tv PBS News Hour PBS July 11, 2023 6:00pm-7:00pm PDT
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♪ >>eoenne. >> on the new hours tonight. floodwaters inundate vermont. >> nato leaders kick-off a multi-nation summit with ukraine seeking a path to join the expanding alliance. >> sales of nonalcoholic beverages are on the rise as more americans try to cut back on drinking. >> any bar is giving attention, menu, real estate, and honor to cocktails that do not have alcohol content. ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs
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newshour" has been provided by. >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson, and camilla and george smith. >> surgeon, volunteer, topiary artist, raymondjames financial advisor tailors advice to help live your life. life well planned. ♪ >> the john h and james l knight foundation. ♪ nd with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.
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>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions from viewers like you. thank you. >> welcome to the newshour. we begin with two major stories at home and abroad. in europe leaders of the nato alliance are gathered in lithuania with ukraine battling to become a full-fledged member. >> in new england, storm for the ages has ravaged vermont. there have been more deaths are in -- no deaths or injuries but property damage can reach the tens of millions of dollars and parts of the capital are underwater. >> it was a storm that dumped nearly an entire summer's worth of rain in days.
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vermont hit with the same slow-moving storm pattern that devastated parts of new york yesterday as it headed north through new england. by late last night, mountain towns across the state were in inundated with nine inches of water. as rivers crested towards record-breaking heights, the violent streams swallowed cars and inch closer to people's homes. eyewitness video from a town of jamaica showed furniture and other household items being swept away by the floodwaters. >> good morning. >> governor phil scott spoke today from the states emergency response center shortly after president biden declared a state of emergency. >> i know thousands of vermonters lost homes, businesses and more. the devastation is far-reaching. >> officials have likened this latest downpour to tropical storm irene, which cause destructive flash floods in 2011 and killed eight people in
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vermont. so far crews have rested --- h ave 100 people. in montpelier, officials warned that the wrightsville dam is dangerously close to overflowing for the first time. and that one unleashed even more water throughout the -- >> i wouldn't trust that road. >> floods have also shut down dozens of routes throughout the state, winding roads along the spine of the mountains to the main drags of downtown areas. closures have made access to the damaged areas increasingly difficult. this morning governor scott set on twitter the roads around his house were completely impassable, forcing him to use nearby hiking trails for his commute. at the states emergency response center, he warned of more flooding to come, despite signs the rain has started to let up. >> even though the sun may shine
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later today and tomorrow, we expect more rain later this week, which will have nowhere to go in the oversaturated ground. i want to be clear. we are not out of the woods. >> to our other lead story, the nato leadership summit began today with president biden and allies meeting to discuss ukraine's new defense plans and a recommitment to unity against russian aggression. we begin our coverage from the site in vilnius, lithuania. >> a show of force to open the 74th nato summit, with the alliance created to defend against russian aggression agreed to welcome its 32nd member, sweden. >> president putin thinks the way he is succeed is to create havoc. >> but unity inside nato meant a call for action outside. where president volodymyr zelenskyy delivered a passionate case for ukraine's entry into
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the alliance and for stronger security commitments to support the war. >> nato will gift ukraine security. ukraine will make the alliance stronger. >> allies have agreed a package of three elements to bring ukraine closer to nato. >> nato's offering fell short of demands. the new communiqué calls for multiyear --- a louder voice in nato and an intention to invite ukraine to join nato when the country meets the alliance's conditions. president biden endorsed the packet. >> we agreed on the language that we have proposed and that you proposed relative to the future of ukraine being able to join nato. and we're looking for a continue united nato. >> earlier on tuesday, zelinski vented frustration writing, it
