geoff: good evening. amna: on the newshour tonight. former president trump appears in court facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records as part of a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election. geoff: finland formally joins nato in the wake of russia's invasion of ukraine striking a blow against vladimir putin. amna: as climate change continues to alter the world, norway becomes more important than ever. >> in climate change, that means rapid climate, higher temperatures, longer droughts, morelooding. and our food, our crops need to

be resilient. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can helfind the plan that fits you. for more, visit consumercellular .tv. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour. ♪ >> the john s and james l night foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. ♪ ♪ >> and with the ongoing support

of these individuals and institutions. ♪ >> this program w made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting andy contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. today was an unprecedented day in american history. former president donald trump arrested and arraigned in a manhattan courtroom -- the first u.s. preside to face criminal charges. geoff: mr. trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records relating to hush money payments during the 2016 campaign.

and with the indictment unsealed today, we're learning new details about the manhattan district attorney's case and the former president's defense. donald trump tonight, now a criminal defendant. the first foer u.s. president to be arrested on criminal charges in connection to his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme. this afternoon, mr. trump traveled by motorcade from trump tower to surrender to authorities at the district attorney's office in lower manhattan. while in custody, the former president was fingerprinted but received special accommodations . he was not handcuffed, or put in jail cell and did not have his mugshot taken. the judge in the case did not allow video cameras in the courtroom, but permitted a handful of still photographers to take pictures. during a nearly hourlong proceeding, mr. trump was arraigned and charged with 34 felonies. the former president pleaded not guilty. the case involves payoffs through an intermediary to adult film actress stormy daniels to

conceal an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. following the arraignment, mr. trump's attorneys spoke to reporters. >> he's frustrated, he's upset, but i'll tell you what. he's motivated. and it's not going to stop him. it's not going to slow him down. geoff: and manhattan district attorney alvin bragg -- who has faced an onslaught of attacks from mr. trump and his supporters -- defended the charges. >> as this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law. no amount of money or amount of power changes that enduring american principle. geoff: earlier tuesday, dozens of trump supporters flocked to lower manhattan, heeding the former president skulls to protest. among them was republican congresswoman marjorie taylor-greene. >> they are coming after president trump today and they will come after you tomorrow. president trump did nothing wrong.

geoff: and scandal-ridden gop congressman george santos. >> i'm here to support the president of the united states, who's being unfairly attacked by a d.a. geoff: a team of new york city police, secret service and court security barricaded and controlled the crush of the crowd. as members of the media stood in line for hours for a seat inside the courtroom where the former president faced judge juan merchan, who just this morning mr. trump called highly partisan and a well known trump hater. he also said the case should be moved to nearby staten island, which he views as friendlier political ground tonight, donald trump returns to his mar-a-lago home, where heâ™s -- where he is addressing his arraignment in a primetime speech. amna: to give us a sense of what happened in the courtroom today , i'm joined by andrea bernstein. she covers democracy for propublica and trump legal matters for npr and is the thor of american oligarchs: the kushners, the trumps and the marriage of money and power.

welcome back and thanks for joining us. most of us are brief glimpses of the proceedings today. for example the short video clip , very somber, being led into the courtroom, but you were in the room. descri what it was like in the room and what you observed. >> in one sense, it was totally normal. the very same courtroom where allen weisselberg was indicted and pleaded guilty. this was the trump where his own company was found guilty of multiple felonies. but it was also extraordinary because first of all the security was like nothing i've ever seen. there were court officers lining the center aisle. secret service, police. no laptops, no electronics. forced quiet.

there was the former president of the united states having to say to a judge, not guilty. something we have obviously never seen. amna: 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. we will dive more deeply into the legal details in just a moment, but you have covered him for so long. what stands out to you about these charges? we did not know what the charges were going to be and we heard for the first time, we understood what that is. there has to being underlying crime. one was to conceal conspiracy new york, to violate campaign finance laws, also a violation of federal laws by giving donations in excess. we learned that today.

there was also extensive back and forth. amna: you have covered him for so long. what strikes you? >> so many people have asked me over the years, is he ever going to be indicted or held accountable? his company was convicted last year. the prosecutor said the rule of law applies. the rule of law applies. something that has happened in other countries, but never here. there is something that goes on versus the political sphere we have seen play out in this case. amna: there is a long way to go ahead. what will you be watching?

