♪ good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is on assignment. on the "newshour" tonight. former president trump surrenders to authorities in fulton county, georgia over his efforts to subvert the state's 2020 election results. republican candidates for the

white house clash on multiple issues -- including the former president -- in their first debate of the 2024 election cycle and on this ukrainian independence day, the country's ambassador to the united states details progress and setbacks in the latest counteroffensive against russia's invasion. >> we have one goal, to liberate all of ukraine, and we will reach that goal. how much time, weapons, energy it will take, that of course nobody knows that. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular. this is sam, how can i help you? >> this is a pocket. >> thought i would let you know with consumer cellular you get

nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. ♪ >> the candida fund, committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at candidafund.org. carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: good evening, and welcome to the newshour. former president donald trump is turning himself in at the fulton county jail in atlanta, georgia tonight. he faces 13 felony counts tied to his attempts to overturn the state's 2020 election result. it's the fourth time this year that mr. trump has faced criminal charges. a couple dozen of his supporters gathered outside the jail as the former president made his way from his is bedminster, new jersey, golf club to atlanta. sam gringlas is covering this case for wabe georgia public radio and joins us now from outside the fulton county jail. sam, walk us through with the former president will experience as he surrenders himself and is booked at that joe behind you? correspondent: the former

president is expected to have his mug shot taken, to have fingerprints, and he will not actually be in this facility very long we expect, because earlier this week his lawyers negotiated a $200,000 bond, so he will not be inside very long before we see the motorcade come down the street and head back to the airport. geoff: earlier today donald trump shook up his legal defense team. what is his new attorney stephen sadow bring to the team? correspondent: he is well-known in the criminal defense community and an expert at defending certain cases, but these broad racketeering cases that forms the framework of the district attorney's case in fulton county. he has represented its -- represented some famous clients in the past and bring that experience with running a high profile case like we have in fulton county. geoff: two of the co-defendants,

mark meadows and jeffrey clark tried to have the state k-smoove to the federal court on the grounds that they were federal officials when these acts were committed, but the judge in this case rejected that argument, and in fact, mark meadows was among those who surrendered and was booked today. what comes next on that front? correspondent: the judge rejected their argument to basically postpone them having to surrender themselves while that argument plays out. there is a hearing scheduled on monday in federal court to determine whether it can be moved out of state court and into federal court, and what the judge will have to consider is whether these acts were committed under the color of office, basically as part of the official duties of these defendants when they were working out at the white house back in 2020 after the election. geoff: and there were some new developments today from the d.a. fani willis regarding the timeline.

part of the case could start within two months, is that right? correspondent: one defendant filed a motion for a speedy trial, which is something you can do under georgia code. one question will be what happens to the rest of the defendants. the district attorney has said she is ready to go and move ahead to the trial for all 19 defendants. former president trump's lawyers have pushed back against this idea, so we have to remember it is up to the judges at the schedule, the district attorney, so it is up in the air what happens with the timeline of this case. there are so many factors that because of this down from protracted jury selection to those efforts you just mentioned to move this case out of state court and into federal court. a lot of unclear in this moment where the timeline heads. geoff: the when defendant you mentioned is candidates who allegedly planned a collector

strategy. the judge in this case at his trial will start on october 23. let's talk more about this judge. he seems to be making decisions rather rapidly. correspondent: this joe's was an appointee of governor brian kemp , who was a republican. he has only been on the bench for a couple of months, so he is fairly new to the court room, but lawyers who have worked with him who stood on the other side as defense attorneys said he is smart and kind, and this will be his biggest case yet. geoff: sam reporting for us tonight, we appreciate it. donald trump's legal issues were one of the many topics featured in last night's republican presidential debate in milwaukee, even though the former president himself chose to skip it. a total of eight other candidates took the stage in hopes of establishing themselves as viable contenders for the gop nomination. lisa desjardins brings us up to the speed on the first debate of the 2024 presidential election.

