amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the newshour tonight, america's top diplomat and china's president agree to stabilize relations while leaving daunting differences unresolved. amna: new reporting shows fbi leadership resisted investigating former president trump's role in the capitol insurrection for more than a year. geoff: and a group of young people find a unique clause in montana's constitution to sue over inaction on climate change. >> as i've learned about climate change and i've seen what our lawmakers have done promoting fossil fuel industries, i've realized that that is unconstitutional acts. ♪

>> major funding for the "pbs newshour" s been provided by -- with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including leonard and norma clorevine, and koo and patricia yuen. >> it was like an "ah ha" moment. this is what i love doing. early-stage companies have this energy that energizes me. these are people who are trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs, it is the same thing. i'm helping people reach their dreams. i'm thriving by helping others every day. people who know, know bdo. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better

world at hewlett.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. ♪ geoff: welcome to the newshour. search operations are under way tonight for a submersible that carries paying tourists to view the wreckage of the titanic. the five-person craft is owned

by ocean-gate expeditions. amna: canadian officials say the vessel was reported overdue sunday in the north atlantic. it disappeared 435 miles south of st. john's, newfoundland, near where the titanic went down in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. the u.s. and canadian coast guards are searching by air and sea, but it was unclear this afternoon exactly how many more hours of oxygen the submersible's crew has left. >> in terms of the hours, we understood that that was 96 hours of rescue or emergency capability from the operator and so, we anticipate there's somewhere between 70 to the full 96 hours available at this point. amna: the ocean depth in the search area is roughly 13,000 feet. geoff: now to the rest of the day's news. the deep south grappled with a new round of severe weather. tornado strikes in central

mississippi killed at least one person overnight. nearly two dozen others were hurt. more than 100,000 customers in the deep south were still without power after earlier storms. and the region faces heat indexes in the triple digits this week. a scorching heat wave in northern india has now claimed the lives of nearly 170 people. temperatures have hit 110 degrees, and power failures have knocked out air conditioning. that has hospitals in two of the country's most populous states overflowing. >> i visited the hospital last night to admit my relative suffering from heatstroke. there were no beds available so i came back to the hospital again this morning. the hospital staff advised me to spread a bed sheet on the floor and get treatment. last night, i saw people being treated on the floor. geoff: northern india is known for summer heat waves, but officials say this year's temperatures have consistently

gone above normal. israeli forces and palestinian gunmen faced their fiercest day of fighting. an israeli raid on a refugee camp killed five palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy and injured 90 others. smoke rose as palestinians set off roadside bombs to disable armored vehicles. the israelis struck back with helicopter gunships, rarely seen in west bank rates. several soldiers were wounded. violence across the u.s. killed 10 people and wounded dozens over the weekend. the worse was in kellogg, idaho where four people were shot to death at a home. last night in san francisco, six people were wounded when shooters in two cars fired on each other. into it right, four teenagers were wounded in their car. in ukraine, government forces say they've recaptured an eighth village in a counter-offensive in the southeast. but the latest gains appeared to be incremental, and ukraine's defense minister acknowledged the situation is difficult.

british intelligence reported both sides have taken heavy losses. the jailed russian opposition leader alexei navalny faced a new trial today, this time, on charges of extremism. journalists were barred from the courtroom and instead watched a video feed remotely. his parents were also denied access. >> for me, it's obvious that all this is done to close this process for political reasons, because the investigators, prosecutors, and the authorities in general do not want the public to know about the trial and how weak the evidential basis is. geoff: a conviction on these new charges could keep navalny in prison for more than 30 years. and delegates from 193 nations have adopted the first treaty to protect marine life on the high seas. today's vote at the u.n. came after more than 20 years of discussions. the treaty would create a new body to oversee conservation of ocean life and establish protected areas.

