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. geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the newshour tonight, the effects of this year's extreme weather persist as severe storms lash southeastern europe and maui marks one month since the start of its disastrous wildfires. geoff: we speak with the u.s. ambassador to the united nations during her trip to chad as concerns grow over another potential genocide in the darfur

region of sudan. >> they ran because they were afraid. they ran because they saw their neighbors, their friends, their family members killed in front of their eyes. amna: and, tunisia's president tightens his grip on power by jailing rivals while the economy falters and citizens flee in increasing numbers. ♪ >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular. how can i help you? you get nationwide coverage with no contract. ♪

>> the kendeda fund. committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendedafund.org. >> carnegie corporation of new york. 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. amna: welcome to the newshour.

the death toll has reached 18 tonight in severe storms raging across southeastern europe. geoff: central greece has been especially hard hit, with some areas getting a year's worth of rain in 12 hours. entire villages were cut off today, with water 6 feet deep in places. and, rescuers brought more stranded people to safety -- many of them stunned by the disaster. >> we've never experienced anything like this before in all these years. even old people we spoke with told us they've never seen this before. there's so much water. geoff: elsewhere, drone footage in southern brazil showed widespread destruction from a storm this week that claimed at least 39 lives. authorities say high winds and flooding rain affected more than 80 cities. amna: u.s. forecasters are warning that hurricane lee could become the first category five storm of the atlantic season. it grew today to category four -- with winds of 130 miles an hour.

the projected track would skirt the northeast caribbean this weekend. after that, the storm's path is uncertain, but it could stall east of the bahamas. former trump white house advisor peter navarro was convicted today of contempt of congress -- in the house january 6 investigation. a federal jury in washington found he defied a subpoena for documents and a deposition. navarro had pushed false claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election. in ukraine, funerals began for 16 people killed wednesday in a russian missile strike. the attack struck an outdoor market in the eastern city of kostian-tynivka and left it in ruins. today, local people left makeshift memorials. to the west, russian missiles hit the grain port of izmail along the danube river today -- its fourth strike there in 5 days. meanwhile, moscow said its forces shot down ukrainian drones inside southern russia. mexico may be on track to elect

a woman as president for the first time. former mexico city mayor claudia sheinbaum was chosen last night as the ruling party's candidate. the main opposition party has also nominated a woman. sheinbaum celebrated with supporters after beating out five other contenders, and she urged voters to back her in next june's election. >> today, democracy won. today, the people of mexico decided, and i am the national coordinator to defend the transformation. this work is team work. for this reason, i say we all need each other. amna: political analysts in mexico say it is still possible that a third party will nominate a man, to appeal to those who won't accept a woman as president. microsoft reports china may be using fake social media accounts to influence american voters. the company says its researchers have found an apparent network controlled by china. it allegedly uses artificial intelligence to post politically charged content.

china's embassy in washington dismissed the claims as "full of prejudice and malicious speculation." japan fired a moon-bound craft into space today, joining a new wave of attempted lunar landings. a rocket blasted off from southern japan carrying a robot moon lander, plus an x-ray telescope designed to orbit earth and study the origins of the universe. the lunar craft will take a long, fuel-saving route, arriving in february. japan would be the fifth nation to land on the moon, along with the u.s., the soviet union, china, and india. back in this country, the white house says first lady jill biden has tested negative for covid-19. she'd turned up positive on monday with mild symptoms. dr. biden remained in delaware after the labor day weekend, when the president returned to washington. and, on wall street, stocks struggled amid fears that strong economic data will push the federal reserve to keep raising interest rates.

the dow jones industrial average gained 57 points to close at 34,500. but the nasdaq fell 123 points. the s&p 500 slipped 14. still to come on the newshour, republican presidential candidate and former arkansas governor asa hutchinson discusses the race for the white house. the school year gets off to a rough start with the heat forcing some schools to cancel classes. plus, much more. ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: tomorrow marks one month since the wildfires in maui raged out of control, claiming too many victims and destroying an historic part of the island.

