♪ william: good evening. i'm william brangham amna nawaz and geoff bennett are away. on the "newshour" tonight, climate change is a definitive factor in the heat wave gripping much of the world, as another study provides further proof of the human impact on our warming planet. uncertainty abounds at the border after a judge blocks a key part of the biden administration's asylum policy, and texas refuses to remove floating barriers in the rio grande. plus, on the front lines in ukraine, the grinding counter-offensive continues with incremental progress, as soldiers and medics face the horrors of war. >> with time, you understand that you need to tune out and do your job very calmly. because on how composed you are, a person's life depends.

♪ >> major funding for the pbs 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. >> pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. raymond james financial advisors taylor -- tailor advice to help you live. life well planned. >> the john s allen james l knight foundation, fostering informed and engaged communities. ♪

>> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. william: welcome to the newshour. in the coming days more than 100 million people in the u.s. will be living under a heat advisory as a brutal heat wave moves into the midwest and northeast. new analysis finds the heat baking the u.s., mexico and europe over the past month would

be virtually impossible without human caused climate change. it comes from an international group of researchers. to help us understand more about the real-time assessment, we are joined by bernadette, chief meteorologist and director at climate central, an independent group of scientists and communicators. this is part of a field of what is known as attribution science. can you tell us about what the study showed about the connection between climate change in these heat events? >> we can go into individual weather events and tease out the role of climate change three ways. our knowledge of the specific weather event, heat is one where we know a lot. historic temperature records, we can go back in time to see what happened again. and model data.

in look and model different scenarios. when we bring down carbon dioxide, we see changes. when we put all of this together, we have what is called attribution science and we get confidence in whether we could re-create this event or not. william: that is what the report indicates, that it was impossible for these heat waves to be as long and severe absent climate change. >> correct. sadly, that is not surprising. we know when we add more heat to the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels, that translates into bigger, stronger heat events, which is the foundation for climate change we see. william: is it a factor of, this is a warmer atmosphere and we see warmer events? is that how the mechanism works? or is it more complicated? >> doesn't mean everyplace every day -- is getting extreme heat all the time.

but we raise the platform to a different level where we start with heat and add additional heat into the system. it will play out more intensely and frequently. william: every time we do a story, critics say, it is hot in summer time, how surprising. how can we tease out the distinctions between summer weather and climate change? >> it is always hot during the summer than it is in the winter. but certain summers are hotter than others. what we are talking about now is a record after record. you have to look at the pattern. it is not just one individual event in one season. we are looking at southern parts of europe, a lot of north america and mexico, china, all at the same time. that is a lot of the globe spiking records like we have never experienced. this continues to happen. william: we are entering the

period of el niño which can more motions and change the weather. remind us what el niño is about and how that might play into this. >> el niño is a natural phenomenon where we, the pacific waters are warmed naturally and that changes the weather patterns around the globe. it all -- also adds additional heat. when we get el niño years, there is a boost in global temperatures. when you want to look at the big picture once again, our el niño years, current years are breaking records. they are well above el niño years of the past. william: i want to ask about some of the solutions. we know we have to reduce our emissions to stop this human contribution to climate change. but as your organization knows and you strive to overcome, getting this change implemented is difficult. do you believehis current

series of records falling globally, as you described, will be able to move the needle in any meaningful way? >> people understand more and more the connection between what we are experiencing and climate change. the warming is happening faster than the response. two things are happening. there are amazing solutions of lamented around the tree and around the globe but we have waited a long time to implement them so the warming curve is faster. we need to bend the curve and that is where it gets interesting. we have baked in a certain amount of warming already, but this isn't per se the new normal. this is a change of normal. we are on the path to hotter unless we make changes. it is upon us to make those changes so we can limit future warming. william: how confident are you that we will do that? we have had 30 years of international negotiations to address this and very little to show for it. emissions and temperatures keep going up.

>> it's frustrating, especially when you follow this daily and this is your world. but we do know a couple things that do help people stay focused on a future. if you take us back to the paris agreement, we were on a path to five, 6° celsius of warming. right now we are experiencing, for perspective, 1.2° celsius of warming. with the implementing of changes, that five or 6° has come down. it has come down to closer to three. if you squeeze out the commitment, it may be two. there is a range. it is not precise, but it depends on human behavior. as we come together, we have already bent the curve. we just need to supersize our actions and bend it faster. william: bernadette, thank you so much for being here.