>> tonight, the race for the white house -- correspondent: in wisconsin, the state where the republican party was formed, a heated debate over its future. >> we don't need to bring in a rookie. we don't need to bring in people without experience. correspondent: and that of the country. with eight candidates on stage vying for the spotlight in a debate full of fireworks. >> mr. pence -- mr. ramaswamy -- hold on senator scott. correspondent: early on, florida governor ron desantis touted his record and approach. >> we must reverse bidenomics so that middle class families have a chance to succeed again. correspondent: but after that neither desantis nor biden were the center of attention. instead, it was 38-year-old businessman vivek ramaswamy, a trump acolyte and lightning rod. he doubled down on climate denial when asked about devastating wildfires and heat waves that scientists agree are exacerbated by human activity. >> let us be honest as republicans. i'm the only person on the stage who isn't bought and paid for,

so i can say this -- the climate change agenda is a hoax. >> whoa! correspondent: there is scientific consensus that climate change is real and driven by mankind. ramaswamy quickly found challenges, starting with former vice president mike pence. the two held debate over the state of the country. >> we're in the middle of a national identity crisis. >> we don't have an identity crisis, vivek. we're not looking for a new national identity. the american people are the most faith filled, freedom loving, idealistic, hard-working people the world has ever known. we just need government as good as our people. >> mike, i think the difference is, you might have -- some others like you may have on the stage, it is morning in america speech. it is not morning in america. we live in a dark moment, and we have to confront the fact that we're in an internal sort of cold cultural civil war and we -- war. correspondent: later, it was former south carolina governor and u.n. ambassador nikki haley railing against ramaswamy on foreign policy. he would limit u.s. spending and involvement overseas, including with israel, ukraine, and

taiwan. haley accused him of wanting to cut that support altogether. >> you've been pushing this lie all week. >> but you -- you want to go and defund israel. you want to give taiwan to china. >> let me address that. i'm glad you brought that up. >> do you want to go and give ukraine to russia? >> i'm going to address each of those right now. -- the false lies of a professional politician that -- there we have it. >> under your watch, you would -- >> so the reality is -- >> america less. you have no foreign policy experience, and it shows. correspondent: some others on stage, like south carolina senator tim scott stayed out of the fray. >> going back and forth and being childish is not helpful to the american people to decide on the next leader of our country. correspondent: scott focused on other issues. schools, abortion -- >> we must have a president of the united states who will advocate and fight for at the minimum a 15-week limit. correspondent: how and if to push for a national abortion ban was a flash point -- as in this exchange between haley and pence. >> but when you're talking about a federal ban, be honest with the american people. >> i am being honest. >> don't make women feel like

they have to decide on this issue, when you know we don't have 60 senate votes in the house. >> 70% of the american people support legislation to ban abortion -- >> but 70% of the senate does not. correspondent: as those eight hopefuls debated. frontrunner donald trump was absent but aiming for the same viewers with an interview posted on social media. >> and i'm saying, do i sit there for an hour or 2 hours, whatever it's going to be, and i get harassed by people that shouldn't even be running for president? correspondent: and back in milwaukee, of course, the debate about trump was woven in. >> if former president trump is convicted in a court of law, would you still support him as your party's choice? please raise your hand if you would. correspondent: all but christie and former arkansas governor asa hutchinson raised their hands. >> i'm not going to support somebody who's been convicted of a serious felony. >> here's the bottom line. someone's got to stop normalizing this conduct.

and you know this is the great thing about this country -- booing is allowed but it doesn't change the truth. it doesn't change the truth. correspondent: others, like north dakota governor doug burgum bemoaned the topic altogether. >> every minute that these eight candidates spend talking about the past instead about the future is time that is just -- the -- you know, who loves it, biden loves it. correspondent: next question -- whom do voters love enough to keep in the next gop debate? that's set for the end of september. geoff: lisa is back from milwaukee and with me here in the studio alongside amy walter of the cook political report with amy walter. it is great to see you both as always. let's talk about ron desantis, who escaped the debate unscathed, and there are observers and analysts who are citing that as evidence of his diminished standing in the race and that his opponents did not feel compelled to protect them. >> this is a topic of a lot of

my questions to my sources. when you talk to dissented supporters they told me three different things. some of them made the argument that he was the adult in the room. he did not want to engage. he wanted to be above everyone else. they said the reason he was not attacked is because he has an incredible record, he has the best record i was told of any governor in the country. that doesn't conflict with the third thing dissented supporters told me is no one has been attacked more before this debate, and that is a sign he is still the guy in the center. i think what happened was a surprise to many in the dissent this camp. i think they were ready to be attacked and were not attacked and they are figuring out what it means. they know he probably is the number two, but they are not sure where she will be in two weeks, three weeks. one of the things they have a lot of confidence in is there ground game. these early states are going to matter. geoff: the wall street journal

