♪ john: tonight on "pbs news weekend"... the latest on the agreement in principle that the white house and congressional republicans ached on a debt ceiling deal. then... why having in-person medical interpreters is so vital to the health of asian americans with limited english proficiency. alyes: for me, it's worth it when i realize, "oh, i was there to provide that communication, that information to them so they can make better decisions." john: and... the story of captain frances brown wai's heroic service to the nation in world war ii, and his long and winding road to the medal of honor. ♪ >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by --

>> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no contract plans and our u.s.-based customer service team can find one the fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- and friends of "the newshour." ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

john: good evening. i'm john yang. now that the bargaining is done, the sales job has begun -- today, leaders in both parties began briefing lawmakers on the deal that president biden and house speaker kevin mccarthy reached last night to raise the debt ceiling and limit new spending. if congress passes it by june 5, it will avert a potentially calamitous national default. here's what we know about the contours of the tentative deal. it would extend the nation's debt limit until 2025, after the 2024 elections. implement spending caps. mostly maintain spending on defense and veterans' health care. and expand work requirements for some adults receiving food stamps. at the capitol today, speaker mccarthy tld reporters it was the best deal he could get. rep. mccarthy: it doesn't get everything everybody wanted but in divided government, that's where we end up. i think it's a very positive bill. i do want to thank the president's team that he put together. very professional, very smart.

very strong beliefs thatre different to ours and i think at the end of the day people can work together to pass this in the house and the senate. john: speaking on cbs new's "face the nation," house minority leader hakeem jeffries said the agreement protects some democratic priorities. rep. jeffries: the agreement that was reached in principle by president biden does several important things. in addition to avoiding a devastating default that would hurt everyday americans, it protects social security, protects medicare. it protects medicaid. john: parts of the deal is sure to displease the most conservative house republicans and the most liberal house democrats, and that could complicate passage. let's dig into this with congressional correspondent lisa desjardin and npr senior political editor domenico montanaro. so lisa, crisis averted. we can all go home. lisa: nothing has been that easy for years, and especially not with congress. it is actually going to be a dramatic couple of days here, figuring out especially if the votes are there for this to pass in the house.

it's exactly what you just mentioned. not clear that enough house conservatives will back this to combine with enough democrats. let's talk about the conservatives a glaring siren first. went out on twitter this morning from a couple of conservatives, one of them especially, chip roy. i want to show you something that he retweeted from another conservative senator, rand paul, writing about the de. "this was fake conservatives agreeing to fake spending cuts." chip roy has been on this program. our viewers know him well. he's important for a few reasons. he's a thought leader among conservatives. he was one of the holdouts with mccarthy when he was trying to become a speaker. but he also sits on the house rulecommittee. he and if two others join him, and there are two others who may not like this deal, nothing will even get out of committee. so mccarthy really has to deal with these questions from the right that he didn't get enough . on the left progressives really , up in arms over the work requirements. they are learning the details so we will see how that lands. john: in broad terms what does

, this tentative deal due to future federal spending? lisa: it ends what has been an incredible spending binge by congress over the last four or five years, congress and the white house together. however, it really reshapes the debt curve, but not as much as some people would say needs to happen. it's a step forward in terms of the debt. on the other hand, it will mean cuts for some government agencies. we don't know which ones. there will be real-world effects. in the work requirements for food stamps specifically, those could affect thousands of people. on one hand, republicans say, maybe more people will go out and get a job. on the other hand, democrats say no thousands of people could , lose a critical benefit. john: all along, it seems like these negotiations or what we've known about these negotiations have been on the republican terms. the spending cuts the work , requirements. did the white house feel pressured to get this done? domenico: we know that the white house had basically said that they were abstaining from negotiating over this because they felt like morally it was

not the rithing to do. republicans control one chamber of congress, and eventually, if they were going to hold out, the white house was going to have to come on board as well. and you know, president biden has been able to get deals done over the years. with republicans. he was one person who had negotiated on this very thing in 2011, in previous years. so we know that biden was somebody who's been targeting the middle as well. and you know, we've been talking about the extremes on the left and the right. political messaging wise, this being kicked past 2024 and biden being able to say, look, we made a deal that was compromised and targeting the middle, that sounds like music to his ears when it comes to being able to win over swing voters. john: on the others, speaker mccarthy, i think a lot of people remember the 15 ballots it took for him to get the office. has his stature been raised by this? domenico: i think if this does get past this will be a huge , sigh of relief from mccarthy because this will probably be the last test of something real that he has to get passed other

