amna: floodwaters inundate vermont and the latest example of extreme weather made worse by climate change. geoff: nato leaders kick off a summit with ukraine seeking a path to join the expanding alliance. amna: sales of nonalcoholic beverages are on the rise as more americans try to cut back on drinking. >> any is giving attention, menu real estate, i would say honor to cocktails that do not have alcoholic content.

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this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to her pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. we begin with two major stories here at home and abroad. in europe, leaders of the nato alliance are gathered in lithuania with ukraine battling to become a full-fledged member. geoff: a storm for the ages in new england has ravaged vermont. there have been no deaths or injuries, property damage could meet the tens of millions of dollars. part of the state capital are underwater. it was a storm that dumped

nearly an entire summer's worth of rain in a matter of days. vermont hit with the same slow-moving storm pattern that devastated parts of new york yesterday. it headed north through new england. by late last night, mountain towns across the state were inundated with up to nine inches of rainwater. as rivers crested toward record-breaking heights, the streams swallowed cars and inched closer to homes. eyewitness video from the town of jamaica showed furniture and other items being swept away by the floodwaters. the vermont governor spoke from the emergency response center. shortly after the president declared a state of emergency. >> thousands lost homes, businesses, and more. the devastation is far-reaching. >> officials have likened this to tropical storm irene, which

caused flash floods in 2011 and killed eight people in vermont. crews have rescued 100 people from knee-deep water. in montpelier, officials warn the wrightsville dam is dangerously close to overflowing for the first time. that would unleash even more water throughout the city. it is home to more than 8000 residents. >> i wouldn't trust that road. >> the floods of shut down key routes throughout the state, from winding roads along the green mountains to the main drags of downtown areas. closures have made access increasingly difficult. the governor set on twitter that the roads run his house were completely impassable. he had to use hiking trails for his work commute. at the emergency response center, he warned of more flooding to come despite signs that the rain is letting up.

>> the sun may shine later today, we expect more rain later this week. it will have nowhere to go and the ground is oversaturated. we are not out of the woods. amna: now to our other lead story, the nato leadership summit began with president biden and allies meeting to discuss ukraine, defense plans, a recommitment to unity against russia. we begin our coverage from a summit site in lithuania. >> show of force to open the nato summit. the alliance created to defend against russian aggression, they agreed to welcome a 32nd member, sweden. >> we are not going to do that. >> unity inside the doors met a call for action outside. president zelenskyy delivered a

passionate case for ukraine's entry into the alliance and for stronger security commitments to support the war. >> nadal will give ukraine security. ukraine will make the alliance stronger. >> we have approved three elements to bring ukraine closer to nato. >> it fell short of zelenskyy's demands. this calls for multiyear assistance for the country, a louder voice in nato via a new counsel, and an intention to invite ukraine to join nato and the country meets the conditions. president biden endorsed the package. >> we agree on the language that you proposed, relative to the future of ukraine being able to join nato. we are looking for a continued united nadal. >> zelenskyy vented on twitter.

when a time frame is not set, neither for the invitation nor for ukraine's membership. at the same time, they worried about conditions. for russia, this means motivation to continue its terror. >> there is never been a stronger message from nato, a political membership and the support from nato allies. >> zelenskyy balanced his disappointment with trust in the alliance. >> today, i started my journey with faith and solutions with strong partners, with faith in nato. >> those riffs flared after a deal paved the way for sweden to join nato. the turkish president dropped his objections. president biden met with him after announcing the u.s. would

transfer f-16 fighter jets to turkey. the white house national security advisor said this was not in exchange for swedish membership. >> this is in the interest of nato for take the -- turkey to get that capability. >> it takes congressional approval, something jeanne shaheen says is on the table. >> we can see something move forward when we see the ratification. >> the war in ukraine goes on. overnight, russian forces attacked key have and odessa. ukrainian forces struck down 26 of the 28 drones. one month into the counteroffensive, efforts to regain territory move slower than expected and artillery is running low. ukraine welcomed a commitment by

