've brought down below 100,000. i'm worried about a reversal of that, not only in the united states but globally and it's just a reminder that measles is nothing to trifle with. it is a serious illness and one of the leading causes of death for kids under the age of five. geoff: dr. peter hotez, thanks as always for your time. and for your insights. we appreciate it. >> thank you, geoff. ♪ amna: she's been called one of the most damaging spies in u.s. history. ana montes passed secrets and information to the cuban government for almost 17 years until her arrest just days after the 9/11 attacks. after nearly two decades behind bars, she was released from prison on friday. i recently spoke with jim

popkin, who chronicled montes' fascinating story in his new book, "code name blue wren." jim popkin, welcome to "the newshour." thanks for being here. jim: thank you so much. amna: so the book is "codename blue wren." ana montez is the center of this story. you have called her the most dangerous spy that most people have probably never heard of. how did you first hear about her? what made you want to tell her story? jim: so i heard about ana montes right when she was arrested, which was ten days after 9/11. i was covering the fbi and justice department and 911 for nbc news at the time. i couldn't get to this story, but it really stayed with me. and i think a lot of people have never heard about her because of 9/11. it was obviously such a big distraction. but she's a verymportant spy in american history. amna: she led an impressive double life. right. so by day, she was actually a senior analyst for u.s. intelligence, a cuba expert. and by night, she's passing

secrets to the cuban government. how did she do that? jim: she had two jobs. she had her real day job. she was a brilliant analyst for the defense intelligence agency, or dia, which is kind of like the cia equivalent for the us military. she uld keep her head down and memorize documents all day long, classified documents. and then her night job began in washington, d.c., in her apartment. and she would basically upload what she had learned that day into an old toshiba laptop, encrypt it, and then a couple of weeks later, pass that information along to her cuban handlers, whom she would meet at restaurants in washington, d.c. amna: this is a fascinating detail to me about her family, because she had four family members who worked for the fbi, including her sister, lucy, who among her many specialties, was rooting out cuban spies for the us government. and no one knew anything. jim: it's amazing. it is absolutely amazing.

four family members, her including her sister, her brother, who was an fbi special agent in atlanta, sister-in-law, another special agent as well. and as you mentioned, lucy was a translator in miami. most of her job pertain to drug cases miami in the eighties and nineties, but she got assigned to a special unit that was looking for cuban spies. they were very successful. she had no idea. she's a very loyal, patriotic american. she had no idea that her sister was secretly the greatest spy in cuban history. amna: you report that the fbi did know there was someone inside the u.s. government spying for cuba at a very high level. how did ana montes eventually get caught? jim: it was actually first the national security agency that figured this out by by decrypting communications between cuba and the us. it ultimately lands with the fbi.

they open a full field investigation 2000. they got court authority to break into her apartment in 2001, and in her apartment they go through her laptop and she had very carelessly left communications messages with the cubans, and it was clear that she was a spy. one of the messages said, thank you for providing the true identity of an american who was based in havana. this is someone presumably working for the cia. we were waiting for him with open arms. as soon as the fbi saw that, they knew there was no doubt this is a cuban spy. amna: you also document in some detailor the first time exactly how much damage she did with that spying. what did she hand over? jim: well, 17 years of providing documents, classified documents, the true identities of americans operating overseas in havana, the names of hundreds of people

who worked on the cuba account throughout the u.s. intelligence community. and then also secrets about a super secretive stealth satellite that the us government operated and was working to spy on russia, china, cuba and other adversaries. she learneit, learned about it, turned it over to the cubans, and the cubans have quite a track record of sharing thind infmation with russia and other enemies. so it was a major national security disaster. amna: she is now being released after nearly two decades, right? maximum security prison. what does life look like for her now? jim: she'll be on probation for five years. but as she gets out, i just have to imagine she is going to keep her head low for a long time. she does not want to go back to this very tough prison where she's been held, as you said, for two decades. she is thought to be likely going to puerto rico, which is

where her family is from, and she has some sympathetic relatives and try to rebuild her life. but she's fortunate. and in this sense, she's only 65 years old. most ses in this context go away for life. they're sent to supermax and you never see them aga. she's getting out at 65. she has a chance to maybe rebuild her life. amna: you think she might talk to you now that she's out? jim: i'm probably not top of her list, but i'm going to try. amna: sure you will. the book is "code name blue wren." the author is jim popkin. thanks for being here. jim: thank you so much. geoff: and that's the newshour for tonight. remember there's a lot more online at pbs.org/newshour and on our instagram, including a post about the gulf cup soccer tourament that has kicked off in iraq for the first time since 1979. amna: we hope you'll join us

back here again tomorrow night. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm goeff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular school has been to provide wireless service that helped people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no contact plans. our service team can help find one that fits you. visit consumer cellular.tv. the landscape has changed, and not for the last time. the rules for business are being reinvented, for the more flexible workforce, by embracing innovation, buying looking not only at current opportunities, but ahead of future ones. resilience is the ability to pivot again and again, for whatever happens next. >> people who know, know bdo.

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. hello, everyone and welcome to "amanpour and company." here is what is coming up. chaos rules in congress, as the u.s. marks the second anniversary of the january 6th attacks. i'm joined by robert draper who has been covering the washington waiting game and former democratic congressman jones. then the fhting continues in ukraine as kyiv dismisses putin's seize fire. the russian with a journalis and american reporter luke mogulson who spent time on the ukrainian front lines. >> also ahead. >> this is a very strong flashing don't panic sign.

>> the president ian bremer hails the resilience of the world's democracies but warns