editorial board, which cannot be accused of being left-leaning, what about donald's absent this morning and said donald trump to the party in the country a favor by ducking out of the debate. voters were able to hear it other candidates and size of their policies, sparring abilities and differences. gop voters who want to defeat a highly portable president biden avenue more than capable non-trump to choose from. >> that is the challenge that they have multiple non-trump candidates to choose from. i think this race for the very beginning until now has well done to these three key groups of republican voters, percent, 35% who will stay with trump no matter what. another 20% to will never vote for trump, and somewhere around 50% sitting in their who say i like trump and they are probably telling pollsters that they are voting for trump, but they are open to other options. what i saw last night was good

news for donald trump in that ron desantis did well enough, i think you are right, that he is still in the mix, but he got overshadowed by ramaswamy, the candidate who is mo aligned with donald trump, who will defend donald trump constantly against splitting up that vote with him. the other thing as lisa pointed out in her piece, every single person to raise their hand except for two when asked if they would support donald trump if you were convicted. if you were trying to get voters who were on the fence about donald trump or may looking around, if a conviction is not enough to get those people to say i will not support him, why should i as a voter think that is happening? why should i as a voter think he is disqualifying? we came out of this with three candidates who did either reasonably well or did get good

attention. ramaswamy, haley, and dissenters, but not one of them has been able to put together but never trump and sometimes from coalition. we will see when polling comes out whether desantis is still there, but it is a question of how much they need to make up to get close to donald trump. geoff: let's talk more about vivek ramaswamy. last night she was slick, fast talking, he attacked his rebels of the stage. he was downright trumpian, but he seemed to delight in having a target on his back. >> he did know how to take a punch, which is something very few candidates can do. the question for the ramaswamy camp that was answered last night, they had a problem with name id. voters being able to say his salute -- his name, and what

name are we saying again and again today? whether he won you over, rubbed you the long -- the wrong way, he is the one we are talking about. that is one reason he was very happy. as long as they are talking about you, you are doing well. geoff: let's talk about nikki haley, the only woman on that stage. you can argue nikki haley right away with the debate. she had the passionate exchange with mike pence about abortion and the other debate with vivek ramaswamy. she said you have no foreign policy experience, and it shows. i've talked to any number of never trump republicans whether i on tim scott. it strikes me that the attention might shift a nikki haley. >> for those folks who want to make a break from donald trump, she gave them a lot of what they are looking for. in her messaging, it was aimed more at swing voters than base

republican voters. her answers on climate, abortion, foreign policy. geoff: isn't that hard to do though? >> that is the right question, which is how far will this get you. this helps donald trump, because now does she become the candidate of the never trump wing, which is 20% of the vote leaving whoever else fighting over the persuadable sometimes trump voters and trump getting the biggest chunk of the vote and able to win and able to win in the divided race. >> there was no unhappier in the spin room then that nikki haley supporters. when she presented last night was something very appealing in a november election, so the voters i have been talking to, i did not hear the kinds of things that got her into that first place spot. i will also save the other camp that was very happy last night, mike pence.

he has the most debate experience and white house experience. he should be a dominant character, and up until now he has been kind of an afterthought. you could argue did he try too hard, was he pushing back too much, causing problems on stage going -- stage? can he overcome the bad taste former president trump has intentionally put in voters minds about him. geoff: time for a lightning round. did any candidate on that debates page -- debate stage emerge as a threat? >> i do not think a change of much of that at all. it is a question of if desantis has stabilized that is a good news for dissenters. >> trump is his only competition for himself right now. geoff: thank you so much.

♪ geoff: in the day's other headlines, investigators are combing through the wreckage of a private jet that crashed outside moscow yesterday. yevgeny prigozhin, head of the "wagner" mercenary group, is presumed dead, along with several of his top lieutenants. rescuers found all 10 bodies of those aboard. an investigation is underway to determine what caused the crash. meantime, russian president vladimir putin offered his first public acknowledgment of prigozhin's presumed death. >> i knew yevgeny prigozhin for a very long time, since the early 1990s. he was a man with a complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in life. he achieved the results he needed both for himself and, when i asked him, for the common cause, as in these last months. he was a talented person, a talented businessman.