>> thanks for having me. ♪ stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. here are the latest headlines. wildfires raged across southern greece, and the tragedy deepened when a tanker plane crashed, killing the two pilots. the fires are raging as temperatures push above 104 degrees. emma murphy of independent television news reports from the greek island of corfu. william: -- >> with one natural resource, they seek to save another, scooping water from the sea to douse the flames engulfing the land. fires threaten thousands of hectares in the north of corfu. record high temperatures, tinder dry land and the suspected work of arsonists, leaving lives, homes and livelihoods in peril.

>> i went from this side up. now the wind, look -- the wind changed. that is dangerous. when the wind become stronger. now the wind comes to us. the flames are here, the claims are there. >> this was meant to be the village festival tonight. now they hope the village will be safe from the flames. as the flames encroached, more villages were evacuated. >> we took them all. >> those caught in the path were taken to nearby towns. even animals were gathered and the way. seems like this is being replicated across the island. they are closing roads because fires have been whipped up by the flames -- by the wind. it is the middle of the day but it is going dark because of smoke.

the heat wave across europe and north africa has had a devastating effect. in algeria, it is confirmed 34 people have died, including 10 soldiers, involved in rescue efforts. in italy, this airport was forced to temporarily close when fires came too close for it to safely operate. in palermo, a fire group was tackling a blaze near a hospital. patients were evacuated as the flames approached. temperatures are expected to remain high for the next 36 hours. efforts to contain their impact continue. stephanie: in israel, the ongoing backlash over parliament's vote to weaken the country's supreme court was on full display today. full-page ads of black ink covered major newspapers, with the message, "a black day for israeli democracy." and thousands of doctors walked off the job in protest for a 24-hour strike.

>> tomorrow, the physicians can go back to work, but i can say that thousands of them are not going to be silent, because there is a strong feeling, including myself, that we cannot work as physicians when israel is no more a democratic state. stephanie: israel's military also acknowledged today that more and more military reservists are asking to be excused from duty, as a form of protest. meanwhile, new violence erupted in the occupied west bank. the israeli army said its troops killed 3 hamas gunmen in a shootout near nablus. china today removed its foreign minister, qin gang, with no explanation. he's been on the job for less than a year, and was an outspoken defender of china's increasingly aggressive foreign policy. qin disappeared from public view almost a month ago. the chinese foreign ministry has issued no comment on his removal. russia has rejected new calls from the united nations to reinstate the black sea grain

deal. moscow pulled out of the agreement last week, cutting off exports of food products from ukraine. in brussels today, european union officials discussed how to ship the grain to nations that rely heavily on it. >> the decision on the part of russia, not only the invasion of ukraine, but the use of food as a weapon of war, is absolutely intolerable. the consequences of the closure of the black sea route a few days ago pose a problem for the output of grain from ukraine, but also for international markets. stephanie: separately, the u.n.'s nuclear watchdog reported land mines have now been spotted around the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern ukraine. the site has been under russian control since shortly after the war began. back in this country, ups reached a tentative deal with the teamsters union, likely averting a massive strike. on any given day, the company ships about a quarter of all packages in the u.s. if ratified, the five-year agreement will include higher wages for workers and air

conditioning in delivery trucks. legacy admissions for children of university alumni are under new scrutiny. the education department said today, it will investigate whether the policy at harvard is biased in favor of whites. it's the latest fallout from the supreme court decision against affirmative action in admissions. bronny james, the oldest son of basketball superstar lebron james, is in stable condition this evening in los angeles, after suffering a cardiac arrest. the 18-year-old collapsed on the court monday, during basketball practice. james ranks as one of the nation's top high school point guards, and he's committed to play at the university of southern california this fall. the biden administration today issued new proposals to expand insurance coverage for mental health care. they'd require insurers to assess whether there's equal access to mental and physical health benefits, and take remedial action if needed. the proposals are subject to public comment before being