than show votes. this has to get done. this isn't something that you know they are looking toet some kind of compromise bill done. this is something that they have to pass. otherwise the results would be catastrophic. so pushing this past 2024 past that election, mccarthy will be able to say that he was able to work with the white house, able to get something done and that it does help show that he was able to, you know, get something through even in a conference that isn't necessarily prone to want to compromise. john: lisa, what is coming ahead? you talked about the possibility it may not get out of rules may , not even get to the floor. what should we be looking for in the days ahead? lisa: the hope is it would get to the house floor for a vote on wednesday. now, let's talk about when the deadline is. it's a week from monday, so that just leaves me really five days to get through the house and then get through the senate. the senate is so slow and it can be slowed down as much as

possible by people like rand paul, who don'like the deal. if you run the clocks in the senate, it is almost like the math doesn't quite work. i have a feeling once they g through one vote, and they start going -- perhaps if the markets react and things will speed up. this is very close. getting this far is extraordinary. this was a hard deal to make. but it is still like trying to maneuver an aircraft carrier through a sea full of icebergs. they are not through it yet. the next week will be critical. domenico: but sometimes they can put a speedboat behind the aircraft carrier. they all jump on the vote or get on another vehicle. they somehow figure out different kinds of rules to get things through when they want to do it quickly, so we'll see if that winds up becoming the case. but if there is this kind of market pressure in particular where you have middle of the road democrats and those sort of main street publicans, they hear that, i think there could be pressure to move more quickly. john: whenever we come to t precipice of a default, there's always talk about doing away with the debt ceiling. is there's talk about that now?

do you think it would happen? lisa: there is talk about that but it's not very loud and it's not by the most muscular forces in congress. both parties, it sort of like the filibuster. they're worried that when they're out of power, it's something that they can use as a tool. republicans more than democrats, but it's not serious talk of getting rid of right now. john: thank you both very much. ♪ there is other news -- the texas state senate is preparing for a trial of the state's attorney general, ken paxton. last night, the texas house voted overwhelmingly to impeach paxton, who's a republican. both chambers are controlled by republicans. the impeachment triggered paxton's immediate suspension from office. the senate trial will determine whether he's removed altogether. the 20 articles of impeachment range from charges of taking bribes to obstruction of justice

and abuse of public trust. paxton, a trump ally who once asked the u.s. supreme court to overturn the 2020 election, has denied any wrongdoing. in turkey, president recep tayyip erdogan won today's runoff presidential election. his supporters took to the streets to celebrate another five years in office. erdogan beat kemal kilicdaroglu, who promised a return to parliamentary democracy. erdogan's -year tenure has consolidated power into a near-autocracy. erdogan overcame public unhappiness over turkey's crippling inflation and the government response to a devastating earthquake three months ago. in ukraine, there was a massive barrage of russian suicide drones overnight. the capital, kyiv, was especially hard-hit by the iranian-made drones. kyiv is preparing to mark the anniversary of its founding. the ukrainian military said it shot down more than 40 drones over the capital. and, american josef newgarden

has won today's indianapolis 500. on the final lap, he overtook swedish driver marcus ericsson, who won last year. today's crowd at the indianapolis motor speedway was one of the biggest in decades. still to come on "pbs news weekend"... on this memorial day weekend, the world war ii heroics of captain frances brown wai. and... an army bugler tells his grandson about his special wartime assignment. >> this is "pbs news weekend" from weta studios in washington, home of "the pbs newshour." weeknights on pbs. john: for many immigrants, a mastery of everyday english doesn't mean they feel comfortable in all settings, like a doctor's office. that's where medical interpreters play a crucial role. but, as ali rogin reports, access to these highly-skilled professionals isn't guaranteed for many asian american and pacific islander communities.