11 allied countries to provide fighter jet training. france will send long-range missiles. >> we hve decided to live -- deliver missiles to ukraine. they will be deployed in accordance with the commitments we've made. >> ukraine has an ally in the host city, were blue and yellow flags lined the streets. zelenskyy will meet with president biden tomorrow. he will press his case. any at the summit or watching that meeting closely between president biden and president zelenskyy, especially as he has refused to back off his position that the conflict must be over before ukraine can gain full membership into nato. amna: let's start with that deal that turkey is now allowing sweden to become the 32nd nato member. what do we know about how that

came together? >> the national security advisor spoke to reporters ahead of the first day saying they had extensive conversations leading up to the summit between the united states, turkey, and sweden. the white house repeatedly pressed turkey to grant that exception for sweden. as part of this, i was told by senators who were here on a bipartisan trip, they were pleased that greece was involved in the conversations. they were happy about that because greece had some reservations about these f-16s being transferred over to turkey and being used in their maritime dispute. amna: nato issued its communique on its status. is that any different than what has been promised in the past?

>> one former ambassador i spoke to singled out a spiff -- specific line where it said ukraine's future is in nato. that is stronger language than they've seen in the past. a number of other sources i spoke to at the summit said they were disappointed with what that communique laid out in terms of ukraine's membership, it stipulated unspecified conditions that will be applied to ukraine despite the fact that the membership action plan requires countries seeking membership to make military and democracy reforms. that was waived for ukraine. these conditions were applied. they called it disappointing and step backward. amna: when it comes to ukraine's membership in nato, what are some of the outstanding issues? >> at the end of the day, what

did not happen was a clear pathway established for when and how they will become a nato member. essentially, the core problem has not been addressed. that applies to the fact that what does "at war" mean. jake sullivan it, the security advisor, was asked about this by reporters. what does that mean and when with the white house consider that conflict at its end and acceptable to join nato. he said he would not defined that at all. that was some frustration i heard from sources as they saw what came out of the summit today. amna: reporting from the nato summit, thank you. it's good to see you.

in the days other headlines, officials in georgia seated a grand jury that could consider criminal charges against former president trump. it involves overturning the 2020 election. in miami, lawyers for mr. trump asked to postpone a federal trial for hiding classified documents. they are suggesting a delay until after the presidential election. the general who could become chair of the joint chiefs of staff warned today against blocking promotions. republican senator tommy tuberville is holding up hundreds of promotions to protest pay for troops to have abortions. charles brown told his confirmation hearing that is hurting the armed services. >> my concern is future retention. we have more junior officers who

look up and say if that is a challenge i deal with in the future, i may balance this. we will lose talent. amna: the senator faced criticism for refusing again to condemn white nationalists. after defending his position for much the day, he said that white nationalists are racists. hca health care reported that hackers may have stolen personal information on 11 million patients. the announcement came after samples of the data, including names and contact details, or posted online for sale. it could rank as one of the largest hacks ever. in israel, thousands of protesters staged a new day of disruption to oppose plans for overhauling the courts. they filled streets and the airport after the far right majority gave initial approval to the plan. police fired water cannons. protesters insisted they won't

back down. >> we came out and we won't go back to our homes. democracy is defended against this terrible government that is ruled by extremists. amna: the mass protests of flared since benjamin netanyahu announced plans to give the government more control over judges and court rulings. it comes as he is on trial, accused of taking bribes. one of the charles manson called, has been paroled in california. she spent more than 50 years in prison for the murders of a grocer and his wife. other followers killed after -- actress sharon tate the day before. a federal judge in san francisco refused to block microsoft's takeover of activision blizzard.

the trade commission wanted a temporary halt to the deal valued at $69 billion. the judge said the ftc has not raised serious questions regarding whether the proposed merger is likely to substantial lessening competition. the ftc can still appeal the ruling. the pga pro golf tour faced scrutiny today over its partnership with the saudi owned liv golf league. it has brought criticism that the saudi's are whitewashing their human rights record. the pga of issues argued that the saudi investment will ensure the tour survives. >> we did not seek the saudi's. we were in a situation where we faced a real threat. >> you could go elsewhere for $1 billion? >> we could.

