people who are struggling with lpr detection. >> an executive order creates military protocols for investigating sexual assault in the armed forces.

>> major funding has been provided by. it's the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour. >> william and flora hewitt foundation. venting ideas -- advancing ideas to support a better world. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions by viewers like you. >> welcome to the newshour. relief has arrived for regions broiling under intense heat. a cold front lower temperatures across much of the upper midwest , northeast and mid-atlantic. >> temperatures are easing slightly across the southwest. in california, burning out of control.

mar-a-lago made his first court case. he has not found a local attorney. hunter biden's former business partner said joe biden with their associates. a democrat said archer testified hunter biden sold the illusion of access to his father. a republican said the testimony justifies an impeachment inquiry. in pakistan, the atomic state group claimed -- it happened at a taliban election rally. tents were in tattered and

chairs litter the ground. hospitals were overwhelmed. >> i am a shopkeeper present at the rally. we lost loved ones, so many martyred in the incident. i demand the government investigate this because this was a brutal act. >> the isis claim of responsibility gave no details and said it is waging war on democracy as a regime hostile to true islam. annual attempt at a cease fire is underway after three days of lashes between rival factions. plumes of smoke dotted the skyline. palestinian refugees took shelterwherever they could.

>> we fled because of the shelling and bullets, too many people were killed, we cannot stay and have ourselves and our children died. we cannot stay do not want armed fighters here. >> the violence or up to saturday after a government try to kill a palestinian militant. russian missiles killed six people and wounded 75 today in such oil ukraine, the attack targeted go residencies hometown. rescue crews searched for survivors. officials say a 10-year-old girl was among those killed. a group of 15 west african nations is imposing sanctions after the military coup. it is threatening military force.

at the same time, the president of chad arrived to try and mediate a solution. back in this country, the dow jones gained 100 points. p we harmon -- paul rubens died sunday night. he hit big in the 1980's with the saturday morning tv show pee-wee's playhouse, after that, in 1991 arrest put his career on hold for years. he was 70 years old. still to come on the newshour. jason aldean defends his song

that has been criticized as racist. a whistleblower testimony reignite the debate over ufos and the possibility of alien life. katie ledecky makes history again with major wins at the world championships plus more. >> this is the pbs newshour. >> so far, donald trump's growing legal troubles do not appear to be putting a dent in support. there is scant evidence any challengers will be able to loosen his grip on the nomination even as he faces criminal charges. donald trump is trouncing his rivals according to a new new

york times poll, holding a massive lead over ron desantis in the gop presidential field. the results underscoring his grip. speaking this weekend, the former president railed against democrats. >> the radical lunatic democrats impeachment, they indict me, the republicans don't fight, they don't fight the way they are supposed to fight. the others are dirty, sick players and republicans are high-class. they have to be lower-class. >> among his rivals, different approaches for taking on the dominant front runner. will heard tore into the former

president. >> donald trump is running to stay out of prison. >> which drew a chorus of boos. >> i know. listen, i knew the truth is hard. >> on the airwaves, nikki haley encouraged republicans to move beyond donald trump. >> the front runner ron desantis dodged a question avoiding any mentions of the former president.

>> for a closer look, we're joined by a republican pollster. it's great to have you here. the new york times notes that in the modern history -- donald trump leads ron desantis by nearly double that. is a nomination inevitable? >> far from it. we have never had a leading candidate facing multiple serious felony invite -- indictments. it is such an unstable environment with the things that have not happened yet.

does he have a huge lead? yes he does. i don't think the national numbers are going to change a lot. >> let me ask you about the intensity. this is a national poll, a very favorable opinion, a group that he carries at 92%. how does ron desantis overcome that? >> it may be very difficult.

running for president is really hard. running for a statewide office is really hard. let's also agree no one has quite figured out how to overcome donald trump. laying out allegations that are totally unsupported like pedophilia.

he suggested rfk junior he keep doubling down on the argument that slavery is beneficial to some slaves. these were obvious cases were going in one direction was obvious and he went in the other direction. >> you have the experience of having worked for governor desantis. what seems to be the problem? >> no pollster or general consultant or campaign manager. that is a little unusual.