bea: this one good luck and happiness. ali: in san francisco's chinatown, bea hoang sells jewelry and other chinese goods, as she has for the last 30 years. she calls her english halting, but she's fluent in salesmanship. bea: green jade, it's a chinese mbol meaning it's moy. i think the key to my success is my warm and welcoming service. i try to be inviting to my clies, and i don't pressure them to buy anything. ali: in her shop, she strings english together as easily as beads on twine. but outside, it's different. even routine doctors' appointments can feel foreign so bea usually requests an interpreter to speak her native cantonese, a language spoken by over 85 million people worldwide. bea: it is essential to have someone who is able to translate for me while attending medical appointments. if there is information i don' understand, it can be pivotal to my health. ali: bea is one of about

148,000, or 18%, of san franciscans o speak a form of chinese at home. almost 90,000 of them have limited english language proficiency, or lep. but bea is one of the lucky ones. many immigrant communities don't have access to the same types of language services. san francisco's chinatown is one of the oldest and largest in the united states, dating back to the 1850's. to this day, it's a central hub for chinese-american culture and life, but there are also many resources and services available to this community outside these gates. north east medical services, or nems, provides many of those services. at 14 clinics in the bay area, 90% of their patients are asian. most are low income and prefer to speak their native language. nems offers culturally-relevant care like acupuncture and routine screenings for conditions that are particularly prevalent in asian american

communities, like hepatitis b. dr. amy tang is the director of immigrant health at nems. she says screening for and treating hepatitis and other common health care issues here reduces the risk of patients failing to follow up with specialists because of language barriers. dr. tang: it's really important that we train our providers to manage it in the primary care setting and not have to refer out to specialists every time since it's so common. ali: dr. tang speaks mandarin, and many staff members are at least bilingual. most of the patients at this nems location are chinese american. dr. tang: we can also probe ab oher fumadeoursr tarendyb st the cultural background norms of why they may be reluctant to try this medication or their fear about a side effect or their concern about a vaccine. ali: when doctors and nurses can't speak a patient's language, they'll use one of these devices, which connect to interpreters over video or the phone. but calls can get dropped, and wait times for interpreters can drag on past the appointment time dr. tang: for instance, i had a

patient yesterday who spoke indonesian and she of course wanted an interpreter, rightly so. there wasn't one available. they said they would call back in 20 minutes with an update, and they finally did. and of course, our visit was already over. ali: but even patients who speak everyday english can miss out on medical nuances. melody schiaffino is a professor at uc san diego's school of public health. prof. schiaffino: if your doctor can't understand you, you can't communicate with them, then you're more likely also not to be able to adhere to the treatment regimen. and so what could be something that we can easily manage or manage with proper care ends up becoming catastrophic in many cases. doctor: hi! you ready? ali: that's why the gold standard is in-person medical interpreters. alyes wong is a staff interpreter at uc san francisco hospital, and is certified in both mandarin and cantonese. today, she's helping a

cantonese-speaking patient get fitted for aew hearing aid. wong was born in hong kong. as a child, her family moved first to england, and then to hawaii. they spoke cantonese at home. alyes: i think a lot of immigrant kids go through this where you have to, you know, ad hoc interpret for your for your mom with your dad. i realized, wow, i think i could help people in that way. ali: she says interpreters have to interpret both the words, and the intentions and desires of the patient and the doctor. that can at times be hard on the interpreters. alyes: you tend to develop something that we call vicarious trauma. and that becomes quite, you know, emotionally heavy. for me, it's worth it when i realize, oh, i was there to provide that communication, that information to them so they can make better decisions. ali: wong went through 40 hours of training to get certified as a medical interpreter. but that doesn't account for years of language and medical study. alyes: as a doctor, you maybe, you know, you go into a

specialty and you're, you know, that specialty inside out. for interpreters, we go to different specialties. we jump from one to the other, from maybe neonatal and now we're going to cardiology. and so we have to learn all the basics of those terms. natalya: it takes pretty much as much time as it takes a person to become a qualified nurse, a doctor, or any other health care. ali: natalya mytareva is the executive director of the certification commission for healthcare interpreters, which administers the program that certified alyse. mytareva says recruiting interpreters is difficult, but it's even harder to retain them. natalya: as they get involved more with health care, they see the attraction of becoming nurses, physicians, other health care providers, and they just move out after being, you know, in the field of interpreting for 3, 5 years. ali: that helps explain why there are so few highly-skilled interpreters in the united states. for example, there are 388 certified mandarin medical