if we went down that path, we would give up total control. >> the merger has sparked an antitrust investigation. bank of america will pay to hunter $50 million and compensation for junk fees and deceptive practices. the announcement said the violations included opening accounts without customer consent and double charging on overdraft fees. hundreds of thousands of consumers were affected. on wall street, stocks nudged higher on the eve of new inflation data. the dow jones gained 317 points to close at 34,000 to 61. the s&p 500 added 29. a milestone in the restoration of the notre dame cathedral. a crane a hoist in giant oak trusses from a barge and put them on the medieval landmark.

that will form the framework for the roof that was destroyed in 2019. the cathedral is expected to reopen in 2024. still to come, students struggle to make up for lost learning during the pandemic. northwestern university fires its football coach amid allegations of racism and hazing. our correspondent jane ferguson discusses her memoir about war reporting. >> this is the pbs newshour from w eta studios in washington and the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state diversity. geoff: we saw the flooding in new england. tens of millions of people living in the southwest are dealing with extreme weather of a different kind. that part of the country's coping with day after day of triple digit heat. the national weather service

said it's one of the longest heat waves in modern history. that is more dangerous than you might realize. we are going to focus on that with a climate journalist who is out with a new book on the subject. thank you for being with us. 54 million americans are expected to see triple digit heat this week. in your book, you liken it to having the barrel of a gun pointed at you. >> we talked a lot about heat and global warming. there is this idea that he is just a gentle thing. we have to dress differently or turn the air conditioning on. what we are seeing now is a very dangerous force. the heat is something that can kill you. this book for me came out of that experience. i was walking down the street in phoenix and it was 115 degrees.

i was not sure i was going to make it to my destination. it's a leave for force. geoff: you write about the death of a young california family on a hiking trail. they were found minutes from their home. tell us about that story and what the takeaway is. >> it was an incredibly tragic story. a family moved into the foothills of the sierra to get more in the woods. they went out for a hike early one morning. they were warned it would be a hot day. they hiked to a river canyon. around noon it they started hiking back up and had to go up a switchback where it was very sunny and no shade. there were wildfires the year before. the next day, they were found dead on the trail. what's tragic and sad is it underscores even for people who

are in good shape, even people who are outdoorsy or think they understand heat, they don't understand how dangerous it is. geoff: how do we solve for the fact that three of the most populous states are right now experiencing punishing heat wave? lots of people and places that are really hot. you have 50 million people who spend part of their job outside. >> these states have seen a big population growth in recent decades. people like warmer weather in general. they would rather with -- live in a warmer place. there is a myth of air conditioning. i moved from a relatively cool northeast to austin. i fell in love with a woman who lived there. people move for different reasons. as climate change accelerates

and these heat waves become more brutal, it's going to change. it is fine if you're living in your air-conditioned bubble. millions do not live in the air-conditioned bubble. we can't air-conditioned the wheatfields and the living creatures that are not going to be able to be nestled into a cool space. it becomes this weird life in a bubble feeling. amna: based on your research, how hot can it get? what should we expect? >> that is a really good question. we can talk about general warming the planet. what we are seeing now and what we saw in the pacific northwest in 2021 when there was that extreme heat wave that killed 1000 people, it got to 121 degrees and british columbia.