geoff: a pentagon spokesman said so far there's no evidence to suggest that a surface-to-air missile brought down the plane. but he offered no further details. a russian court has ruled that american journalist evan gershkovich must remain in jail until at least november 30th. the wall street journal reporter was seen going into court earlier today, but journalists were not allowed to enter. he was detained on a reporting trip in march and charged with espionage, even though russian authorities haven't provided any evidence. the u.s. government says he's been wrongfully detained. in the dominican republic, tropical storm franklin claimed the lives of two people after unleashing heavy floods and landslides. residents in santa domingo trudged through waist-deep water just to get to their homes. trash and other debris rushed down rivers, swollen by the floods. the storm is now heading north and could strike bermuda early next week. maui county sued the hawaiian electric company today over the wildfires that ravaged lahaina. they claim the utility failed to

shut off power amid fierce winds and dry conditions. the lawsuit comes as fire recovery efforts in the town entered a new phase -- with new equipment. crews are using excavators and heavy machinery to dig through the disaster zone in lahaina to help with the search and recovery process. at least 115 people are confirmed dead. a wildfire in northeastern greece has been declared the european union's largest blaze on record. over a hundred fires are burning across the country, including one nearing the suburbs of athens. 20 people have died over the last week, and 60 firefighters have been injured. harsh winds and a hot, dry summer have stoked the flames there and throughout southern europe. japan's fukushima nuclear power plant began releasing treated radioactive water into the pacific ocean today. the government says it's an essential step in cleaning the facility after nuclear meltdowns caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

the release operation is expected to last about 30 years. officials say they tested the water to ensure it's diluted to safe levels. >> when this operation finished, to check the water has been properly diluted, we took samples from underwater piping. we will analyze and measure the concentration level, and compare it with the level we've calculated. geoff: as we've reported, not everyone is convinced the water will be safe. today, china announced a total ban on japanese seafood. the release has also sparked protests inside japan and in neighboring countries. demonstrators worry about the toll it could take on the environment and human health. >> i am furious about japan's announcement of water release. i'm even more angry about our president who has been silent about this. i will reduce the amount of fish i eat, but i'm more worried about whether we should let our children eat seafood.

geoff: the un's nuclear watchdog approved the fukushima water release plan last month. it expects the impact on health and the environment to be "negligible". the five-nation bloc of developing economies known as "brics" invited six new countries to join today -- including saudi arabia and iran. its current members are brazil, russia, india, china and south africa. the expansion announcement came during a summit in johannesburg. the president of south africa -- who currently chairs the bloc -- addressed concerns the group is turning against the west. >> we reiterate our commitment to inclusive multilateralism and upholding international law, including the purpose and principles enshrined in the united nations charter. geoff: the bloc was formed in 2009 to represent emerging economies in global affairs. it currently represents more than a quarter of the world's

gdp -- which will increase once the new members join. and, stocks tumbled on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 373 points to close that 34099. the nasdaq fell 257 points. the s&p 500 was down 60. we look at what's behind the dramatic rise in maternal mortality among black women in the u.s. a special legislative session in tennessee becomes contentious over gun measures. and a clinical psychologist gives her brief but spectacular take on remaking identity. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: 32 years ago today, in 1991, ukraine issued a declaration of independence from the soviet union. but as we know, today ukraine is fighting to be free of russian attacks and occupations. nick shifrin has the story.

correspondent: in a country at war, independence is not celebrated and commemorated. president zelenskyy and his wife gave thanks to all those skilled in the country's existential war, and they sing the national anthem. ukraine has not yet. , a dark call to celebrate new independence. >> ukrainian children on ukrainianquares and streets will celebrate the independence of ukraine. correspondent: the only parade today a prizes war. still the word runs on. ukrainian soldiers evacuated residents from a newly recaptured town and ukraine's south erie it it was obliterated by russian occupation and ukrainian counteroffensive. the blue and yellow fly atop what used to be a school. ukraine says soldiers landed in russian occupied crimea, a

direct challenge to russian control and president of us because most prized territory. putin prays the legacy of the onetime kremlin soldier who turned traitor, who died yesterday in a plane crash the u.s. believes was likely intentional. >> these people made a significant contribution of fighting the neo-nazi regime in ukraine. correspondent: in the western city of lviv, ukrainians walked through a cemetery that continues to grow. this woman carried her son to her father's great. iho was a comeback -- ihor was a combat medic. they moved here to be close to him. >> we lived for each other. i have no right to live him here. that is why we raised offenders. our boys, i have to take care of him by myself.

today he turns two years old. dad was very proud of him. he called him his little independence. correspondent: the u.s. estimates ukrainian fatalities and wounded since last february to be as high as 150,000 not to mention the millions of ukrainian civilians who have been displaced, wounded, and killed. for more we turn the ukrainian ambassador for the u.s. let's start with the counteroffensive. some u.s. officials to me and other reporters have been blocked. they have been concerned about ukrainian military strategic decisions. these u.s. officials worry ukraine is putting too many soldiers and the east rather than the south, too many western weapons going to the east rather than the south, which is the front of this counteroffensive. what is a response to those concerns?