interpreters, and 177 cantonese, nationwide for more than 900,000 chinese language speakers who do not speak english well, or at all. several laws mandate that all federally-funded healthcare programs provide meaningful access to linguistically appropriate healthcare, but those are loosely-defined terms, with few enforcement mechanisms. prof. schiaffino: we really only get a count of self-reported hospital data that indicates, yes, we are offering some level of linguistic and translation services, but the quality of those linguistic and translation services is not necessarily clarified. the problem, i think a lot of times is that the onus and the burden is on the patient, and that is inappropriate because this is already a vulnerable and marginalized population. ali: only sixteen states directly reimburse providers for language services provided to medicaid and children's health insurance program enrollees. in 2009, california became the first state to require health insurance companies to cover interpretation services. schiaffino says more states should follow suit.

prof. schiaffino: considering something like that i think would be very beneficial because third party payers are, are able to, to really take advantage of these systemic benefits and economies of scale to really organize and deliver these opportunities. ali: but unless those changes are made, interpreters like alyes play a crucial role in this patchwork system. you have to be really passionate to do this. alyes: yes. it's the passion for language. that's for me. the passion for language. the passion to, you know, also to remember where we came from. and thinking about, you know, how we when we first came here, the struggles we had, how do i... how do i help -- the new people coming in? ali: because when language isn't a barrier, doctors can focus on their primary job -- taking care of their patients. for "pbs news weekend," i'm ali rogin in san fncisco.

♪ john: on this memorial day weekend, and for asian american and pacific islander heritage month, we look at the lesser known story of frances brown wai and his heroic service to the nation. >> a date that will live in infamy. john: pearl harbor in 1941 drew the united states into world war ii and altered the life of frances brown wai, then a young army lieutenant stationed on oahu could the son of a hawaiian mother and a chinese immigrant father, wai was a natural athlet playing football and other sports at ucla. it was during the 1944 allied campaign to liberate the philippine islands from japan, that wai, by then a captain, displayed selfless sacrifice.

according to his citation, wai landed on a beach code-named red and found the soldiers already ashore leaderless, disorganized and pinned down by machine gun fire. even though he was wounded, he assumed command and led soldiers inland, sometimes deliberately drawing fire to expose the enemy's positions. he died while leading the assault on the last remaining japanese pillbox. his commander recommended him for the medal of honor, the highest military honor. but when the paperwork reached washington, it was downgraded to the stinguished service cross. in 1996, congress directed the pentagon to review military records look at discrimination in the honors awarded to asian-americans during world war ii. the defense secretary determined that wai deserved the medal of honor. pres. clinton: they risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty and in doing so they did more than defend america. in the face of painful prejudice, they helped to define

america at its best. john: in june 2000, president clinton presented wai's brother, robert, with the medal wai should have been awarded in the first place. >> captain wai's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest tritions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the united states army. [applause] ♪ john: and now on this day before memorial day, a piece from storycorps. in the final days of world war ii, u.s. army sergeant harrison wright was stationed in a small belgian village near the german border. he tells his grandson, sean guess, about a special assignment. >> i was an 18-year-old boy and

i blew the bugle in our outfit. if a young man is killed in action or dies defending his country, you blow "taps" over his grave. there is no way to describe it, the emotion you feel knowing those notes are going out. and i remember -- the war was over a few days and i was asked to blow "taps" for all who died in the war. we climbed a hill, hit wasig like a mountaintop, and my battalion was on the bottom. i blew those "taps," and the men

said it floatedut across all of the valley and said it was beautiful. they were all telling me how good it sounded and what a tribute it was. to our fallen comrades. ["taps" plays] john: harrison wright died in 2015 at the age of 91. for more stories like his, got

-- go to to storycorps.org. and tomorrow, "taps" will be echoing across the 155 national cemeteries around the country. so, amid the barbecues and mattress sales, i hope you'll take some time to remember the hundreds of thousands of men and women who gave their lives so the rest of us could enjoy such things. and that is pbs news weekend for this sunday. on mondays newshour, the latest on the reelection of president erdogan. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. have a good week. >> major funding for "pbs news weekend" has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering no contract wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find a plan that fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. ♪

>> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

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