no climate models predicted that. as we mess with the atmospheric dynamics of the planet by putting fossil fuels and co2 in the atmosphere, we are changing the nine amex -- dynamics in ways that we can't tell. it's a little bit frightening. it's very frightening. could it get to 125 degrees in texas? no one knows. geoff: what do people fail to grasp about the threats posed by excessive heat? >> two things people don't grasp, it can kill you and it will kill you. it is predatory. it goes after people that are vulnerable. he puts a lot of strain on your heart. if you have a heart problem, if

you're taking certain types of medication, you are increasingly vulnerable to heat. the air thing people don't get is it's the primary driver of these changes we are seeing. the wildfires, sea level rise, drought, that is happening because it's getting hotter and hotter. heat is the fundamental force that is shaping our world in ways we don't understand. what we can do about it, we need to cut fossil fuel emissions quickly. our planet is warming up. we need to get smart about the risk of heat. whether if it's reading my book or somebody else's book, understanding the risk of heat. we need to change how we build cities and we live in cities. cities are much hotter than the rural areas around them. cooling centers, planting more trees, thinking about how

buildings are built, we need to rethink how we live. geoff: the book is the heat will kill you first. thank you for being with us. amna: billions of dollars were funneled to school across the united states to help them make up for learning loss from the pandemic. research shows that even with that extra money, districts are still struggling to close the gaps in reading, writing, and math. stephanie has more on these findings and where we go from here. >> this research analyze data from more than 6.5 million public school students in third through eighth grade, comparing their gains.

the study authors estimate that most students would need an additional 4.5 months of math instruction and four months of reading instruction to catch up. i am joined by the director of the center for school and student progress and lead researcher at the organization that came out with this new study. thank you so much for joining the newshour. we know from recent research that public schools are having a tough time closing that learning gap that occurred during the pandemic. how does your study add to that? >> what is new about what he learned is that up until this point, we had seen some positive things that we were recovering. it is disheartening and disappointing that at the end of the schooltly d the gaps between current levels widen.

students were making gains this year at below average rates. >> one of the startling statistics in your analysis is the average eighth grader needs more than nine months to catch up in math. that is an entire academic year. what should schools be doing? >> i don't think it's that schools need to be doing things they haven't been. they need to do more of what they are doing. we have levels of unfinished learning that will take many years to recover. we don't have one single silver bullet. it's going to be a matter of layering interventions and providing a longer timeframe. >> what kind of interventions are we talking about? have they been affected by the staffing shortages at schools we've been reporting on since the pandemic? >> they are trying to add back

into the instruction that was lost during the pandemic when schools shut down. we also know that tutoring is a popular intervention. all of those strategies rely on humans to deliver them. that impedes our delete -- ability to deliver at scale. it's a matter of layering these two support kids. >> reading through your policy recommendations, you use this phrase high dosage tutoring. how do you scale that? are there any innovations for how to do that given that so many students need this extra help? >> i think it's time to get creative about how we are finding access to tutors. we really need to get creative and seek out members of the

community that may be under looked in their ability to help. using high school students, using college students, i think we need to think more broadly and creatively about who -- how to source those positions. >> summer saying the federal government put billions of dollars to help schools recover from the pandemic. part of that focus was to get students back up to speed, to pre-pandemic achievement. does summit caldera -- accountability -- the sum accountability live with school district? it is too soon to see those efforts pay off. they had a challenging year. 2022-23 was still challenging. it's not as if they are doing the wrong things. they are not doing enough of the right things.

districts are not set up to be able to implement programs on the turn of a dime. it isn't the way school works. our data suggests schools are doing the right things, there are just not enough of them. it needs to extend for a longer timeframe. it is not the time to withdraw federal or sport. it is time to double down and make sure we are supporting schools so they can ramp up these efforts. >> i was looking at a report about how globally students around the world have fallen behind. the u.s. is not as bad as other countries. have the goal posts moved for everyone? is it realistic for educators and parents to expect their children will catch up to the achievement we were seen pre-pandemic? >> that's a question i get a lot, why we compare to

pre-pandemic trends. i don't accept this is the new normal. if we do that, if we just accept that kids are father behind than they used to be, that is problematic for the average kid and catastrophic for the kids hardest hit, kids in high poverty areas that are months and months behind where we would want them to be. that would only catch them up to pre-covid levels of equality. >> we can't give up on this. karen, thank you for sharing these insights with us. >> thank you for having me. geoff: u.s. beer sales traditionally peak in the summer between memorial day and labor day. what is in those beers is changing.