>> i'm going to be watching to see how mr. trump's legal team handles the timing. they will try to get the case dismissed, perhaps delay, but on the other hand there's a presidential election coming up and the more they do that, the more they potentially put a potential trial right in the middle of high campaign season, which is really something we have never seen before in this country. amna: thank you so much for joining us tonight. >> thank you. amna: the former president's not guilty plea has set off what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle in manhattan. joining me now to discuss the legal issues connected to the president's arraignment is former federal prosetor chuck rosenberg and former manhattan assistant district attorney marc agnifilo. welcome to you both and thanks for joining us. chuck, i want to make sure we understand and explain the charges. the manhattan district attorney is alleging mr. trump and 34

false statements to cover up other crimes. the very first line reads this way, the defendant repeatedly and fraudulently falsified new york business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election. i want to get your reaction. >> i think i can simplify it a bit. the charges relate to a hush money scheme, payments to stormy daniels through an intermediary and each payment generated a number of documents. maybe if all sledge or, a false invoice. each one was charged as a felony under new york state law. i don't think it is an

inordinately complex case. i read the indictment, which is bare-bones. it doesn't involve thousands of documents or dozens of witnesses. it's a fairly straightforward case. it doesn't mean it's susceptible to legal challenges, but it seems relatively straightforward to me. amna: they are arguing that charges are unusual and there is nothing there. what is your take? >> it's a typical manhattan d.a. indictment for these charges. unlike a typical federal indictment, which is much more of a speaking indictment that tells the story that my colleague chuck really laid out for all of you, the das office doesn't do that as much. really what they did is they just gave the bare-bones legal recitation of the charge.

the thing that they leave out is the thing everyone has been speculating about the most. what is that second offense? you have to have dual intent to commit the crimes. you have to have the intent to defraud and a secondary intent to aid or cover up or commit another crime. that crime is not charged in the charging document itself, but in the people's statement of facts. they suggest it could be a campaign violations or tax violations, but that is not in the body of the charge, so i agree it is a bare-bones indictment, but i do think there will be a lot for the people to prove in order to prove these charges. what does that mean for the bar the prosecution has to meet? >> so, they have to find that trump acted with specific

intent, not just to commit fraud, but to violate a second statute. that is really going to be where the rubber meets the road in this case in my opinion. the defense is going to say he was not violating another statute. he was being extorted, shaken down, what the da is going to have to prove is that it was about the election. i think the facts the da alludes to all relates to the timing of these things. meetings that took place where there was a plot hatched to try to quell negative press, which never happened before he was running for president. that's going to be the major factual issue in this case. amna: we now have our first details. the next in person hearing date is not until december 4.

what happens between now and then? >> a bunch of things potentially. the prosecutors have the responsibility to provide discovery, documents and witness statements and the like to help the defendant prepare a case. the defendant will file motions challenging the legal sufficiency of the case. they may seek a change of venue. they may argue there is a selective prosecution for improper reasons. it kind of prosecutorial misconduct. defense will file their motion. ultimately the judge will hold hearings and decide whether or not the case goes forward. there will be more dates set and they will be further out. amna: i want to ask you about

the team we will be seeing in the mont ahead. when you look at the legal team, at the prosecution's table, we see chris conroy, the man with the glasses, he is presenting most of the prosecution's case today. behind him is a woman in a dark louse and jacket. she was recently involved in another case. tell us about that and why she might be important to the team? >> i think you hit on the key thing. they are probably the heart and soul of the da's prosecution team. conroy is a super experienced lawyer. i've had a number of fraud cases with him. he's very experienced and probably one of the offices go