now, residents and businesses are trying to recover, and eventually rebuild, amid so much grief and loss. the flames have died down, but maui is still mourning all that was lost. >> we haven't even had the first funeral yet and they're already talking about rebuilding lahaina? amna: it was one month ago that wildfires broke out on maui. they blazed through west maui, scorching lahaina, once the capital of the hawaiian kingdom. hundreds of structures were destroyed. >> within minutes, our whole neighborhood was covered in smoke and we were just fighting to get out of here. amna: some could only escape by fleeing into the water. the death toll stands at 115, the deadliest american wildfire in more than a century. the official missing person list is at 385. thousands of people are staying in temporary shelters across the island. >> these fires took so much from so many, but the spirit of aloha, of love, kindness, and care for one another continues.

amna: but as residents recover, potential tourists aren't sure what to do with upcoming trips booked to maui. the hawaiian tourism authority published a map with areas still affected by the fires. they discourage all non-essential travel to west maui, but encourage tourists to visit other parts of maui or the rest of the hawaiian islands. some local officials want to ensure that embracing tourism doesn't come at the expense of residents. >> we can put 100% of our efforts into the recovery, or we can put 100% of our efforts into hosting tourists. but if we try to do both, i don't think we'll do a good job at either. amna: with this essential piece of the economy missing, it's not clear if the island can afford to recover without visitors. >> i am advancing now the discussion about when west maui will open again beyond lahaina, because we want to protect the economy for everyone who's working. amna: local business owners are trying to spread the word that maui is open. >> you're being told that maui

is closed, we are not closed, we are very much open for business. and it feels like a second victimization. amna: but it's difficult now for long-time residents to stay put on the island, let alone for visitors to arrive. many homeowners have reported being targeted with offers to buy their real estate, not uncommon after a disaster lowers land value. >> we want to keep this land in the hands of local people and we want to give them at least a chance to decide whether they'd like to build back. amna: deborah loeffler lost her five-generation family home in the fire. >> this is home. we're too old to start anywhere and like i said, this is home, i've got family roots here. we are not leaving. if i have to go pitch a tent on the ashes, that's what i'm going to have to do. amna: one of the thousands of residents picking up the pieces of what they've lost is former top chef contestant lee anne wong.

her restaurant, papa'aina, in lahaina's historic 122-year-old pioneer inn, burned in the early days of the fire. wong sprung into action, joining up with local chefs and volunteers to feed up to 10,000 maui residents every day. she joins us now to tell us about where things stand for her and her community. welcome to the newshour and thank you for joining us. let's start with one month later, how you are doing. what has this month been like for you? >> a whirlwind, for sure. a lot of moving pieces and it was amazing to see how the community came together to rally and make sure the residents who were affected by the fire, first responders, everybody had the support and hot meals and food and water, generators, clothing, you name it. it was a lot. i learned a lot in four weeks.

we are entering the next phase of our recovery. it is going to be a very long road. amna: how is your team doing today? >> they are good. i have been in touch with some of them. i'm trying to figure out the gofundme i started, figuring out how to distribute that to everybody and tax liability and all that good stuff. that is my next trip today, is to the bank to figure out how to distribute funds to my staff. amna: i need to ask about the moment you knew your restaurant, which was in this historic part of maui in a historic building, when you knew it was gone, what was that like? >> i had been up all night playing phone tag with some of my crew. it was maybe 3:00 in the morning when one of my cooks sent me a video of someone who was seemingly in the water and they

were just looking towards the shore and we could see the light house standing but there was no building behind it. amna: you describe some early days afterwards as crisis mode. you joined with world central kitchen to feed thousands of people. it seems like the focus has moved to recovery. what are the most pressing needs right now? >> there are still a lot of nonprofits on the ground working with the community to make sure food, water is being distributed to those who need it most but world central kitchen is leaving on the 15th so any disaster we see in modern day, the nonprofit only sticks around for so long so now the communities left to figure out what is next. i am currently working with county and state and several nonprofits on the ground to put together a 30 question survey to send to restaurants and small businesses about how the maui