nonalcoholic beer, wine, cocktails make up a small fraction of the alcohol market, sales are rising. we sent paul out for a taste test. >> in connecticut, paying homage to the hemingway daiquiri with grapefruit and the court. a gin buck. >> usually gin, lime juice. >> i base it off this banana tea. >> these are concoctions of an award winning bartender. cocktails with barely a trace of alcohol. >> my goal is to give you a drink that has a beginning, a mid-, finish. >> any drink can be labeled nonalcoholic if they have no more than 0.5% alcohol.

these sober cocktails are all the rage. >> any bar worth its salt is giving attention, menu real estate, i would say honor to cocktails that do not have alcoholic content. >> old-timers like kevin who asked if the bar at which he drank martinis was open at 10:00 a.m. more and more of us are opting to cut back on booze. sales of nonalcoholic spirits, beer, wine at grocery and convenience stores are up more than 40% in the last two years. there are bars like this that -- >> these bottles that look like roman whiskey and tequila, they are all nonalcoholic.

>> it's not just the one in four americans who don't drink at all. >> what we see in our data is that four out of five consumers are also purging -- purchasing beer women spirits. >> .5% of alcohol or less is beer. one brewer of it in milford, connecticut is working like crazy. >> we brewed 800 barrels of deer -- beer. last year, over -- the category is growing dirty percent year over year. we are growing at 90% year over year to date. >> last year, they had to move to this facility after reinforcing part of the floor to support new tanks that hold up to 25,000 gallons for brewing in the boilers.

packaging at a breakneck pace. >> this can do 450 cans per minute. >> he migrated from the alcohol dependent craft beer industry because of a void. >> nobody had innovated nonalcoholic beer in decades. >> killing the alcohol without the taste found a fast growing fan base. >> here's a nonalcoholic ipa. >> he wrote about his discovery after swearing off alcohol seven years ago. where you a problem drinker? >> i got a credible ultimatum from my wife. you need to find something to hold in your hand. >> that led him to superlow alcohol beers. >> they were versions of european beers. >> i figured i should try it as well.

>> this is ok. when you get there tomorrow, get the blue and. >> we've got some tropical notes. >> nuance is lost on my pallet. it was nice and cool and refreshing. the key to athletic and sober beer success was hard to miss. they are better for you. so healthy that the german olympic ski team trains on nonalcoholic beer. it's also low-calorie. >> this is our 25 calori light beer. >> there is next to no alcohol. that's why it's athletic. >> a lot of what we did was break nonalcoholic beer out of the penalty box. >> he is trying to remove the

negative aura around the sober drink. >> it was not respected, whether it was somebody with child or somebody on a diet. the table would laugh. many times. >> he is reframing booze free. >> i am a one-man movement to stop using the word virgin. i've been thinking pass mock tail. how do we get past the point we were not taking something away, we are making something incomplete? >> there is no stigma. no stigma for the one third of americans aiming to drink less alcohol. either to cut calories or intoxication. it helped him off anything stronger. >> i needed a substitute beverage that was in alcohol, but tasted enough like alcohol

that i felt that part of the ritual. >> for some, drinking anything can be a problem. >> recovery is different for different people. drinking drinks that look like an alcoholic drink can be a trigger. it can be what we call queue inducing. >> there is no safe amount that does not affect health. >> the short-term effects are sleep, focus, emotional reactivity. >> i'm not alone in drinking alcohol to chill out. >> it does decrease anxiety in the moment. for some people, it makes them more social. very quickly you become intolerant to the anxiety effects. the more distressing it can be. >> i'm 78.