>> first of all, we have big trust in our military commanders. since the start of the war, they have shown that they are very capable. at know what they are doing. we have been able to liberate more than 50% of what russia has taken since february, and frankly i never heard in the conversations with the officials any criticism. we all understood from the very beginning that it is going to be difficult summer campaign. we knew that the enemy is well-prepared. we also know that enemy russians have disregard for any human life. you have seen what they have done. they destroy everything. correspondent: these are towns ukraine is moved into as part of the counteroffensive. >> when our defenders liberate them, they are trying to be careful, because they are liberating our people. we knew it was going to be difficult.

we knew it would take all we have, and it still will require may be more capabilities and weapons, but we did not lose anything since the summer campaign started and we keep moving forward. correspondent: there are some intelligence estimates that fear ukraine will not reach one of its main goals in the south. what is a response to that skepticism, that doubt inside the u.s. government? >> we have one goal, to liberate all of ukraine, and we will reach that goal. now, how much time, weapons, energy it will take, nobody knows that. but i have recently been in kyiv and spoke with the commanders. they know it is difficult, but they also are very optimistic, and now with all of the new packages that we have from the u.s. and other allies, hopefully

it is more long distance. we are very eager to train on all of the new capabilities and f-16s. all of that will help us to liberate ukraine faster. correspondent: the u.s. and us today ukrainian pilots will be training in the u.s., yet the u.s. does not send some of the weapons that ukraine is asking for. some long-range weapons. it does ukraine have a plan if it does not or cannot three seas all of the territory? >> we have one strategic goal, to liberate all of ukraine. we have a formal plan, which president zelenskyy is very active not only discussing with the leaders, but we have a number of groups, which are being discussed right now. we have focused on the goal, and we are positive that if we are all united, and if we do it together, we can reach it, and

actually we have to reach it not for the sake of ukraine but for the sake of all of us who believe in the same principles. correspondent: the biden administration use the term as long as it takes, but there are some doubters within the republicans who are just now as of last night debating in the republican primary. let me show you one of the quotes from vivek ramaswamy, a businessman running for president. we are protecting against an invasion across somebody else's border in ukraine when we should use the same military resources to prevent the invasion of our own southern border here in the united states. are you fearful that someone like him or someone who feels that way could become president of the u.s. and reduce support ukraine? >> it is an internal matter of the u.s. for who will become the president, and as a democracy, ukraine welcomes the democratic process, and it is up to the

american people who the american people will elect. what i will say is i was glad to hear yesterday when i was watching the debate that almost everyone else understood very clearly that actually supporting ukraine is in the u.s. national interests. if we want to deter other autocrats, if we want to restore the order, which is the basis, the world order, which is the basis for prosperity of all civilid worlds as we know it after world war ii, if we want to send a resounding message that democracies not only can defend themselves but help each other, and if we want to contain this war to defeat russia well it is still in ukraine and not to involve other nato members, and prudent has been clear that his threat is to everyone else, then it divides an effective choice to continue supporting ukraine so we can win faster. correspondent: nikki haley,

former ambassador to the when, on the vice president mike pence did express the support, but the person it was none of the stage former president donald trump has also questioned whether she would send as much aid to ukraine, and he is by far the front runner, so do you acknowledge there is some erosion among support for part of the republican party? >> the majority of americans, whether democrat or republican's, support ukraine. we have seen it in all polls. i see it outside when i walk in washington d.c., but i recently traveled to ohio, overwhelming support. american people are not only very generous people, but also people who are brave and free. people who believe that when injustice is done somewhere or as martin luther king says, the threat to justice anywhere is a

threat to justice everywhere. i feel from the american people that they understand it, and they understand how important it is for all of us. correspondent: finally we saw in the story that preceded us the reports of if any provision -- prighozin's death. everyone realizes who has a relationship to his death. who is that? >> well, we see were criminals not only attacking ukraine but killing each other on a regular basis, and frankly everyone in russia from president putin to all of the commanders on the battlefield, whether they are commanders and official ministers of defense or thugs, they all are war criminals, and when they decide to kill each other, it is there internal issue, but i think it is again