it'll take effect once it's ratified by at least 60 countries. still to come on the newshour, new questions about the greek coast guard's response to the deadly sinking of a migrant vessel. tamara keith and amy walter break down the latest political headlines. and the grandmother of juneteenth discusses what the holiday means for americans. >> 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. amna: secretary of state antony blinken finished up a high-stakes visit to beijing today, the first visit by an american top diplomat to china in five years. relations between the two preeminent global powers are at their lowest point since ties were restored 50 years ago. blinken's mission, to see if there is a way to right them. >> good afternoon. amna: a firm handshake, despite

a shaky relationship. today, secretary of state antony blinken wrapped up his trip to china. marathon meetings with several top officials and a short visit with president xi jinping. both sides expressed optimism. >> i stressed direct engagement is the best way to responsibly manage this, and ensure competition does not veer into conflict. i heard the same from my chinese counterparts. we both agree on the need to stabilize our relationship. >> two sides have agreed to follow through with the common understandings president biden i reached in bali. . the two sides have made progress and reached agreements on specific issues. amna: president xi referring to a meeting with president biden last november in indonesia, where the leaders set an agenda to warm relations. the winter brought frosty relations. the u.s. shot down a chinese spy balloon over its air space.

lincoln and xi did not dress the fear this weekend. several other issues went unresolved, most notably resuming military to military contacts, which secretary blinken confirmed china is not yet ready to do. >> is a work in progress. amna: in an interview with cbs news, he emphasized its continued urgency. >> we want to make sure we don't inadvertently have a conflict because of miscommunication. amna: a potential point of conflict, taiwan. china has ratcheted up its military activity around the island that it claims is a bit -- a breakaway province. while the u.s. has upheld a policy of strategic ambiguity, committing to a one china policy while also selling arms to the island. on several occasions during his term, biden has said thu.s. would defend taiwan from chinese attack. also unsettled, the two nations battle for military and economic influence in the indo-pacific region. in 2021, the u.s. announced a

security pact with australia and the united kingdom that would supply australia with nuclear powered submarines. it garnered a strong rebuke from china. >> establishing the so-called trilateral security pact or should will trigger an arms race, damage the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and harm regional peace and stability. amna: since then, president biden has made a trip to the region and has hosted several of its leaders. india's prime minister will visit washington this week. meantime, china has increased military exercises in the south china sea, and its confrontations with the americans. just a few weeks ago, a chinese fighter jet cut in front of a u.s. aircraft over the south china sea, which the u.s. military called a "unnecessarily aggressive maneuver." a week later, a chinese warship cut off an american warship in the strait of taiwan. although there were no

breakthroughs on these major points of tension this weekend, secretary blinken struck a note of cautious up ms. him -- cautious optimism. >> my hope and expectation is we will have better engagement going forward. it is critical to doing what we agree is necessary. and that is responsibly managing the relationship. amna: and to decode secretary blinken's china visit and its ramifications for washington's relationship with beijing, i am joined by ryan hass, a senior fellow at the brookings institution. he was the director for china, taiwan and mongolia at the national security council in the obama administration. also with us is miles yu, a senior fellow and director of the china program at the hudson institute. he served as the china policy advisor to secretary of state mike pompeo during the trump administration. welcome to you both. thanks for being here. ryan, this was reportedly a relatively short meeting, 30 to 35 minutes. what does it say to you the meeting happened at all between president xi and secretary blinken? ryan: it was significant they

had a chance to sit down. . it accomplished two things. the first, president xi was able to articulate the future direction he intends to see the u.s.-china relationship travel. this is a departure from the previous statement, his accusation that the u.s. seeks to suppress china. secretary blinken succeeded in moving president xi on that. the second signal it sent was a signal to the rest of the chinese government, that president xi expects and is comfortable with his counterparts engaging directly with their american counterparts. i think it was a productive day of diplomacy. amna: productive? how would you rate it? miles: a plus, a minus. the first signal that ryan has not mentioned is this is very good optics for the chinese. xi jinping sits at the head table. . he talks like an amber, showing his contempt for the american approach. this is in sharp contract in 20

-- contrast in 2018, the last time a secretary of state visited china. even though he despised pompeo, he also has a certain amount of fear. this was a conversation that needs to happen, but needs to happen on equal terms. china is in a position to challenge americans not only goodwill, but also american strength. by playing this optical game. it is important both sides, to sit down and engage, to avoid a crisis. and also, it is important for us to keep in mind what is at stake on china's side. amna:amna: president biden believes tensions are on the right trail. do you agree with that? ryan: the past two days put us on a better pathway than we were on a week ago at this time. the reality is it is important for the u.s. and china to have the capacity to communicate directly. it is important to shrink space for miscalculation.