fires have impacted them. no one is collecting all this data, which is actually critical and needs to be shared with the state and county in order for us to get federal funding, because right all of maui county is pretty much on the edge of the cliff when we are talking about economic crash. there are businesses that are closing temporarily. some have let go of employees. unfortunately in this economy that is 70% dependent on tourism, it is really hard. we are having a housing crisis and labor crisis before the fires as a result of three covid shutdowns and businesses were having a hard time recovering so now maui residents are dealing with another state-mandated shutdown, essentially. the federal government has not declared all of maui county a disaster area, so all the small

businesses in maui that dedicated resources towards the relief effort now are twisting in the wind and do not have many financial options for aid, which should come in the form of a disaster loan or grant. it is crazy because again, this is not the fault of the businesses and they have to bear the brunt of the economic fallout. they say maui is open but by the time people come back, we cannot say what condition the economy will be. amna: there have been other extreme weather events since the wildfires and more are ahead. are you afraid people will forget what happened in maui? >> i don't think so. climate change is real. this is a long road to recovery but there is a community here that we are so integral to come

up is thought of as paradise. that is true but the people that make that happen live here and are part of our community and are suffering. so you might still have your home and job, but now you are worried if you still have your job because there is no business and you might be let go. there are multiple layers of things that are happening here and maui is going to need the help of the public for a long time to come and i think that can happen through positive messaging and the spirit of a loja. -- spirit of aloha. amna: thank you so much for joining us. geoff: this week, the u.s.

ambassador to the u.n. is visiting the border of one of the world's worst crises. more than 5 million sudanese have been displaced by a power struggle between the military and an offshoot paramilitary group. more than 200,000 people from sudan's darfur region have fled into chad, where un ambassador linda thomas greenfield announced new sanctions and additional humanitarian assistance. nick schifrin spoke to her for a look at u.s. policy, 5 months after violence in sudan broke out. nick: they cross the border with their entire lives on the backs of horse-drawn carts and walk dozens of miles, carrying the next generation, to a safer future. sudanese refugees arrive by the thousands into chad. they were greeted yesterday by us ambassador to the united nations linda thomas-greenfield.

she pledged another $163 million in aid to families fleeing war. 5 months of in-fighting between sudan's armed forces and rebel rapid support forces, or rsf, has engulfed sudan's cities. and reignited ethnic conflict in darfur, a region the size of spain. 20 years ago in darfur government-backed janjaweed militias committed what the u.s. labeled genocide. those militias birthed the rsf, which today in the same place, is alleged to have launched the same crimes. >> we are talking hundreds of thousands of people who have really, at this point, no protection force between them and rsf, which has clearly shown, like the janjaweed from which they are descended, that their intent is to liquidate non-arab people in darfur. nick: and to discuss the humanitarian crisis and u.s. policy toward sudan, we turn to u.s. ambassador to the u.n. linda thomas-greenfield. ambassador thomas-greenfield, welcome back to the newshour.

you just heard one description of what these refugees that you've been speaking to are running from. what did they tell you? >> they tell me that they ran because they were afraid. they ran because they saw their neighbors, their friends, their family members killed in front of their eyes. they were raped, as some of the women shared with us, and they were afraid for their future and they only their only hope was to seek refuge here in chad. nick: as we said, much of this violence in darfur is being committed by the rcf, which is a descendant of the janjaweed militias who committed genocide 20 years ago in darfur. if the state department today has evidence that this is the same group committing similar violence in the same place, let me ask you directly. is today's violence also a genocide? >> today's violence is very

reminiscent of what we witnessed in 2003 and 2004. we are gathering data and gathering information now. as you know, we have already issued sanctions against one individual and visa restrictions on another one. and we will continue to follow this situation very intensely and closely and develop our decision based on the facts on the ground. nick: you heard from nathaniel raymond, who is in the sudan observatory group, which is funded by the state department, who is trying to find some of the facts on the ground earlier say that the intent is to liquidate non-arab people in darfur, like the janjaweed did 20 years ago. do you believe that's the case? >> i believe that we're seeing evidence of that. nick: and is that defined as ethnic cleansing? >> you know, we, the people

