john: tonight on pbs news weekend, one week since the stunning collapse of the assad regime, how syrians are reacting to life with the rebels in charge. then, we explore why women

across the country are stocking up on abortion pills. and with 2024 on track to be the hottest year on record, we meet a new generation trying to tackle climate change. >> climate change is here and now and students need to know not just the stuff about it that is challenging and difficult, but also they need to see how change can happen. >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by -- >> in 1995, 2 friends set out to make wireless coverage accessible to all, with no long-term contracts, nationwide coverage, and 100% u.s.-based customer support. consumer cellular. freedom calls. >> and with the ongoing support

of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. john: good evening. i'm john yang. today, a week after life inside syria was upended as rebels toppled president bashar al assad's regime, there were flickering signs of normalcy. syrian christians attended regular sunday services and schools reopened. now, as the country's new leaders begin to chart a path forward, the u.n. envoy to syria

says the lightning offensive should be followed by a quick end to the sanctions the west imposed after assad crushed the arab spring anti-government protests more than a decade ago. leila molana allen is in aleppo tonight. leila, you've spent this past week traveling all around syria. what have you been seeing, what have you been hearing? leila: i have, john. in the last few days, i have followed the path backwards that the rebel groups followed through syria. i started in damascus and moved up into the second biggest city in the country, aleppo. today up into what were the rebel held areas in the northwest, but much of the country is now rebel held so they can't be called that anymore. one of the strangest things is it doesn't feel strange. if you didn't know that just over a week ago there would be checkpoints everywhere along these roads, most people could not move freely, would be asked

for id, harassed, often detained for trying to cross into different areas. people in regime held syria and the northwest had different id cards, different cellular networks, everything divided. suddenly these roads are open, so movement is the first thing functioning very well. beyond that, services are struggling. syria has already been struggling for years with issues like connectivity, getting enough diesel and petrol. there is very little petrol. people are watering down petrol and selling it in canisters or smuggling it from lebanon. there are electricity problems, particularly in the north. in aleppo there are constant power cuts and it is worse in the rural areas. there are lots of issues with the roads over the years because they have not been used much, except for tanks and military vehicles which have torn them up. now there are thousands of people crossing the country using them, so that's a big problem. now people are gradually trying to start the process of putting

their lives back together in this country, figuring out where they are going to live. so many people live in displacement camps within their own country, trying to figure out where they are going now. john: the syrians are happy that what's past is gone, but what about what's to come? how do they feel about the rebels in charge? leila: there are concerns syria could be trading one oppressive regime for another. the group leading the rebels that have taken over the majority of the country is a designated terror organization by the west. in 2015, a group that was linked to both al qaeda and isis turned into this group and they are this fundamentalist group. however, in recent years there leader has dropped his jihadi name. he has taken off what many consider to be traditional jihadi dress and instead dresses in a military style. he has made promises the country

will be liberal. he says they will not make people abide by islamist principles and will respect the many minorities in syria, many who eventually supported assad during the war because he felt they would protect them. now people are looking to see whether that is the truth. currently hgs fighters on the streets as well as the other rebel groups are being very benign. there are a form of checkpoints. they are standing on the highways for security but they largely waved cars through without concern once they see who is inside. they are being friendly with people, hugging babies, greeting women on the streets. the mood is very positive. they are certainly being very liberal with the press as well and allowing the press to go and see whatever they want. of course right now that is in their interests because journalists are uovering the years of systematic abuse of

civilians that the assad regime carried out, which is what hts and the rebels want them to see. the question is if this continues in the future. one of the most pressing issues is people want western countries to recognize this salvation government, it is called, which was in england and has spread to the rest of the country, quickly, because otherwise they feel if they don't support this government, perhaps it will turn to a less positive and liberal mood. the people running the country now, ahmed al-sharaa, the main commander of hts, has assigned al bashir to run a caretaker government until march to get a sick services running, sewage, roads, textile, internet. beyond that, if hts decides it is not going to allow other groups into a new government, that's where problems may start. john: leila malan allen in aleppo tonight, thanks very much. elsewhere in the middle east,