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is unprecedented and absurd when a timeframe is not set neither for the invitation to nato nor ukraine's membership . while at the same time, a warning about conditions is added. for pressure this means motivation to continue its ter ror. >> there has never been a stronger message from nato, both when it comes to political message on the path forward for membership, and the concrete support from nato allies and military support. >> once in vilnius, zelinski balance disappointment with trust. >> today started my journey with faith and solutions with faith and strong partners, with faith in nato. >> those rifts present throughout the war flared up after a deal pave the way for sweden to join nato. with turkish president erdogan dropping his objections. president biden met with erdogan after announcing the u.s. would move ahead to transfer f-16
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fighter jets toke ty. jake sullivan said was not offered in exchange for swedish membership. >> this is in our national interest and in an interest of nato that turkey get that capability. he has placed no conditions on that. >> it takes congressional approval. something democratic senator jeanne shaheen said is on the table. >> we can see something move rward when we see the ratifications. >> all the while the war in ukraine goes on. overnight, russian forces attacked kyiv and odessa where ukrainian forces struck down 26 of 28 drones but one month into the counteroffensive, efforts to reclaim territory moved slower than expected. an artillery is running low. ukraine welcomed a commitment by 11 allied countries to provide
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fighter jet training. france announced it would send long-range missiles to the ukrainian forces. >> we have decided to deliver new deep strike missiles to ukraine. they will therefore be deployed in accordance with the commitments we have made with them. >> ukraine has an ally in the host city where thousands of blue and yellow flags lined the streets, signal of support for president zelenskyy will meet with president biden and nato leaders tomorrow, to press his case. >> many at the summit are watching that meeting closely tomorrow between president biden and president zelenskyy, especially as president biden has refused to back off his position that the conflict must be over before ukraine can be in full membership to nato. >> there is so much to talk about but let's start with that deal that turkey is now allowing sweden to potentially become 932nd nato member. -- become the 32nd nato a member. >> jake sullivan today spoke to
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us reporters ahead of the first days saying, their extensive conversations in the days leading up to this summit between the united states, turkey, and sweden, and that the white house repeatedly pressed turkey to grant that a session for sweden -- assession for sweden as possible. i was told by a number of senators here at the summit that they were pleased that they heard that greece was involved in those conversations. and they were happy about that because greece had some reservations about the f-16's being transferred to turkey and potentially being used in their border dispute. >> nato issued a communication on the status of the ukraine's membership. is that any different than what is been promised in the past? >> one former ambassador i spoke
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to today, singled out the specific line where it said that ukraine's future is in nato. and they said that stronger language than they have seen in the past. that being said, a number -- of other sources said they were disappointed with what that communiqué laid out in terms of ukraine's membership. the fact that is stipulated on specified conditions that will be applied to ukraine despite the fact that the membership action plan requirment which would require a country seeking membership to nato to make military and democracy reforms, that requirement was waived for ukraine but yet these unspecified conditions were apply. they called it disappointing, puzzling and a step back. >> when it comes to ukraine's potential membership in nato what are the key outstanding issues? >> at the end of the day, what
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did not happen for ukraine with a clear pathway established for when and how they will become a nato member. essentially what is happening is that they, the core problem has not been addressed and that core problem applies to the fact that what does at war mean, and when is the exact moment that ukraine can become a member? the national security advisor were asked about -- was asked about this by reporters to. what "at war" means and when the white house would consider the conflict would be at an end and acceptable for ukraine to join nato. he said he would not define that. so, that was some frustration that i heard from sources as they saw what came out of the summit today. >> reporting for us from the nato summit in vilnius, lithuania. good to see you. >> thank you.
