Transcripts For KQED PBS 20240703

The case for themselves as alternatives to the absent leading candidate president donald trump. Amna thousands of Ethnic Armenians flee after Azerbaijani Forces take control of the breakaway republic of karabakh. That is a classic genocide condition. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. Pediatric surgeon, volunteer, topiary artist. A Raymond James Financial Advisor taylors advice to help you live your life. Life well planned. The candida fund committed to advancing Restorative Justice and leading forward through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. Carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement , and the advancements of International Peace and security at carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Amna welcome to the news hour. Federal workers were put on notice today that a shutdown is imminent. Millions of Government Employees and active duty military members could stop being paid in just 3 days time. Geoff the u. S. Senate has been working in a bipartisan manner to prevent a shutdown but the holdup is with House Republicans, some of whom are refusing to support any shortterm measure that would buy congress more time to act. Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins is on capitol hill following all the twists and turns. Lisa, congress has less than three days to reach a deal. The house and senate appear to be moving different directions. This deadline is quite serious and approaching more quickly now. However things at the capitol are becoming more complicated and it feels as if slowing down. Lets talk about the senate, which has a compromised idea. However a single senator, rand paul of kentucky, is saying he will not allow that to proceed any more quickly than according to senate rules because he objects to ukraine funding in that bill. What that means is we are on track for the senate to be able to vote on its compromised spending plan no sooner than monday. Lets review where we are. Shut down would start for most Government Agencies sunday morning at 12 01 just after midnight on sunday morning. We know the house, the senate is on track to have a vote no sooner than monday and the house we do not know what their plan is. We are waiting to see if Kevin Mccarthy has said he would have one. He wanted to have a vote tomorrow but we are waiting to see. There are so many details up in the air but think in terms of two pivot points. Tonight the house of representatives will try to pass a yearlong funding bill, possibly two. That will be a test of if republicans can agree on anything in the house. The other pivot point is saturday when some senators are going to try to amend the Senate Bipartisan deal. That may be changing. We will see how many votes there are on saturday. We will see if the deadline itself makes the senate move a little more quickly. Geoff you mentioned ukraine funding. Remind us what other issues are at play. Amna ukraine funding reporter ukraine funding has been a major issue but we are seeing republicans talk more about border security. Initially the reason we were not able to see spending bills pass in the house and the reason we got to this point was overspending amounts. Holdouts saying there had to be lower spending levels. Even lower than republicans agreed to a few months ago. That was the reason we got here but now we are hearing republicans say we also have been concerned about border security. We want more provisions in any kind of temporary deal. We are hearing that conversation among Senate Republicans as well. Thats what i mean by saying this is more complicated, not less, as we get toward the shutdown. Geoff there was other news on capitol hill. You attended the first House Republican impeachment inquiry. Reporter that is right. For months House Republicans have been investigating the biden family. Today that entered a new phase. The committee of oversight and accountability will come to order. Reporter in a relatively small hearing room Big Questions and profound politics. The American People demand accountability for this culture of corruption. Reporter for republicans, led by House Oversight chairman james comer, the top question is whether they will move to impeach president joe biden. In a 30page memo released last night, republicans outlined their accusation, writing they have evidence suggesting, that President Biden knew of, participated and profited from his familys International Business activities. In other words, the suggestion is influence peddling. As we all know, the bidens had nothing to sell except the brand, which was joe biden. Hunter biden sold the brand well, making the biden family millions from china and elsewhere. Reporter republicans are looking at millions of dollars made by hunter biden, the president s son, and james biden, his brother, especially in 2019 and 2020 for consulting with foreign businesses, including in ukraine and china. They have charts of Shell Companies, and spoke of texts and phone calls between biden family members. But in all of that, democrats repeatedly pointed out there is no direct evidence of payments to or influence peddling by joe biden. If the republicans had a smoking gun or even a dripping water pistol they would be presenting it today. But theyve got nothing on joe biden. Reporter republican witnesses were broad experts in law and investigation and they raised broad questions. Forensic accountant bruce dubinsky. Why were members of the biden family and Close Business Associates receiving millions of dollars of payments from foreign entities and individuals . What services, if any, were being provided . Reporter he