♪ geof good evening. i'm geoff bennett. >> on the newshour tonight. >> a place of free expression and will not be manipulated by any government. amna: the head of the video apps tiktok tries to address lawmaker's concerns that the applicant access millions of people oswego data. geoff: a new cdc report shows more children are being diagnosed with autism. what that means for kids and their families. amna: an black farmers struggle to maintain their land in the face of economic headwinds. >> parents and grandparents have had it for so many years, the almighty dollar speaks.

♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ the candida fund committed to advancing restorative justice through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. 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. amna: good evening and welcome to the newshour. the ceo of the fastest growing app on the planet went head to head with members of congress today. geoff: tiktok has more than 150 million monthly users in the us alone, but faces growing calls for it to be banned over fears about china's access to user data. laura barron lopez looks into the potential personal, political, and international fallout should the government ban the platform. correspondent: what started with one viral video is now a

full-time career for 27-year-old alex d'alessio. >> i will put it in my ring and hit reco. correspondent: two years ago, he was an engineer working a nine-to-five and new homeowner of a baltimore townhouse. >> i will tile my entire bar and here is how it turned out. correspondent: he began posting his do-it-yourself renovation projects to the social media app tik-tok. building a home, and also an audience. >> the grout perfectly matches the countertops and i am loving divide. >> one, like, tuesday morning before work, i was like, let me just upload this video. and then i came home to work and i was like, whoa. it was like 200,000 views. like, i had all these comments. and from there it just kind of started. correspondent: now with more than 300,000 tik-tok followers, d'alessio runs real life renovations, a brand and a business where he documents his projects' successes and mistakes, partnering with companies like home depot and

benjamin moore. >> brands started reaching out, and that's when the light bulb really clicked. and i was like, maybe this could be something bigger than it is and eventually be full time. correspondent: so this isn't just a hobby for you. this is your business >> 100%. correspondent: but he is worried that the new job he has created -- which has also allowed him to hire his mother-in-law part-time -- could go away. >> it just seems like you have no control, and the government is deciding for you, which is really scary. i am trying to put on a good face, but that is my business, and it is detrimental. >> your platform should be banned. correspondent: and it is all at risk in washington. >> welcome to the most bipartisan committee in congss. we care about our national security. >> are you a chinese company? correspondent: where democrats and republicans share a common enemy in tiktok and its ceo shou chew, appearing before congress today for the first time.

>> bytedance is not owned or controlled by the chinese government. correspondent: defensive amid a fierce and bipartisan interrogation of the company's safety, privacy and security practices. chew was adamant that the chinese communist party cannot access u.s. data through tik-tok, as members repeatedly alleged. >> this is yet another instance of tiktok attempting to mislead americans about what their technology is capable of and who has access to their information. correspondent: chew pushed back, emphasizing tiktok's project texas plan, which puts the american company oracle in control of u.s. data and content. >> american data stored on american soil, by an american company, overseen by american personnel. correspondent: there is no public evidence that china has use the platform to spy on americans, but lawmakers were not convinced. >> i have seen no evidence that the chinese government has access to that data. they have never asked us, we

have not provided. >> you know what? i find that actually preposterous. correspondent: it has been a long brewing fight across two administrations. in recent weeks the white house repeated the pressure on tiktok's parent company bytedance to sell the app to an american owned company. and president biden expressed support for a bipartisan bill that would strengthen his authority to ban the app. dozens of creators who have more than 60 million followers combined to on capitol hill this week to defend the platform. >> so i am asking our politicians, don't take away the community that we have all built. correspondent: one by one, they argued the platform is more than an apt force of the viral videos, that it is empowered small businesses, promoted creativity, lifted up marginalized voices and become a mainstay of american life. the average user spends 56 minutes a day on it, more than youtube, snapchat, instagram, or

facebook. >> it almost feels like if you cannot beat them cancel them. i just wish they would try and exhaust all other options prior to potentially canceling it. >> here is how easy it is to change out -- correspondent: for creators across the country like alex d'alessio, re-creating what they've built on tiktok on another platform is not easy and comes with no guarantees that the new business will survive. >> what a lot of people don't realize on the creator side is stagram allows you to post a minute and a half reels. that's the max. tiktok allows you to post 10 minute videos. i will back that up. correspondent: at least half of alex's income comes from his work on the at, and he and his wife, a second-grade grade teacher, rely on that money. you said your income would be cut in half. how quickly do you think you could even make up that money