should i not be drinking any alcohol at all? >> it's not a good idea to continue. >> do you drink? >> i do. two or three drinks week. i am thinking about cutting that back. >> after hearing about all of that, i'm on the wagon. for now. and for the pbs newshour. amna: northwestern university fired a head football coach pat fitzgerald after an investigation found hazing was widespread on the team, including forced sexual acts. university received a complaint from a former player last november and launched an independent investigation run by

most players participated in or were aware of hazing. the student newspaper also reported that several former players allege there were racist comments and attacks by the coaching staff. fitzgerald has said he was not aware of any hazing. the school has said it was not aware of any allegations previously. joining me is john greenberg at the athletic. thanks for joining us. after that investigation, the university president suspended the coach. within days, they decided to fire him. what changed? >> part of it was the public outcry about it. the next day, the daily northwestern had a story with a lot of details from the whistleblower, from a person on

the football team who detailed with the hazing was. hazing is a general term. it could mean anything. it could mean eating something, it could be carrying bags for somebody. this was a damming thing. they had it verified by another player who verified the initial player. that really blew not. then you some more stories start to come out. there were more details coming up. it made for something they could not ignore namor. amna: the details are really stunning. i want to share a couple of quotes. one of them reads, i've seen it with my own eyes and it's egregious and vile and inhumane behavior. another reads, it's done under the smoke and mirrors of this is team bonding. this is sexual abuse.

what did you think when you read these details? >> it was shocking stuff. if you've gone to college in america, anywhere around here where there is hazing at fraternities and teams, some people have experienced this. the story read like they were profiling and out of could troll -- control fraternity that had been doing things the same way for 75 years. that's what it felt like. it did not feel like a football team. it seemed like a lot of out-of-control behavior. that's almost as bad, you are the person in charge. he's been there for 17 years. he was an assistant coach for that. for him to say he didn't know it, that's pretty egregious lack

of leadership. amna: there is more reporting about racism and a racist culture. we know more about that? >> you have seen some players who have come out against that. some said that doesn't mean it wasn't true. i believe it. nothing would surprise me. amna: the northwestern baseball team has been in the headlines because of allegations of abusive behavior by their coach jim foster. is there any sense of pressure about accountability a higher up? is anybody calling for the president to step down? >> president was just inaugurated last month. he took over from a long time president that was very pro-athletic department. he just took over. this is an interesting start to

his tenure there. the athletic director is also new. the athletic director was pushed out because of issues that it happened when he was a deputy athletic director. he is pushed out. they had to hire a guy to replace him. there is a lot of turnover at the athletic department and a lot of problems. we heard problems on the cheerleading team. they sued northwestern for some stuff. some of the teams there are great. we've heard nothing about some of them. these problems, this baseball coach is the first hire of the new athletic director. that's not a good look for him right now, that he hired this person. there has been a trickling out of things about the baseball coach and the latest reports are pretty bad. amna: specific to the hazing,

what happens now? it's a huge moneymaker for the university. could it impact support from me school community? >> it was just reported that the athletic director told the staff that no one else was going to be fired. that's interesting. you don't know what the other coaches know. the way it happened with the season starting soon, is there an interim coach? i assume that will happen from somebody on the staff already. there are a lot of problems. some alumni are really angry that this happen. some are angry that they fired pat fitzgerald who's been there for a long time. guys in the nfl look at him as a father figure. you are going to have a war between the alumni. it's going to be a big deal.

they are trying to get a new stadium. they need hundreds of millions of dollars for new facilities. it's a really interesting time at northwestern athletics. amna: founding editor at the athletic, thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. amna: you often see jane ferguson in war zones around the world. she is taking some time to write a memoir called no ordinary assignment. she recently discussed her far from ordinary journey. welcome back to the newshour. you have spent years telling other stories on the front lines of the worst modern conflicts.

this is your story. how hard was it to turn the lens on yourself? >> it was surprisingly difficult. we don't want to be the story. as the storytellers, we are not used to talking about ourselves in that regard, even giving interviews like this. i am usually asked about current affairs. the story of the storyteller is new to me. it took me a long time to get into the flow of it. amna: what made you want to do it? >> i am asked a lot why do i do the work i do. it's a question you are asked as well. especially conflict and war reporters. i really wanted to dig deep into an honest answer. the more i try to answer the question, we can talk about what