it is important to explore whether there is mutual intent to moderate the relationship. here doing these rings because it is in america's interest -- we are doing this because it is in america's interest. the reality is the u.s. is abundantly stronger than china in every material category you could use to evaluate. from questions of military power, diplomatic partners around the world, alliances, the world reserve currency of the u.s. dollar, we are very comfortable and confident in our capacity to engage china from a position. amna: failure you mentioned to reestablish those military to military communications, that is a failure for the u.s.. that was important in terms of bringing down the risk of miscalculation. ryan: let's take this as a first step. secretary blinken not speak on behalf of the american military, and his chinese counterparts don't speak on behalf of the chinese military. it is important we get to a point where our militaries can

reestablish re-connectivity. secretary blinken's trip was a first step, in questions of war and peace will be decided at the leadership level. the fact that we were able to reestablish connectivity is an important step. amna: there is the issue of china's faltering economy. you mentioned chinese leverage in these talks. does that not give the u.s. some leverage? miles: brian is right. the u.s. has tremendous leverage. the chinese economy is in shambles. china needs the united states much more than the united states needs china. china's economy, technology, military depends on western technology and exports. it is in their best interest to engage with the u.s. i think that is why we have this advantage. the advantage we can use and i think we should use more. secretary blinken with china is under the assumption that we could establish a military to

military professional contact. that is a dream. we have tried for decades. we have to understand the nature of the chinese polity -- chinese party. . military relationship they would never allow their military to conduct independent communication. amna: that would never happen. miles: this shows again and again, in 2001, the plane incident. nobody from the chinese military would pick up the phone call, even though we have robust communication with them. the nature of the party military relationship is different from the west. this is worse than soviet times when the u.s. military and the command could have an a semblance of communication. this is not. amna: what are you going to be watching for now in the days and weeks ahead to judge how these meetings went? what is the effect of these talks? ryan: you need to explore whether or not they mutual intent to lower the risk of

miscalculation or miscommunication exists. we will have a series of meetings in washington and beijing that will bring to light how much progress is possible between now and november, when we expect president xi will travel to the u.s. to meet with president biden. we have this window now over the next several months to see if we can shrink space for miscalculation, establish a cooperative agenda based upon mutual self interest where we take actions that are in parallel to each other. and if so, the world will be a better place. if not, the u.s. is in a confidence strong position. amna: what are you watching for? miles: china has to be responsible, their action is most important in deciding the nature and direction of u.s.-china relations. that is why i'm very satisfied the new china policy paradigm that emerged during the trump administration must continue on to this day.

the china challenge is not just part of the issue. it is an american issue for that,, i give biden credit. however, there are some misconceptions, there are some misunderstandings of how the chinese system operates. for example, china always throughout the taiwan independence, there is no taiwan independence. because no party in taiwan is advocating for taiwan independence. taiwan wants to have the status quo. the status quo is independence. there is no need for that. china always forced the united states to make a statement. the u.s. will not support taiwan independence. this is a red herring. we should not support that. amna: you will have to leave it there. i have a feeling we will have to talk about this again. thank you for your time. ryan: thank you. miles: thank you. ♪

geoff: the u.s. department of justice initially resisted opening an investigation into former president donald trump and his associates' role in january 6th and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. that's according to exclusive investigative reporting by the washington post. it took nearly a year after th capitol attack for a doj inquiry to begin, and the fbi only opened its investigation into the fake electors' plot in april 2022. aaron davis is one of the reporters who broke this story and he joins me now. two days after the capitol attack, the fbi started announcing charges against the rioters, the foot soldiers. what accounts for the doj's much slower, more cautious approach in investigating donald trump and his allies? aaron: we found the fbi was very gung ho, ready to go out and get those who had broken into the

capital, the people who were on tv that day breaking the windows, going inside, threatening lawmakers. but they were more hesitant to go after all of the episodes, the activities that fomented the sediment that led to the rage that day. they wanted to seek direct connection between the violence and somebody via phone record or something else to launch that investigation. you have to realize, this is an fbi that was twice stung with the investigation into russian interference with the trump election in 2016 and before that, james comey decision to reopen the investigation into hillary clinton. this was the third time the fbi stepped into the breach to investigate a presidential candidate. and they really wanted solid evidence. they wanted something they could touch and feel, something we could hold onto and show this is why we are investigating donald trump. geoff: in this piece reported by