switching over to another app? >> not quickly. it is not something that i can easily change. i nnot just grow and instagram following bigger or youtube following figure. correspondent: he does not normally follow politics but said he would watch the hearing today, hopeful lawmakers would listen to his generation. in the meantime he will continue renovating project by project. but his new career it may be built on a foundation that is about to give way. for the pbs newshour, i'm laura barron-lopez. geoff: for more on the legal and national security concerns regarding tiktok, we're joined by ryan calo, s a professor of law and information science at the university of washington is closely following all of this. thanks for being with us. tiktok has never been more popular or problematic. as was evident in today's hearing, the u.s. believes the tiktok might be pressured by the

chinese government into sharing user data. you believe this prolong debate in washington about tiktok has more to do with politics and less to do with privacy. tell me more about that. >> tiktok like other tech companies collect a lot of data about users, may b more than most users understand. in that way it does present a danger to privacy, but there is not any good evidence that danger is unique to tiktok as opposed to other companies like youtube, google, or meta. what is distinct is tiktok has a chinese parent company, and it seems like a lot of politicians are seizing on that fact to speculate about chinese -- china presenting a threat. geoff: -- in your view was that assurance satisfactory, because there is a lot of skepticism that tiktok could ever be beyond the reach of the chinese government as long as it is owned by

bytedance, a chinese company subject to chinese national law? >> it seems like the options on the table are rather severe. one involves forcing a company to sell, and the other is a complete and -- ban on a service millions of americans use. the third option tiktok is presenting would keep american data on american soil, and information would only float to the parent company under very specific conditions and actually have to be vetted by people within the u.s. government. the whole arrangement is enforced technically by an american company called oracle, so it does seem like a pretty robust measure in place. i understand it is no complete guarantee that china will never be able to access americans' data, but it does seem to be a compromise position as opposed to a ban or for sale.

geoff: the biden administration says it once tiktok sold or banned. there are political ramifications, legally how would the u.s. government go about banning a communication platform without running a fall -- afoul of the first amendment? >> here it looks as though biden might have congress behind him. congress could pass a law like the one they are thinking about the restrict act, which would confer upon not the president or secretary of commerce the ability to vet applications and services for national security concerns and cse a forest sale or ban. the courts would react skeptically, first of all because it is such a serious incursion on the world for the government to force one company to sell to another or ban it entirely. because it does raise

free-speech concerns that you just mentioned. geoff: tiktok is the second most popular app for teens, second only to youtube. it opposed 150 million users in the u.s., and that speaks to another source of tension and unease, that at some point in the future of the internet might not be controlled by the u.s. and subject to u.s. values and norms about freedom and security. that china could take the lead. >> i will just say that i am moreoncerned about tiktok's recommendation algorithms and i am about its collection and use of data, especially as compared to other companies. and that is precisely for the reason you just said. the concern that i would have is that the algorithms that tiktok uses wood surface content that was in favor of the chinese worldview and dampen criticism,

and that is very concerning. whatever protections i put into place, i would hope that they would have a separate algorithm that is used in the uned states that is not beholden to a chinese agenda. geoff: in your view to average americans, regular tiktok users, do they have reason to be concerned the chinese government might leverage their mobile data or personal information? >> i do not think so. let me say a little bit about why. first of all, the chinese intelligence sector has perhaps the most advanced or second most advanced spying capabilities in the world. and so if the chinese government wanted to get a hold of an individual's data, they would not have to rely on tiktok. the way that tiktok could be useful is to get an aggregate sense of american mood or understanding what americans' patterns are or trying to understand us as a people or

young users. but the chinese government could just as easily -there are data brokers happy to share information about americans with people who will pay them including china. i do not know tiktok is the most efficient implausible way for the chinese government to spy on americans. as i mentioned at the outset, young users or whomever is using tiktok should be aware that there privacy is not adequately protected, and what we need is comprehensive privacy laws in the united states to protect all americans from all of the tech companies who want to leverage their data. geoff: ryan is a professor of technology at the university of washington. ank you so much for your insight. >> thanks for having me. ♪ amna: in the day's other