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>> i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. officials in fulton county, georgia, seated a grand jury that will continue -- consider charges against former president trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. in miami, his lawyers have asked to postpone his federal trial for allegedly hiding classified documents suggesting a delay until after next year's presidential election. the general who could become chair of the joint chiefs of staff warned today against blocking promotions. alabama republican senator tommy tuberville is holding up hundreds of military nominations to protest the pentagon's policy of paying for service members travels to seek abortion. the air force general brown told his confirmation hearing that it is hurting the armed services. >> my concern is future retention, because we have more
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junior officers who look up and say if that's the challenge i have to do with the future, i have to balance between my family and serving in a senior position and we will lose talent. >> senator tupper full faced criticism for refusing to again to condemned white nationalists but after defending his position for much of the day, he said later that "white nationalists are racists." hca health care reported today that hackers may have stolen personal information on some 11 million patients. the announcement came after samples of the data including patient names and contact details were posted online for sale. the hack could rank as one of the largest ever. in israel thousands of protesters staged a new day of disruption to oppose plans for overhauling the courts. they filled streets and the international airport after the far right majority in parliament gave approval to the plan. police fired water cannons but protesters insisted they will
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not back down. >> we are here to defend our democracy. we will not go back to our homes and to we feel our democracy is defended against this terrible government that is ruined -- ruled by extremists. >> mass protests have flared since prime minister netanyahu announced plans to give the government more controover judges and court rulings. back in this country, a member of the charles manson cult has been paroled in california. she had spent more than 50 years in prison for the murders of a grocer and his wife in 1969. other followers killed after sharon -- after sharon tait and four friends. the remains of 12 children have been confirmed to be buried at a former indigenous boarding school in southern utah. the school operated between 1904 and 1909. ground penetrating radar was
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used to confirm the discovery in a statement issued today, the tribe and its five sovereign bands said they are considering how to memorialize the children. a federal judge in san francisco refused today to block microsoft's takeover of videogame giant activision blizzard. the federal trade commission wanted a temporary halt to the deal valued at $69 billion by the judge said "the ftc has not raised serious questions regarding whether the proposed merger is likely to substantially lessen competition." the ftc can still appeal. the pga pro golf tour face congressional scrutiny today over its partnership with the saudi owned live golf leak. the deal has product criticism that the saudis are using sports to whitewash a human rights record. pga officials argue the saudi investment of one will ensure the tour's survival. >> we did not seek the saudis.
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we were in a situation of where we faced a real threat -- >> that you could go elsewhere for a billion dollars, $3 billion, maybe $50 billion, correct? >> we could. uh, but if we went down that path we would end up with -- no control. >> the merger has sparked an antitrust investigation. bank of america will pay more than $ 50 million dollars. the violations included openings accounts without consent and double charging on overdraft fees. hundreds of thousands of consumers were affected. on wall street, stocks notched higher on the eve of new inflation data. the dow jones gained 317 points, nearly 1% to close at 34,261.
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the nasdaq rose 75 points, the s&p 500 added 29. a milestone in the restoration of notre dame cathedral. a crane hoisted giant oak tresses from a barge in the seine river and placed them atop the landmark. the framework for the roof that was destroyed by fire in 2019. the cathedral is expected to reopen in december, 2024. still to come on the newshour, students struggle to make up for lost learning during the pandemic. northwestern university fires their football coach amid allegations of racism and hazing. and jane fergeson discusses her new memoir about war reporting. >> this is the "pbs newshour" from weta studios in washington in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona sterunat.siivtywe saw tw
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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 says it is one of the longest heat waves in modern history. that heat is even more dangerous than you might realize. we will focus on that with a climate journalist, out with a new book on this very subject called "the heat will kill you first, life-and-death on the scorched-earth plan." >> happy to be here. >> 54 million americans are expected to see triple digit heat this week. in your brook you like it to having at the barrel of a gun pointed at you. >> we talk a lot about global warming. there is this idea that heat is sort of a gentle thing, that we have to dress differently for it, turn the air conditioning on.
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i think what we are seeing now is that heat is a very dangerous force, heat is something that can kill you very quickly. this book came out of that kind of experience when i was walking down the street in phoenix and it was 115 degrees and i was not sure is going to make it to my destination. heat is a lethal force. >> you wrtie about the tragic death of a young california family on a hiking trail. two healthy parents, baby and a dog found on the trail. tell us about that story and what takeaways there are from it. >> it was an incredibly tragic story. a family had moved from silicon valley to the foothills of the sierras to get away from the hustle and bustle. they hiked a lot. they went out for hiked early one morning. they had been warned that would be a hot day. they hiked to a river canyon and then around noon started hiking back up and had to hike up a two-mile switch back where it was very sunny and there was no
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shade because of wildfires the year before. the next day they were found dead on the trail. what's tragic and sad about this is it -- it underscores even for people in good shape, outdoorsy people who think that they understand heat, don't understand how dangerous it is and how quickly you can get in trouble. >> how do we solve for the fact that three of the country's most populous states, california, texas and florida, are right now experiencing a punishing heat waves. lots of people in places that are really hot. and beyond that you have 15 million people who spent part of their job outside, the sweat economy. >> these states have seen a big population growth in recent decades. generpealople likrm they wouldr live in a warmer place. there is the method air conditioning. it will all be ok because it you just turn the air conditioning on and everything will be fine.