we're seeing crossing the border are definitely people of the same ethnic dissent. -- descent. they're telling us the same stories of the attacks that are being made on their families, on their villages, on their livelihoods. and as we gather that data, we will make firm decisions about what to do moving forward. but right now, we're holding every person that we are aware of accountable for what they are doing, and we will continue to do that. nick: yesterday, you imposed sanctions on the deputy leader of the rcf, who is also the brother of the commander of the rss general. but some members of congress want to see more. why are there not sanctions on general hemmati himself and indeed the head of the sudan armed forces, general brian?

>> what you saw us announced yesterday was just the start. and we're continuing to gather data and put together the facts so that we can move forward on other announcements. nick: on that effort to hold these parties accountable. is there a plan to escalate sanctions? >> certainly there is a plan to continue to impose sanctions. nick: 20 years ago, when the violence was raging in darfur and the u.s. declared genocide, president bush repeatedly raised what the janjaweed militias were doing. why is president biden not talking about darfur? >> this is what i represent, one of the faces of the administration. i am here because president biden wanted me to be here. and this is something that the administration is engaging on. i am part of that engagement. nick: back then, as you know, the u.s. pushed resolutions through the security council that demanded the janjaweed disarm. the security council authorized

troops, of course, to go into darfur again. why is that not happening again? why aren't there more efforts by the security council to repeat those actions? >> well, you may know that i held this during my presidency of the security council during the month of august, the first open meeting on sudan. and one of the things i heard during that meeting was that the press, the world was not paying enough attention. and i made the decision that i would bring members of the press with me here so that we can witness firsthand what was happening on this border. so the efforts in august were the start and we certainly will continue to focus attention on this issue, and particularly in the security council. i'm looking forward to returning to new york, where i can share with other members of the council what i witnessed here and push for more council action. nick: some regional experts told me today that they thought

secretary general guterres was not aggressive enough on the topic of sudan, and one senior u.s. official told me that the u.s. -- the u.n. had been dysfunctional on sudan. do you agree? >> but i have been here on the ground watching u.n. agencies responding in ways that are indescribable to save lives. i walked with unhcr employees and other u.n. agency employees who are devoting all of their efforts and their time to saving the lives of the people in sudan. so i will commend that effort here in chad. and i know that efforts are being made elsewhere to support the sudanese who are the victims of this brutal war. nick: and finally, let's talk about the regional actors. the united arab emirates in particular has been a supporter

of general hemmati and the rapid support forces. has the u.s. confirmed that the uae has sent weapons to the rcf in the last few months? >> we have called for all countries who might be engaged in this war to cease those efforts. we need to call for peace. we need to encourage these the warring parties to put down their weapons. we're supporting efforts to find a peaceful solution, to negotiate a peaceful settlement to this war, because until this war in, people in sudan will continue to suffer. and we've made very, very clear any countries that might be engaged in supporting the efforts of the warring parties should cease those efforts immediately. nick: forgive me for asking again, has the uae sent weapons to the rsf? >> i cannot confirm who is

sending weapons to the rss. -- rsf. i can say that we know weapons are going in and we want to urge those countries who are providing those weapons to cease those those efforts. nick: and you are calling for those countries to cease those efforts on the other side, of course, we have egypt, saudi arabia, that have historically supported the saddam armed forces. what is the u.s. doing beyond calling for those countries not to feel the conflict, to stop feeling of conflict? >> well, you know that we have been very, very actively engaged in the peace process and trying to bring the parties to negotiate a settlement. those efforts continue. we're supporting the efforts of the arab league, of the african union, of egad, and all of the regional parties who might be able to influence these warring parties. and today i met with the transitional president of chad and also urged that he continue to actively engage to stop this war. nick: ambassador linda thomas-greenfield, thank you very much. >> thank you.