concluded. Much more information is still needed in order to be able to answer these questions. Reporter none said theyve seen enough to add up to a crime. Law professor and conservative commentator jonathan turley. This is a question of an impeachment inquiry. It is not a vote on articles of impeachment. In fact, i do not believe the Current Evidence would support articles of impeachment. This is the first step in an inquiry initiated by House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy earlier this month under pressure from hard right members of the house. Republicans argue there is a real concern about the biden family democrats have fired back, charging this is an attempt to distract from the criminal charges now against former president donald trump. And making a point in this hearing by reversing their laptops to show ticking clocks that a shutdown is just two days away. Why in the hell are we playing this game . Why dont we be honest . If this was so important it could wait. This is whats important, protecting this government and protecting the people who pay taxes here. But we want to play games with all of this. Reporter democrats sole witness law professor Michael Gerhardt stressed the stakes. An impeachment inquiry is deadly serious. It is again just about the most serious thing any House Committee ever undertakes. Reporter republicans expect more impeachment hearings as soon as next month. Today speaking with House Republicans there is divide. Some say these hearings were necessary but i spoke to more than one House Republican who said it was an embarrassment. They are concerned about the evidence, and perhaps this hearing should have waited. Geoff lets turn now to our White House Correspondent laura barronlopez here with us in studio. We heard in leases report the gop witnesses said there is no evidence to support articles of impeachment. How is the white house responding to this hours long hearing today . That fact, that the republican witnesses said there is no evidence, is exactly what the white house is seizing on. They put out statements quoting republican witnesses saying there is no evidence for impeachment. They also had their own shutdown clock. They issued a statement every 30 minutes as the hearing was playing out over the course of the day to say there is only this many hours left before a shutdown occurs and essentially highlighting and focusing on the fact that House Republicans have been unable to come to an agreement amongst themselves on how to fund the government and the impact that would have on Food Assistance programs, on payments to active duty military members, and the like across the board. That is what the white house is focusing on. President biden was in arizona paying tribute to his late friend gop senator john mccain. It gave President Biden a chance to talk about what he sees as the threats to democracy. Reporter this speech in arizona, President Biden specifically gave his most detailed remarks to date about what he sees as a present and clear threat from not just donald trump, but also from other republican candidates running for the president ial nomination. He focused on the fact that a number of those candidates including trump have said they want to overhaul the federal agencies, that if they were to have the presidency, the Overall Office the oval office, that they want to got federal agencies and install loyalists across the different departments, specifically the justice department. The president said this is not normal, this is something americans need to Pay Attention to. Seizing power, concentrating power, attempting to abuse power, inciting violence against those who keep america safe. Weaponizing against the very soul of who we are as americans. This is a threat to the brick and mortar of our democratic institutions. It is also a threat to the character of our nation. Reporter those are some of the most specific remarks the president has given to say if republicans were to take power, take the presidency in 2024, the federal agencies you have known since americas existence would not exist. He talked a lot about john mccain, the late senator, and really struck this contrast to say that john mccain was a republican who was willing to put the Country First and was willing to call out what he saw as wrongdoing, was willing to stand up to donald trump. He does not see that anymore amongst republicans. He also addressed the fact that no republicans or a majority of republicans have remained silent after the former president issued a death threat suggesting general mark milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, should be executed. Geoff should we expect to hear more about this from President Biden . Reporter we will. This is the fourth threat the president has given on threats to democracy and the campaign has made clear this is something hes going to be talking about aggressively heading into the election cycle. Amna for more perspective on the legal basis for the inquiry we are joined by frank bowman. Professor emeritus at the university of Missouri School of law and author of the high crimes and misdemeanors, a history of impeachment for the age of trump. Welcome and thanks for joining us. I want to begin with your reaction to the impeachment hearing today. What were the Key Takeaways for you . What new information did you learn . Prof. Bowman very little. No impeachment inquiry should begin unless there is significant proof the president did engage in some sort of wrongdoing and that has been the case in every prior president ial impeachment. The difficulty for the republicans is on the one hand, they have the advantage of dealing with