geoff: good evening.

i'm geoff bennett. i'm not as a way. -- amna nawaz is away. on the newshour tonight. >> we're just thankful we're alive. geoff: we report from on the ground in florida, where residents are assessing the damage hurricane idalia has left in its path. a new hampshire lawsuit tests a controversial idea, using the 14th amendment to keep former president trump off the ballot in the 2024 election and, 12 years after the fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown, japan takes up the difficult task of developing a stable energy supply without relying on fossil fuels. >> in response to the accident, japanese people's view of energy changed, and utility companies also changed their approach because they realized they had to change. ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by --

>> pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor taylor's advice to help you live your life. life, well-planned. ♪ >> the kendeda fund. committed to restorative justice through investments and transformative leaders. more at kendeda fund.org. carnegie corporation of new york , supporting innovations in education, democratic, and 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: welcome to the newshour. idalia is heading back out to sea tonight. but in its wake, florida, georgia, and the carolinas are busy cleaning up. as a category three hurricane, idalia triggered heavy flooding in several states. and more than 175,000 customers are still without power tonight. officials say the hurricane created major damage in florida's big bend region, but overall there was less damage throughout the southeast than many had feared. william brangham is on the ground in florida with this report.

william: from florida's big bend to southern georgia to the carolina coast, devastation across miles of the southeast. residents off the gulf coast were taking stock of the devastation this morning. >> the whole thing fell here. we were inside. william: that must have been terrifying. >> it definitely was terrifying. william: patricia cross has lived here for years. an oak tree crashed into the bedroom where her son and grandson were sleeping. >> i thought we were going to be ok. we did not evacuate. we have been here before, but this was the worst.

william: looking back, would you choose to evacuate? >> definitely so. william: holes in the roof let in the rain, losing all of the longings. >> we are just thankful to be alive. things can be replaced. people can't. william: seawater from idalia's storm surge pushed inland for

miles, flooding small, low-lying communities, and submerging streets and cars. much of the big bend landscape was left littered with debris and the remnants of homes. the storm knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers throughout the region, ripping electrical poles out of the ground and tearing down lines. a massive recovery effort is now underway. florida deployed more than 5000 national guardsmen and 30,000 utility workers descended on the area. idalia made landfall at florida's keaton beach wednesday morning as a strong category 3 hurricane, with winds up to 125 miles per hour. it then moved quickly north, reaching the carolinas this morning, still with winds around 60 miles per hour, on its way out to the atlantic. it could threaten bermuda early next week. in south carolina, the torrential rains continued. the storm, coupled with high tides, sent water over sand dunes and onto beachfront streets. the surge even topped a seawall protecting downtown charleston. swells were expected to continue through the labor day weekend, causing life-threatening surf

and dangerous recurrence. -- dangerous rip currents. still, back in florida, officials expressed some relief that idalia was less destructive than they first feared. heavily populated areas like tampa bay avoided a direct blow from the storm, though parts of the city did see serious flooding. governor ron desantis, who toured the worst-hit areas today, compared idalia to hurricane ian, which barreled through the fort myers area last september, killing almost 150 people. desantis: fortunately, we have not had the same type of loss we have had with something like a hurricane ian. part of it is because people made really good decisions, protected themselves. i have seen really heartbreaking damage. when people lose a church, home, business, but we will get everyone back on their feet. william: president biden signed a major disaster declaration for idalia, pledging federal resources for the recovery.

pres. biden: to the people of florida and throughout the southeast, i'm here to make clear that our nation has your back, and we are not going to walk away. we are not going to give up. we're not going to slow down. william: in the meantime, groups like the salvation army are working to get food and supplies to residents of more remote areas. and idalia has already led some residents, like perry's patricia gross, to reconsider her future here. do you think this changes your desire to stick around here? >> it does change it. i am pretty sure i want to leave now. william: that sentiment from ms. gross, that she's had it with florida, was not unanimous here. several people we spoke with today said that, despite what they have been through, they want to rebuild and stay. geoff: so is it really the sense, as we heard, that officials in florida think they

escaped the worst. is that right? william: thinking about it a year ago, hurricane ian was a bigger storm and hit in a denser area and it became the costliest storm it has hit florida ever. this hurricane was smaller and hit a more rural area. much less damage. the people we talked to who were directly impacted by the hurricane, it does not feel that way. they feel like a direct blow. they said they did not know hurricanes could come to this area. they are very rare in this part of florida. some people said it was impossible to evacuate when they heard the order. this is a very tight knit community and we see people cooking for each other. there is still a great deal of suffering going on. geoff: president biden has