♪ geoff: democracy in tunisia is under pressure. the north african country was long considered a trailblazer for democracy in the arab world. now, as special correspondent malcolm brabant reports, the country's president has launched an authoritarian crackdown that has jailed political rivals, wrecked the economy, and caused people to flee. ♪ >> this is the self-portrait of a north african nation attempting to stave off financial collapse. but for many, the happy images contained in this promo video are a barrage. -- mirage. this is the side of tunisia that tourists don't see.

this video was filmed by his wife. >> my father is dying in prison. a horrible situation to be in. >> happier times in tunisia with his father before he went into exile in germany. his father ended up here. >> it is horrible treatment. the most disgusting treatment you can imagine. i am tired. i can't talk anymore. please. >> 34 years, literally giving your life and blood to this country, dismantling massive terrorist entities. >> in 2015, extremists killed 22 people at a museum. then a jihadi murdered 38

tourists at a beach resort before being killed. the investigation led to the arrests of and life sentences for seven terrorists. >> tunisia was a country besieged by terrorism and my father effectively dismantled all of it. >> that has not swayed the president of tunisia, seen here in a facebook video with music that has become his theme song. he is ignoring international calls to release political prisoners. he suspended parliament in a clear breach of his election pledge years earlier. >> our project is based on freedom. a time of guardianship of people is over. i have respect for those who

voted for me but also respect those who voted freely. >> [indiscernible] is appealing for international help to restore democracy to tunisia. her father, the former speaker of the assembly, has the highest profile of those arrested by the regime. >> we believe democratic nations must prove they will support democracy, not only in ukraine, but anywhere where democracy is being threatened. >> 12 years ago, tunisia was a source of hope across the region. the arab spring began in tunisia after a fruit and vegetable seller set himself on fire. the revolt ousted tunisians dictator. today, many feel the current leader is just as bad. >> tunisia is failing as an

economy and state. >> this woman is another exile living in london. her father had been arrested and is being held in an overcrowded jail. rather than fixing the problem, the president and those around him are losing -- looking for any scapegoat. now they are coming for the average citizen. >> the exiles are urging washington to sanction tunisian leaders. >> there must be accountability for anyone implicated in the constant grave human rights violations being committed in tunisia. there must be sanctions on them. >> should that be something the u.s. should consider to try to apply pressure? >> it is something that should

be considered. >> the man on the right was the ambassador to tunisia during the arab spring. >> site you does not have any assets in the united states i am aware of. -- sayed does not have any assets in the united states i am aware of. i do not know how effective it would be. >> the faltering economy received money from the european union to stop migrants from leaving tunisia. >> the central aim of the partnership is to help ensure economic growth, jobs, and future prospects for tunisia. the eu is tunisia's biggest trading partner in foreign investors but there is intention to do more. >> the handout is intended to

help reduce the number of migrants moving to italy. >> that money won't go to immigration. it will strengthen the power grab and impression of a happy tunisia. >> a nonprofit is critical of the european deal. >> europe talks about the principles of democracy, fairness, rule of law, human rights. they need to put those principles at the center of what they do. because now with these sorts of deals, all those principles are under threat. >> so what are the chances that tunisians will rise up against another dictator? >> it would not be a surprise. the economy will continue deteriorating because he does not have a plan. at a certain point, the tunisian

people will say they have had enough and their patients will run out. >> antigovernment demonstrations are in frequent. the opposition needs to overcome increasing despair. >> people are not willing to give up the freedoms they had won after the revolution. if the free world is silent i does not prove their commitment to the values of freedom, the future does not look bright for tunisia. >> should potential tourists boycott tunisia out of solidarity? some believe people should continue visiting to help ordinary tunisians to earn a living but he wants them to lobby their politicians. >> with enough western

solidarity, a cutgo along -- it could go a long way in reviving democracy. >> tunisians have a chance to remove the leader at the next two presidential election next year but there is little confidence that vote will be free and fair. ♪ amna: with recent polls indicating former president donald trump's grip on gop voters holding firm, several republicans are hoping to chip away at that support and win their party's 2024 presidential nomination. former arkansas governor asa hutchinson is one of them, and he joins me now from des moines. governor, welcome back to the newshour. thank you for joining us. you are in iowa.