nearly two dozen people were killed in attacks in northern gaza as the war between israel and hamas rages on. medics and residents say israeli troops stormed a school being used as a shelter in beit hanoun and killed several people and detained others. in other parts of gaza, at least nine were killed in airstrikes on homes in beit lahiya and jabalia. the israeli army says it was targeting homes where hamas militants were planning attacks. residents say they keep moving to try to escape the fighthing and that they have few options left. >> [translated] we were sleeping. we're all civilians, this is a safe shelter. they told us to head south, so we left. i went to khan younis, from khan younis we moved to rafah, and from rafah, we fled to deir al-balah. again, we saw the bombing and a red light coming down on us, the tent collapsing on us. i miraculously survived with my daughters and husband. john: according to the united nations, more than half the buildings in gaza have been damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents have been driven from their homes. that's about 90% of the

population. meanwhile, israel says it wants to double the population of israeli settlers in the golan heights along the border with syria. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said it's vital to blossom and settle in the area because a new fronhad opened. israeli forces went into the buffer zone between syria and the golan heights shortly after the fall of the assad regime in what netanyahu called that a -- called a temporary security measure. since then more troop movements have been spotted in the area. president-elect trump added another loyalist and veteran of his first term to his second term white house staff. mr. trump said long-time foreign policy advisor richard grenell will be his envoy for special missions. he will be working in what he called the hottest spots around the world, including venezuela and north korea. grenell held several posts during the first trump term, including ambassador to germany and acting director of national intelligence. still to come on pbs news weekend, what a second trump administration could mean for abortion access nationwide. and how some indiana high school

students are offering up ideas to combat climate change. >> this is pbs news weekend, from the david and rubenstein studio at weta in washington, home of the pbs news hour, weeknights on pbs. john: advocates for reproductive rights won major victories in last month's elections. voters in seven states approved measures that either expanded or enshrined the right to an abortion in their constitutions. some women worry about what a second trump presidency could bring, despite recent comments from the president-elect about preserving access to abortion pills. ali rogin reports on how they're preparing for the next four years. ali: since mr. trump's re-election, many women and health care providers across the u.s. have been stockpiling supplies of abortion pills and emergency contraception. one of the largest suppliers of abortion medication reported that in the first 24 hours after

election day, they received 17 times the number of requests they typically get in a day. earlier this month, president-elect trump was asked if he would restrict abortion medication on nbc's meet the press. mr. trump: i'll probably say, which is exactly what i've been saying for the last two years, and the answer is no. >> you commit to that? mr. trump: well, i commit. i mean, do things change? i think they change. ali: elissa nadworny covers reproductive rights and abortion for npr. elissa, thank you so much for being here. >> glad to be here. ali: we just heard president-elect trump saying he would not restrict access to abortion pills. he also told time magazine recently that he would instruct the fda not to interfere with access to abortion pills, and yet people are still stockpiling these medications. why is that? >> well, the women i talked to who are accessing these abortion medications, usually through telehealth, like online and over text message, they're worried about what happened during the first trump presidency.

and so i think on the campaign trail, trump kind of was very wishy-washy about what he would do on abortion and reproductive rights. and so when i asked these women and these providers that question, they said, well, look at what happened during the first trump presidency. look at the supreme court justices that he appointed, look at what happened with the supreme court's dobbs case, of course, that overturned roe v. wade. let's prep for that, basically. ali: and of course, there does seem to be a difference between what president trump is saying now and what he did in his first term, but what do we know about how he's going to approach this issue in his second term as it relates his first term? >> well, we of course have what he says, which is that he's going to leave medication abortion alone, and people access medication abortion the majority of the time. so about 60% of abortions in the are done by these two pills. u.s. so we know what he said. but i think it's also really important to know what he could do, which a lot of abortions rights activists have kind of

flagged, to say he could restrict medication through the fda. he could enact something called the comstock act, which is a law from the 1800s, an anti-obscenity law that can essentially be used to stop the flow of abortion drugs, products that are helpful in abortion procedures. so i think there is a difference between what he said and i think what legal scholars are watching for, what abortion rights opponents and abortion rights activists are saying he could do. ali: sure. and of course after roe v. wade was overturned, this issue got turned over to the states. so how are these battles playing out in states across the country and how might that be affected by trump taking office again? >> well, i think that is fascinating, what's at play here. i mean, basically, america is a patchwork of different laws of abortion access. you have states with near total bans, and you have states that are not only expanding access but then protecting providers who are sending pills to places with bans. the other thing that's at play, of cours we saw 10 states