to people. it makes sense for them to be at the counsel table. amna: what should we know about the team defending former president trump? >> i've had trials with both of them, they are both very experienced lawyers. susan is a little stronger in the areas of research and preparation. he is a real trial lawyer guy. you have blanche, who is new to the team. he is a good trial lawyer as well. former federal prosecutor. you have a lot of different personalities and i think that could work well for mr. trump, but you have good lawyers on both sides. i hope it is a well litigated case and it is about the case and not what we sort of caution

and against and things the judge does not want as part of the case. amna: what is the world of potential possible outcomes with these being prosecuted where they are? >> there is always a chance of someone is convicted at trial that they would go to jail. that seems hard to imagine in terms of logistics for a former president. there is a range of things that can happen between now and then. we discussed the fact that the defense attorneys can file motions to dismiss. if there are motions to dismiss, the case ends there. if the case goes to trial underserved by a jury of his peers in manhattan, they could convict or acquit or return a mixed verdict. acquitting on some counts and convicting on others. it is really perilous to predict what will happen.

this was the first step in what will be a painfully long journey for those of us following it closely. i'm reluctant to tell you sitting here what a jury will do. amna: a very long case ahead and we thank you both for joining us to walk us through what we may see. thank you to you both. >> thank you. geoff: as our coverage continues, we will focus on how mr. trump's cas for protest regarding his arrest have sparked concerns about the possibility of fresh political violence. laura barron lopez joins us now to talk about how security officials are monitoring and preparing for a host of possible threats. thanks for being here. i know you spent the day tracking reaction to the days developments among mr. trump's supporters and his republican allies. what have you found? >> and number of those who

support the president call it a weaponization of power, marjorie taylor greene said she and other republicans will never abandon the president. there is still a lot of rallying around former president trump, but i want to highlight the recent polling that dropped, a cnn poll showed that 60% of americans approve of the indictment. 40% disapprove. but when it comes to republicans' opinion of trump, 72% still have high favorables of trump, 23% have unfavorable views of him. he very much still has a grasp on that base. the trump campaign said they have fund raised $10 million since the news of his indictment. geoff: as we reported, donald trump supporters and anti-trump protesters swarmed the streets

and that was a spectacle. there are real concerns about the net effect of donald trump using this arrest and arraignment to rile up his supporters. you have been speaking to extremist experts about that. >> they say it is not necessarily that they are looking for violence to break out at a protest like the one that happened today, but they are looking at right wing extremism groups, white militias, neo-nazis, the coordinated white power movement that has mobilized in the trump era. i spoke to a historian a northwestern university, an expert in the white power movement, and she offered this warning. >> what we have here with the indictment is an opportunity for extremists who are interested not in any kind of americanism, but instead are interested in overthrowing the united states to create a white ethno state. this gives those folks an opportunity to reach into the trump base, to find people who

are frustrated and disaffected by this ruling and to recruit and radicalize for their own purposes. >> you heard her say that essentially the indictment, the arrest, the subsequent revelation of the charges all can act as a triggering action for extremist groups. geoff: there are people who argue that donald trump's influence is waning despite his sizable command over a certai part of the republican base. he doesn't draw the same big crowds. he doesn't use twitter in the same way. does that lessen the prospects for political violence? >> a t khisks iedee and whether his influence is waning a she essentially said that he is still seen as a figurehead for the militant right and white power groups, but that it goes beyond him. >> this is a movement that organizes in cells and that uses any open window for what it attempts to do. even if his crowd attendance is waning, even if the mainstream

part of his movement is waning, the continued call outs to extremists are still there. and we're not talking about a group of people that needs a large number in order to effectively mobilize violence. >> when she talks about the potential for militant groups to take action or a so-called lone wolf, they are looking at the upcoming oklahoma city bombing anniversary, they said that what people should be on the watch for our potential attacks on federal buildings, on power stations and other paramilitary activity. geoff: what does the online chatter suggest? we know that extremists were very active online ahead of the january 6 attack. >> i spoke to collin clark, a senior researcher who tracks extremism. he is looking at websites like telegram, gab, and other altar right sites.