: -- current: has you -- current polling indicates there is a long way to go. >> we will move up. i was in new hampshire earlier in the week and i am in iowa now and iowa is one of the states that will be late deciding. they are lodged with president trump now but they are looking at where is the future of the republican party and they will be that decision after they meet you face-to-face, they determine the level of trust with you and your vision of america's future so that is what i am engaged in. it takes two things to change the numbers. a realization that following trump will not have a good ending, and then you have to make a case that you are the best alternative to leave the country, and i will be doing

that. amna: a number of candidates are making the same case. the national review last week ran and editorial calling for you to end your campaign. they site your support numbers and say other candidates have similar policy positions and they said about we believe his heart is in the right place and the way to demonstrate it in these circumstances is to gracefully bow out. what do you say to that? >> one voice is in the minority in the case should be made that donald trump should drop out of the race. he is the one facing four indictments and he is the one that people are following and it is not leading to a good conclusion. he is the one that will lead us to disaster in 2024. the boston globe did a very favorable editorial, talking about me being one of the

winners of the last debate and urging folks in new hampshire to make sure i get the 3% necessary to be on the next debate stage. so i think the voice is clear that what i am saying is important to the future of the party and for providing an alternative to the disastrous feature that donald trump will bring our party. amna: at the last debate you were the only one to raise your hand when candidates were asked if they believe human behavior is causing climate change, which is a huge issue for younger voters. you have been saying america needs to move towards reasonable constraint on carbonation. what is an example of that? what would you consider to be a reasonable constraint if president? >> produce energy, but do it in the most environmentally friendly way. we cannot do away with our fossil fuel production.

i am sorry, it is just not realistic in today's world. but let's produce it in a sensitive way. the energy we need in our country from a variety of sources. i have to disagree with president biden's decision yesterday to suspend a development and production of oil from the reserves we have in north alaska. amna: everyone agrees a key way to address the climate change crisis is to lower emissions. >> we are doing that. the u.s. has reduced emissions. in arkansas we are utilizing nuclear. we need to continue utilizing nuclear fuel as an option. we generated increased reliance upon solar and alternative energy sources we need. so it has to be all of these,

but we are moving, even in the production of gas and whether we utilize other energy sources, we are doing it in a better way that does not release the same level of co2 and that is what we have to do. we have to produce, the energy dependent and energy dominant. amna: to clarify your position around abortion, you seem to indicate you would sign a 15 week man. -- ban. as president, would you sign that if it made it to your desk? >> it would have to have reasonable exceptions before i would consider it. as to whether there is a

consensus in our country, you mentioned the difference in my comments. i read the dodd decision carefully. it did not just return it to the states, he returned it to our elected representatives and i believe it should remain with the states because as a practical matter, we do not have that national consensus and congress will not at so it is theoretical, if they did with a reasonable restrictions and exceptions, i would sign it, but i expect it to be left at the state level and that will be the case for some time until a consensus is developed. amna: you are a formal or -- you are a former federal prosecutor. house republicans are making hunter biden a big part of the continuing push to potentially impeach president biden. do you think that push is the right move?

>> there is enough concern and lack of transparency that they need to determine whether in hunter biden's business dealings whether the president received any benefit from that. that is the question, or whether a change any policies on his part. that is inappropriate conduct, whether as vice president or president so there is a legitimate area to inquire. certainly not to the point of doing articles of impeachment. with those questions need to be answered for confidence we have in our chief executive. hunter biden is in a world by himself but if there is that connection and a transference of money or other benefits to joe biden, that has to be investigated. amna: looking at the wider republican field, trump continues to lead by a wide

margin. you have said you do not believe he will be the nominee. why, when all evidence we have seen so far points to the opposite? >> there is an interesting poll out today that talks about how the alternatives to trump can actually win against joe biden. that is one measure the republicans are looking for, who can win. secondly, the last debate we had showcased there are eight republicans on the stage and i am ready to lead as president, and the public saw that. so there is growing confidence that we are ready for an alternative. i think you will see the numbers change as time goes on. amna: asa hutchinson, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. good to be with you.