declared a disaster emergency. it seems like this is a very arduous recovery process. william: that is exactly right. there is the overarching looming issue of homeowners insurance. floridians pay four times more than the average american in other states, a cost that has been going up by even 40% recently. the uninsured rate is twice the national average. so that is a lot of people suffering damage to their home and i have no protection from it. i met a young couple in lying today waiting for food assistance. two kids in the back of the car. they owned their home. there roof was torn off. the longings were destroyed or scattered throughout the neighborhood. they were living in their car, taking meals to eat in the parking lot.

they had nothing left. i asked them what they are going to do. the mom shrugged and said, i don't know. and they drove off. geoff: william and the team tracking the path of the storm, reporting from florida. thank you. william: thanks. ♪ geoff: in the day's other headlines, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell got the green light to continue working. the kentucky republican froze up during a news conference wednesday for the second time in two months. he suffered a concussion in march. today, the attending physician of congress cleared mcconnell. in a statement, he said, "occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery." separately, president biden today said he's been told the same. pres. biden: it's not at all

unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to mitch when you've had a severe concussion. it is part of the recovery. and so i'm confident he's going to be back to his old self. geoff: mcconnell is 81 years old. president biden said he's spoken with the senator, and has no concerns about his ability to do his job. the white house asked congress today to pass a stopgap funding bill and prevent a partial government shutdown on october 1. that's when the new federal fiscal year begins. leaders of both parties have agreed on the need for a short-term measure, but house republicans are sharply divided over the details. supreme court justice clarence thomas has confirmed taking three trips last year on a republican donor's private plane. the donor, harlan crow, also owns the georgia house where thomas' mother lives, and he paid private school tuition for a child raised by the justice. thomas filed his financial disclosure today, and he defended not reporting earlier trips. in south africa, a fire in johannesburg killed at least 74

people early today, and injured more than 50. officials said the inferno consumed a rundown apartment building that was occupied primarily by squatters and other recently unhoused people. when the flames were extinguished, only a burned-out shell remained, and responders laid out dozens of bodies on the pavement. the city manager pledged action on the longstanding problem of derelict buildings. >> an incident, and one that is unprecedented given the number of lives that has been lost. we will do our best to ensure that we act diligently in investigating the fire and equally in our pursuit to reclaim the hijacked and illegally occupied buildings in the city.

a fire and a small clothing factory in the philippines killed at least 15 people today northeast of manila. it is believed many of the victims were asleep when it started. ron accused israel today of the most extensive plot yet to sabotage the iranian ballistic missile program. the israeli government to claim to comment on the claim.

the university of nebraska has set a new world record to the largest crowd to attend a woman sporting event. more than 92 thousand people turned out in lincoln last night to see the cornhuskers beat omaha in volleyball. coming up, looking at the rise of lgbtq+ hate and extremis -- extremism in america. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from the studios in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

geoff: former president donald trump pleaded not guilty today to charges in georgia that accuse him and 18 allies of trying to upend the 2020 presidential election results in that state. the plea allows mr. trump to avoid an in-person arraignment next week. we're joined now by stephen fowler, who covers politics for georgia public broadcasting. >> trump has filed a motion to sever from defendants who are requesting a speedy trial.

at least two people are saying they want to have a trial as soon as possible, which could be as early as october. trump says that would violate his rights and he is asking for as long as possible to have the trial. this comes as the judge also ruled that there will be cameras in the courtroom. the judge will stream all of the court hearings on a youtube channel and we will be able to watch things in real time. geoff: there is also news involving governor kemp and a district attorney. some trump aligned republicans agree with the governor. >> let me be clear. we have a law in georgia that outlines the legal steps that can be taken if constituents believe the local prosecutors are violating their oath by

engaging in unethical or illegal behavior. up to this point, i have not seen any evidence that d.a. willis's actions or lack thereof warrant action by the prosecuting attorney oversight commission. geoff: governor kemp signed the law but now he is saying it should not be used against willis. why is this significant? >> it's a big deal because trump and a couple of his allies are pushing to have a special session to strip funding away from willis or basically punish her for bringing charges against trump and the other people. kemp is pushing back, saying it is not something we can or should do and republicans need to focus on the future because georgia has some strong evidence of 2020 and 2022 we are focusing on the past means democrats win the race so a strong rebuke for