headlines the us military's top leaders warned it will take sharply higher defense spending to head off a conflict with china. the pentagon budget request totals more than $840 billion dollars. that includes $9 billion for the pacific -- up 40% from last year. at a house hearing, general mark milley said the budget prepares the nation to meet china's challenge and to deter it. >> the people's republic o china's actions are moving it down the path to its confrontation and potential conflict with neighbors, and possibly the united states, but again i say, war with china is neither inevitable, nor imminent. amna: mark milley also said the u.s. military is recovering from years of war in iraq and afghanistan and overall readiness is the best in many years. in israel, prime minister benjamin netanyahu is vowing to pursue what he calls responsible judicial reforms and to heal deep divisions. but, he gave no details in an evening address.

earlier, opponents of a plan to give the government more control over the courts blocked main highways in tel aviv again. police fired water cannons to try to clear roads. the israeli defense minister reportedly urged netanyahu to halt the court plan. the largest demonstrations yet rocked france today -- after the government raised the retirement age without a vote in parliament. tens of thousands filled streets in paris, mostly peacefully, but police fired tear gas at protesters who attacked stores and lit fires. across the country, strikers blocked train stations, ports and refineries. european union leaders today endorsed sending 1 million artillery rounds to ukraine, within a year. but in a video address, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy urged them to do more -- and do it faster. >> let every meeting, every discussion, every day of our joint work during the return of

peace closer. if europe hesitates, at the people may have time to regroup and prepare for years of war. it is in your power to prevent this. it is in our common power to free ukraine from russian aggression this year. amna: solesky also made a new frontline visit, this time to the city of kherson in the south. he pledged full-scale rebuilding efforts. in southern africa, the world health organization says the death toll from tropical cycle and freddie has now top 600. the powerful storm devastated parts of madagascar are, mozambique, and malawi over the past two months and two separate strikes. the resulting floods ruined homes, roads, and hospitals. the who warned today that huge numbers of people face malnutrition and cholera. the world athletic counsel today banned transgender athletes from international track and field competition. it applies to athletes who transition from male to female

and have gone through male puberty. international swimming has a similar ban. georgia became of the fourth stateo ban gender affirming therapies for youth under the age of 18. a prosecutor in new york has rebuffed congressional republicans seeking information on a hush money probe of former president trump. in a letter, the manhattan district attorney's office said, quote, donald trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested and his lawyers reportedly orders you to intervene. the letter charged the republican request violates state sovereignty. two big companies have announced new job cuts. i.t. service giant sn sure slashing jobs worldwide over 18 ,000 months. that's 2 and a-half percent of its work force. and walmart, the largest private employer in the u.s., says it

expects to lay off hundreds of workers add five major distribution centers. stocks swung higher and lower before finishing with modest gains. the dow jones industrial average was up 75 points to close at 32105. the nasdaq rose 117 points, 1%. the s&p 500 added 11 points. still to come on the newshour, a new report shows a dramatic rise in antisemitism in the us. another covid subvariant causes a rising cases. belarus' exiled opposition leader speaks out against the country's latest crackdown on dissent. plus much more. >> this is the pbs newshour om weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: cdc data released today finds an uptick in the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in the u.s.

the most recent data, from 2020, reveals 1 out of every 36 children in america was diagnosed with autism. in 2018 that figure was one in 44, in 2010, it was 1 in 68. the findings also show how pandemic disruptions kept many younger children from earlier autism diagnoses. for more on this i am joined by dena gassner, adjunct professor at towson university and a member of the interagency autism coordinating committee, which advises the government on funding for autism research. she herself was diagnosed with autism at age 40. welcome and thank you for joining us. a lot of folks will look at that increasing to be very concerned. you said that you see those numbers as good news. why is that? >> my colleague and i wrote a commentary that specifies that the crisis we are experiencing is not an increase in autism, because this is really reflective of enhanced diagnosis , and as you have seen

specifically identifying lack of brown children, asian children as well as being able to identify a few more people assigned female at birth. unfortunately, the girls are not keeping pace in terms of being diagnosed in a timely manner as much as their male cohort. amna: the rate rose faster for children of color. the eimates are just 3% of black, hispanic, or asian-pacific islander has an autism diagnostic it's -- diagnosis compared to 2% of white children. >> historically a lot of children of color and have been assigned inappropriate diagnoses , or their autism expression has been misperceived as behavioral, and they have been really shot into not special education but more rigid behavioral programs