♪ geoff: with the new school year underway, we're going to spend some time looking at significant challenges that students, families, and districts around the country are facing. stephanie sy starts us off with a look at how this heat wave in much of the country is creating problems for schools. stephanie: the near triple digit temperatures have led to school districts either closing or dismissing students early in at least nine states this week. and that's raised questions once about old school buildings, the lack of ventilation and lack of air conditioning that rose during covid. joseph allen has long focused on this as the director of the healthy buildings program at harvard's chan school of public health. what should schools be doing now and going forward to better prepare for extreme heat? >> unfortunately this was

entirely predictable. i mean, the climate crisis is hitting us on two fronts. we're having longer and more intense heat waves that start earlier in the season and showing up later in the season like we have now. this is a particular problem for schools in traditionally cool weather climates that were designed to retain heat. so what to do right now, at a minimum, we have to provide cooling for students. it is the simple answer and an obvious fix. the money is actually there and it doesn't have to be more complicated than that. the other thing is we need to do, but in the immediate term, we can't have kids missing school because of heat, and this problem is only going to get worse. stephanie and going forward : do they need to retrofit these buildings to better handle the realities of climate change? >> they do. it's not that hard. it's not that expensive. the money is there. and also i think we have to stop thinking of these as separate crises. and the crises i'm talking about are things like extreme heat events or exposure to wildfire smoke and air pollution or covid

19 and influenza. all of these crises run through our buildings and they're crises because we're not operating and designing our school buildings correctly. if we improve ventilation and filtration, we address covid 19, influenza, rsv, outdoor air pollution, wildfire smoke, and extreme heat. so we're having these conversations all through the summer about different crises. they're all related, they all run through our buildings and so do the solutions. stephanie: besides immediately installing hvac systems in northeast schools and ventilation systems, won't take quite a long time to address the fact that so many schools in this country are just in old buildings? joe: well, it seems like this is an overwhelming problem, but fortunately, the solutions are really straightforward and there are things you can do in any kind of building to make it more comfortable, more safe, improved ventilation. things like using heat pumps, which are also good for the climate crisis in the sense that they can provide cooling through the use of electricity and heating through the use of

electricity. i know school districts that did exactly that installed heat pump s for each classroom. there are even basic things like air conditioning for the window units, while these larger replacements that need to take place are happening. i reject the notion that that we can't act because it's too hard or too long, this money has been sitting around for years. so we had the covid crisis and it wasn't spent so that this idea that maybe it was just too hard or too long. it has been years. why has it not been spent? and if we go even longer, it's been decades since we've improved our school infrastructure. this moment makes me really nervous because we're never going to get these kind of funds again for our schools. we haven't in the history of our schools, and it's a chance to fix what has been decades of neglect of our school buildings. and we have to take a step back and recognize that the way our buildings are designed and running are having a massive impact on learning. and that's across respiratory infections all the way through extreme temperature and pollution. and it's not hard to do, and there's still you know, the time to act was yesterday, and you

cannot do it yesterday you have , to do it right now. stephanie you keep saying that : the money is there. are you referring to the american rescue plan money, the billions of dollars that were put toward schools at the peak of the pandemic? should they have prioritized air conditioning and ventilation and air quality higher? joe: yes, absolutely. that's the money i am referring to. it's a once in a generation opportunity to fix our crumbling school infrastructure. billions and billions of dollars were allocated to towards school to improve ventilation and filtration to address covid 19. this shocking thing and everyone should be really upset about this, is that in many states the majority of that money has not been spent. we had a covid crisis, tens of millions of kids out of school, an airborne virus, we know ventilation filtration help, and that money was not spent. now, that money is still available, but not for much longer. if we make these improvements to the school building for covid, it helps against those other infectious diseases and threats like this.