you and your colleague, you quoted an official who says of the current doj, you can work so hard not to be partisan that you are failing to do your job. how widely held of a view was that within the doj? the garland doj was in many ways over correcting for the perceived ethical failures of the barr doj? aaron: there was a huge culture shift. this was to give back to regular order, under garland. under bill barr, there were many times the attorney general said this is a valid investigation. the attorney garland wanted to come in and say, i am not to make those decisions. these should come to me from the bottom through evidence. there was such a culture that have been affected under the previous administration where it was hard to go up the chain. there was lot the mechanism to go up and make these cases. even before garland came in, there was an attempt to investigate trump's orbit. it was batted down in the early weeks after january 6, saying it is premature to do that, let's

build up from the evidence and get there. at some point, this investigation, they realized there was no it connection between the people entering the capitol and the people who had done the fake electors and more of the conspiracy type work leading up to january 6. there was no ladder to get from here to there to get to those other potential investigations. geoff: take us inside the decision from the doj to pursue the rarely charged seditious conspiracy against the militiamen who were involved in january 6. aaron: this was a big part of the idea of if you think about investigating january 6 like an organized crime type syndicate. that you had your foot soldiers who went in the capital and somewhere up there, there may have been an architect who designed and put this in play. if you get this rioters and you get their phones, and you keep going up, the seditious conspiracy the oath keepers, proud boys, were considered a

linchpin in that effort. if you could charge them with seditious conspiracy, that carries decades in prison. maybe they will be motivated to tell what they know. that took so long, it took months where it was first brought up as early as february. it took until november to have a draft prosecution, and it took more weeks for a senior justice department official to agree on what should be charged and who should be charged. when they finally got an arrested stewart rhodes and oath keepers in january, they realized these folks were not going to turn or flip on someone. they did not have that view of what had been going on inside the white house. geoff: what prompted the pitted? -- of the pivot? aaron: we asked that many times, what changed? so much of the evidence that ultimately, they began investigating, had been bubbling out in the public over the

course of the year. they were -- there were identical versions of the documents that were obtained under freedom of information act. march 2021, john eastman and the memo about using fake the lack -- fake electors have been out there for weeks. you can't deny therwas a lot of pressure put on doj by the house select committee, and what they were turning up, by the wave of programs from critics around the country. there just was at that point in time. finally, breathing room inside the department of justice, inside the u.s. attorney's office, where they are putting oath keepers and proud boys, and those are getting ready for trial. they said, we need to look at these other areas of investigation. tom windham went to the fbi and said, will you help me investigate the fake electors? even then, 10 months afterwards, the fbi director said no, you

don't have enough evidence. i'm not going to subpoena the hotel. geoff: final question, to what degree was the investigation, now overseen by jack smith, to what degree was it adversely affected by this delay? aaron: there really became such a split where you had -- prosecutors had to you -- turn to the u.s. postal service inspector, and they were the ones helping the prosecutor's subpoena and do a grand jury work in the months of early 2022. all about work began a year after the fact. in those early months, white house officials were not interviewed, records for potentially lost, social media posts and private encrypted messages were deleted. we just don't know what could have been done quicker. if we were destined to be in this position where trump is running again and his potential legal culpability from 2020 is still an open question.

geoff: karen davis with the washington post, thank you for being with us. aaron: thank you for having me. ♪ geoff: as we reported, search crews are looking for a submersible craft that was taken tourists to see the titanic and ultimately went missing. for more on this effort, we turn to kristin romy. thank you for being with us. as we learn more about the search-and-rescue effort, help us understand the difference between a submersible and submarine, and what these vessels are used for? >> a submersible canned power by itself, unlike a submarine, which can leave port, and come back. a submersible is reliant upon a mothership. currently, the mothership is some 900 nautical miles east of cape cod. geoff: as we understand it,

rescuers are looking about 900 miles off the coast of cape cod. about 13,000 feet deep, they are searching through the water. how difficult of a process is this? >> when you consider that it is almost more difficult to travel to the bottom of the ocean than it is to space, everything down there is inspiring to keep -- is conspiring to keep humans out. . 12,500 feet, where the titanic is roughly, you're talking about 380 times the pressure that is being expended upon you, versus at sea level. on top of that, you have extremely cold temperatures. it is an inhospitable place. . you are trying to find a submersible the size of a truck at the bottom of a vast expanse of north atlantic. geoff: what is known about the company that owns this submersible that is now missing? >> oceangate has been a leader in developing these deep-sea submersibles.