foreign affairs mean to us and how important communication is. when we find ourselves on the road as foreign correspondence, we are much more complex than that. i wanted to write a book not about a journalist or a career, about a person so people can understand who it is that is bringing them the news in the evenings. amna: you go back to the beginning. you talk about what it was like growing up in northern ireland in the 80's and 90's. how did that impact your desire to go into this kind of journalism? >> i was in a very rural area. i was trying to make sense of the world. i was this very awkward little girl with terrible acne and thick glasses. i wish i and extremely curious. i was growing up in the midst of

the troubles in northern ireland. there was a lot of political violence. it was somehow shrouded in secrecy. i was trying to understand the wider world. that involved asking a lot of questions. i was this very precocious little girl. i was growing up in a relatively patriarchal place. i did not have professional female role models. when you turned the tv on, i saw these women who were telling stories and traveling the world. men were listening to them. they commanded attention. that was fascinating to me. to see the uncanny synchronicity's of having grown up very close to rural ira strongholds. i covered insurgencies. a lot of that is being needing

to know what causes people to commit acts of violence. bakers, taxi drivers, what causes them to rise up. i spent a lot of my adult life studying and spending time with insurgencies all over the world. amna: you covered the war in afghanistan. it spoke to what we all count on in the field. that's just luck, someone runs into you at the right time. you missed the bombing by a matter of seconds. someone stops you and you have to wait because there could be a secondary bombing. you are learning on the job. how many of those close calls were there? >> probably more than i know.

there have been a number of incredible near misses. i was in the early days of the conflict. there were a small amount of journalists getting smuggled in. i was supposed to go in for around a week. i left because i was well aware the situation was so unstable that this rubble enclave was so vulnerable to attack. i left early. the next journalist to be brought in was marie colvin. she was much more senior. she was killed there. there have been times where that is happened. i left afghanistan after the fall of kabul. we stayed as long as we could.

eventually, the one place we were able to stay was with the british military. we got on the flight out. every single day, we were reporting for the newshour, interviewing afghans as they were trying to get on evacuation flights. the bombing goes off at the abbey gate. i don't know if it's luck or grace or an act of god. i have been spared many times. i am grateful. amna: you also see up close some of the worst of humanity. people in their worst moments. you write about a story in somalia where you are watching a child die before your eyes. what you wrote there struck me. when you are witnessing the profound vulnerability of someone else, i feel laid bare. people recognize empathy, it's

the only decent behavior. how do you hang onto that empathy? >> you are more aware than you could ever imagine of how blessed your life is. people ask me, how can you not be jaded or pessimistic? i view it in the opposite direction. how could i not be? people have the worst day of their lives. i struggle with what is my place, am i helping? do i have a right to be here? there are difficult issues that we contend with. the only thing you can do is be as humble as you can. i am so often in hospital wards with starving children or at funerals. all i can do is be as kind and empathetic and respectful as possible. amna: do you ever get to a point where you think i can't do this

anymore? >> i've never thought to myself i don't want to do this again. for me, the thing that keeps me going is covering undercover stories. those are only increasing in number. i can see myself pivoting into other things, more international politics or climate change. i don't think i will ever completely hang up my spurs. amna: the book is no ordinary assignment. the author is jane ferguson. we were so lucky to have you as part of our newshour family. the book is out now and you can read an excerpt on our website at pbs.org. geoff: join us tomorrow night when we will have an interview with the national security advisor. amna: on behalf of the newshour

team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the newshour has been provided by: >> consumer cellular has been offering plans designed to help people to more they like. our customer service team can help find the planned fits you. visit our website. >> cardi b corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education and the advancement of security. carnegie.org. with the ongoing support of these institutions: this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you.

♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour and company." here's what's coming up. >> i don't think there is unanimity in nato about whether or not to bring ukraine into the nato family now. >> touchdown in europe. president biden meets with the british prime minister on the eve of a critical nato summit. we look at how world leaders are shoring up support for the war in ukraine. and a bid to lead mexico. eye talk to the country's former foreign minister about crime, immigration, and a possible run for president. then -- from catastrophic floods to record-breaking heat. author of "the heat will kill you first," jeff goodell lays out the stark