showing how fragile russia is and how this aggressive, senseless war that they started against ukraine is actually ruining their regime. correspondent: does ukraine believe vladimir putin killed prighozin? >> if our intelligence has this information, i will be more than happy to confirm it, but at the moment now i think nobody knows it for sure. we cannot exclude it, of course. correspondent: ambassador, thank you very much. ♪ geoff: for too many american women, giving birth can be deadly. the us has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations, over 1200

women died of maternal causes in 2021 alone. but for some the risk is even higher, black women are three times as likely to die from labor complications. amna nawaz reports on the people working to help black women have -- help them have safer pregnancies. >> how are you today? correspondent: dr. doee kitessa is on a mission. the obstetrician/gynecologist is an attending physician at the university of maryland medical center in baltimore. >> i went into medicine to improve health. and so when you see disparities, i want to make it better. particularly as a black woman, this is something that is near and dear to my heart. correspondent: more than 60% of the city's population is black. which dr. kitessa says plays a crucl role in the quality of prenatal and postpartum care black women often receive. >> so i think race plays a couple of factors.

they have less access to quality education because of issues like redlining, for example, that historically has been present in the united states, particularly in baltimore. it affects housing and affects income. that is going to impact their health outcomes in terms of access to care. correspondent: another critical component she's seen in the health care system, patients not being heard and their pain dismissed. >> what ends up happening is black women feel that their concerns are not listened to or when they come in in labor, their pain is dismissed or when they come in just with a complaint of pain that it might not be fully evaluated, that it's explained away from other reasons rather than being listened to and fully evaluated. >> they were relatively dismissive of what i was saying. they were saying, well, fibroids are common. correspondent: krystle carter word struggled to get doctors to take her concerns seriously when she had trouble trying to conceive. >> they were seeing, you know, just a patient based on whatever

demographic i fit in. and because fibroids are higher for african-american women and lots of women do conceive with them. correspondent: research has found that by age 50, 80 percent of black women are likely to have fibroids. >> what i've learned is, you know, sometimes fibroids can impact your ability to conceive, and other times it can't. so dr. kitessa, who i worked with here at university, was able to help me identify that as a potential issue. that is what i liked. it felt like a decision i was very much in charge of, and after i had them removed i was able to conceive twins. correspondent: but black women are at higher risk for other health complications as well. >> black people have higher rates of high blood pressure in pregnancy. high blood pressure can manifest as pre-eclampsia, which is a disease of pregnancy, which there are higher rates in black women, diabetes and pregnancy. and it's not something inherently about black people

that are genetically that causes them to have these conditions more with fibroids, we don't necessarily really know why some of the ideas about things like diabetes and high blood pressure is this idea of weathering that the chronic stress of racism over time. is changing our bodies at the cellular level. correspondent: despite growing awareness of these issues, and medical advancements over time, the numbers of black women dying in childbirth have continued to climb. a long-term study out this summer showed that the largest jump in deaths was among american indian and alaskan native mothers and that the maternal mortality rate in the us more than doubled with black mothers. >> the nurse on labor and delivery tells you describe your pain and you start crying, telling her how much pain you're in and she tells you to shut up because she is typing. correspondent: black women, like mary katherine, have been sharing their stories on tik tok

and other platforms to raise awareness and create a community of support. >> please help you because you feel like you're dying and she tells you she feels like you're faking for pain medicine. >> i think that these stories tell us that this crisis is real. correspondent: journalist and tv personality elaine welteroth had her own bad experiences while pregnant, even early on during routine checkups. you talked about going doctor to doctor, trying to feel safe and to feel heard. >> i had a doctor interrupt me in the middle of a question telling closing her laptop, standing up and walking out of the room to tell me and and told me on the way out that i was asking too many questions. and it made me feel incredibly small and belittled. correspondent: she eventually sought support from a black owned birthing center, working with a midwife and doula to deliver her son. >> we are living in a maternal health crisis in this country and across the world. correspondent: welteroth now

uses her platform to advocate for change, and hopefully, save lives. >> i shouldn't feel like one of the lucky ones because i survived my birth experience in the richest country in the world. but i do. correspondent: but experts worry for women already at higher risk during pregnancy, the supreme court's decision to overturn roe v wade could be potentially more deadly. >> what kind of impact do you think the dobbs decision could have on maternal mortality? >> i think it's only going to be worsened by the dobbs decision. in those states where individuals are having to carry pregnancies, they either did not desire to carry or really their clinicians thought they were not healthy enough to carry, that's only going to exacerbate the inequities that we see in severe maternal morbidity, as well as mortality. correspondent: after years on the frontlines of the fight to save lives, dr. kitessa is now preparing the next generation of