vote on abortion rights at the ballot box this november. one of those states was missouri, so they we a state that had a near total abortion ban, and they voted to essentially expand abortion access until viability, which is around 24 weeks. that amendment, that constitutional amendment which passed, is in the state constitution right now. the catch is, of course, there haven't actually been any abortions in missouri since that happened, because there are laws on the books in missouri banning the practice, restricting the practice, and a judge essentially has to say those laws can't be enforced for the doctors to begin providing abortions. ali: fascinating. >> complicated. ali: very complicated, very interesting, and something to watch. earlier this week, we saw an attorney general in texas file a lawsuit against a doctor in new york for prescribing abortion medication to a patient who resided in texas. this is the first of its kind, but do you anticipate we're ing to see more cases like this? >> i think we will see more cases like this, and this case was absolutely expected. i mean, i've been talking to

provids in places that have these shield laws that protect providers in massachusetts, new york, like the doctor that was sued, they're expecting this. i mean, this is essentially a showdown between state laws. so this is texas basically saying to new york, we have very -- we have laws that contradict each other. what do we do? is it a crime to basically break the law in texas if you reside in new york, where it says abortion is legal. ali: fascinating. the main concern for a lot of women is that president trump might actually end up restricting access to abortion medication, but then not stop there and pursue emergency contraception, other types of birth control. what authority does he have to do that sort of thing? >> well, i think the power lies in his cabinet and it lies in who runs hhs, who runs the fda, and kind of what restrictions they can do on the flow and the access to these medications. so i think that's kind of the thing to watch as these confirmation hearings happen and as rump picks the people around him that are going to shape the

policy, that are going to impact real people on the ground. ali: fascinating stuff, something we're definitely going to be watching closely. elissa nadworny covering reproductive rights and abortion for npr. thank you so much for coming in and breaking this down for us. >> you bet. ♪ john: 2024 is on track to be the hottest year ever on record, another sign of the climate crisis. the biden administration wanted to find a way to empower americans to play their part in combating this crisis by helping to build a clean energy future. last year they established a workforce initiative called the american climate core. its mission, training people for green jobs. thousands of climate corps members have been dispatched across the country. we spoke to some of them. >> my name is josh san diego.

i am 23 years old and am serving american climate corps based out of riverside, california. >> my name is anna marie smith. i'm 49 years old. i'm in los angeles, california. >> my name is daniel escobar. i am currently a climate educator at mile high youth corps through the energy and water program, based out of denver, colorado. >> my name's richard hamilton and i am an enrolled tribal klamath member. i'm klamath and modoc. i'm a crew boss here at lomakatsi, based out of ashland, oregon. josh: my daily work deals with clean energy utilities, sustainability, and project management. and so i've worked on documents relating to public parlighting retrofits and clean energy vehicle charging. daniel: i doing energy am assessments, which basically means that i'm changing out, like, sink aerators, showerheads, light bulbs to ensure energy and water efficiency. we do occasionally change toilets to higher efficiency models.

anna marie: i was learning how to design solar installation on a residential home. i learned how to look at a home. look at the roof. assess all the characteristics of the property being ready for solar. how will they benefit from having solar? will there be a real benefit to their electric bill? richard: what we do is go out and ecologically send and put fire on the ground in these areas that have either had fire go through them before or are susceptible to getting fire in them now or in the near future. when we go out and we work in these areas, it's not just we're going out and cutting trees down and burning them. we're going out and taking care of this land, taking care of the trs, and taking care of the communities. anna marie: i grew up in an age where, you know, when you look at downtown l.a., and it was always overcast, it was just a layer of smog. just as time went on i became more interested in, you know, like planting native flowers, being more environmentally friendly, like just engaging on

a differt level. richard: i want my kids to see just how beautiful some of these mountains are out here when they get older because they love to be out in the woods. and if i don't do anything when i have the chance at my age, then i don't know who's going to step up and and do this work. josh: the public parks that we are actually retrofitting, i used to walk in every day and i loved how beautiful it is and getting to meet all those different people. i never thought i'd actually start working behind the scenes on these kinds of projects. so that's something that i find pride in. daniel: what we've noticed as we go out into these communities and as we talk to these people is that they might not necessarily know much about water and energy efficiency and how it can save them money and how it actually helps them save energy and water. we've had people that are spending like $300 on their water bills, and changing toilets for them really helps lower them.