he said that in the last 24-48 hours, there has been more volume, more vitriol, and language like take our country back. and he also said that especially on telegram what it is reminding him of his the frenzy that occurred after the fbi raided mar-a-lago, when we saw that cincinnati gunman attacked the fbi office there. geoff: thank you for that reporting. >> thank you. geoff: the arrest and arraignment of a former president marks a turning point in american history. to put this day in a historical context, we're joined by presidential historian michael beschloss. it's great to have you here. donald trump's arraignment was routine on one hand, not unlike the hundreds of other arraignments around new york city in a given day, but it was surreal, it was significant, it was breathtaking. what do you make of this

extraordinary moment in history? >> i've been studying presidents for all these decades and i thought i was prepared and i really wasn't. whether you like donald trump or not, whether he is proven guilty or not, this was a painful day. to see an american president now retired, may be temporarily, maybe not, in the courtroom with the possibility of going to prison, that is something we have never seen before in all of american history in that courtroom has seen a lot of mobsters and major criminals. it was painful to see donald trump in that same place. geoff: while other democratically elected leaders around the world have faced prosecution in israel, italy, france, south korea, american presidents have always seemed to occupy this exalted realm where

they existed above prosecution. how does this indictment change the perception of the american presidency? >> not so much this case necessarily, but the fact that former presidents now can be indicted. that has not happened before. richard nixon was an unindicted co-conspirator. there were charges of all sorts of things. obstruction of others. gerald ford gave him a pardon. he said that the american people could not stand the idea of an ex-president going on trial. the cost of that has been presidents like donald trump think thabeing president gives you an immunity free zone, you can do almost anything you want and the worst punishment is going to be the punishment that went to richard nixon, which was retirement to a pretty nice-looking seaside home.

geoff: there were students of history who say gerald ford should not have pardoned richard nixon. tell me more about that. >> me t i believe that very strongly. i spoke to gerald ford in 1995 and i said, with all due respect, why couldn't you at least have waited to pardon nixon until he was indicted in the trial had begun or at least fingerprinted so he couldn't go onnd tell people that he had done nothing wrong, which is basically what he did. ford said essentially he felt he did not have the stomach for it and he thought he would be too distracting as he tried to deal with other issues. geoff: is today's arraignment in line with what the founders envisioned, that no one, not even former's exist above the law? >> we have read the constitution closely and i don't think you

will see anything in that document that says that ex-president's cannot be indicted or that sitting presidents cannot be indicted. that only rests on a ruling by the nixon justice department of the early 1970's. that is not something that is in holy scriptures. if we are worried about presidents getting into lawlessness, like nixon, as there were accusations of ronald reagan during iran contra, doesn't it encourage that for presidents to think that they are above the same kind of laws that the rest of us are? geoff: what does this indictment -- what is the impact on our politics? not just the arraignment, but donald tmp's efforts to use this arrest to inflame a partisan firestorm to protect himself and build his support. this did not happen in a vacuum.

this comes across his historic impeachments, his falsehoods about the election, what does history suggest about what might come next given the rhetoric? >> is you and i have talked about, this is an extremely divided country and he will say that this is a partisan indictment because there is a so-called democratic prosecutor that is trying to get him. that is something that goes through american history. white supremacist groups in the south would use political charges to go after black defendants or people who were trying to achieve civil-rights or voting rights. that goes through american history all the way back in hundred 50 years or more. at the same time, organized crime figures in new york, what is the first thing they often say when they are indicted? political charge, prosecutor trying to make a name for