finalized. british billionaire and tottenham soccer team owner joe lewis has been indicted in the u.s. on insider trading charges. lewis is accused of slipping confidential business information to others, resulting in stock trades netting millions of dollars. lewis' lawyer says his client has come to the united states to voluntarily answer what he says are "ill-conceived charges." still to come on the "newshour," president biden designates a national monument to emmett till. republican presidential ndidate vivek ramaswamy discusses his run for the white house steph curry reflects on his remarkable basketball career, and the new film that documents his rise and much more. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from wbt a studios in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. william: there are several legal

fights brewing over migration across the u.s.-mexico border. a federal judge today blocked the biden administration attempt to limit asylum-seekers after several immigrant rights groups sued, arguing biden's policy was unfair and a repeat of the trump policy. the department of justice is suing the state of texas for putting floating barriers on the rio grande river to try to deter people from crossing from mexico. the doj says texas failed to get authorization, and they pose a risk to public safety. texas' republican governor greg abbott wrote, "mr. president, see you in court." we are joined by a texas tribune reporter. thank you for being here. what is the argument the department of justice is making? >> the doj is arguing that the rio grande is an international border and for any state to

implement any kind of barrier on international waters, it needs federal permission to do so. it is an international border shared with mexico, so mexico would have to be involved in the talks as well. mexico has filed a complaint and is investigating if texas violated any sort of international laws or agreements between mexico and the u.s. william: people might look at the video and see the floating buoys and it is unclear how they stop people from crossing. what is the governor arguing those things actually do and why is he putting them in the water? >> it is something to note, we are talking about the texas-mexico border being about 1200 miles. those buoys are in a very small section of the border. i believe it is about 1000 feet. so people can cross around it, but for the migrants who are crossing through the past, they

are encountering these buoys and what it is supposed to do is basically make it difficult for migrants to swim across the rio grande. of course, if it makes it more difficult, we are talking about a consequential thing, which is migrants dying in the rio grande. william: this comes after about a week ago, we saw a leaked memo urging texas state troopers to treat migrants coming across in some truly inhumane ways, using barbed wire including pushing some of those people back into the water, even though there might be children in the groups. remind us what else the memo might have said, and what the impact of that has been. >> it was the houston chronicle that reported this. we were able to see the emails ourselves. it was an email that a dps trooper who works as a medic told his superiors, or his bosses, basically that he was concerned about the tactics, or some of the orders troopers were given. among them was to deny water to

the migrants who were waiting already on the riverbanks on the american side. in one case, the emails say that troopers were ordered in one case to push migrants back into the water, which included children. there were other cases, the emails detailed other instances in which a pregnant woman was having a miscarriage and was entangled in these wires. a child had his leg broken as he was trying to swim around some of the wires that were actually in the river. the emails provide a very specific example but also alluded to potential inhumane orders, as the emails say, that were given to troopers. william: has there been any blowback to this revelation? >> yes. shortly after the reporting, dps

told the texas tribune they opened an investigation into whether these allegations are true or false. at the same time, bps has been on a pr campaign, tweeting out videos and pictures and sending out emails detailing cases in which troopers have helped migrants who are dehydrated or need medical attention. they are on the defensive. at the same time, the governor has defended his policies, but has denied that have not been any orders to deny water or push migrants back into the rio grande. william: i want to talk about the judges order knocking down the biden asylum policy. remind us what the policy was, and what the judge said about it. >> the biden administration policy said that it required migrants to seek asylum in a

third country before seeking asylum in the u.s. they didn't seek asylum in the third country, they would most likely be denied asylum if they were seeking those protections in the u.s. today, a judge, as you said, struck down that policy. william: i understand this will be appealed and may go up to several other courts. in the meantime, does this change things for people who are waiting on the other side of the break's border, -- the u.s. border, hoping to appeal for asylum into the u.s.? >> at least for the next two weeks as the district judge said, he will keep the policy in place. we will see how the appeals court decides, but for now, the status quo stays the same. william: thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for inviting me. ♪

william: the fighting is continuing at a grueling pace along the 900-mile-long front line in eastern and southern ukraine. russia has put up stiff and deadly resistance to the ukrainian counteroffensive. with the support of the pulitzer center, special correspondent jack hewson, filmmaker ed ram, and producer volodymyr solohub report on the war and its ghastly effects. two notes, we've blurred some imagery at the request of the ukrainian military to disguise certain locations and sensitive equipment. and a warning, many details in this story are violent. >> deep in the forests of on the -- on the outskirts of bakhmut, ukrainian forces are back on the offensive. we're on our way to an artillery position. we're having to move quickly through this undergrowth, making sure we spend as little time in the open for fear of being identified by russian reconnaissance drones.