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from the relatively cools of the northeast to austin, i fell in love with a woman who lives there. people move for different kinds of reasons. but i think as climate change accelerates, as heat waves become more brutal, it will change that. because it is fine if you, you know, are living in your air-conditioned bubble but millions do not live there. we can't air-conditioned the wheat fields and the cornfields and all the other living creatures that are not going to be able to be sort of nestled into some cool spaces. it becomes a sort of weird life in a bubble feeling when you are in a place like texas. >> based on your research, how hot can it get? >> that is a really good and important and difficult to answer question. we can talk about general warming of the planet averages
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but what we are seeing now and we saw in the pacific northwest in 2021 when there was that extreme heat wave that killed 1000 people, it got to be 1q21 -- 121 degrees in kurdish columbia. no climate models protected that. it was like snow in the sahara. as we mess with the atmosphere, dynamics of the planet by putting burning fossil fuels and putting more c02, we are changing dynamics in ways we cannot really say where the next heatwave is going to hit, how brutal it will be, how long it will last. it's a little bit frightening. in fact, it is very frightening, because could it get to 125 degrees in texas? no one knows. >> your book is an urgent warning. what do people fail to grasp about the threats posed by excessive heat and what are the solutions? >> two things people do not
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grasp about it. one is that it can kill you and it is predatory, it goes after, it kills people who are vulnerable, who have any kind of heart conditions, heat puts strain on your heart. if you have hyperthermia or heart problems, taking certain kind of medications that effexor circulation, you are increasingly vulnerable to heat. the other thing that people do not get it as it is the primary driver of all of these changes we are seeing on our planet. the wildfires, sea levels, drought. all of that stuff is happening because it is getting harder and harder. -- hotter and hotter. it is a fundamental for shaping our world in ways we do not really understand. and what we can do about it -- very first thing we need to do is cut fossil fuel emissions quickly, because our planet is warming up. second, we need to get smart about the risks of heat. whether it is by reading my book, googling or reading somebody else's book, understanding the risks of heat.
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third we need to change how we build cities and how we live in cities because cities are much hotter than the rural areas around the. soverything from opening plantie street trees to thinking differently about how buildings are built so they are not -- in air-conditioning conditioning. we have to rethink how we live. >> the book is "the heat will kill you first, the life-and-death underscores to planet." >> thank you. >> billions of dollars were funneled to school district across the united states to help them make -- them make up for learning loss. but new research shows that even with that extra money, school districts are still struggling to close the gaps in reading and writing and math. stephanie sy has more on these findings and where we go from
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here. >> this research analyzed data from more than 6.5 million public school students in third through eighth grades, comparing 2022 to 2023 with pre-pandemic years. the study authors estimate that most students would need on average an additional four months of math instruction and four months of reading to catch up. i'm joined by karen lewis, the director of the center for school and student progress and a lead researcher -- the organization that came out with this new study. karen, thank you so much for joining the newshour. we know from previous even recent research that public schools are having a tough time closing that learning cap that occurred during the pandemic. how does your study add to what we already know? >> i think what is new about we have learned in the most recent release of data is that up until this point we had seen some
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positive signs we were starting to have some progress towards recovery, modest progress. it is disheartening and disappointing that at the end of the 2023 school year we have backslid slightly and gap in current achievement levels has widened. anthat is because students -- were making gains a below average rates. >> one of the startling statistics in your analysis is use of the average eighth-grader needs more than nine months to catch up in math, that is a whole academic year. what should schools be doing that they have not been to make this happen? >> i don't think it is necessary that schools need to be doing things they have not been. they need to do more of what they are doing. what we are seeing our levels of unfinished learning that will take many years to recoup. we do not have one single silver mess.t to get it will be a matter of us t t ofhis lay erging interventions . -- layering interventions.