himself, i'm innocent. we will see in this case. geoff: looking forward, it appears at is on a collision course with the presidential election. the next hearing is set for early december. how does that strike you? >> i wish it weren't. i wish this trial did not go on during the year of the next presential election as it now look, but that has happened in america. ehrenberg was tried -- er -- aaron burr was tried and it is very distracting to thomas jefferson. our legal process has to be separate from our politics. one should not be intermingled with the other. geoff: michael, thank you for your insights and your time this day. >> my pleasure. thank you. vanessa: i'm vanessa ruiz, in

for sthanie sy with newshour west, updating our top story. former president trump addressed the charges against him late this evening. speaking from mar-a-lago, trump proclaimed his innocence and -- innocence. >> the only crime that i have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it. vanessa: trump went on to disparage the manhattan d.a., attacked democrats, and also made unfounded claims about election fraud. a russian woman suspected in a fatal bombing will stay in jail for two months pending an investigation. sunday's attack in st. petersburg killed a military blogger who backs the war in ukraine. she was kept in the glass holding cell. she is said she did not know a statuette she gave to the victim was really a bomb. the kremlin today denied abducting children from ukraine. the international criminal court

has accused the russians of taking hundreds children from orphanages and putting some up for adoption. that would be a war crime, but the russian commissioner for children's rights called the allegations a farce. >> so when an investigation is published that children are being taken away in huge numbers for re-education in secret camps -- which they managed to film only from a satellite -- it seems to me that this is some kind of conspiracy. all children have phones, but i have not yet seen a single video showing that they were treated cruelly. geoff: the russians insisted they have acted purely on humanitarian grounds and they don't recognize the international corp.'s jurisdiction. the united states is sending ukraine another $2.6 billion in military aid. it includes ammunition, radar, antitank rockets, and fuel trucks for a possible spring offensive by ukraine.

u.s. military aid has topped $35 billion since russia invaded. the u.s. military announced a drone strike has killed a senior member of the islamic state in syria. the statement said he was in charge of planning attacks in europe. reports from syria. back in this country, chicago held a runoff for a new mayor in one of two key elections. your moderate democrat faced a progressive who is supported by the teachers union. wisconsin voters were choosing a new state supreme court justice. the outcome could affect abortion access and potential challenges to the 2024 election results. the university of connecticut huskies have returned home to a hero's welcome after winning the ncaa men's basketball

championship. uconn beat san diego state in houston last night 76-59. it was their fifth national title in the past 24 years. still to come, finland formally joins nato in the latest blow to russia's international standing. also the latest debate in gun violence follows a mass at a tennessee school. and norway's global seed vault becomes more important than ever in the face of climate change. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: today, finland became the 31st member of the nato alliance less than one year after it petitioned with sweden to join. it doubles nato's border with russia and it concludes a historic shift following 75 years of nonalignment.

nick schifrin explores the significance of expanding nato. nick: for decades, finland relied on a strong military to protect itself from russia, but russia's war in ukraine flipped their opinions. finland's president and nato secretary-general emphasized an attack on finland would be considered an attack on all of nato. >> the era of military nonalignment in our history has come to an end. a new era begins. >> nato is a community united by our values. freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. we stand together. we protect and defend each other. all for one and one for all. geoff: to discuss this we turn to heather conley, president of german marshall fund of the united states, which focuses on improving transatlantic relation

thank, welcome back to the newshour. how significant is this and how does finland militarily help contribute to nato's security? >> this was an incredibly historic day and it is a special day for nato. on this day 74 years ago, nato was founded in washington. it is a great birthday present to have the 31st member of nato join finland. finland has an over 800 mile border with russia, but they have focused on their own territorial defense for decades. they are militarily capable as an ally. job one is defending finland and now part of nato. geoff: how much of a strategic setback do you think this is for the kremlin? >> it is massive and it is all because of vladimir putin's