under threat from return fire, soldiers rush to the soviet-era gun and prepare to fire on russian forces. their target is a small village a few miles away, occupied earlier this year, just south of bakhmut. >> in klishchiivke village, there was a command post, and also, maybe a machine gun position, and we were firing at it. >> as we talk to the gunner, we're cut short by incoming rounds. >> watch out! >> fire! >> and then, immediately, a command to fire. protected from shellfire, the command identifies its targets underground. the situation in bakhmut is a

reversal of three months ago. back then, the ukrainians held the town as russians encircled them and pounded them with artillery. but now, the russians hold the centre, while the ukrainians are making gains on the flanks. >> we were targeting the enemy's infantry units, and we achieved our aim. some units were destroyed, and some fled. but russians are well-trained and educated. they use formulas to calculate their targets, so their artillery is very precise, and they have more ammunition than we do. >> tired but determined, ukrainian troops are pushing forward to take what's theirs, under pressure to make gains to -- but russian forces are learning to fight smarter, and it's easier playing defence. with approximately 100 square miles taken in three months, progress is slow, and comes at great cost. at field hospitals like this one, soldiers with horrifying injuries arrive every day.

dozens of casualties, wounds inflicted by shrapnel, bullets, and land mines. >> everything's fine, for god's sake. i'm fine! >> but everything's not fine. andriy has lost his foot, and will be disabled for life. we're at a stabilization point near to bakhmut, where the ukrainians are making gains, but it's still coming at a huge human toll. this man behind us has just had his right leg blown off by an anti-personnel mine. it is hard to comprehend his stoicism, showing few outward signs of pain as the remnants of his right foot were sliced from his body and placed into a plastic bag. ukrainian military hospitals are actively targeted by russian shells. these medics risk their lives just by coming to do their work.

>> artillery strike to our building, you can see around. we are working in this place only in the basement, because the main reason to be there is to be close to the frontline. in only this case, can we treat heavy patients. >> their job is to keep patients alive. to outsiders, it's shocking, but for rita, a paramedic, the blood has been normalized. >> a regular person hasn't seen anything like this. but with time, you understand that you need to tune out and do your job very calmly. because on how composed you are, a person's life depends. >> one might think all this suffering would push the ukrainians to negotiate for peace. but right now, scenes like just -- scenes like this just make them more furious. most want to fight on until they retake all their invaded land. how much longer can you do this? >> we'll take it all, no matter

how much time it takes. we hope it won't take too long. >> his injuries resulted from pushing into occupied ground. hundreds of thousands of russian landmines are proving a deadly obstruction to ukraine's counter offensive. as andriy is evacuated to a city hospital, medics prepare for their next patient. since kyiv's offensive push began in june, there have only been modest gains. now, 100 miles north of bakhmut, ukrainian forces are coming under increased pressure to hold the line. in ukrainian-held kupiansk, there has been a buildup of russian forces over the last two weeks. under forest cover, soldiers loader rocket -- load iraq at battery -- a rocket battery on the back of a truck. they race off to target a position a few miles from here. relaying the coordinates, taking

aim, and they unleash their first salvo. they're trying to match russian firepower. >> in the past week, we have been working more actively than before. they are trying to advance, they are trying to advance from a location i won't name. we are trying to suppress them everyday. >> they need to be quick as they switch positions, because they're always being watched. [rocket fire] >> that's seven rockets. that's the biggest salvo they've fired so far, so they must have found something of value to be throwing that much weight at it. with ammunition running low, the u.s. has started to supply ukraine with controversial cluster munitions, which as of last week are being fired from

these forests. [rocket fire] >> well, in comparison to what we use, the launch of one cluster munition is equal to four or five ordinary shells. sure, cluster munitions would be really helpful here. >> most of the world's nations have agreed not to use cluster munitions, because unexploded bomblets litter landscapes for years after conflict, maiming innocent civilians. back at the stabilisation point near bakhmut, a casualty arrives. his unit says he was killed by a russian cluster munition. an example of how devastating these controversial weapons are. human rights groups deplore their usage by both sides. what do you say to people who criticise ukraine for wanting to

use cluster munitions against the russians? >> to these critics, i can say, come here and fight shoulder to shoulder with our boys, and then you can criticize. >> it's back to the battlefield, and the grueling fight. the troops' resilience is driven, as is their nation's, on by a seething anger at every loss. for the pbs newshour, i'm jack hewson near bakhmut, ukraine. ♪ william: a new national monument dedicated to the murdered teenager emmett till, and his mother, honors three sites critical to till's story, and central to the birth of america's civil rights movement.