hunter biden, the president s son. The uncontested point everyone can agree on is that hunter biden has spent his entire life in the profession of being the son of joe biden. He has gained a lot of advantages in terms of getting jobs and later in life, inducing people to invest in his companies by virtue of the fact his last name is biden. No doubt about that. But that is not a crime even as to hunter biden. It is certainly not an Impeachable Offense for joe biden without a good deal more. The problem is republicans launched this investigation without any material evidence that President Biden has done anything that is criminal or impeachable. It is worth remembering, we do not come into this inquiry about hunter and his relationship with his father a new as if this was a new thing. This has been investigated by multiple authorities since 2018. The trump appointed u. S. Attorney in delaware has been investigating since then. The Senate Committee investigated biden and maries mom in 2020 biden and burisma in 2020. So far although we still know hunter biden has been trading on his fathers name, they have no evidence. Amna let me ask if i may. Even republicans will say yes, this is a factfinding mission, we believe we have more questions. Where there is smoke there is fire. They say these hearings are a means to get to some of that specific evidence you are saying they have not shown yet. Could it be as a result of these hearings they do uncover that . Prof. Bowman sure, in theory. But it is profoundly unlikely. Given the exhaustive investigations by republicans over the past five years, the very same transactions that have failed to produce the evidence they say they are looking for, the republican legislators who corresponded were quoted saying we need more, to take the step of the impeachment inquiry, they are right and Nothing Happened today that dispelled that concern. Amna what are the possible outcomes from this hearing . They could move forward with articles of impeachment or it could be they reach the end of the hearings and say never mind, nothing to see here . Prof. Bowman sure. One is disposed to suspect the purpose of these hearings is not an ultimate impeachment, but simply to keep the name hunter biden in the News Associated with his father, to maintain thus position maintain thus suspicion that something is amiss and carry the public concern forward into an election year. Perhaps i am wrong. Perhaps everything the republicans are doing is being done in good faith. But one has to doubt that is the case given the doubts that are being expressed through this process even by members of their own party. Amna we have heard about the arguments laid out. The overarching idea of influence peddling. The idea of Shell Companies being created as well. From a legal perspective, what is the bar republicans have to meet from your expertise and your view . Prof. Bowman they want to try to show that joe biden committed an Impeachable Offense. They want to show corruption. Today they adopted the phrase influence peddling. That is a favorite of professor turley. It sounds bad and broadly it is bad generically but if you want to make an Impeachable Offense of it you have to show someone in public office, in this case President Biden, actually offered or gave or performed some sort of official action or at least intimated he would engage in some official action in response for payments either to himself or someone else. And there is no evidence of that at all. They are going to have to show that. Maybe they can. Maybe some smoking gun will emerge. But at this point, there is no indication. And it is telling i think that they began this hearing, this momentous process, with no evidence. Amna that is Professor Emeritus at the university of Missouri School of law, frank bowman, joining us tonight. Thank you so much, good to speak with you. Prof. Bowman thank you. Amna the pentagon confirmed and american soldier who ran away to north korea has returned to the United States. North korea sent king to china where he was handed over to u. S. Authorities. Nato secretarygeneral yen stoltenberg urged the allies to provide ukraine with more air defense systems. Stoltenberg visited kyiv to meet with president volodymyr zelenskyy. He said the stronger ukraine gets, the sooner russias aggression will end. Meantime, russian drones attacked the mykolaiv and odesa regions in ukraine, as well as the kirovohrad area. There were no reported casualties. For the second time in less than a month a major storm is pounding central greece. Authorities say hundreds of people have been evacuated from the region, and most of the city of volos is without power. Debris clogged an Overflowing River today, and water gushed into the citys streets. Many of the flood victims blamed government mismanagement. We couldnt believe our eyes, what we were seeing. In last two weeks they came only four or five days to clear the debris from the river from the previous catastrophe. At about 5 00, the river was blocked up again from debris under the bridge. That earlier storm killed 16 people in greece and caused more than 2 billion in damage. Scientists sounded an alarm today on rapidly melting glaciers caused by recordlow snowfall and extreme summer heat. A new report said swiss glaciers have lost 10 of their ice volume in the past 2 years alone. That equals the total melt of the 30 years between 1960 and 1990. Back in this country the United States senate now has an official dress code. A bipartisan resolution passed last night requires business attire for all members on the senate floor. It was prompted by pennsylvania Democrat John fetterman, who routinely wears a hoodie