often with really tragic consequences. this is a relief. it represents the idea that some of these children who are lost in these systems may actually be finding their way home. amna: this tells us many more chdren will need support services of some kind. tell us more about access to services. we have all heard stories about parents waiting weeks or months just to get an appointment for an assessment. is that unusual? >> it is the rule rather than the exception. to be frank about it, it is the rule for people of a certain privilege. if you had the privilege of a solid education, the privilege of being able to use english as a first language, at the privilege of financial capacities to hire people to do things to expedite the process, your child is probably going to be loud enough because of your advocacy to get what they need.

the people that we try to address in our commentary are the people who do not come with those relative privileges who may be a black grandmother in atlanta at raising her second child with autism, right? for people like that, for people who are single parenting or trying to juggle employment or housing as wel as parenting and navigating these systems, the outcomes are much more challenging and much more difficult to get through area -- through. amna: what role does insurance lay? how often are these kinds of services covered by insurance? >> we have things that can be covered provided you have insurance. that requires someone in the household to be employed. for many people on medicare or medicaid, finding providers that will take that income from the assessment process is very, very challenging. finding people who have

expertise in different cultural and ethnic groups, winding people who have the expertise to diagnose for women and girls is really difficult. then we still have an entire generation of people that were never diagnosed because such diagnoses were not listed in dsm. there was not any category by persons like myself it into, and so we have to look at this that although the numbers of better for children, the numbers for adults are still very dark and very delayed far beyond a year or two years, and it is often wrapped in diagnostic trauma because people cannot find effective and qualified providers. amna: cdc officials pointed out the impact of the pandemic, pointing out that up until march 2028 the was very good progress in early identification, early detection of autism in younger children. after march 2020 they saw a dramatic drop off.

they are worried about long-lasting effects. tell us about that. what are those effects they are worried about? why is early detection important? >> early detection can be helpful because we are getting ahead of the game. i would also say that this population is a very resilient population, and i would be worried about kids who are put through the gauntlet faster to try to catch them up. i think if we follow their development to lead and progressed them through growth and personal achievement at their own pace, that we will get better outcomes. we have really got to shift our focus away from finding some underlying cure to focusing on why these systems are not giving us better outcomes. amna: the fuller picture being painted is there are more children in particular who will need help and there is not enough help there to offer them right now for families who receive a diagnosis, knowing

what you know about the emotional and financial toll this can take, what is your best guidance to them? >> persist, be the noisy person that just does not stop until you get what you need. and i realize when i say that that is a perfect position to be able to take. i would also say that we really need to examine administrative burden that make accessing these services so difficult, and i am going to discuss adults or parents who may have co-occurring disabilities of their own. we have these systems like social security to social service agencies often in our darkest moments. we do not go when everything is successful. we go when we bankrupted everything that we had. the systems are not able to be utilized efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner. amna: that is dena gassner.

thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. ♪ geoff: a new report by the anti-defamation league -- the report comes as the fbi and human rights group warn about the growing number of hate crimes in the u.s. jonathan greenblatt, the ceo and national director of the anti-defamation league joins us now. jonathan, the adl found in this report an increase in three categories. assaults went up by 26%. incidents of harassment increased 29%. acts of vandalism rose by 52%. what accounts for it, and he was responsible? >> first of all i would say i am

glad we are covering this issue, but i wish we did not have to. the reality is antisemitism is a clear and present danger right here, right now in america. as you pointed out not only was 2020 to the highest year that we have ever seen, we have done this for almost 45 years. this was the third tim in the past four years that we broke a new record. literally the number of incidents has climbed almost 500% over the past decade. so what is behind this? i think nber one anti-semitism has been normalized and almost weaponized in the political conversation and in public debates. it is not just common course to use anti-semitic tropes about great replacement theory, about who controls congress or who controls wall street. who is responsible for covid and