it's totally unacceptable that we're closing schools due to extreme heat when we know what the solution is and the money is there. absolute basics in this country, we have to provide safe, healthy, and comfortable learning environments for our students and teachers. i find this totally unacceptable. stephanie: yeah, and this leads me to the questions about achievement and the heat and these other issues effects on student behavior. and i read a statistic that researchers at harvard have found heat effects account for 13% of the racial achievement gap. so are we also seeing uneven impacts along racial lines? joe: well, yeah, we have the objective scientific data that shows it, and i don't think this would surprise anybody. but when you look at things like air quality or ventilation standards or rates of outdoor air brought into schools, we see that in schools that are predominantly black or hispanic student populations have even lower ventilation rates. we see the same thing in schools where the majority of students

are on free or reduced lunch. so lower income students, we see these schools have lower ventilation rates. totally unacceptable that we have anyone in any school anywhere has an uncomfortable, unsafe, unhealthy environment, and then we also see disparities across race, ethnicity, and income. stephanie: joe allen at the harvard school of public health, thank you so much for your insights. >> thanks for having me on. geoff: thanks, stephanie. another issue schools are facing at the start of this year, paying for school lunches. during the first two years of the covid-19 pandemic, the federal government provided funding for free healthy school meals for all public school students, but that program ended in 2022. most states went back to the system they had before, but some opted to continue providing free meals for all students. our communities correspondents frances kai-hwa wang in michigan, adam kemp in oklahoma, and gabrielle hays in missouri have a look at where their states stand this school year.

a welcome to the three of y. frances, how did michigan respond to the end of the federal funding for school meals? >> this past july, michigan's governor signed a historic education budget that included 160 million dollars for free healthy meals for all of the states public school students. that is breakfast and lunch for pre-k through 12th grade and special ed students through age 26. it had bipartisan support and michigan is one of 10 states in the country that provides free healthy meals for all public school students. geoff: how needed is this program? >> one in eight michigan children are food insecure. advocates say this move will

make for better nutrition and learning, eliminate the stigma of receiving free lunch, and will save families $850 a year. geoff: adam, oklahoma tried to pass a bill that would've funded school meals in the state, but the proposal stalled. how are schools faring now? >> oklahoma had a record budget surplus last year and it was still -- and was still not able to get this passed. stalled out before reaching committee. it had bipartisan support. it ended up where there were different education budget issues going on in the state that kept it from moving forward . i have talked with some local school districts about how they are trying to fill the gap now. several are reaching out to local farms. community gardens. antihunger advocates say those

programs are not enough to keep kids fed and get them the meals they need at school. right now there is a chance that the bill could be brought back this coming session, but i have talked with several people who are wondering how one in five oklahoma children who faced food insecurity or boarding at the meals every day. hunger free oklahoma president chris bernard, i talked with him about what the impact could be. the kids don't have access to food during the school day. >> they tend to do worse in school early on and if we are making large investments in the economic space, you are really just throwing your money away if you do not meet some of the other basics.

geoff: gabby, missouri also tried to pass universal meal legislation -- where does that stand? >> this legislative session we had a bill in the state house and another in the senate that aims to provide universal school meals. neither bill made much traction and they did not pass but it is important when we are talking about this to talk about how the state used the federal pandemic school meal money in the past. there has been a healthy amount of reporting this year on how some families are just getting the money and benefits from last summer's programs so there has been a holdup in the benefits they got before so some missouri families are already feeling the

disruption and are still waiting to get last year's benefits. geoff: gabby hayes, adam kemp, frances wong. thank you for sharing that reporting. ♪ geoff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you 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 including leonard and norma , clorevine, and koo and patricia yuen. ♪

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♪ heo, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour and company." here's what's coming up. it's official. this has been the hottest summer on record. as african leaders wrap up their first ever climate summit i ask damilola ogunbiyi, the u.n. special representative for sustainable energy if they made progress. then -- >> you are afraid you could die? >> of course, yes. because by the time i reached the hospital, i couldn't even manage to move my head. >> a special report on rising temperatures