doctors to carry forward her work. >> we should be appalled by anyone dying in pregnancy. my mission as an ob gyn and being an educator is i want to fundamentally change how we provide care to black women, how we provide care to where other women from marginalized communities. and and addressing a lot of these issues that we've talked about related to unconscious bias, related to structural racism, related to trust, related to recognizing patient's humanity. correspondent: krystle carter ward, meanwhile, is settling into motherhood. >> i'm learning something new every day. i am learning that i am not actually in charge. i can make a schedule, i can make a plan, but my girls are really going to dictate how the day is going to go. it has been exciting. it has been joyful, and it has been exhausting.

i was given the tools i needed to help keep myself and my babies safe. correspondent: grateful, she says, for the support of her doctor that brought her to this moment. ♪ geoff: tennessee lawmakers returned to the state capitol this week for a special legislative session in response to the covenant school shooting, where three children and three school staff members were killed in march. laura barron-lopez has more on what lawmakers will -- or won't -- do amid public outcry. >> mr. speaker, you have a quorum. correspondent: it is a special session months in the making, facing pressure after six people were killed at a school shooting in march. the republican governor called for a special session focused on public safety.

lee has backed away from a proposal to temporarily remove an individual's access to guns if they are considered a threat. after the republican super majority running the state capital rejected it. the legislature is looking at other proposals loosely connected to the shooting. those include school safety measures like alarm systems, tougher sentencing reforms were juvenile offenders, and mental health perform. this week parents in gun safety advocates flooded the capital, emotionally asking for changes to tennessee's gun laws, but republicans in the house and senate are at an impasse, fighting over the limited legislation they are willing to pass. democrats argued the legislature needs to address gun violence in the state. >> some of them watch their friend russ. correspondent: one state representative recognized the 15th anniversary of the school

shooting in her district. >> we have to do something, or ryan and for everybody since and everybody in the future. correspondent: the special session comes a month after thousands of tennesseans took part in gun reform protests, putting the state capital in the national spotlight. two black democratic lawmakers, justin pearson and justin jones, were expelled from the legislature for leading a protest the floor of the statehouse. >> [indiscernible] correspondent: both won reelection to their seats and special elections earlier this month. lawmakers returned to the capital to debate the bills next week. national public radio's blaze gaining has a front row seat and has -- joint is never national. republican gov. bill lee is

under pressure to deliver some type of response to the covenant mass shooting, but republicans in the statehouse do not want to touch gun laws specifically, so what kind of legislation do you expect to come out of the special session? >> there is a little bit of legislation coming in, but most of what i see are free gun locks , another that speeds up the background check process, and one that allows the tennessee bureau of investigation to conduct a report on human trafficking. correspondent: do you expect those to ultimately pass out of the special session. >> so far the senate in the state is looking to pass those. the house also wants to pass those, but they want to do other things mentioned earlier in the program on mental health and juvenile sentencing. correspondent: the gop super majority in the house agreed on one thing quickly, which are rules cracking down on protest

on the floor and from the public. how has that impacted protest this week. -- we? >> people were going about it as if the rules had not been established, but on tuesday in a civil justice subcommittee, the chair told a couple of people to put down their signs. three women refuse, and one was removed by a highway patrolman. since then, the aclu sued, and the judge put in a restraining order so that people can hold up their signs for now. correspondent: this special session will spill into next week, and you reported this and you reported the senate is only willing to pass three bills, governor lee has proposed a handful of his own. is the governor involved in any of these negotiations, and do you think this prolonged session could make it possible for even more bills beyond the three that we outlined make it possible for anymore to pass? >> it is highly unlikely,

because the senate is very strong in their stance, but politics is crazy. we did not think we would be going until monday. i thought it would end today. the governor has stayed out of it during session but said he was speaking lawmakers until the special session in order to get those proposals to them, and at the time they were willing to pass them, but it seems like something must've shifted. correspondent: democrats are functionally powerless in this legislature. what has their approach been to this debate? >> to ask a lot of hard questions about whether or not republicans believe that the bills they are trying to pass would actually have stopped to mass shooting. yesterday, when republican was asked why can't he basically admitted that guns led to this, and he said that if the person had had a rock or a car, they could have also killed people.