this announcement comes in the middle of a heated debate over how best to teach children about race and american history. laura barron-lopez has more. laura: on what would have been emmett till's 82nd birthday, president biden designated the emmett till and mamie till mobley monument, enshrining the ground where till's brutal murder propelled the movement for civil rights. >> let us not be seduced into believing that somehow, we will be better if we forget. we will be better if we remember. laura: till was 14 years old in 1955, when he was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered after being accused of whistling at a white woman in money, mississippi. his mother chose an open casket at his funeral, forcing the world to confront the violent racism of the jim crow south. the new monument protects three places critical to that story, the spot on the tallahatchie river where till's body is believed to have been found, the illinois church where they held

his funeral, and the mississippi courthouse where his killers were acquitted by an all-white jury. rev. wheeler parker, jr., till's cousin who witnessed his kidnapping, marked the country's progress. >> back then, in the darkness, i could never imagine the moment like this, standing in the light of wisdom, grace, and deliverance. laura: the president's declaration comes as a number of republican-led states are restricting how black history, and the country's legacy of racism, are taught. >> at a time when there are those who seek to ban books, bury history, we're making it clear, crystal, crystal clear. while darkness and denialism can hide much, they erase nothing. laura: florida governor ron desantis, a republican presidential candidate, came under fire last week after his state introduced new standards for teaching black history, and

among other lessons, the curriculum says middle schoolers should be instructed that "slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit." desantis defended it. >> they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into, into doing things later in life. laura: today's announcement comes a year after the president signed a law, named after till, that makes lynching a federal hate crime. for the pbs newshour, i'm laura barron-lopez. to discuss all this, we turn to eddie glaude, jr. he's the chair of the african american studies department at princeton university. professor, thank you for joining us. the designation today of the emmett till and mamie till mobley monument comes 68 years after emmett till's murder. what is the significance of this announcement? >> let me say it is a pleasure to be in conversation with you.

i'm no longer the chair of african-american studies at princeton, just a regular professor. it is an extraordinary moment to insist on the importance of history, that in some ways memorialize, to recognize the power of everyday, ordinary people, to call attention to the extraordinary violence and brutality that surrounded the death of emmett till. it is unlike traditional memorials or civil-rights monuments. it is more like that in montgomery, where you see the violins of our history at -- the violence of our history at the forefront. it is important when you have people denying history and engaging in book banning on the like. it is a critical intervention in the battleground of our story. laura: president biden gave remarks as were -- republican

and conservative lawmakers and organizations are challenging the teachings of race and black history. florida released its new african-american history education standards, which include instruction that, quote, "slaves developed skills in which some instances, they could be applied for their personal benefit." is that historically accurate? >> no. history is not the dispassionate detailing of facts. it is an interpretation of what happened. we know those who were enslaved acquired certain skills as they were conscripted to labor on behalf of those who owned them. that is the equivalent of saying the holocaust was beneficial because those who were conscripted, it helped build the german war machine. it doesn't make sense factually and doesn't make sense morally.

the claimant is really about absolution, trying to make sense of what were trying to make the claim that the evil of slavery produced good so then, you can wash your hands of responsibility and the consequence of the evil institution. laura: another part of the curriculum is, for lessons on some of the worst incidents of mass racial violence in u.s. history, the tulsa massacre in oklahoma, the massacre in florida, these are listed as examples of instruction on, quote, "back to the against and by -- acts of violence perpetrated against and by african-americans." >> i find it insulting. i understand the anger of the vice president. it is as if, when african-americans defend themselves, that is the equivalent of those who seek to oppress them. much of this debate is rooted in

the necessity for forgiveness. many people don't want to believe what happened and what is happening to black folks in this country. they don't want to know about the cruelty of slavery, about our encounters with police, so there is this ongoing denial because they refuse to believe what we are saying. what we have to do in the face of that is due what president biden suggested, let the truth shine a light. laura: with a few seconds we have light, what -- we have left, what are the stakes of this? >> we have to produce the kinds of people democracies require. if we don't tell the story, what we leave out of our stories and who really about reveals the limits of our understanding of justice. will we be moral monsters or the kinds of people that democracy requires and needs?