>> the candidates who seem to be taking on donald trump directly, is there enough of the republican electorate left to mount serious challenges? >> we talked that there is a never trump cohort but it's only about 10% to 12%. there is a majority of the party that are skeptical he can win in 2024. the problem is when you say donald trump is unfit for office, it makes those people have to recognize for someone who is unfit to be president. that is a psychological leap to get over. >> people do not want to admit they were wrong. >> those three candidates are

very effective but i think they're going to tap out. >> we will have you back the campaign unfolds. >> the settlement money from several companies that sold opioid painkillers is starting to flow in. nearly $50 billion will be paid out to state and local governments but the debate about how this money should be spent is just beginning. a special correspondent traveled to north carolina where overdose spikes have -- deaths have spiked. >> in north carolina, the job starts early.

she heads to the local jail where she works with inmates battling addiction. by the afternoon, she is driving across the rural section of the state with friend and volunteer. the death rate is nearly double that of the statewide rate. >> i know what it is like to struggle in that way. >> after battling drug

addiction, she says the work is deeply personal. >> people in this community -- i understand what it is like to struggle and have no hope. >> few resources have been available to address the crisis until now. her job, which she began in may are both funded by opioid settlement payments, now coming in to north carolina. a state that was expected to see $1.5 billion over the next eight years. >> people need to know the stigma is not viewed by everyone. >> this takes our high.

>> the opioid crisis has been devastating. it is the deadliest epidemic in american history and beer at the deadliest moment. >> the attorney general led negotiations for national settlements. in all, these settlements have netted roughly $54 billion. >> is it enough money? >> it is absolutely enough money. it is not enough to end addiction. i am certain that there will be many more people who are alive, healthy and happy because of these funds. >> he says the goal of most of the settlements was to give states flexibility but to also require them to use 85% of that

funding on addiction treatment. those requirements were wooden place -- put in place after the 1990's. >> we all watched them happening with tobacco settlements. it is not nicotine addiction. we want this money to go to people who are struggling, the money is required. >> across the nation, how those requirements will be in worst remains a big question. she has been tracking how opioid settlement money is being spent. >> was literally in settlement documents is the idea that if states don't use at least 85%, the companies meaning johnson & johnson, the companies that

settled would be the ones to hold states accountable and say we are going to take you to court. >> so far, $3 billion has gone out to state and local governments. the amount of money is based on several factors including total number of overdose deaths, use disorder, and the total population of the state. >> think about it being spread over 18 years and across 12 different companies, a lot of companies are bringing in profits in the tens of billions. take johnson & johnson, they are paying out $5 billion in total. last year, they made profits around $95 billion. people are looking at that and thinking this is not that much. >> it is money many hope will

make a difference. in north carolina, 85% will go to counties and the rest to the state legislature. >> having this funding -- >> john never imagined he could get into politics. >> in the last five years, i have known people who passed away, and this last one, one of my best friends. he struggled for quite some time. >>'s best friend loved music and his community. he died from a sentinel overdose last year. >> he is now focused on saving lives. >> we have not engaged this

issue, it has seeped into every household and we have to be proactive for those who want it. >> that is why he pushed for settlement payments on more narcan and hiring crystal. >> within 72 hours of an overdose, we want her engaging with the individual. after that experience, it's a great time to talk about making different life choices. >> for those who have lost loved ones, this money remains out of reach. >> without anything. >> rita has lost two children in the last four years. she enter sunset down with me in a it bill. >> there are a lot of parents

that lost their children, mothers and fathers. i hope as a survivor that we get some compensation. >> there were people dying back there. >> john says he was angry none of the families would be going to families like him. he has been going to meetings across north carolina. >> i sit there in the room and wonder how many people have a loved one lost. how many individuals have lost one? it's different when you have someone you really love dying. you see things differently. >> he says his sister was outside a gas station when she overdosed. those around her were not able to help. >> if she could have had narcan, it might have helped her. why don't we normalize this?