i spoke to the ceo when he was developing the submarine back in 2016. it is very unique in that it is a carbon fiber and titanium submarine. up until now, most of the tourist rides to titanic have been on older soviets. this is new technology, and it does come with a real-time monitoring system, which monitors the integrity of the whole. it is interesting we have not heard anything regarding that. if there was an issue with the hull, we would think there would be information being conveyed to the mothership. geoff: help us understand the increase in the number of people who have gone on these extreme dangerous excursions post-pandemic. >> it began before the pandemic, but it is a combination of technology, and people who have the money to create these bucket lists and achieve them.

what they are doing with oceangate is paralleling what we see in the commercial space field, with blue origin as well as virgin galactic. this is a new emerging brave new world of travel. and it does not come without risk. geoff: you're standing you are learning more about this case at the same time we are, what more is known about the five people who were on board this craft? have weaker from their families? >> right now, there are no discussions regarding who is on board. there has been a little bit in social media. i think the concern, before we identify who is on there, is getting them up. there is a limited amount of oxygen on this submersible. roughly 96 hours, four days worth of oxygen. if this submersible did leave around 2:00 a.m. sunday morning east coast as they estimate, they are halfway through that available oxygen supply. geoff: what will you be watching for as this search effort continues? >> it is a massive deployment of

resources. canadian navy, canadian coast guard, this is an amphibious mission. we have ships controlling the sonar, we have airplanes flying over the north atlantic who are able to detect objects of the below. we hope they get to them in time. geoff: kristin romy, thanks for being with us without reporting and your insights. we appreciate it. >> thank you. ♪ amna: there were recriminations, mourning, and anger in greece and other parts of the world today, as the search continued for missing migrants in the mediterranean sea. they came from many countries, and hundreds are presumed dead in last week's sinking of the over-filled vessel. john irvine of independent television news reports from kalamata, greece on what is perhaps the greatest greek sea disaster since antiquity.

john: they were missed by most cameras here today, but these itv news pictures show the suspected traffickers who the greek police believe are responsible for the deaths of the 500 migrants who drowned in this country'sorst maritime disaster of the modern era. the nine egyptians, who all survived the sinking, were taken from the police station handcuffed in threes for the short journey to the local court where they appeared for the first time as the wheels of justice went into motion here. the nine egyptians face a litany of charges, including negligent homicide, causing a shipwreck, and belonging to a criminal organization. the proceedings here today involve them being formally interviewed -- formerly interviewed. their lawyers have indicated they will deny the charges on the basis they were just

migrants themselves, rather than people smugglers. that the nine were all men was a reminder that no women or children were found among the dead or the rescued. when the trawler was abandoned, it was every man for himself. women and children were not even last, let alone first. they were not at all. in pakistan, the prime minister declared today a day of mourning for the dozens of citizens presumed dead in the sinking. at least 25 came from this village in azad jammu kashmir. robina bibi fears that her son shamrez has been lost, leaving enils ho wdr futit ar. she welcomes the crackdown on traffickers just announced by the pakistani government. she said she wanted to caution parents the world over not to send their children abroad using

people smugglers. in doing so, she had lost money and a son. here, greek officials, aid workers, and relatives of the dead have been honouring the victims with flowers. and as questions continue to be asked whether or not more could have been done to prevent this tragedy, the greek coastguard has again defended its conduct saying it acted in accordance with maritime law. ♪ amna: president biden traveled to swing state pennsylvania over the weekend as the 2024 races are gearing up. for analysis, we turn now to our politics monday team. that's amy walter of the cook political report with amy walter

and tamara keith of npr. good to see you both. the 2024 race is heating up on both republican and democratic sides. i want to play of what we have seen from president biden this weekend. here he is delivering his message to voters in pennsylvania. pres. biden: under my predecessor, infrastructure became a punchline. on my watch, we are making it a decade headline. amna: you got the first broadcast interview with mr. bidens campaign manager, julie chavez rodriguez, since she took on that role. what did you learn about the reelection strategy at this point in the campaign? tamara: they are working hand-in-hand with the democratic national committee in a way that passed democratic campaigns, and even the obama campaign, certainly did not. and that goes all the way down to literally i interviewed julie