the stories are absolutely critical to whether we will survive. laura: professor, thank you for your time. >> thank you for having me. ♪ william: in the crowded race for the republican presidential nomination, there are governors, a senator, and even a former president. then there's vivek ramaswamy, a first-time candidate who has spent millions of his own money to capture the attention of primary voters. and as of now, it seems to be paying off. he is polling higher than many of his competitors who have far more political experience. lisa desjardins has our conversation. lisa: william, ramaswamy will share the stage with several of those candidates at the first gop debate next month, after his campaign announced recently that he has met the fundraising and polling qualifications. before jumping into politics, ramaswamy ran a biotech company, managed a hedge fund, authored books including "woke, inc.,"

and made regular appearances on conservative media. the son of indian immigrants, on the trail, ramaswamy is clear and vocal, criticizing the left on cultural issues and pledging to pardon donald trump. just 37 years old, he's also hoping to be the youngest president in american history. and vivek ramaswamy joins me now. big question, why you? why should republicans choose you as the nominee? >> i think i'm best positioned to advance our america first agenda, take it even further than trump did, but also unite the country in the process. i think we live in an interesting moment today in the year 2023. i think it's a 1776 moment. if you want incremental reform, there are plenty of other candidates who promised to offer that. i stand on the side of revolution, the american revolution. reviving those 1776 ideals today when it comes to shutting down the administrative state, restoring three branches of government rather than four, declaring independence from our

enemy, communist china, reviving national pride in the next generation, growing the economy. i think i'm the candidate in the best position to achieve these things, because i'm delivering on my own vision of how to actually accomplish them, and that's why i'm in this race. laura: as you and our viewers know, president trump has a massive lead in polls about the republican race. who other than president trump to think is your next toughest competition, and what makes you a better candidate? then former president trump and the other person? >> i think there's only two candidates who matter in this republican primary. that's president trump and myself. i went from 0.0% now, to polling third nationally, second in one national poll that came out last week. so i think very soon, this is gonna be a two horse race between trump and myself. i think the question is this. who's going to actually take our america first agenda even further? i think he was a good president. i agree with many, if not most, of his policies, but the reality

is about 30% of this country suffers from psychiatric illness. when he's in the white house, people start to disagree with policies they otherwise would have agreed with, just because he's the one advancing them. and my question is for the republican base. who is your actual loyalty to? if it is to this country, then ask, who's going to advance that agenda even further? i said i would secure the southern border not just by building the wall, but by using the u.s. military to secure the southern border. i'm achieving more than trump did with our own shared agenda to put this country first, but at the same time uniting the country in the process. laura: what does that mean, -- i hear you talking about uniting the country but you are talking pushing an agenda further from a man you say people suffered under in some form. what does that mean, pushing the agenda further? how is that better for the country? >> i think the way we get to national unity is not by compromising on our principles.

i think it is about being uncompromising about the principles that set this nation into motion 250 years ago. principles like self-governance over aristocracy, principles like the pursuit of excellence and meritocracy. the idea that you get ahead in this country, not in the color of your skin, but on the content of your character, in your contributions. laura: let me ask you about that. i know you are someone who opposes affirmative action. we have talked about this. you told me you don't see a difference in opportunity for people based on color in this country. we do know, data says black mothers and babies are more likely to die at a rate of 2-3 times those of whites. when it comes to income, blacks and hispanics often earn on average, a third less than whites. where do you think the disparities come from and how is president would you address them? >> they come from disparities in the fatherlessness epidemic

across this country. 25% of kids, sadly, of all skin colors are born into fatherless homes in the united states of america. those kids are eight times more likely to end up in jail, in poverty. those kids are more likely to suffer from mental health disorders later in life. to underperform in schools, regardless of what race they are. now, let's actually take a look at the racial disparities. it's upwards of 50%, 40-plus percent of black kids born into single parent households. for asian american kids, it's single digits. that's what explains the difference in achievement, not systemic racism. that's the problem we need to fix. laura: i wanted to come back to former president trump. you have said candidates should pledge to pardon him in his classified documents case. we expect an indictment related to january 6. does your pardon approach extend to his role on january 6? how would you describe his role