on and on. in a world in which conspiracy theories are the coin of the realm, anti-semitism, the oldest conspiracy theory has new life. that is number one. number two, we have to acknowledge that extremist feel emboldened to read it when the former president of the united states feels free to use the kind of language we would not want our children to use or we see hardened anti-zionist activists on campus openly, aggressively almost gleefully intimidating jewish students, something is broken in our society. truthfully if you look at the numbers and drill down, the numbers have increased dramatically. 40% plus increase on college campuses, 50% increase in antisemitic incidents in k-12 schools. there is something really sick with our society. geoff: i too was struck in reading this report about the 40% increase in anti-semitic

activity reported on college campuses. doing more reading about it, what i learned is jewish students often say harassment is often compounded when criticism of israel arises. tell me more about that. >> there were certainly nothing wrong with criticizing the policies of the state of israel. the adl does that too. but the relentless obsession with the jewish state, the claims that it is committing genocide against palestinians or responsible for white supremacy. if you think the only jewish state in the world is somehow white supremacist were somehow committing genocide, we should not be surprised when swastikas show up on a jewish fraternity or people feel ok to target and victimize overtly jewish students. we have got to distinguish between legitimate criticism and

delegitimizing a country. that constant heckling and harassment, it is not unlike what we saw happen to chinese-americans and asian american students just a few years ago when president trump hammered and hammered on the chinese virus and asian flu and asian american people were targeted. it is wrong. geoff: the adl is recommending elected officials aggressively denounce anti-semitism. the federal and state governments do more to prevent the spread of antisemitism online. what does that work look like? >> first of all, you are making the right point here, which is we need a whole of society strategy to deal with this. it is not something we can wait for government to solve or hope that a teacher or principal will do it. everyo needs to be involved, because anti-semitism is not just a jewish problem just because racism is not a problem of black people or homophobia.

it is a universal concern. to tackle this, we need people in public life, elected officials, policymakers, celebrities to call out hate when it happens. secondly, something else you referenced. social media. i will tell you facebook is a super-spreader of stereotypes, and amplifies anti-semitism and other forms of hate, so we think it is long overdue for some kind of government regulation, because from facebook to twitter to tiktok to instagram, these companies have proven again and again that they are incapable of regulating themselves, which means we need our elected officials to regulate them and force them to abide by a modicum of decency just like we would expect from any otr company. geoff: jonathan greenblatt is ceo and national director of the

anti-defamation league. thank you for your time. >> thank you so much. ♪ amna: the number of self identified black farmers in the united states has dwindled over the last century in part because of discrimination by the u.s. department of agriculture. the agency is the economic backbone for most american farmers through its financing, insurance, and research and education programs. our special correspondent reports from oklahoma where despite roadblocks to federal aid, there is a concerted push to help black and other underserved farmers survive areas -- survive. >> i knew i was going to do this since i was seven years old. first time i pretty much got on a tractor was with my uncle. i love agriculture. would not give it up for nothing in the world. correspondent: did you know how tough it was going to be? >> no, i do now.

correspondent: for 50 year old leroy brinkley, self described hermit, this 80 acre farm with nearly three dozen beef cows is his comfort zone. a labor-intensive full-time job, but it is when he has to finance by working at least as long off the farm as a heavy equipment mechanic and truck driver. why is informing by itself full-time occupation? because the work certainly is full-time. >> the work is there, but the money is not. economically i do not see this working just by itself. correspondent: when he began farming 3 decades ag leroy brinkley tried to get a loan from the usda. but at the local office he says he was turned down and turned off by the experience. >> i brought the papers and and it was just no support. i could tell from the get go i was not going to get help. i tried it anyway, trying to be nice, polite. i still did not get the support that i needed so i could not bother with it anymore. correspondent: an experience all

too familiar to black and minority farmers. >> we clearly have been dumped on worse than any other race in this country by our own federal government. correspondent: john boyd jr. is president of the national black farmers association and a fourth neration virginia farmer. he says african americans have been systematically excluded from programs that enable farms to acquire land and build wealth, and unfairly targeted for foreclosure. >> the government has to start living up to its commitment and they have to start treating black farmers with dignity and respect. correspondent: the government has settled two class-action lawsuits in the past 25 years. >> socially disadvantaged producers were discriminated against by the united states department of agriculture. we know this. correspondent: and in 2021, the biden administration included billions in debt relief for minority farmers in its american rescue plan. but lawsuits from white farmers, claiming reverse discrimination, held up the program.