anna marie: i would say the average solar installation for a home, i would say base costs probably about $40,000. in the low income community, how many homeowners have the resources to leverage to invest in the $40,000 solar installation system? and these communities that we serve, their oft -- they're often in areas that have not been served as well by cities or governments, by their local governments. and this solar energy helps, you know, it's cleaner, cleaner air. helps improvtheir neighborhood. richard: there's a lot of tribal people out there that want to do this work. they want to see this work done. there's tribal elders that talk about, you know, the way that josh: i'm helping not only my future, but the world's future as a whole. and that might seem funny to think about because i'm only based in a city, but in turn there are other fellows just like me who are doing the same for their cities, and we find ways to make our cities cleaner through these different projects that we are working on that we're helping develop.

and little by little, we're making each spot of, you know, our planet cleaner. john: the mission to raise awareness and find solutions to the climate crisis extends to our nation's schools. that's where educators are hoping to empower students with knowledge and inspire them to come up with ways to ensure a better climate future. lee gaines from member station wfyi in indianapolis visited a classroom in bloomington, indiana, this past spring, where high school students were pitching their ideas to scientists. lee: it's mid-may and high school freshman duane murphy -- dewayne murphy is pitching a big idea to climate scientist ben kravitz. >> there's gonna be a tank, and it's just gonna be like a big giant metal tank. you fill it up with water, and the tank is just going to heat up, i guess. lee: that hypothetical tank will feed a steam and solar powered car. but dewayne says it could have

some drawbacks. >> it's not really designed to take any damage like at all so you have to be like really gentle with that usually. lee: this conversation is part of a larger lesson about developing technologies that reduce planet-heating pollution. kirstin milks is dewayne's teacher at bloomington high school south. she's been refining this lesson over the last three years with help from ben kravitz and other scientists at indiana university. >> the fact is that climate change is the story of these young people's lives. it is already the story of where we live, it is the story of a state largely supported by agriculture. climate change is here and now and students need to know not just the stuff about it that is challenging and difficult, but also, they need to see how change can happen. they need to feel like they understand and can actually make a difference in our shared future. lee: indiana recently approved new standards that now require high school students in earth

and space science to learn about human-caused climate change. many educators report they feel unprepared to teach climate change. a national survey in 2022 found that 56% of teachers only have the necessary resources some of the time or never. >> in a high water area -- lee: milks and climate scientists at indiana university developed a climate change lesson plan to help fill that gap. >> climate change is happening. we're not doing enough to stop it. lee: experts say the only permanent solution to climate change is to stop using fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas. scientists already know technologies that could do this, like using batteries with solar and wind energy. but kravitz says the world isn't moving fast enough. so he and other scientists are studying strategies to temporarily alter the earth's climate to reduce the effects of climate change.

it's known as climate engineering, or geoengineering. and that's what students in milks' classroom are learning about. >> the people who are going to be voting on whether to do it, or even leading the charge, are sitting in high school classrooms right now. so if they don't know what this topic is, that's a real problem. lee: so today is the day that you're going to really work on creating your engineering design. lee: milks says creativity is the core of this exercise. students are encouraged to think of out-the-box ideas to reduce planet-warming pollution. >> so you're gonna find places where people should specifically target planting trees. that's so cool. >> a vent in the front and back and a filter in between. lee: junior campbell brown came up with an idea for a flying air filter that sucks up carbon dioxide and turns it into a harmless by-product. >> so you want to know something? it does work. >> heck yeah. lee: other ideas included

artificial trees filled with water that could help fight wildfires, solar-powered helicopters, and lots of ways to reflect light back into the atmosphere. milks encouraged students to think about the potential downsides. >> what other challenges will you need to face, do you think? >> the neat thing about seeing all these ideas come out of the classroom, it's not i can't do it. it's we can do it. humans, when they get together , can do azing things. and that's what gives me hope. lee: campbell, the junior who came up with the flying air filter idea, says she knew very little about climate change before this lesson. >> i've really enjoyed this class, because i have learned things. and those things have actually allowed me to, like, think about what i'm doing to our earth. and i'm glad that it's actually become a requirement, so that others can actually take steps and think about what they're doing as well. lee: for pbs news weekend, i'm

lee gaines in bloomington, indiana. ♪ john: now online, what trump's second term could mean for the growth of cryptocurrency. all that and more is on our web sight, pbs.org/newshour. and that is pbs news weekend for this sunday. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. have a good week. >> major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by -- 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. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

-in 1840, two 20-year-olds became the most famous couple on earth. -dearly beloved... -the marriage of queen victoria to prince albert of saxe-coburg was a pivotal moment in british history. what began as an arranged marriage