in fueling that day? >> i'm guided by the facts and the law. so if that indictment should be issued, i would read it before making a commitment on a pardon. i did read the first two indictments. both alvin bragg's disastrous and politically tortured indictment in the state of new york, invoking federal law to bring a local case, and then also, i did read the documents in the case, and i think, in both of those instans, those are politicized persecutions. on january 6, i have to read the indictment to say, but i personally, based on facts i am aware of, it would be a mistake. to be clear, in the instances, i would have made very different judgments than trump. i would not have handled the documents in the same way. i would have handled january 6 differently if i were in the white house. but a bad judgement, even a very bad judgement, is not a crime. it is not the same thing as a crime. when we conflate them, it is a dangerous precedent for

political weaponization of police power and that will take us in the wrong direction, was her to a national divorce, when i want to lead us forward to a national revival. laura: you are number three and republican polls but some of your views on things like abortion, affirmative action, those are out of step where independence and swing voters are nationally. how do you win in novemeber? >> actually, i respectfully disagree with you on that. there's something fundamentally un-american about using racial quota systems. i think the same comes to securing the southern border. most americans are on the side of actually doing it. so when you look at my top policy measures for this country, i think more americans are actually united around the basic principles. and that's why i'm confident we're going to deliver a ronald reagan style mandate, an electoral mandate, a landslide like reagan did in 1980. that's what i'm delivering in 2024. if that was the reagan revolution back then, it's the ramaswamy revolution this time around. i'm confident that's exactly what we're going to deliver. laura: vivek ramaswamy, thank

you for talking with us. ♪ william: a new documentary gives insight into what turned nba superstar steph curry into the generational game-changer he is, right at the time when he was just starting to break through. geoff bennett has the story for our arts and culture series, "canvas." >> here's curry for the record. it's good! there it is! >> he's the best shooter to ever take to the court. >> the all-time 3-point king in the nba. >> with seemingly unlimited range -- >> bang at the buzzer! >> steph curry transformed how modern basketball is played since he entered the nba. but to call him just a shooter is to undersell his magic. curry's acrobatics around the

rim -- >> lay up. >> his passing vision, and leadership on and off the court are just some of the skills he's showcased -- >> the warriors on top of the world -- >> in a career packed with nba records and four championships. >> the dubs dynasty is still very much alive. >> curry's career is as inimitable as it is improbable . for a player recruited in high school by only one college, the small liberal arts school davidson college. his underdog story is chronicled in the new documentary, "stephen curry: underrateda a“ produced by curry's media company. and by ryan coogler, of black panther and creed fame, who himself grew up a warriors fan in oakland. i spoke with them last week about the film. steph curry and ryan coogler. welcome to the pbs newshour. >> thank you for having us. >> and steph, given all of the success that you've had over your career, it's really in many ways easy to forget your origin story, that in the early days

you had your detractors, you had your skeptics, people who said that you weren't tall enough -- >> at 6'2", he is too skinny for the shooting guard position. do not rely on him to run your team. that was the draft report on stephen curry. >> looking back now at all of that, did that serve as a motivator for you? >> absolutely. i was undersized, kind of a scrawny, skinny kid. and every team i played, even going to the middle school and high school ranks and starting recruiting, quickly found out that those big time schools weren't going to knock on my door and offer you scholarship offers. and you had to really try to find out what my identity was. and to your question of, proving people wrong in a sense, i trying to -- i tried to channel and i had, my mom painted a very good perspective for me at those ages of, you know, everybody just wants to be seen, you know, have

an opportunity to showcase who they really are, what they're really capable of and what they offer to the world. but more my motivation was, you know, to prove myself right. >> ryan coogler, why did you want to have a hand in telling this coming of age story? >> being a warriors fan, like, i owe steph a lot of favors. man, i owe you a lot of debt. you know, he's been responsible for a lot of pride and just good times for me and my friends and my neighborhood. i wasn't as familiar with this story as i should have been. you know, when i watched the first cut, i was on the edge of my seat. with everything that's going on and people need things that make them feel good, man, things that inspired him and are fun to watch, but also make them think deeply about themselves and how the world views them, how to move to it. and i think this film hits all those boxes. >> much of the documentary focuses on your years spent playing basketball at davidson college. what does your former coach bob mckillop mean to you? >> there is no me on this level without, you know, coach mckillop finding that connection