sort of not putting the blame on weapons and just saying it is the people that need to address mental health issues. correspondent: if these bills ultimately pass, the ones that so far appear headed for the governor's desk, they do not have anything to do with actually restricting gun access, so do you think it will actually satisfy the public? because there seems to be a lot of outcry for change in response to this mass shooting? >> it will satisfy people on the right that one the second amendment rights to be upheld, but the covenant families that are here, the citizens that are here, the democrats that are elected in office are outraged at the fact that there seems to be nothing that can happen for republicans to change their minds on how easy it should be to get a gun. correspondent: do you think that

at all in tennessee given the super majority for republicans that this could impact them politically computer elections? >> some of the covenant families are saying they are going to raise money to put up an action fund and say they're going to raise money to get people out of office. it will just have to wait and see. they have a super majority. it is not like two or three seats will change anything here. i just highly doubt that they will have any kickback from this. correspondent: we will be watching closely next week to see where these bills end up and if they reach the governor's desk. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. ♪ geoff: halah alyan is an

award-winning poet, author, and clinical psychologist. she was born in illinois, but, growing up, spent time in several other states as well as in kuwait and lebanon. alyan shares her brief but spectacular take on how those experiences formed what she calls a hyphenated identity. >> i was born to palestinian and syrian immigrants, and my childhood was spent between the middle east and different parts of the united states. i think like anyone with any sort of hyphenated identity, there was a lot of emotional and literal code switching that went on in my house, and so i think a lot of my writing and creative expression has been thinking about ways to sort of bridge the gap between these two identities and really kind of create a third hybrid one. my parents sought asylum in the midwest after saddam's invasion in kuwait, and i went back to the middle east for high school and did my undergraduate in beirut before returning to

finish my education. it is 1990. my mother is crossing a border. i mean desert, i mean life. i'm at her heels. i'm paying attention. i mean, i'm learning the colors of the flag. i mean, i'm learning english. i mean, i'm forgetting arabic ore. it is 1994. i'm falling in love with a white boy, a habit i will never kick. i feel like i was one person in my house in oklahoma or texas or maine, and then another person trying to fit into a lot of the american mainstream and societal expectations. and then around 12, that flipped, and suddenly i was the americanized kid that was now in the arab world. when they say pledge allegiance, i say my country is a ghost, a mouth trying to say sorry, and it comes out all smoke, all citizen and bullet and seed. my country is a machine, a spell of bad weather, a feather lacing. my mother's black hair. i mean her dyed hair, i mean her blonde hair. i mean her hair matches this country so shiny and borrowed

and painted over. my writing also intersects a lot with diaspora and immigration and what it means to be in different places and carry the memories and the heritages and the inheritances of other places. it's 2003, and i am in beirut watching barad burn because of america. i mean, i am in my country watching my country burn because of my country, or it is 2020 and the women in beirut are a sea. i mean, my country looks beautiful in red. it is every year, and my country is taken, i mean, my country has stolen land. i mean, all my countries are stolen land. i mean, sometimes i am on the wrong side of the stealing. my country is an opening. i mean bloom. i mean bloom. not like flower, but bloom like explosion. my country is a teacher. i mean, you want to see my passport? i mean, do you like my accent? i

mean, i still them. my name is halalan and this is my brief, but spectacular take on making and remaking identity. geoff: you can watch more brief but spectacular videos at pbs.org/newshour. also online, check out our tiktok to learn about the restoration of the national cathedral in washington d.c. 12 years after an earthquake caused millions of dollars in damage to the landmark. and that's the newshour for tonight. i am geoff bennett. thanks for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour. >> architect, gatekeeper, mentor

, your raymondjames financial advisor taylor's advice to help you live your life. life well planned. correspondent: the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. and friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

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at korner kitchen & bar in the fruitvale district of oakland. i think it's really important, now that i got to a certain point in my life, to engage and support organizations that supported me and support my community. as a parent of a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, i can't believe that they have a korean-american character, a korean-american puppet, on "sesame street." my son sees this, and my son understands that, you know, he is being represented and represented properly. we were honored to be on "check, please!" our social media manager noticed a huge spike in people following us, liking our content.

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wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. ♪ it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. - hello everyone and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. the godfather of artificial intelligence sounds the alarm about his own dangerous creation. is ai a major threat to humanity or a world saving breakthrough? i ask a senior ai researcher and the head of cyber policy at stanford university. also, an ode to mother nature.