chavez rodriguez in her office which was sparsely decorated in dnc headquarters the way it was described to me is the d&c is the chassis and the biden campaign will come up -- come on top of it as the race car going around the track. they feel confident in the way that this is built. in part, because they did not go through the typical boom invest cycle the party has gone through in the past. they have invested really heavily in the party infrastructure. what does that look like? that means that they sent money and resources and were making calls, had democratic volunteers making calls into wisconsin for that state supreme court race. and the democratic party candidate supported candidate won in that race. but also, they were able to test out the strategies they will be using in the presidential campaign, and in senate races and house races, and raises up and down the ballot, testing

strategies for reaching voters and reaching them and getting them to go out and vote. amna: let's talk about those voters they need to reach. you had a look at one segment, latino voters, the fastest growing electorate in america. how is the biden coalition doing their? amy: this survey of latino voters looking at how they voted in 2022 in battleground states, and who did not vote in 2022. what do we think we know about those voters? that was the most interesting finding of the survey. those voters who showed up and voted in 2020, latino voters in battleground states, but did not vote in either midterm, they are leaning more republican than they do democrat. on the issue of the economy, and this is what was interesting, the president's speech this weekend in philadelphia, focusing a lot on the economy. these voters give, on the issue

of inflation, the republicans a 15 point in vague -- advantage. when asked, who do you think looks out for working people? democrats have a huge advantage on that question of looking out for regular people. i think that is what you are going to see the biden campaign do with these swing voters. it is why in his speech he did not talk about donald trump, democracy, abortion. . he talked about jobs and the economy. when inflation is as high as it is, i don't think the biden campaign will be able to convince people they should not worry about inflation. it will be a top issue. what you do when the economy is not doing well and people don't think you are doing a good job as the president, you make the issue of the economy about more than just the economy. who is paying out for you and your family, and even if you are feeling stretched by the economy versus this party or this candidate who is not looking out for you. amna: i want to look at the latest democratic polling. mr. biden is the incumbent, but he is not the only candidate.

i want to get your take. marianne williamson has declared her candidacy, and also robert f. kennedy, jr., pulling at 17%. far behind mr. biden's 70%. but this is someone who has been pushing conspiracy theories when it comes to vaccine efficacy, on election fraud as well. what does it say to you that he is polling in double digits? tamara: what it says is something we have been talking about in this segment for a long time. which is there is a share of the democratic party who maybe likes joe biden but does not want him to run again. and it is clear they do not want him to run again. you throw a couple names out there, kennedy is sending people recognize, they say, ok, kennedy. it is not necessarily his campaign is taking off in any way. it is more of a place for people to go who are concerned about president biden's age, who did not think he was going to run again, who don't want him to run

again. and what i will say is as we talked earlier about the democratic party and that whole party infrastructure, that is set up to make sure that them -- that president biden does not have a legitimate or real or anything to worry about primary challenge. there -- they are not going to be debates. >> i would be wary of feeling as confident, if i where the dnc or biden campaign, only and that your point is there is an incredible amount of ambivalence. it is in the polling we have at the newshour, we see a significant portion of the democratic electorate saying, i wish there was somebody else. i'm surprised by the fact that outside groups, i don't think the biden campaign will do this, groups supporting biden have not gone out and tried to make a contrast with rfk junior, talking about some of the things you talked about, about his positions on vaccines. but also the fact that he is being supported or showing up on

podcasts of conservatives that many democrats would find not to their liking. amna: we have a current field of declared major candidates of 10 people on the republican side. at this point, they are chasing the front runner, former president donald trump, who has solidified his support, despite facing federal charges. that is leading to uncomfortable and persistent questions of all of the other candidates, like this exchange of former vice president mike pence over the weekend. >> if you were president biden, would you pardon him right now? >> i just think this whole matter is incredibly divisive for the country. and look, i just think at the end of the day, it is saddening to me that we are now in this moment. amna: we know this trial is not likely to wrap up before the

election. can the candidates steer the conversation back to policies? tamara: some of them don't want to. some of them want to defend trump, but then saying however, do you really want this trauma? i think they are all still trying to figure out a way to run against him without actually running against him. because his voters are quite loyal. his voters feel he has been mistreated. it is like they want to say, trump derangement syndrome is real, but do you want to have to deal with that with -- will without for four more years? amy: that is what they are trying to figure out. the difference for me, in 2016, there was so much confidence. don't worry, we have trump. we figured this out. now, they are saying, we don't know what is going to work. essentially, the message will come down to this, from republicans who would like to beat donald trump. it is not so much he can't win the election.