in response, congress repealed it last august, instead setting aside money in the administration's inflation a reduction act now for so-called distressed borrowers. >> there a lot of opportunities there, under this administration that a lot of people are not taking advantage of. correspondent: willard tillman's organization is a resource that connects minority farmers to complex government farm programs. he says there is a rare opportunity to bring these farmers into the system from which they felt alienated. >> if they don't understand it, they're not going to mess with it, so that is where we come in. correspondent: they don't trust the government. >> they trust me. i don't take dirty water to them. if it is good for them i tell him. correspondent: with the help of the group leroy brinkley , enrolled in a program last year called care: conservation and agriculture reach everyone. >> those blackberries, you see how they started? correspondent: it paid him $70

dollars an acre for forty acres, which he used to partner with a local elementary student to bring goats to graze on the invasive species. >> want to try to getiscovered with a cover crop. correspondent: this year he has participating again getting support to plant more grass for his herd to graze on. >> $1500 in seed ought to get it. >> yeah. correspondent: sarah blaney runs the oklahoma association of conservation districts, which administers the admittedly modest care program. >> our specific program is smaller but our hope is this is maybe the first introduction to that process and makes them a little bit more comfortable with the idea of working with government so that when they're ready to go apply for those bigger contracts, they know the right questions to ask i know what their rights are. geoff: -- correspondent: a more immediate challenge for brinkley is the months-long drought across oklahoma, which has almost

tripled hay prices this year. so it costs you about 700 bucks per week to feed this group. >> this is very expensive this year. correspondent: some of his expenses have been offset by a $50,000 loan he received through the native creek nation, where he is an enrolled member, money that was guaranteed by the usda. >> it did not grow me. it just kind of took the curves off some things. maybe the next time, the next go around with this operation is up pulley and running, it may make a difference. correspondent: the black farmers association's boyd applauds efforts like those in oklahoma, but he says the money now available is a fraction of what would have come to minority farmers under the bt relief program that was repealed. >> we were promised a 120% debt relief and we didn't get it. it looks like to me every time black farmers are promised something in this country, we don't get it. correspondent: the usda declined an interview request, but in

statement to pbs newshour's head given court injunctions that tied its hands, the goal was to get relief to farmers quickly. adding that, the conflation of reductant best -- inflation reduction act provided $3.1 billion dollars that will allow usda to work with distressed borrowers, and for those farmers that have suffered discrimination by the usda farm loan programs, congress allocated to $.2 billion. but boyd says the government broke a promise and a contract with minority farmers and he is suing the usda. >> when they changed the language to distressed and opened it up and white farmers were able to get their loans and stuff current. they have far more white farmers than there are black farmers in this country. we are less than 1%. we are facing extinction. correspondent: back in the early 1900s, black farmers owned some 16 million acres of farmland, a number that was down by 90 percent by the turn of the 21st century.

here in oklahoma, there once were more than 50 all-black towns built around agriculture. clearview is one of just 13 that survive today. >> my family moved here in 1902 when the town was established. my dad had a 40 acre farm. this is where i will stay until i pass away. correspondent: shirley nero and her husband donnie both had careers as educators, donnie eventually becoming president of connor state college. but they were both pulled to return to this tiny town 80 miles east of oklahoma city. population, about 50. >> most of the people settling here were free to men. when obama became a staten 1907, the first bill they passed was the jim crow law. this was a place of freedom where they could express themselves, support themselves. correspondent: as the years went on, the population and black

owned land eventually began to dwindle. >> our school got down to 32 in the high school and that is when they closed it in 1964. correspondent: the neros built their house and now breed cattle here, a rare reverse migration they admit. >> we see so many of the young people today with their parents or grandparents have had land for so many years, but that almighty dollar speaks. and when it does they are going to move and the farms are going to be lost. when you lose the land that you have and you now find yourself in a condominium somewhere, the value does not equate. correspondent: for his part leroy brinkley is open to participating in more farm programs, but based on experience says he is not counting on anyone but himself. >> i've got a little piece of home, i am satisfied. had to move some hurdles out of the way, but i am making a go of