the former president and his allies pushing or prosecuting the prosecutor. geoff: we are also waiting for the judge to rule on mark meadows, former chief of staff. what is the latest? >> today we had orders from the state and mark meadows outlining , asking if one of the acts mark meadows was accused of doing is part of his duties as a chief of staff, if they could be moved to federal court. meadows says yes, the state says no. geoff: stephen fowler covering the latest. we appreciate it. despite legal troubles, trump has a clear lead in the race for the republican nomination, but is he qualified to run? a cohort of conservative legal

scholars say no and a new lawsuit could put their theory to the test. >> it comes down to a 14th amendment, which disqualifies candidates who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. a belief that trump violated that standard with his actions on and before january 6 is gaining traction with his opponents on the campaign trail and in congress. >> i am not going to support someone who has been convicted by a serious felony or who is disqualified under our constitution. >> i agree with the law professors who are saying donald trump is disqualified as if he was running and not a born new west -- born u.s. citizen. >> and a candidate filed a lawsuit to keep the former

president off the ballot. to explain, i am joined by the director of election law at ohio state university's college of law. ned, thank you for joining. the conservative legal scholars who write a paper on this essay once they dug into the actual collection -- question, they determined trump is disqualified under the 14th amendment. has the theory ever been tested before? >> not in our lifetimes. because it is a civil war provision in the constitution, there was some litigation around this clause in the 19th century, and it has been tested not for a presidential election, but for lower offices in new mexico and a county clerk was removed because he was someone who was at the u.s. capitol on january 6 so by the terms of the

presidential election, the litigation we are seeing now has not been tested in that context. >> a new hampshire a longshot candidate is suing to keep trump off the ballot. how likely is that to succeed? >> the particular lawsuit is unlikely to succeed because of technical procedure but it will not be the only lawsuit. there was already one in florida and elsewhere. i think around the country we are going to see this because every state has its own rules for putting candidates on the ballot and this could come up in each and every state and obviously trump seeks to be a candidate and all that states around the country. i think it is important this issue be decided before the november 2024 election so that it does not come afterwards. all you need is one of these

initial lawsuits to make it to the u.s. supreme court to get a definite resolution of the issue. >> secretaries of state could bring a case themselves. voters could pressure for a case to be brought. it is already under discussion in some states like arizona and michigan, swing states where those secretaries of states are seeking legal advice about where this could lead. how would those cases differentiate from this new hampshire one? >> we will see it in different variations. to secretaries of states and other election officials who are responsible for the ballots have their own special access to courts but it all depends on the content of state laws. they can vary in each state about whether they give permission for this kind of lawsuit. so even if the secretary of state would like to pursue it, it is not enough, there has to

be a state statute that authorizes this kind of lawsuit. >> to the criminal indictments brought forward by the justice department or fulton county in georgia impacts the potential lawsuits here under the 14th amendment? >> no. they are separate. they are criminal trials under different criminal laws that could -- that georgia has passed . even if trump were convicted under those prosecutions, they would not disqualify him from running as a candidate. the only mechanisms for disqualification are the impeachment procedure, but the house of representatives voted impeachment but senate did not reach a conviction by the two thirds required, so now there is focus on the separate part of the constitution, 14th amendment disqualification provision which allows for disqualification but

criminal charges -- criminal trials do not. >> is this an outlandish legal theory, or something that the country actually needs? answered? >> it is not an outlandish theory. the country definitely needs answered this -- needs answers. qualifications are strong but there are counter arguments. the strongest argument is that whatever trump's moral culpability was for the riot, that he fomented the riot, his tweet that it will be while january 6, those things that clearly implicate him in the january 6 attack, does it count as engaging within the constitution, or is it sufficiently giving aid and comfort to the insurrectionists? that needs resolution and that is why the u.s. supreme court is the right institution to do it

and i think it will be better for the country if it happened sooner rather than later. >> ned foley, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for having me. geoff: this week, commerce secretary gina raimondo became the latest high-ranking u.s. official to visit china, and engage with top chinese leadership over a four-day visit. she went during a time of security and trade tensions between the two global giants, and china's ongoing economic slowdown. nick schifrin reports. nick: across four days, two cities, and a half dozen meetings, commerce secretary gina raimondo visited china, with a message of boosting u.s.-china business. but raimondo also visited