it is that if he wins the election against joe biden, he will not be able to get much done. because of all of these reasons. the deep state will come after him. the media will continue to go after him. the justice department, it will be his justice department -- will not be his justice department. there will be other issues that will make it impossible. the other reasons that these candidates cannot break through is they have not given a reason to voters who may be curious they, are not making a case for why they should be the one to be the nominee. that is the challenge going forward. amna: still plenty of time. it is very early. amy walter, tamara keith, thank you so much. good to see you both. ♪ geoff: a first of its kind trial is underway in montana, where a group of young people argue the state's lawmakers

aren't doing nearly enough to address climate change. montana is one of the nationa™s -- nation's biggest coal producers, and the industry there has strong political support. william brangham reports how the plaintiffs are using a unique clause in the state constitution to try and force a change. william: it was back in middle school when claire vlases first asked some adults to do something for the environment. her middle school in bozeman, montana was undergoing a major renovation, so she thought, why not put solar panels on all that new roof? she presented the idea to the project managers. >> i was immediately shut down. they just told me that the idea wasn't feasible and it was way too expensive, wasn't in the budget. went home, cried about it a little bit. then thought about it more. then i realized, if the only barrier to putting solar panels on the school was the cost, it was not a big deal. i could just raise the money myself.

william: and this is middle-school-you, saying this? >> yeah. it worked well because i didn't have any idea of what money was. i didn't know. i didn't know that $125,000 was a big amount. william: so the teenager and some other classmates held fundraisers, and they raised the money. those panels now supply a quarter of the schools's power, saving the district an estimated $8,000 a year. but vlases, who's now going to be a junior in college, has set her sights on an even bigger issue. she and 15 other young people from across montana, including multiple members of native american tribes, are suing their state. they say, montana's support and permitting of oil, coal and gas projects is polluting the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change, and harming the state's environment, which they argue, the state constitution explicitly prohibits. their case, known as held v. montana, is the first such state

case to ever go to trial. >> one reason why i love montana is because in our constitution, it says that every person here has a right to aa clean and -- a right to a clean and healthful environment, which isn't in almost all the constitutions in the united states. william: right, that is pretty rare. >> and it's true. i mean, here in montana, we have -- and we have a right to protect that. as i've learned about climate change and i've seen what our lawmakers have done promoting fossil fuel industries, i've realized that that is unconstitutional acts. william: montana's constitution has this unusual clause because, back in the 1970's, some citizen conservationists concerned with mining and clear-cutting wanted to enshrine a more overt environmental protection right near the top of their constitution. sandra zellmer, who teaches and researches environmental law at the university of montana's law

school, says these young plaintiffs are testing the strength of that protection. >> this allows the plaintiffs to put on evidence that the estates decision-making is exacerbating greenhouse gas omissions and leading to climate change. warmer, dryer, temperatures with all of the adverse effects -- heat waves, wildfires, depleted fisheries, destruction of the stability of our agriculture and our food systems. so to be able to introduce experts and to get that before a judge in a courtroom at trial is really quite phenomenal. william: but the plaintiffs are facing strong opposition. this year, the republican super majority in montana's capital and the governors mansion passed a series of laws promoting further coal and gas development, and hampering renewable energy. it barred state agencies from considering the impact of greenhouse gasses when issuing permits. and it repealed the state's official energy policy, which

narrowed the scope of the youth lawsuit. republican senate majority leader steve fitzpatrick, who supported these legislative moves, points out montana already uses a lot of renewable energy and argues any further changes will have no bearing on climate change. >> just because there's something going on doesn't mean that we necessarily need to take steps that are going to be expensive, because people jobs. we are one million people in a country with over 300 million people. i think there's very little that we're going to do at the state level that's going to have an impact on the earth's temperatures. william: the young plaintiffs are being represented by "our children's trust," an oregon-based environmental law firm that stride to bring similar cases in every state, and agnst the federal government. montana's being represented by its attorney general, austin knudsen.