decision last year for his full-scale invasion in ukraine. finland was a country that wanted the closest possible relationship with nato, but not to become a nato membe when that began, they completely changed their opinion. they did not want to stand alone. they did standalone when they fought soviet forces in the winter war. they were able to beat them back. they had to suffer the soviet union improving evything that finland did. they say it is no longer the word. they threaten finland, they threaten sweden with a nuclear attack and now it is a very muted comment because this is a

significant strategic loss for them. geoff: the deputy foreign minister said they would take unspecified further steps if more non-finland nato forces were deployed into finland. how likely is that? >> it is really not likely that you would see a meaningful deployment of nato forces. finland has a robust territorial defense. you are likely to see more exercises. we have to fully integrate into nato defense planning, but you will not see major infrastructure or forces. finland can take care of its own territorial defense, but the kremlin is incorrect. they have removed russian forces from finland's border. these land forces have been used in ukraine. the finnish government is seeing

an easier time on the border. they know they could suffer cyber attacks. they know this will be tested, but they are very ready. they have been ready sin they sent their application to become nato members. geoff: also worries about russian cyber attacks in ukraine and the west. you mentioned sweden. finland's president said today that finland's membership is not complete without sweden, which is still being held up by turkey and hungary. wire those two countries holding it up? >> both have different reasons. turkey has been very concerned that sweden has not been as robust in the fight against terrorism. very specific for turkey, which would be the pkk. geoff: the kurdish militant party. >> exactly.

now, sweden and turkey have certainly been in bilateral conversations. sweden has changed its constitution. it has been as forward leaning as it can. but they would like the return of several kurdish opposition forces -- figures. this would be something the swedish government will have great difficulty doing. this is being held up until after the parliamentary elections on may 14 and everyone is hopeful that after that election and before the nato summit in lithuania in july that we can get past this. hungary is riding on turkeys coattails to see if they can get any benefit to see to lessen the european union's strong concerns about hungary's lack of rule of law and diminishment of its democracy. it will move one turkey moves

and turkey will only move until after their election, we hope. the turkish government did commit that they would bring sweden and finland into nato, they are working through these bilateral issues and we hope they expedite this after their election. geoff: thank you very much. ♪ amna: protests are ongoing in tennessee after six people lost their lives at the covenant elementary school in nashville last week. stephanie sy reportsn the calls for action. >> more than a thousand students in the nashville area walked out of their schools yesterday at 10:13 a.m., the same time the shooter opened fire at covenant elementary a week earlier. they marched to the tennessee state capitol to call for stronger gun laws. since last week, demonstrators

have convened at the capitol, even entering the building to shout "save our kids" and grab the attention of lawmakers. now, tennessee house republicans are moving to expel three democratic lawmakers who joined those protests. among them, state representative gloria johnson who represents part of knox county. representative johnson thank you so much for joining us. the expulsion threads stem from what you and your colleagues did in the house chamber last thursday. i understand you breached house rules when you took over the podium to lead protest chants. the republican leader says this amounted to disorderly behavior. what led you to do what you did and did it cause disorder? >> well, you know we since that morning, we have been silenced. we usually have something called welcoming and honoring. they didn't call on us. we wanted to welcome the protesters there. we want to honor the issue that you were talking about, and we were not given the opportunity. several times during that day.

we had tried to make that during that morning. we tried to make that effort and were shut down. and so we decided that between bills we were going to walk to the podium and thank the protesters for being there being , acknowledge the issue of gun violence and how important it was and tell them that we were committed to work on issues to solve the problem of gun violence. we were up there for about 20 seconds when the mics got cut, one of my colleagues did have a small megaphone and used that to continue speaking and we did chant for a few minutes with the people in the gallery, but out that also plays during recess. after 20 seconds, they also called a recess. the time that we were up there, probably five minutes after they cut the microphone, was during a recess. >> and i understand that one of