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>> what kind of interventions were talking about and have they been affected by the staffing shortages at schools that we have been reporting on since the pandemic? >> interventions all share in common that they are trying to add back in some instruction that was lost during the initial phase when school shut down. these are summer school or double dosing core instruction in reading and math. high dosage tutoring is happening right now and all o those strategies rely on humans to deliver them. staffing shortages impede our delivery of those interventions. we also know that not one single intervention will be enough. >> reading through your policy recommendations, use the phrase "high dosage tutoring." how do you scale that? are there any interventions or
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ideas for how to do that given that so many students need extra help? >> i think it is time to get really creative about how we are finding access to tutors. not just putting out a help wanted ad, but seeking out members of the community that maybe andra looked in -- und erlooked. using high school students to connect with elementary and college to connect with high utsc hhool t so tusodeurntces. those positions. >> some are saying that the federal government, they are pointing out the federal government put billions of dollars to help schools recover from the pandemic and part of that focus was to get students back to speed, to pre-pandemic achievement. does some accountability lie with how school districts that money in your view? >> it is too soon to see those efforts pay off.
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schools had a really challenging year in 2021-22. and 2021-23, still had chronic absentee levels. schools are not doing enough of the right things and we need to have feet on the ground. district are not set up to be nimble and on the turn of a dime be able to implement high dosage tutoring programs to thousands of students. it is not the way schooling works. what we suggest is that schools are doing the right things but not enough of them and it will need to extend for a longer timeframe. certainly it is not the time to withdraw federal support. if anything it is time to double down and make sure we are supporting school so that they can sustain and ramp up these efforts in the coming years. >> i was looking at a report about how globally students around the world have fallen behind, u.s. it is not as bad as other countries. one question i have is whether the goal posts have moved for
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everyone or need to move. is it realistic for educators and parents to expect that their children will catch up to the achievement we were seeing pre-pandemic? >> that is a question that i got a lot. why we continue to compare current achievement levels to pre-pandemic -- we accept that this is our new normal. i don't accept this is a new normal. i hope others don't. if we shrug our shoulders and accept that kids are this much farther behind, that is problematic for the average kids but catastrophic for the kids hardest hit, students in high poverty areas, black and hispanic students who are months and months behind. and that would only catch them up to pre-covid levels of inequality and i do not think we can accept that this is how things are. >> can't give up on this. karen lewis, thank you so much for sharing these insights with us. >> thank you for having me. ♪
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>> u.s. beer sales traditionally peak in the summer months between memorial day and labor day but what is in those beers is changing. non-alcoholic cocktails make up a small fraction of the overall alcohol market, sales are rapidly rising. we sent paul solman out for a taste test. >> in new haven, connecticut, paying homage to the hemingway decorate with grapefruit -- daiquiri with grapefruit. a caribbean style gin buck. a tiki punch. >> i base it off this honeyed bush and banana tea. >> that is delicious. >> these are all concoctions of award-winning bartender restaurant consultant colleague williams. cocktails with barely a trace of alcohol. >> my goal is to give you a
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drink that has a wine, a beginning and bid pallet and a finish. >> any drink like the spirit's be labeled nonalcoholic if they have half a percent of alcohol. andy soper cocktails are all the rage. >> any bar worth their salt is giving attention, menu real estate, and i would say honor to cocktails that do not have alcoholic content. >> of course old-timers like kevin who asked if the bar was open at 10 a.m. >> never thought about ordering a nonalcoholic martini, to be honest. >> but more and more of us and younger people are opting to cut back on booze. sales of so-called nonalcoholic spirits at convenience and liquor stores are up 40% in the last two years.
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there are even bars in the east village which displayed -- >> all of these bottles of liquor that look like rum and whiskey and tequila, and they're all nonalcoholic. >> it is not just the one in four americans that do not drink at all. >> what we see in our data is that four in five consumers of nonalcoholic beer, wine and spirits are also purchasing alcohol. >> no surprise that the main adult noncollege beverage, .56 alcohol -- .5% of alcohol or less is beer. athletic in connecticut, is growing like crazy. >> in 2018, we had brewed 800 barrels of beer. the canonical holick beer -- not a public-- the nonalcoholic beer market is
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rising. >> they had to move to this new facility after reinforcing part of the floor to support new tanks that hold up to 25,000 gallons for pasteurized and to counter microbes and packaging at a breakneck pace. >> this organic line can be 450 cans a minute. >> john walker, migrated from craft beer, because of a void. >> nobody had innovated and not a colic-- in nonno holick beer. >> the innovation found a fast growing and loyal fan base. >> here is a non-alcholic ipa. >> reviewer problem drinker? >> i got a credible ultimatum from my wife. and when you start drinking alcohol you need to find
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something to hold in your hands? >> which led him to nonalcolohic beers. >> tried athletic. the yellowing. >> when you get there tomorrow, try the blue one. >> in the interest of journalism i tried it. >> we have some tropical and citrus notes. >> mostly lost on my peasant pallet. it is nice and cool, and refreshing. the key to athletic and sober beer's success was hard to miss. they're better for you. >> beautiful day, huh? ♪ >> so healthy that the german olympic ski team trained on non-alcoholic beer, because it is low cal. >> this is 25 calorie and zero sugar lite beer.