american businesses, and said she raised their concerns that chinese policies could make china quote “uninvestable.” >> my point was u.s. business needs to see some action taken to address these issues. otherwise they will mean it is just too risky. nick: the two sides agreed to formal dialogues, including about american export controls, tourism, and trade and investment challenges. the challenge that china faces is its own economy. consumer consumption and private sector investment, are dropping, as are exports and imports. the real estate market is tanking. the population is shrinking. and youth unemployment is so high - reportedly over 20%, that beijing stopped publishing the number. raimondo's trip is the 4th cabinet member visit to china in four months. cia director bill burns in may. secretary of state antony blinken in june. treasury secretary janet yellen in july. >> we are going past just

generalized commitments to talk. we've opened clear, you know, working groups and information exchanges an opportunity to put the toughest issues on the table and try over time to resolve them. nick: and with me now is gina raimondo, secretary of commerce. madam secretary, thank you very much. during your visit to china, you warned that american businesses could consider china uninvestable because china is making it harder for them to operate, including raids and fines, uncontrolled consulting firms, travel restrictions, the passage of a counter espionage law. did china commit to stop taking any of the steps that you've cited? >> they did not. but to be clear i never would , have expected that they would have. to put this in perspective, i'm the first commerce secretary in more than five years to be on the ground in china conducting meetings of this kind, so i don't think it would be reasonable to expect that in these first meetings they would make any kind of commitments or concessions. that being said, i was crystal clear that patience is wearing

thin on behalf of u.s. business, and that china's recent rhetoric, which has been saying they want more foreign direct investment, has to be backed up by action. nick: you call it rhetoric. recently, the state council released a plan in china designed to improve the business environment. it includes promises that u.s. businesses have been asking for. but beijing has made these promises, as you know, in the past. do you get the sense today that beijing is interested in any of these reforms? >> it is very hard to say. if i were to take them at their word from the meetings that i had, i would say yes. but again, putting out a 24 point plan is one thing, actually backing that up with changes on the ground is another. nick: fundamentally, doesn't xi jinping's emphasis on national security over boosting growth mean that american businesses could continue to face a hostile work environment? >> yes, that is certainly a

risk. and as you say, that does seem to be the way things are going. but it's also true that there are many u.s. companies, even iconic brands, that have been operating in china for decades. and so we hope that they will be able to continue to do that, and we hope that they can look forward to a more predictable, transparent, fair level playing field in terms of doing business in china. nick: if that is the risk, what u.s. national security benefit is they are to advocate for u.s. investment in china? >> our economies are deeply intertwined and decoupling is certainly not in america's interest. we do about $700 billion of trade with china every year, which underpins hundreds of thousands of jobs in america. so anything that we can do in trade

with china that creates jobs in america, or helps u.s. business grow or innovate, is a good thing. so i think that is clearly in our interest. there's also the benefit of people to people exchange. you know, when i was in shanghai, i had the opportunity to visit the disney park. and frankly, there's benefit to chinese kids being exposed to u.s. brands and u.s. culture and u.s. brand names. there's a certain soft power benefit of that, a certain exchange of culture and people to people exchange. nick: as we highlighted earlier, the chinese economy is slowing and faces considerable headwinds. you have argued that chinese economic stability is good for the united states, but would it in some ways help u.s. national security for chinese economic model to be seen by the united states asian partners and allies as failing? >> i do not think so.

we are not rooting in any way for china's economy to fail. people in china deserve to have a prosperous economy. we can compete, we can outcompete. our workers are the best in the world. and we're ready to do that. nick one of the most contentious : aspects right now in the relationship with china are u.s. export controls on sensitive technology. and you and beijing announced that you would agree to establish a dialogue where "export control enforcement information is exchanged." do you believe that giving china more information about export controls could change their behavior? >> i do. i think that the more transparent we can be about our policy and our rules and regulations, first of all, we have more credibility. nobody can say that it's done in secret or unfair or not clear, i think we want to lean into the transparency. secondly, i think it could