>> is hoping to apply for a new nonprofit that aims people to find narcan. >> if anyone comes in having an overdose in the store, you have something to work with. if you are dealing with an epidemic, there's a lot of individuals who will step up to the plate. >> crystal knows that her work is just beginning. >> it's critical to reach them, it does not matter to me how many times they have overdosed. there is always hope. i see someone with potential. >> a glimmer of hope for a state that is losing more than 4000 people to overdoses a year.

>> in ohio, the debate over money has led to a legal battle. one of the most popular country music hits of the summer has ignited controversy and faced backlash from fans who say the lyrics encourage racism. >> the song is by jason aldean. in includes lyrics of vandalism and filmed at a courthouse in tennessee. cheryl crow and margo christ say the lyrics encourage violence.

around here, we take care of our own. ♪ following an outcry, the original video was slightly reedited. small protests have taken place at several concerts but the songs popularity has only grown, going to number two on the billboard charts last week. joining me now is the country music reporter in nashville. thank you so much for joining us. when this song was released, it was not that big of a hit. why do you think it has become such a cultural flashpoint? >> there has been a long existing -- those fans are

regular streamers, they engage with content online so they are willing to support a song like this because it plays into their ideals. >> what are they hearing? >> the small town values, a place worth divergent and dynamic so for a lot of people it feels like they are being lost in a larger conversation. something like this stems the tide. >> jason aldean has been outspoken in conservative

circles. what has been his response to the outcry? >> he is been in support of his song, continuing to play it live and it plays with where he has been headed as an artist on social media for the last five years. he and his wife have come out as notable conservatives and they are willing to do that because they feel as though with the up swell of the liberal left in cultural music -- country music that there is not a space to be conservative. >> as i said, there have been small protests at concerts but the song has only gained popularity. how is the song being viewed in

the circles themselves? >> it's a mix of everything. this is a very broad issue. in country music currently, you have every type of political, social and musical background in the genre. that's everything from progressive house, hip hop, all the way to the western swing, folk, german. the whole space is represented. in that sense, a song like this plays into certain parts of the realm so they are willing to be supportive. >> i want to pick up on what you're saying. it becomes parof a much larger division in country music and

our society at large. i cited some criticisms by some leading figures in nashville, but how strong are those within country music themselves? >> looking at both country and americana. artists like cody johnson and others who are more libertarian in their views. new jason isabel moore towards a social and political left. some of my own reporting,

criticisms that if it the industry's, you are saying there has been change. how much change have you seen? >> one of the great bellwethers is in the past -- there have been trans artists who played at bridgestone arena. it is a wide open space where artists who were traditionally marginalized are experiencing greater visibility. when you see a song like this, as far left as the country has leaned, it is also far right.

>> thank you so much. >> after years of protests and advocacy, a new executive order from the biden administration seeks to bolster the military ability to deal with sexual assault but how far-reaching are the anges? >> on friday, president biden signed an executive order codifying changes over how to handle sexual assault in the ranks. those changes were mandated last year and were supposed to usher in reforms that survivors and advocates have demanded for years. for that, we turn to a retired

colonel who was an air force attorney and now teaches at southwestern law school. an army veteran who previously served as a victim advocate. i want to start with you. this executive order creates a team of special prosecutors that are going to be called officers of the special trial counsel, it moves some authority over sexual assault to this new team. how significant is the executive order? >> the analogy is i got my foot ran over and shot in the chest. what we have to do is hope service members make it to the special trial counsel. i represented service members

where there was no law enforcement investigation or opportunity for the case to make it to a special trial counsel. again, the military is pretending this doesn't exist. then mutsa goes to the trial counsel, the commander has these other things they can do. they can decide whether witnesses can or cannot be made available. that commander decision is final. the commander can decide this person is to mission-critical. there are millions of service members and no one human is irreplaceable. as a veteran myself, they trained me to be replaceable. the idea we can't make these witnesses available is wild.