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>> because there is next to no alcohol, that is why it is athletic. >> a lot of what we did early on is break non alcoholic beer out of the penalty box. >> the bartender is trying to remove the negative aura around the sober drink. >> it was not respected, whether somebody with child or somebody on a diet. the table would laugh. for sure, many times. >> he's reframing booze gree. -- free. >> i'm a one-man movement to stop using the word virgin. i've been thinking past mock tail. how do we get to the point where we are not to leading something, not taking something away, we're making something complete? >> it has its own standing and no stigma. >> bingo, no stigma. >> no stigma for the one third of americans aiming to drink
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less alcohol to cut calories and/or intoxication. for john seabrook, athletic helped him off anything stronger. >> i need of a substitute beverage that wasn't alcohol but tasted enough like alcohol that i felt part of the ritual. >> for some, drinking anything lite or a little alcohol can be a problem, says a neuroscientist. >> recovery is different for different people. drinking drinks that look like an alcoholic drink can be a trigger. it can be what we call cue inducing. >> and the world health organization " there is no safe amount that does not affect health." >> the short-term effects are sleep, attention and focus, emotional reactivity. >> but i am not alone in drinking alcohol to chill out. >> yes, it does seem to decrease anxiety in the moment as you are drinking.
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for some people it makes them more social. but very quickly you get to the anxiety effects and the more you drink, the more anxiety provoking alcohol can be. the more distressing it can be. >> i'm 78. should i not be drinking any alcohol at all? >> at your age, not a good idea to continue. >> do you drink? >> i do. anywhere between two or three drinks a week. but i've been thinking i need to cut back. >> after hearing all of that plus a day of cocktails and beer with no aftereffects, i'm on the wagon. for now and for the "pbs newshour" in milford, connecticut, paul solman. ♪ >> northwestern university yesterday fired longtime head football coach pat fitzgerald
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after an investigation found hazing was widespread on the team, including instances of forced sex. the university received a you not -- an anonymous complaint from a former player last november and launched an independent investigation run from the -- by the former illinois inspector general and found most players but is debated or were aware of hazing. the student western -- daily northwestern reported that several players allege there were racist attacks by the coaching staff. fitzgerald said he was not aware of any hazing. the school has said it was not aware of any allegations of racism previously. joining me now is john greenberg, the founding editor and senior columnist at "the athletic." after that investigation last week, the university president first suspended the coach, coach fitzgerald, two weeks. within days they decided to fire him. why is that, what changed? >> i think part of it was the
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public outcry. and then the daily northwestern, the school paper, came out with the story with a lot of details from the whistleblower, an anonymous player with the university on the football team who detailed what the hazing was. hazing a general, vague term. it can mean anything. eating something or carrying bags. this was detailed and really damning things going on. and they had it verified by another player, who verified the initial player's, what he said happened. that really blew it up. then you some more story started come out from espn and the athletic come more details coming out. i think it really made for something they could not ignore anymore. >> the details from the student reporting are really starting. i want to share a couple of quotes. from the former player.
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one of them reads "it's just absolutely egregious and file. and in you haim -- inhumane. there is another quote that reads it is done under "this is team bonding but, no, this is sexual abuse." what did you think when you read these details? >> it was pretty shocking stuff but also like, if you have gone to college in america, anywhere around here where there's hazing in fraternities and sororities, you have seen this stuff and people have experienced this stuff. to me, the story read like they were profiling an out-of-control fraternity on campus, an old-school fraternity that had been doing things the same ways for 75, 50 years. that is what it felt like. it did not feel like the stuff you would hear from a football team. it just seems like a lot of out-of-control behavior, and even if pat fitzgerald said, this stuff has happened -- i didn't know.