increase compliance. if they know exactly what we expect to for example, allowing my team to go into chinese businesses to do inspections, i think the more they know, give them a give them a chance to comply you could hope and expect , increased compliance. the thing that is very important is not actually a dialogue. it is conscious. we are not negotiating, we are just explaining what we are doing and explaining the expectations for them to comply. nick: did they promise increased compliance? >> no. certainly there were no promises made. nick: there are today export bans on semiconductor chips produced with u.s. technology, but there are exceptions to that ban that allow some of the largest chip makers in the world from taiwan, samsung, to make chips inside china. will you extend that exception? >> a case by case basis. everything we do is to protect

american national security. even in the case of chips, it's important to say that of the $700 billion in trade, only 1% is subject to export controls. nick: but it sounds like you are considering extending the exception that allow these foreign companies to make advanced chips inside china. what good are export controls that prevent american companies from doing that, if you're going to allow three specific foreign companies to do that? >> we would never allow anything to be made in china or done in china that we think would hurt our national security. nick: secretary of commerce gina raimondo, thank you very much. >> thank you, nick. ♪ geoff: the brutal murders of

several lgbtq+ people and allies in recent weeks are raising alarm across the country. among those cases the shooting , death of 66-year-old laura ann carleton earlier this month in lake arrowhead, california. carleton was killed after an argument about a rainbow pride flag hanging outside her store. and last month, the murder of a 28-year-old dancer o'shae sibley. sibley, who was gay, was fatally stabbed during a confrontation at a gas station in brooklyn, new york. police say sibley confronted a group of people who made homophobic slurs and racist remarks while he and his friends were dancing and voguing. recently spoke about these attacks and the larger problem of violence against lgbtq+ people with sarah kate ellis, the president and ceo of glaad. >> thanks for having me. geoff: we are living in a moment where acceptance of lgbtq people has never been greater. looking at glaad's latest survey, nine out of ten heterosexual americans, 91%, think that lgbtq people should live without facing discrimination. 84% support equal rights for the

lgbtq community. and yet, glad documented a more than 300% increase in anti-lgbtq incidents during this past pride month over last year. what do you make of that? >> yeah, it's actually really shocking what's happening in our culture, in our world today. and i think it really is simple and it boils down to the politicization of our community. really, what we're seeing is that politicians are filling the airwaves with anti-lgbtq rhetoric, and it's getting picked up on social media, and then it's turning on from online to offline in real life into hate and violence. and so even though it is such a small, and this is exactly what you pointed out, this is a very tiny group of people who are anti-lgbtq. the vast majority of americans

are allies, or are lgbtq. but they're making a lot of noise and they're super violent. and i just want to point out, not only are they now violent toward our community, which we're kind of used to, sadly as a community, they're violent toward our allies. they're violent toward corporations. if you remember back to pride month, when bud light and target were threatened with violence from these anti-lgbtq folks, so they've really heated up and turned up the volume on violence against our community and our allies. geoff: in nearly half of the documented incidents, as i understand it, were perpetrated by people with extremist ties. what's the best way, in your view, to confront that? >> this is really tough. this is a tough situation we are

in. and we need to see leadership on this. and we're not seeing that right now at the republican party. actually, what we're seeing the republican party do is villainize us and marginalize us. we're actually seeing faith leaders like the pope who is reaching across the aisle and talking about the churches for everyone, everyone, everyone, he said a few weeks ago, we need to see the leadership, the political leadership in america on the republican side to stop villainizing us and to stop politicizing us. geoff: what's the impact of all of that on the lgbtq community? >> it is devastating, honestly. the violence that you talked about, we've seen 350 acts of violence or threats of violence against our community. this is a poll that we do or a measurement that we do with the adl in the past year. and we've seen over 600 anti-lgbtq pieces of legislation proposed since january.

there's nine active now bills of "don't say gay" across america. it's not just florida and it's not just texas. what we're seeing is a proliferation across the states in america with these anti-lgbtq bills, and all of that rhetoric, all of the fear mongering turns into violence and hate against our community and it makes it , really dangerous for us to exist. but we do not cower to this. we never have, and we never will, nor will our allies. and we saw that beautifully, both with o'shay and with lori, who stood up for what they believed in. but you shouldn't have to die in america for being for a marginalized community. geoff: as you mentioned, laura anne carlton, she was not a member of the lgbtq community.