>> how seismic of a change do you think this is for the military? >> the actual changes congress mandated is a specific number of crimes from the commander's purview to independent military lawyers is the largest seismic shift since the creation of -- it is a half measure that leaves him place a very broken system. there are no standing courts like federal court. there are pop-up courts that i commander is still the one --

this is problematic to pick the universe of jurors and then they send it to a judge. >> under the executive order, will these lawyers still be influenced by commanders? >> in my view, absolutely. we see these attorneys will be rotating to different career assignments. we can imagine -- can't imagine

the attorney will not be thinking about that. that is a problem we currently see now is that junior and senior attorneys are still trying to get promoted, still going to be advising the commander. all of those commanders have attorneys advising them. how zealously are they going to ask sexual assault cases? if it commander is making an adverse ruling. that's a huge concern. >> what -- i should know, kiersten gillibrand told us they are pleased with the executive order, they're going to be monitoring the implementation closely and they think if

further reforms are needed they will be pushing for those. do you think the president is going to have more authority than they did not give him? >> right now, the regulations leave it vested. they can have a military magistrate. just like judges do. the reason this is a seismic change is it is the first time they have lost a little power, a huge admission that this does not work. it is a halfstep because commanders could not be trusted.

why do commanders have authority over any offenses? i would like to highlight weapons he said that commanders still own the system. one line says despite the fact that the special trial counsel has exclusive authority, if you or any commander feel there would be a detrimental impact, you will go direct to the secretary concerned. there is already a formal process. this feels like a tangible signal. commanders are still in charge and it does not matter, they can go around them.

that is in the regulation. >> want to ask you, you represent sexual assault victims. do you see any hope in these actions? >> a lot of them are cautiously optimistic but they are experiencing retaliation in real-time. the military is reporting 60% are being retaliated against. i am not sure how a special trial counsel is going to help from retaliation they are experiencing now. >> thank you so much. >> just before air, we received

a statement that reads for cases of sexual assault for which the special trial counsel has presided to proceed with prosecution, commanders no longer have any authority and determinations made are binding. this pertains to all phases including adjudication, sentencing and confinement matters. commanders do not have control over producing witnesses. the white house official added they can't hold up a trial on the basis of national security concerns. the newshour will continue to route order on this topic. are we alone in the universe? one employee told congress last week that the truth is out there and it's being hidden.

a former intelligence officer says he worked on classified military grams and that ufos are real and the government has been withholding knowledge for nearly a century. nasa is set to release its own report in the next few weeks. hereto help us separate fact from science fiction is an author. thank you for being with us. >> always a pleasure. >> one of the reasons why this resonated and while we're still talking about it is because the former officer told congress the u.s. government has a long-standing program that retrieves ufos and he also said nonhuman biologics have been found at crash sites. >> as i stated publicly,

biologics came from some of these recoveries. >> human or nonhuman? >> nonhuman. >> based on your own reporting and research, what should we make of that and does nonhuman mean alien? >> in this case, that is what he intends it to mean. the challenge is, we don't have anyone saying that we have firsthand knowledge. he fits into a long tradition dating back into the 1970's and 1980's from so-called ufo whistleblowers who come forward with what the community calls friend of a friend tales who say this is what i've heard, i don't have firsthand knowledge. >> to your point, the discussion

has been characterized by stereotypes of people in tinfoil hats. here you have, veteran pilots, people who are credible. is what they are saying credible and reliable? >> yes, and this is part of a historic change we have seen since 2017 when there were new revelations around the pentagon engagement of what the government calls uap. you now have serious people saying there are technologies out there that we are encountering and cannot explain and are better than anything we think our government possesses. >> went to the government start tracking this and help us

understand how this discussion has fallen into public view. for a long time, lawmakers and officials were not willing to talk about this. >> started right after world war ii, 1947 was the beginning of the flying saucer era in terms of people spotting things in the sky that they thought were extraterrestrial. from the 1940's into the late 1960's, the u.s. government had an active ufo search and study program. that was shut down and it shut down any knowledge it had any program until around 2017 when you began to see this modern resurgence and new era where

people are grappling with the reality, the clear reality that there are technologies out there that our military cannot explain. >> i was going to ask how most encounters are waned but you say there are good version that are not. >> some of the government renaming this from ufo to uap is to try and capture the idea that some of this is probably not objects, some might be atmospheric phenomenon we don't understand. some chunk of it is advanced technologies being tested by adversaries like china, russia and iran. one of the things the pentagon has said is they have discovered