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that is almost just as bad because you are the person in charge. pat fitzgerald has been head coach for 17 years and the assistant coach before that. team captain before that. for him to say he didn't know is a lack of leadership. >> and there is more reporting about allegations of racism on the football program. do we know more about that? >> no. you've seen some players and especially guys in the nfl come out against saying i never experienced that. some of said that does not mean it was not true. some people said no. but of course, i believe it. nothing would be surprised me. >> the northwestern baseball team has been in the headlines because of allegations by players and staffers of abusive behavior by their coach jim foster. is there any sense of growing pressure in terms of accountability higher up? they fire the football coach but is anyone calling for the president to step down? >> the president was just
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inaugurated last month. he took over from a longtime president that was very, um, pr o, the athletic department, he was -- a booster. he just took over. this is an interesting start to his 10 year.-- his tenure. the athletic director took over from a director that was pushed out because of issues that it happened in the athletic department when he was a deputy athletic director, assistant. he's pushed out, they had to hire a guy to replace him. there is a lot of turnover at the athletic department. there are a lot of problems. previously we had heard problems on the cheerleading team. a cheerleader sued for some stuff. and we heard about other issues. there has been, some of the teams there are great, and we heard nothing about it. but these problems, this baseball coach is the first hire of the athletic director.
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that is not a good look for him right now, that he hired this person. we've heard, there has been a trickling out of things of worries about the baseball coach and the latest reports seem bad. >> specific to the hazing the investigation confirmed happened on the football team, what happens now? a huge moneymaker for the university. could it impact support from the school community, from alumni and sponsors? >> 100%. it was just reported that the athletic director told, the assistant coaches and the staff, no one else is going to be fired which is interesting because you do not know what the other coaches know. but the way it happened, this late with the season starting soon, they need to find an interim coach, which i will assume will -- probably from someone on the staff are ready will get promoted. yeah, there are a lot of problems with the alumni. there are some that are really angry this happened. and then there are some that are
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angry that they fired pat fitzgerald who's been there for a lot of the former players, especially guys in the nfl, they look at him as a father figure. you are going to have a war almost between the alumni. it's going to be a big deal. they are trying to get a new stadium to replace their old stadium. hundreds and hundreds of millions one new facilities already -- -- on new facilities already. it is an interesting, good word, time at northwestern athletics. >> certainly a story to keep an eye on. the founding editor at the athletic. thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. ♪ >> you often see our jane fergeson in war zones around the world for the newshour but she is taking some time between assignments to pen a memoir called "no ordinary assignment."
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he recently sat down and discussed her far from ordinary journey. >> jan ferguson, welcome back to the newshour. you have spent years telling other people's stories on the front lines of some of the world worst modern conflicts. this is your story. how hard was it to turn the lens on yourself and tell your own story? >> it was surprisingly difficult, especially at the newshour, we don't want to be the story, as the storytellers, we absolutely are not used to talking about ourselves in that regard, even getting interviews like this, talking about, usually i'm asked about politics and current affairs. talking about deeply personal stories, the story of the storyteller is new to me. it really took me a long time to get into the flow. >> what made you want to do it? >> i am asked a lot why do i do the work that i do? it is a question that i'm sure
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you are asked as well. we are all asked this question, especially conflict reporters and war reporters. and i really wanted to dig deep into an honest answer. and the more i try to answer the question honestly, we can talk about what foreign affairs mean to us, how important communication is, but those of us who find ourselves on the road and living a life on the road as foreign correspondents we're much more complex and much more multifaceted. i wanted to write a book not about a journalist and not about a career but about a person, so people can understand who it is that is actually bringing them the news in the evenings. >> and you go all the back to the beginning of your story, you talk about what it was like growing up in northern islands in the 1980's. -- in northern ireland in the 1980's. how did it impact your desire to go into this kind of journalism? >> when i was growing up, i was in a very rural area, trying to
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make sense of the world is everybody does. i was this very awkward little girl with terrible acne and thick glasses. and i was shy. and extremely curious. i was growing up in the midst of the troubles. a lot of political violence, but it was really something that was somehow shrouded in a degree of secrecy. i was trying to understand wider world. that involved just asking a lot of questions. i was very precocious. i was growing up in a relatively patriarchal place where i didn't have a huge amount of professional female role models, but when you turn the tv on, i saw these women who were telling stories and traveling the world. and lo and we hold men who were listening to them and they commanded people's attention. and so, that was fascinating to. -- to me.