she was an ally and she was defending her pride flags in front of her store the night that she was shot. and o'shae sibley, 28 years old, was with his friends at a brooklyn gas station, was dancing to beyoncé songs and was fatally stabbed. reflect if you can on what they represented. >> they represent the best of america, living their lives freely, supporting their community in one case and being an ally in the other case. they represent, honestly, the american people, the majority of america, and not the small minority that we're talking about. and i think that standing up for your values shouldn't mean that you get gunned down or stabbed. that's not what this should be about. a week ago, we hadn't even heard the representative in lori's district speak out against this , and in support of her. i don't know if that's changed in the recent couple of days,

but what kind of leadership is that? that is perpetuating and promoting hate and violence. geoff: sarah kate ellis is the president and ceo of glaad. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. ♪ geoff: while the world is focusing on the controversial radioactive water being released from the damaged fukushima nuclear plant in japan, the country itself is grappling with other big questions about its use of nuclear energy. japan had dramatically changed its attitudes about nuclear power after fukushima melted down in 2011. but since then, it's faced its share of problems with other energy sources and prices. and now, the nuclear question is tied up in a debate over energy and security. science correspondent miles o'brien has the story, the last

in his series of stories from japan. miles: a few miles from the fukushima fence line, another radioactive contamination story continues to unfold 12 years after the meltdowns. here they are gathering bagged topsoil tainted with radioactive cesium. it was scraped off the surface all throughout the contaminated region. i went there with producer fumiyo asahi. the cesium will persist in the soil for 300 years. so on the land side, you got the bags. toward the sea, you've got the tanks full of water. it's a mess in both directions. >> i know. it is everywhere. ocean to the mountains. miles many of the towns in the : former evacuation zone are still only partially inhabited. >> so this used to be the house.

miles: people are reluctant to come back, aren't they? >> especially young people don't want to come back. miles: the older generation is more inclined to return. i visited katsuhiko nakagawa, who lives nearby in minami-soma. when i first met him 12 years ago, he was living in tiny temporary quarters. he lost his mother, wife, and eldest son when the tsunami swept his home away. today he's in more spacious, permanent housing, where every day, he prays before a shrine to his lost loved ones. >> for the first couple of years, it was unbearably tough. these days, i play golf and do other exercises with my friends. but i have never forgotten those days. miles: no one here has. the memory of march 11, 2011 is seared in japan's national psyche. and it feeds some strong opposition to nuclear power.

do you think japan should return to nuclear power? >> honestly, i do not want to use nuclear power. but we cannot do anything about that. miles: before the meltdowns, japan generated about 30% of its electricity with 54 nuclear reactors. the entire fleet was shut down in the immediate aftermath. >> we lost that very important contribution of a reliable so-called baseload power supply. miles: baseload, meaning energy that is online all the time. ken koyama is chief economist and senior managing director at the institute of energy economics, japan. that's a big shock to the system, isn't it? >> exactly. miles: japan, which has no fossil fuel resources, now generates 70% of its power from liquid natural gas and coal,

imported from australia, malaysia, and despite the ukraine war, russia. it is building new coal-fired power plants. >> if we really want to achieve net zero, we need complete and revolutionary change in overall energy system. miles: before the fukushima meltdowns, japan was aiming to build enough nuclear reactors to meet half of its electricity demand. solar and wind were not prioritized. shinobu komatsuzaki is hoping the winds will shift. she is vice president of wind power energy, founded 20 years ago. >> we were very interested in global warming. we felt the problem was imminent. miles: but it's been slow going. absent a history of oil extraction, japan had no lease laws governing structures in the ocean until 2019. wind power has just started building 19 turbines offshore - -- offshore.

it's part of a nationwide push to generate 10 gigawatts of wind power by 2030. >> in response to the accident, japanese people's view of energy changed, and utility companies also changed their approach because they realized they had to change. miles since the meltdowns, solar : power capacity has increased 18 fold. renewables now accounts for about 20% of energy production. as for nuclear, polls now show a slim majority support restarting nuclear plants. ten reactors are now generating power after meeting new, stringent safety requirements. the japanese government would like to restart 17 more. >> our policy is to restart nuclear power plants, ensuring their safety and gaining the understanding of the local community. miles: yasutoshi nishimura is the minister of economy, trade,

and industry. japan is vowing to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. its ambitious plan focuses on emerging technologies, hydrogen and ammonia as alternative fuels, and carbon capture technology. it is also exploring newer nuclear power plant designs -- small, modular, and alternative fuels and cooling regimes. >> in cooperation with american companies, we would like to develop safer next-generation nuclear reactors, including small ones. we need to cross very high technical hurdles. innovation is the key. miles but innovation has its : limits here. japan is endowed with the third largest geothermal resource in the world. and yet it only generates less than 1% of its electricity this way.