it. amna: fred's reporting is a partnership with the undertold stories project at the university of st thomas, in minnesota. and there is more online, including a look at the lives of black farmers through a photographer's lens. see those images at pbs.org/news hou -- newshour. geoff: three years into the pandemic, cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all declining. but questions remain about new variants and whether some people may need a spring booster shot. william brangham is here with an update on the state of covid in the u.s.. correspondent: geoff, it's worth noting gd news when it occurs, and on covid there is some. the u.s. avoided the worst of the winter surge and dust from

the virus are the lowest they have been since the early weeks of the pandemic. more than 1700s american still died last week because of covid. for the elderly, immunocompromised, and those still struggling with the little understood long covid, this pandemic is hardly in the rearview mirror. we are joined again by an epidemiologist. she is at the university of texas and she writes a very informative sub stack called your local epidemiologist. great to have you back. what is your take on where we are in the trajectory. deaths are down, but there is this subvariant dominant in this country. where are we? >> that is a really good question. i think we are somewhere in between a full-blown emergency like we saw in the beginning of 2020 and somewhere before endemic. we are not at a state where we

know what this virus is going to do, and this virus is not being predictable. like you said all metrics are nose diving right now, and that is good news. we expect that to happen with spring because of warmer weather, less holiday gatherings, but covid continues to do its thing and mutate. it is what viruses do to survive, and we are paying specific attention to two offshoots in india and u.k. causing disruption and smaller waves. this does have the potential to disrupt a quiet spring in the u.s., but it is too early to know for sure given our complex immunity landscape. geoff: it has been 6 to 7 months since the bivalent boosters became available, which is plenty of time for a lot of people to of lost some of their protection. you wrote about this today. is there good evidence for a spring booster?

>> i think it depends on what you define as good evidence. it is really difficult for us to know how much each booster helps or does not help. and to get a grip on it prospectively. what we know for sure is protection is robust for younger and healthier people keeping an eye on the hospital, which is great news. the concern is for immuno opmized and older adults with comorbidities. their immune systems are not as strong and it is being pulled in multiple directions. this is a group where we want to avoid an infection in order to prevent hospitalization and death, and we know these antibodies that prevent infection wane quickly and last six months. geoff: in elderly americans, those are increasingly the people who were still dying of covid.

is that right? >> that is correct. the last statistic was 90% of deaths are among those over 65 years of old. 96% of hospitalizations are among older adults with at least one comorbidity. because again, there immune systems are taxed. the good news is very few people are in the hospital today who are up-to-date on vaccines. the vaccines are working. the essential question is is this going to change in time and what do we do proactively. geoff: i want to touch on long covid, this still mysterious ailment so many people are suffering from. who is getting it and why? >> you are right, there are millions of americans out of work, suffering with very few treatment options. we are starting to get a better grip on what causes covid. it seems to be several factors

like a lingering virus or people harbor the virus in their tissue, which can create damage. other people get lung covid driven by the immune system. antibodies start attacking the body itself. and then there is immune dysregulation. even if somebody clears the virus, the immune system is off balance, so other dormant viruses reactivate and drive chronic symptoms. lung: it is an umbrella term for several causes, and this is important to know, because it will allow us to understand how we can target treatments. geoff: in the few seconds we have left, all those treatments, there are some that show some promise on lung covid? >> there are about 300 clinical trials right now, and the results are starting to trickle in. we have seen a drug reduce lung covid about 40%.

paxlovid reduces it a bit as well, about 25%. we need more answers. geoff: thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for having me. ♪ amna: today the us and its allies initiated an international investigation into human rights abuses in belarus. for years, belarus's government has been imprisoning anyone seen as a threat. it has also become increasingly reliant on russia and supports russia's war in ukraine. nick schifrin speaks to the head of belarus' opposition as the government cracks down on its critics. correspondent: this is the rough reality for belarussian urnalists and government critics. last week a former photojournalist walked out of his apartment. government agents who had been tracking him followed him and wrestled him to the ground. his