the chants was no action, no peace. i also read an interview where you said republicans have called to support you since that protest. do you have enough support to survive an expulsion vote? >> well, the republicans that called me were not the elected representatives in that body. those were the folks in my district and across the state because overwhelmingly in my district, more than 50% of republicans support guns since measures like red flag laws and safe storage laws. republicans in my district are at a majority of republicans in my district are calling for solutions to gun violence and they support measures to limit weapons and certainly limit weapons for people who are a danger to themselves or others. >> when it comes to the safety of schools, republicans say they

are taking action. the governor is proposing allotting 140 million dollars for school resource officers, $20 million for public school security improvements, seven million dollars for private school security as well as mental health liaisons in schools. why do you think that is not enough to protect children from gun violence? >> we need to prevent the guns from getting to the schoolhouse door. he's just talking about dealing with them once they're there were people are at risk of being hurt. he didn't mention guns in any of his solutions. and the reality is one of our members, our leader actually said, i will put a tank at every school if that is what it takes. we don't need to hardenur schools and make them like prisons. we need to address the issue of the guns that are coming to the schoolhouse door. let's prevent the guns from ever getting to our schoolhouse door.

and the reality is that there are constant things that we can -- common sense things that we can do and we have the data and research that shows us what works. red flag laws work. safe storage laws work. and why aren't we addressing that issue as well as security within school? because if we can prevent those guns from ever getting to the schoolhouse door, then we can prevent death and injury. >> i know you are calling for yet another protest on thursday, that is the day that the body is supposed to vote on this motion to expel. not only are you facing a pro-gun super majority in tennessee, but smith & wesson is already building its headquarters in tennessee. you have a very pro-gun statewide constituency.

our attention grabbing protests for you the only recourse you think you have as a democrat in that state right now is just to draw attention to the issue? >> because of the problem of redistricting in tennessee, even though 40% to 45% of tennesseans are democrats, we don't have that voice, we only have 25% of the statehous the voices of the people are not being lifted up. yes, we need the people to show up to help us lift up that voice and let people know that it is not just democrats that want some gun-sense legislation. it is republicans and independents as well. we will continue to speak up until someone takes action because thoughts and prayers are clearly not getting it done. >> representative gloria johnson joining us from nashville. thank you so much.

>> absolutely, thank you. ♪ geoff: when you think of fresh produce and fields of grain, the arctic may not spring to mind, but 800 miles near the north pole, the global seed vault holds emergency stockpiles of most of the world's crops. with global warming and an ever-growing population, those who run the vault say that its presence is more important than ever. we sent john beaver to the northernmost settlement on earth to find out more about a future of food. >> it is known by some as the doomsday vault and often referred to as the ultimate insurance policy. buried deep in the side of a mountain, itself deep in the

arctic circle - the most diverse collection of food crop seeds in the world. innocent dossou-aminon runs the gene bank in benin. he has made the 5000 mile journey from west africa to the norwegian archipelago of svalbard. with him, he has brought his country's first seed deposits. >> if anything happened in our place, we can come back and request for some seeds to regenerate for the farmers. >> maize, rice and soybeans are some of the crops being addedâ and they're in good company. there are regular deposits from gene banks in every corner of the globe - the collection now stands just short of 1.2 million varieties in total. they are scanned to check that nothing unwanted ends up in the vault. apart from any doomsday scenarios, the vault acts as insurance against more day to day issues like power outages in developing countries.

>> it is important to be here to prevent any catastrophe in the future. we keep the seeds in the freezer and the lights go and the power comes back, it changes the inside temperature in the freezer and this affects the germination of the seeds and then we lost a lot of our sessions. it is important to duplicate, so that if anything happens to what we are conservinin our country, we can get it back from the vault easily, to regenerate. >> the average temperature in benin at this time of year is 89 degrees. that, by chance, is 89 degrees warmer than here. [laughter] although the vault is kept artificially chilled, the permafrost acts as a good back up. and it was that permafrost that started this whole project. in one of the abandoned coal mines, we get a rare chance to

see the original, primitive, vault. in 1984, the nordic gene bank started an experiment as unique as the location. michael lyngkjaer is using the work done by his predecessors, to learn more about preserving crops, and all that comes with them. >> every fifth year, one box is taken out, opened, and then the seeds will be tested for viability. it will be tested for if there have been any changes, and with all seeds, there is also some microorganisms following the seeds naturally. some are pathogenic. we look at other pathogenic fungi will survive. so by conserving the seeds are we also conserving the type of disease that was present when the seeds were put in here?â >> this experiment in the mind has another 61 years to run. the world, and especially the arctic, will be a ry different place then.