with me coming into my junior year of high school and just the way that he built me up and saw me, you know, my potential more than i even saw for myself at the time. he had been building the davidson program for over 20 years by the time i showed up. and just the way that he teaches and coaches the full person, the athlete and the man, it resonated with me in terms of truly finding somebody that was going to help me realize my full potential. >> ryan, was it a challenge to tell the story of someone as universally well-known as steph curry is? was it hard to find something new to tell folks? >> this film is about the power of family, community, and mentorship, and the power that comes with truly being seen. and i think from that viewpoint, it wasn't hard at all. the masses know stephen curry, but i don't think the masses know this story. you know what i mean? and i think knowledge of steph will get people into the door in terms of, you know, going to the theater or pressing

play on a film. but the story. it is so universal, so relatable. this film is about self-discovery and also the power of love. you know what i'm saying? and watching steph kind of transform, transform into what he's going to become just because somebody recognized what he was at the time, not looking at him and saying oh, this guy isn't this tall, so x, y, or z, or he can't do this. so x, y, z, you know, not a guy can do this right now. this is what he can do. and that thing that he could do, you know, shoot the basketball at a prolific level. i mean, it's changed basketball. >> what was it like sitting and watching this film? >> it illuminated so many great memories, but it also introduced me to the impact that we were able to have in that run and what has to come of it. i also realized my first college game at davidson, i had 13 turnovers in the first game and you have a memory of how bad it was. but then i watched the film and i saw the highlights for the first time in 15 years and it was 100 times worse than i

remember. and to think about how low it was at one point have where it is now, that definitely gave me a lot of gratitude and appreciation. >> ryan, what resonated the most with you about steph's story? >> i think this film has a profound effect on me as a parent, you know, watching this, because there's two relationships, i think, kind of at the heart of this movie, steph's relationship with his mom, and his relationship with his coach. obviously his mom, his relationship with his mom is about him going back to school, you know, and he's doing his thing, i think that's incredibly difficult at a time when he is doing a lot. sponsorships and subway commercials and taking his team to championships and trying to break the three point record and raising his kids. and he's doing a term paper, you know, over zoom. and i'm just thinking that's difficult, man. that's not easy. why are you doing that? and you realize it's because he told his mom he would. i look at coach mckillop and i look at the fact that he was he

-- he actively saw steph for what he was, not what was missing, or what he could give him in a few years with what he saw. and i thought that that was just so exceptional. we had an event in new york a couple of days ago where i got to see coach mckillop again. and i shared that with him. and he said, hey, do you have kids? and i say, yes, i do. you make sure you look at your kids that way. look at them for what they are right now in the moment. not for what they could be. not for what they are missing. i thought about that every day since. >> steph curry, your legacy is still being written. how do you want people to view your contribution to the game of basketball? >> i still feel like i'm in the prime of my career in a sense of what i'm able to accomplish out there -- >> left-handed. >> and what the future may hold, trying to achieve, hopefully win more championships and push the envelope as far as i can. but i mean, the biggest thing is just inspiration, right? like there's something outside of me and the stats and three point record and

championships and all that, that gives people hope and belief in everything that this film speaks about. everything ryan just said about what coach mckillop has taught me along the way, basketball has opened up so many amazing doors, and it's changed so many lives for the better. and to be able to do that in a very meaningful way is very surreal to me, just because this is a game that i just love to play. you know, from the time i could walk. and now you realize how it's over delivered on impact. >> well, steph curry and ryan coogler, i appreciate you both. thanks for your time. >> thank you. thank you for having us. ♪ william: online, watch steph curry ace another sport he is

passionate about, golf. he tells geoff what it felt like to recently sink a hole-in-one. that's on our instagram. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm william brangham on behalf of t entire newshour team, thank you so much for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has offered wireless plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our customer service team can help find the plan that fits you. visit consumer cellular.tv. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in innovation, democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of

these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> this is pbs newshour west from w eta studios in washington, and our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪

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