suppose a crime, investigative journalism. in another incident earlier this month, police detained a disabled man, who had to be hospitalized. human rights groups say the government now holds more than 1000 political prisoners. nobel laureate ales bialiatski got 10 years for her actions grossly violating the public order. >> repressions in our country are intensified. on average, about 17 people are being detained every day. lawyers, journalists, activists, people are given years and years imprisoned for challenging the regime and they oppose the war in ukraine. correspondent: no one better symbolizes belarus' hope for democracy, than svlana tsikhanouskaya. she's a former english teacher and full-time mom, who ran for president after her husband, was arrested as he began his campaign for president in 2020. tsikhanouskaya was allowed to run herself, and the opposition says she defeated

strongman alexander lukashenko. he has led the country for 30 years and claimed he won 80% of an election the international community called stolen. after that, the country erupted in unprecedented protests. but lukashenko and his russian allies responded with force. widespread torture and arrests. today, leading opposition figures remain detained, and others, including tsikanouskaya, live in exile. this month, she was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison. >> we ask to initiate the international proceedings against lushenko as criminal, we ask to recognize his regime as terrorist, for his crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression against ukraine. those people who committed crimes against belarussians -- prosecutors, judges, members of parliament of lukashenka -- propagandists should be set on sanctions for them to understand that there

will be no impunity for them. and of course, no liing sanctions should take place even to exchange them for political prisoners, because our people do not want to be bargaining chips. correspondent: some 10% plus of the country came out and protested in 2020. if that did not achieve a new government in belarus, again? >> urgent measures have to be taken now to inspire people. when people in belarus see that they are not abandoned so that they are not overlooked and forgotten. it gives them energy to continue the fight. so more decisive actions, more decisive declarations will help our people to continue the resistance and when -- win finally. correspondent: and does winning mean a color revolution, does it mean regime change? >> of course, our main task is a new free and fair elections in our country and give people the opportunity to vote freely and securely.

correspondent: last year, russian troops used belarus to invade northern ukraine. pro-ukrainians in belarus known as partisans have resisted the government's support for the war, and even used a drone to attack this russian surveillance plane outside of the capital minsk. >> in the beginning of the war, they disrupted railways to slow down, delivering the russian weapons to russian army to attack ukraine. and this blow up of plane is also part of peaceful resistance because our partizans are damaging aircraft that could potentially kill a lot of ukrainians. correspondent: but lukashenko is increasingly dependent on russian president vladimir putin, despite somawkward exchanges. >> dear alexander grigoryevich, thank you for agreeing to come. >> as if i could not have come. >> well, we are all busy people. >> look, lukashenko is a full accomplice to pollutant.

and the lukashenko fulfill all the orders of pollutant. and there is no task, you know, to split pollutant and lukashenko. i asked our partners not to make any deals with lukashenko, not to try and save him. we are asking to save belarus from lukashenko. correspondent: there are many belarussians in exile. there are also many russians in exile. is there a way for belarusian and russians in exile to work together to create a more democratic region? >> we can communicate with the russian opposition, we can share to be some initiatives. but at the moment, we have different paths. we have different contexts and it may be different methods of fighting this fight. correspondent: tsikhanouskaya herself vows to keep fighting, but also maintains an eaier promise, to step aside if the country ever becomes a democracy. >> people in belarus are united,

not around one person, not about, not around me, but about our aim. and my task to be with belarussn people as long as people need me. now our people are united as never before, and the regime is trying a lot to split our unity, but they will fail. correspondent: svitlana , thank you very much. ♪ geoff: that is the newshour for tonight. join us again here tomorrow night for analysis of president biden's trip to canada, where he and prime minister trudeau are set to discuss a host of issues facing the two nations. i am geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour as been provided by -- >> four 25 years consumer

cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans for helping people to do more what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can have a plan that fits you. visit coumer cellular.tv. >> it was like an aha moment. this is what i love doing. early stage companies have this energy that energizes me. these are people trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneur it is the same thing. i am helping people reach their dreams. i am driving by helping others every day. people who know know bdo. >> the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and

institutions and friends of the newshour. ♪ and with the ongoing support of these 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. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is res

♪ ♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. more horrifying images from ukraine, as russia attacks the residential apartment building. the latest as i speak to the head of ukraine's nobel prize-winning center for civil liberties. then a new school year begins in afghanistan, just not for the couny's young women. as most remain barred from the basic right to an education. and -- >> what we see is a dramatic increase in the aggressiveness and range. >> trans journalist talks to us about the tidal wave of anti-lgbtq legislation across the united states.