his office described the suit as a meritless publicity stunt and in a statement to the newshour, said these young plaintiffs are being manipulated. "our children's trust is a special interest group that is exploiting well-intentioned montana kids, including a four-year-old and an eight-year-old, to achieve its goal of shutting down responsible energy development in our state." >> even though i'm a younger person, it doesn't mean that i'm manipulated or that i don't know the decisions that i'm making. he knows the decisions that he makes every day, and i believe it is our decisions that define us as people. and so there shouldn't be a question to my decision just because i'm a couple of years younger than him. >> you spend a ton of time moving around outside, apparently. william: last week, vlases took the stand at the courthouse in helena, testifying how a shrinking snowpack impacted her job as a ski instructor, and how smoke from wildfires made it hard for her and her cross country team to run in high school. >> knowing that there is something i can do to protect

the landscape in the world that's given so much to me and has allowed me to be a strong individual, that's the most important thing. william: vlases and her fellow plaintiffs hope the judge will rule that state -- that the state's support for fossil fuels is harming the environment and thus is unconstitutional. and even though that kind of ruling won't immediately change montana's energy or environmental policies, they see a longer term goal. >> we hope that it will be the check that our legislature needs to keep them back on the right track. moreover, would set an example to the other states that this is something that people want, especially young people, and that we can make a difference. william: the trial is scheduled to finish by the end of this week. for the pbs newshour, i am william brangham and bozeman, montana. ♪ geoff: 158 years ago today,

union army general gordon granger arrived in galveston, texas to inform the country's last enslaved people that they had been freed under the emancipation proclamation. the day we now know as juneteenth was formally recognized as a national holiday three year -- two years ago, due in large part to the activism of a 96-year-old retired texas teacher. opal lee first gained national attention in 2016, when the then-89-year-old walked more than 1400 miles from fort worth to washington, d.c. in a campaign to convince lawmakers to recognize juneteenth as a federal holiday. >> i just wanted it to be a holiday. and i didn't know what else needed to be done. i don't know if i would have tried to stand on my head an make somebody aware. geoff: juneteenth commemorates the end

of slavery in the u.s. even though president abraham lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation in 1863, texas enslavers deliberately withheld the news. on june 19th 1865, union general gordon granger led some 2000 union troops, many of whom were black, into galveston bay, where they announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. the day came to be known as juneteenth, a combination of june and 19th. now 96 years old, lee says the message of juneteenth is a simple one. >> it's not a texas thing and it's not a black thing. it's freedom for all of us. and we are not free yet. we have got too many disparities. i mean, the joblessness, the homelessness, the health care that some of us can get, others can't. climate change that we are

responsible for. we're not free yet. geoff: as part of her walking campaign, lee trekked two-and-a-half miles each day a representing the two-and-a-half years black texans remained enslaved after the signing of the emancipation proclamation. it didn't take long for word to spread and countless others to join her march. the campaign picked up momentum in the wake of demonstrations for racial equality after the killing of george floyd. >> we are blessed to mark the day in the presence of ms. opal lee. as my mother would say, god love her. geoff: in june of 2021, president joe biden signed a bill to recognize juneteenth as a federal holiday, and acknowdged opal lee's singular mission. pres. biden: she's walked for miles and miles, literally and figuratively, to bring attention to juneteenth, to make this day possible. i ask, once again, we all stand and give her a warm welcome to the white house.

[applause] >> to be in the white house with the president and the legislators, and all of those people. i could have done the holy dance, but my kids say when i drive, i'm twerking, so i didn't. geoff: asked about the best part of realizing her dream for juneteenth, the retired school teacher is quick with an answer. >> to see how eager the children are to learn. and i think it's a travesty taking books out of the school. we should be able to teach the good come the bad, the ugly. so it doesn't happen again. geoff: opal lee says we should honor our country's second independence day by reflecting on our shared history and future. >> if people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love. it's not going to happen in a day. you are going to have to work at it. but i do believe when we are all

on the same page, we are going to make this the greatest country in the world. geoff: it is worth emphasizing that she started her walking campaign in her late 80's. in the interview, she said she was not sure she would live to see the day where her dream was finally fully realized. and that is one of the reasons she is so grateful. amna: talk about an american hero. that is the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: i'm geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- ♪ >> cunard is a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. a world of flavor. diverse destinations. and immersive experiences. a world of entertainment. and british style.

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