the prosperity was forged out of these minds but of course the , irony is that the impact of burning this coal, is what threatens the very future. you used to be able to walk over the fjord here in winter. but the sea ice is long gone. now you need a boat. the arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on earth. stefan schmitz runs the crop trust -- a non profit organization dedicated to improving global food security. he says a warming world is a key reason to preserve crop diversity. >> under climate change, that means rougher climate, higher temperatures, longer droughts, more flooding, new pests and diseases. our food, r crops, need to be resilient. they need to cope with these changing circumstances, and therefore plant breeders need

all those varieties. take the genetic varieties out of them, mix them, cross breed them, to make sure the genetic varieties are fit for the future. >> we live in a world of mass farming where fewer staples are being grown. of an estimated 6000 plant species humans have eaten, just nine are now common and three, wheat, rice, and maize provide around half of all the calories consumed globally. this vault aims to be entirely apolitical, and operates on the belief that diverse genetic resources are an asset for humanity. there are more than 1700 gene banks in the world, all trying to improve what we eat. this flower contains a once long forgotten swedish variety. in the a plant breeder took some 1990's, seeds from the nordic reintroducing this suite. he quickly worked out that

although it made fantastic bread, the yield was quite low, and it grew so tall that itâ™s difficult to harvest. but with that height comes incredibly deep roots, and it turns out that that wheat is drought tolerant. bread containing that wheat is now found in high end bakeries across the world. but a lot of the work done in gene banks is aimed at providing food security for at rk populations. the global seed vault ensures those seed samples are always available. the remoteness of the vault also helps protect it from other man made problems. a syrian gene bank destroyed by civil war withdrew its deposits from the vault in 2015, regrew them, and returned new seeds in their place. after 15 years, the number of seed varieties, and the countries putting them in, continues to grow. and there are stark warnings that the genetic diversity

stored within this vault will be needed to feed an ever increasing population in an increasingly harsh environment. for the pbs newshour, i'm john bevir, in svalbard, deep in the arctic circle. ♪ amna: and remember, there is a lot more in line at pbs.org/newshour, including our conversation with the biden administration's top official on incarcerated youth and her take on the barriers juveniles face in the justice system. geoff: join us tomorrow night where we will have a look at how one rural county in new york state is trying to stem the tide of overdose deaths. that is the newshour for tonight. amna: on behalf of the entire team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs

newshour has been provided by -- >> actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. yes, i'm legally blind and yes i'm responsible for the user interface. data visualization. if i can see it and understand it quickly, anyone can. it is exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. i think that is the most rewarding thing. peop who know, know bdo. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these 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. ♪ >> this is pbs newshour west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ ♪ >> you are watching pbs.

-getting back to our roots helps us understand what we love and why we love it so much, rediscovering a nearly lost art or an adult twiston a c. i grew up eating sapote negro for dessert like at least once a week. -mm-hmm. -when we find those flavors and textures that remind us who we are, it is a treasure. in my kitchen, do i have a treat for you today. i cook with my friend and fellow chilango francisco migoya, head chef at modernist cuisine, one of the most innovative kitchens in the entire world. together, we make one of the most comforting foods, pellizcadas with chicharrón and salsa verde. and because francisco is an expert in the science behind breadmaking, he's going to show me how to make the perfect conchas. whoa! whoa! come with us, back to our roots.