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it is something i have looked back on and seeing thy uncanny -- the uncanny synchronicity's of having growing up close to ira stronghold and i spent so much of my career covering insurgencies. and a lot of that has been a certain degree of fascination and needing to know what causes people to commit acts of violence? otherwise civilians, bakers, taxi drivers, farmers, what causes them to rise up> i of course look back now and realize i spent a lot of my adult life spending time with insurgencies all over the world. >> one of the first on the ground wars you covered was afghanistan. there's a story that struck me because it was what we all count on in the field is luck. that someone runs into with the right time, you missed the bombing by seconds. there was a bombing in your hotel, you're rushing to cover and someone stops you and says
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you have to wait because there could be a secondary bombing. you are learning on the job. when you look at back of your career, how many of those close calls were there? >> probably more than i even know. i often think about that. there are the close calls that we know about. there have been a number of incredibly near misses. when i was in syria, in the very early days of the conflict, when we were calling it a revolution but it was turning into an armed uprising. and a very small amount of journalists were getting smuggled in. and iwa some post-- i was supposed to go in for a week. but i left because i was very well aware that the situation was so unstable that this rebel enclave that i was in, was so vulnerable a tech -- to attack. i left early in the next journalists who we brought in was marie colvin,, a more senior
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journalists, writing for the sunday times of london and she was killed the. -- there. there have been times again and again where that happen. i left afghanistan after the fall of kabul. myself and eric stayed as long as we could, for 10 days. then eventually the one place that we were able to stay was with the british military. they said, we are clearing this out and handing it over to the taliban tomorrow. we must get out of flight out of here. we got out of flight out and every single day -- we were at the gate reporting for the newshour, interviewing afghans, trying to get on evacuation flights. a matter of hours after we get on the plane the bombing goes off there. i still don't know if it is luck or grace or an act of god, but i have been spared many times. i'm very grateful. >> in this line of work you also see up close some of the worst of humanity. people at their absolute worst moments when they lost everything. you write a story in somalia
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where you are watching a child die before your eyes. what you wrote struck me,"in those moments when i am witnessing profound vulnerability, i also feel laid bare. people recognize real empathy. it is the only decent behavior." how do you hang onto that empathy? >> you first of all are more aware than you would ever imagine of how blessed your life is. people ask me, how can you not be jaded or bitter or more pessimistic? how are you optimistic? how could i not be? i witnessed people having the worst day of their lives. first of all i struggle a little bit with what's my place here, and my helping, do i have a right to be here? there are all sorts of very difficult issues that we contend with. the only thing you can do is be as humble as you can in those moments. i was, i am so often in hospital
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wards with starving children or at funerals. i'm a stranger there, and all i can do is be as empathetic and respectful as humanly possible. >> do you ever get to a point where you think, that is enough? i can't do this anymore? >> i have never thought i do never want to do this again, i do not want to travel, i do not want to do anymore reporting, whether a crisis or a natural disaster or a war. for me, the thing that keeps me going is covering undercover stories. and those are only increasing in number. i can see myself pivoting into covering other things. more international politics or climate change. but i don't think we'll ever complete hang up my spurs. >> the book is "no ordinary assignment." jane fergeson, thank you so much. we were lucky to have us as part of our family. jane's book is out now and you
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can read it excerpt on our website at pbs.org/newshour. >> join us to round out when we have an interview with national security advisor jake sullivan. >> on the behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by. >> for 25 years consumer cellular has been offering wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s. based customer service can help find a plan that fits you. visit consumer cellular.tv. >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these institutions --
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this program was made possible by the corporation of public broadcasting and by contributions from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> this is "pbs newshour" west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]
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