unknown, chinese drones that come out of the water and transition to flight. >> the government has long accused of hiding what it knows and at the congressional hearing there was a republican member that said the lack of transparency amounts to a cover-up. that was the phrase they used. is there evidence of a coordinated cover-up? >> the government covers up some aspects of this, what it can pick up, some chunk of this is our own advanced technology, stealth craft, etc.. i think, and this is what i tried to trace in the book is over the last 75 years, a lot of this has been a cover-up of ignorance, not of knowledge. which is to say the government

isn't comfortable saying there is stuff out there and we don't know what it is. >> as we wrap up the conversation, so far, only earth we know can sustain life. is there life on other planets? >> last decade of science leads to the almost inescapable conclusion that there is probably not just like out there but probably intelligent life area, the math is really on the side of extraterrestrials was aged. the challenge is, is any of it close enough? >> looking forward to reading your book. thank you so much for being with us. >> always a pleasure. >> katie ledecky is already

considered the greatest swimmer of this decade. this weekend she made her claim for greatest of all time. in japan, she surpassed michael phelps for the most individual titles in swimming history. to also became the first swimmer ever to win six world titles at the same event. here is out it played out on saturday. >> no one has won six world championships in the same event. dominating this event. for more than 1000 years, the deck he is cruising away from the rest of the field to do what no swimmer has ever done. six. the battle is on for silver. >> after the races, she was asked what the moment meant to her. >> it was special, i did not

know. it is cool. i am happy. i will take it. i am pleased with how the week went. >> a sports columnist it's -- it's always good to see you. >> first of all, you just heard one of the wonderful things as i think she is the most self-effacing superstar, she did not, she was not even aware she was about to break the record. katie ledecky is getting faster as she gets older. she is 26. she is swimming faster than she

did two years ago and she is coming closer to the times she swam in 2016 when she was the breakout star. i'm sure many people will hear that and talk about the issues of doping. katie is a stickler, she believes in clean sport. this is how serious she is about proving she is doinghis the right way. >> you mentioned she getting faster. she shaved over 10 seconds offer time.

how shedoing that? >> she is training with men. she's going to the stable of distant swimmers, the men are at the university of arta training. katie is competing and going up against those men, she is testing herself in a way that i've never heard of a top female swimmer at this stage of her career seeing the results. >> what do you think about this debate? >> in terms of world championships and in terms of longevity, we have seen swimmers

at shorter distances going to her 30's. for a woman to be dominating at longer distances, 800 meters, that's extraordinary. >> i have to ask you before we go about the u.s. women's national soccer team, they are vying for another world cup title, the next game is either late tonight or early tomorrow. they take on portugal, what is at stake for this team? >> everything. the u.s. team is never been knocked down in the group stage. the u.s. team is one of the eight world cups, they are the most dominant, they are the johnny appleseed's fighting for equal pay. everyone looks up to the u.s. team.

portugal is ranked 41st in the world, the u.s. is ranked first in the world. if they bow out, my goodness. it would be a huge story. they have never not gotten to the semifinals. if this younger team -- i think they will rise to the challenge but it's going to be very interesting. portugal has played well in the u.s. is not found its footing. we will see. >> exports, smith usa today. always good to see you. >> that is the newshour for tonight. great to have you back.

>> on behalf of the entire team, thank you for joining us. >> major funding has been provided by -- >> architect, beekeeper, mentor. >> the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. with the ongoing support of these institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪ >>

introducing a technological achievement so advanced... it rivals the moon landing. wow! ok. rude.

that's one small step for man. one giant leap for mankind. ♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & company." here's what's coming up. with african heads of state gathered in russia, we look at putin's strengthening alliances and what it might mean for the war. plus -- >> russia attempts to break people's resistance. >> ukraine continues to suffer the horrors of that war. my conversation with those fighting for accountability. the nobel peace laureates. and -- >> we at this moment have an even more important job to do to be vigorously enforcing the antitrust laws, protecting fair competition, preserving open markets. >> a new approach to corporate mergers, walter isaacson explores new rules which aim to

present harm to wo