thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us.k for congress and the biden administration is looming with decisions on infrastructure legislation and on the investigation of the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. today house speaker nancy pelosi said she intends to name representative adam kinzinger, a republican, to the special committee investigating the capitol riot and attack. kinzinger is one of ten house republicans who voted to impeach former president donald trump. and the senate may vote on a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending bill this week. one of the negotiators, republican senator rob portman, said today he believes one key issue remaining is public transit funding. >> we're about 90% of the way there. i'm here this weekend. we're going to legislate the languageith colleagues and with staff, and i feel good about getting that done this week. >> sreenivasan: for analysis on the week ahead on capitol hill, newshour weekend special correspondent jeff greenfield, joined us from santa barbara, california.

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. cases of the coronavirus are increasing again across the country. the rise is fueled in part by the spread of the more- contagious delta variant, along with falling vaccination rates. the u.s. is currently administering about 550,000 shots a day, that's a sharp decrease from the peak of more than three million. the "new york times" covid tracker shows new cases are up 126% nationally over the past two weeks. infections from the delta variant make up about half of all new cases, and are rising in every state, with hot spots in nevada, arkansas, missouri, and florida. nationally, infection rates are still well below the highest mark in january. the "times" data map shows the correlation between low vaccination rates and new covid hotspots take for example places like baker county, florida-- where only 20% of people there are fully-vaccinated. compare that to the national rate of 48%. in baker cnty, covid cases are up 164%, and hospitalizations are up 75%. los angeles county is respondin

>> sreenivasan: director c.j.s so much for joining us. >> thank you, hari. >> sreenivasan: the documentary is called "the neutral ground," and it will air on pbs stations july 5. check your local listings. >> sreenivasan: tonight on pbs stations, vanessa williams is hosting the 41st annual independence day celebration:“ a capitol fourth” from washington, d.c. due to the pandemic, the mostly pre-recorded show features guests from jimmy buffett and gladys knight to train, nee fleming and the national symphony orchestra. the celebration of the nation's 245th birthday culminates with live fireworks across the skyline of the nation's capital. check your local pbs listings to watch. here's an excerpt of tonight's celebratio ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ( cheers and applause ) >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of “pbs newshour weekend.” for the latest news updates visit pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay heal

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us. delta variant is leading to surges in coronavirus cases in several states, particularly in places where vaccinations rates are lagging. across the united states, cases are up about 47% on average compared to two weeks ago, according to centers for disease control and prevention data. today, the nation's chief medical advisor said people who are vaccinated do not need to worry about the delta variant, and that based on current data there no need for a vaccine booster shot. >> the bad news is that we have a very nasty variant. the good news is that we have a vaccine that works against it. that's the reason we're very concerned is that we have some sort of a schism between some states and some areas that have a very low level of vaccination, which is really unfortunate. >> sreenivasan: one example of that is in missouri, where the number of confirmed daily infections is up 83% on average compared to two weeks ago according to c.d.c. data, although daily cases are still well below highs s

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. the one-year delayed tokyo olympic games are underway-- but in a most unusual way. covid restrictions mean few spectators, if any. but the host country celebrated its first medals today. if you haven't watched, spoiler alert. japan won gold in men's judo, and silver in women's judo. the sport began in japan 140 years ago. first lady jill biden led a small u.s. delegation in tokyo, hosting a u.s./mexico softball watch party at the u.s. embassy, and attending opening ceremonies yesterday. biden attended a three-on-three women's basketball game between the u.s. and france, alongside french president emmanuel macron. the first lady left tokyo today, and will stop in in hawaii, where she will visit a covid vaccination event. we will have more from tokyo about the games, and the conditions athletes are facing, after the news summary. new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections continue to climb in the united states. according to the "new york times" database, cases rose 173% in the last 1

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening and thank you for joining us.y increase in new coronavirus cases and slow downs in vaccination rates are confronting the biden administration and local governments with new challenges. in los angeles county, masks are again required in public indoor aces. the sheriff there says he will not enforce the rule. asked why everyone needs a mask if 52% of the county's residents are vaccinated, the chair of the county's board of supervisors said it's necessary. >> i would say that it's n punishment, it's prevention. we still have four million people out of ten million that haven't been vaccinated. >> sreenivasan: the centers for disease control and prevention continues to recommend that masks are not necessary for vaccinated people. today the surgeon general defended that decision. >> they gave communities and individuals some flexibility on what to do with masks. now, in areas where there are low numbers of vaccinated people or where case numbs are rising, it's very reasonable for counties to take more mitigation measure

thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. since his election, president joe biden, who calls climate change an “existential threat,” outlined a new plan for the united states to rejoin the paris agreement and to renew a commitment to tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad. we've been reporting on the climate crisis as part of our ongoing series, "peril and promise: the challenge of climate change." on this special edition, we'll revisit some of the stories we reported on before the covid pandemic began, and we'll have more climate reporting to come in the year ahead. but first, newshour weekend's christopher booker has today's news. >> reporter: officials in miami- dade county said today they will begin to demolish the remainder of the collapsed condominium building in surfside, florida, as soon as tomorrow. the damaged structure is a danger to fire and rescue crews who are still searching and sifting through the rubble. no survivors have been found since the first hours after the building collapsed ten days ago. >> and

this edition for sunday, july 25: bipartisan infrastructure negotiations enter another week. >> sreenivasand with analysis. and singer-songwriter jackson browne. next on “pbs newshour weekend.” ♪ ♪ ♪ >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund.

guaranteed income programs expand. >> sreenivasan: and c.j. "the neutral ground." next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, july 11:n uptick in covid cases as vaccination rates slow. virgin galactic's historic launch to space. and one small company's push for chillabor-free chocolate. next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the estate of worthington mayo- smith. the leonard and a

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, july 18: covid cases climb ascination rates remain stagnant. in our signature segment: fleeing belarus after a brutal crackdown. ♪ ♪ ♪ and indie rock singer songwriter lucy dacus. next on “pbs newshour weekend.” >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the estate of hi

. >> sreenivasan: dr.l offitt, the director of vaccine enemy center at children's hospital, and a member of the f.d.a. advisory board. thank you very much, thank you. >> woodruff: and the rise in covid cases has been happening in every state. but in several states, and a couple of reons in particular, the surge has been especially painful. that includes missouri, where there has been much discussion and debate about how to respond. amna nawaz looks at that part of the story. >> nawaz: the confusion and frustration over masking mandates that have frequently played out around the country erupted in st. louis county on tuesday night. tensions boiled over during a county council meeting that focused on whether to roll back new mask mandates. just the day before, a mask mandate was issued, requiring them for everyone over the age of five. the public health official called to testify during that meeting faced racial slurs, verbal attacks and, he said, even physical intimidation as he was getting ready to leave.