heated opposition to the idea comes from owners of hot spring resorts like this, called onsen, where bathing in the buff is a requirement. they fear geothermal wells will dry out their springs and spoil the environment. and yet, in the onsen resort town of tsuchiyu, they are proving it can be done with no apparent adverse consequences. up the river from the town center, they have built a small 440 kilowatt geothermal power plant. it's only enough to power about 80 homes, and run a small fish farm, but none of the hot springs are diminished. a tiny system, but the owners hope it is a proof of concept. emiko kato is coo of genki-up. >> the water merely goes through the machine. so the volume and quality of water supplied from the hot springs have not been affected at all. miles: japan needs to be creative and aggressive to increase its energy security,

and reduce its carbon footprint. but it would be a tragedy to destroy this to keep the lights on in tokyo. for the pbs newshour, i am miles o'brien in fukushima prefecture. ♪ geoff: the department of health and human services is recommending a major change in the way the federal government treats marijuana, but stops short of saying it should be decriminalized under federal law. john yang has the details. john: geoff, the recommendation is part of a review president biden ordered last year. hhs says marijuana should no longer be a schedule one controlled substance like heroin and lsd, which the law defines as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. instead, hhs says the drug enforcement administration should classify marijuana as a schedule three substance,

defined as having a lower potential for abuse. other class iii substances include anabolic steroids and painkillers with small amounts of codeine. dea, part of the justice department, will have the final say on this. natalie fertig covers federal cannabis policy for politico. i want to underscore, they are not recommending decriminalization, right? >> correct. it would not remove the federal prohibition on cannabis. john: some restrictions would remain? >> yes. a schedule three drug is still overseen by the dea. john: what would be the biggest practical effects of this? >> the cannabis industry has

been hard-hit in the last few years. the federal tax code prohibits cannabis from being able to write off a lot of business expenses. if it was removed to schedule three, it would no longer be a problem for them and the cannabis industry would be suddenly be able to keep a lot more of their money. it could have a huge impact. john: what about for the people who want to use it recreationally? >> this does not change that or decriminalized federally but almost half the country at this point has now legalized cannabis for recreational use and where than half the country for medical use. state laws will probably stay the same. what will happen is will the fda decide to enforce cannabis the way they do codeine or ketamine?

it could make huge changes but people i spoke to said it is not an expectation right now. this is early days and we are still waiting to see what the dea does and how the fda will choose to enforce it. john: there are 23 states and d.c. where small amounts of recreational marijuana are legal. would this change anything in the other states? >> states are still at liberty to continue moving forward with ballot measures and legislative attempts to legalize medical or recreational. if the fda decides to change the way they have been enforcing cannabis, which they have enforcement over it as a schedule one drug right now come up they have been hands in those

situations so they could decide to come in and say we are going to change our approach for state regulated markets, and then that might make other states pause and not go ahead and legalize. but right now, until we learn more from the federal government, it is business as usual. john: this is a recommendation. what happens next? >> the dea does there review of the fda and hhs recommendation. that could take a month or six months. before the letter came to light yesterday we were hearing we would get into the process with the very broad range of somewhere between this fall and next spring. i do not know personally what the hhs letter means for that process, if it will speed it up or if it will be what happens.

once we get the fda decision, we will know what comes next. john: what has been the reaction to the hhs letter from groups that advocate drug legalization and groups who are fighting against drug abuse? >> the industry is excited because of the tax code change. drug advocates have been less excited. because what the reschedule would not impact is criminal code. it would not mean any major changes to federal criminality of cannabis so they are saying, biden administration in the 2020 election, you said no one should be in jail for cannabis. this would not make a major difference to that. the antidrug groups are saying this makes people see cannabis as less harmful or potentially abusive.

so no one is happy. john: [laughter] natalie, thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. ♪ geoff: as always, there is a lot more online, including a look at the latest battle in oklahoma's largest school district, the threat of a state takeover. that is that pbs.org/newshour. that is the newshour for tonight. join us again here tomorrow night, when we'll visit a school district hoping to combat learning loss by adding more school days. i am geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening for us. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

and friends of the newshour, including leonard and norma clorevine, and koo and patricia yuen. 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 public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the

national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪

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