and shorts although not on the senate floor. Last week, majority leader Chuck Schumer had said members could wear what they want. Fast food workers in california will make at least 20 dollars an hour, starting next april. That became law today, guaranteeing one of the highest minimum wages in the country. As part of the deal, fast food corporations agreed to remove a referendum on wages from next years ballot. On wall street stocks recoup losses as oil prices eased along with Interest Rates on treasury bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 116 points to close at 33,666. The s p 500 was up 25. And Michael Gambon, who gained global fame as harry potters wise wizard headmaster, has died in britain. Jeffrey brown looks at his long career. Help will always be given at hogwarts harry, to those who ask for it. He was known to millions as the bearded, longrobed, wise wizard professor dumbledore, in six of the eight harry potter films. Taking over the role in 2004 following the death of actor richard harris. But Michael Gambon had long established himself as one of the great actors of his time first on the london stage, as a member of the Prestigious National theater, eventually winning three olivier awards. In films and television he played everything from gangsters. My personal approach. Reporter to greats like Winston Churchill in churchills secret. His comic turn role as the father in an adaptation of Jane Austens Emma earned an emmy nomination. And he took home a bafta for his 1986 performance as a mystery writer struck with a debilitating disease in the singing detective. Whether as supporting actor, or lead, gambon commanded attention. Throughout her career throughout a career spanning nearly 60 years. He died last night following a bout of pneumonia. Michael gambon was 82 years old. For the pbs newshour, im jeffrey brown. Still to come on the newshour. Residents in maui return to destroyed communities as investigations into wildfires continue. An International Sports tribunal considers evidence in the russian figure skater doping scandal. And musician nat myers uses the blues to amplify his message about modernday america. This is the pbs newshour in the west from the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at Arizona State university. Geoff last night in simi valley, california seven republican president ial candidates took the stage for the second primary debate held at the Ronald Reagan president ial library. On full display, the partys unequivocal transformation since the reagan era. White house correspondent laura barronlopez is back with our report on the night. Reporter at times combative and unfocused, seven gop president ial hopefuls desperately tried to steal the spotlight away from former president donald trump. This is where president went wrong president went wrong. Reporter some risked new jabs at the partys standardbearer. You know who else is missing in action . Donald trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record where they added 7. 8 trillion to the debt that set the stage for the inflation that we have now. Reporter but early attacks against the absent frontrunner flopped. You are ducking these things. And let me tell you whats going to happen. You keep doing that, no one up here is going to call you donald trump anymore. Were going to call you donald duck. Chaos reigned among the candidates who are trailing trump on average by 40 points. Reporter former South Carolina governor nikki haley landed a blow against businessman vivek ramaswamy. Every time im near you i feel a little bit dumber. Reporter not long after she got into it with senator tim scott over curtains. Do your homework, tim, because obama bought those curtains. Did you send them back . Did you send them back . Its the state department. Did you send them back . Youre the one that works in congress. Reporter desantis defended floridas African American studies curriculum which claims that some enslaved people benefited from slavery. These are great black history scholars, so we need to stop playing these games. Reporter African American history scholars dispute that. And so did scott. There is not a redeeming quality in slavery. Its why i can say i have been discriminated against but america is not a racist country. Reporter fights over race and gender identity now cornerstones of the modern gop came into play as well from former Vice President mike pence. Were going to pass a federal ban on transgender chemical or surgical surgery anywhere in the country. Weve got to protect our kids from this radical gender ideology agenda. Reporter gender affirming care surgery for minors is rare. And pences position is opposed by every Major Medical association in the country, which say such care for minors is safe and effective. Defund sanctuary cities. Reporter on the most frequent topic of the night, immigration, ramaswamy promoted ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants born in the United States, a right enumerated in the constitution. Reporter well, if the kid of a mexican diplomat doesnt enjoy birthright citizenship, then neither does the kid of an illegal migrant who broke the law to come here. Reporter the moderators largely avoided asking about trump with no question on the mounting indictments or recent extremist statements including suggesting last week that chairman to the joint chiefs of staff mark milley should be executed. Trump again counterprogrammed with his own event though his opponents were on his mind. They are all job candidates. They will do anything. Secretary of something, they say vp. Does anyone see a vp in the group . I dont think so. Reporter in michigan, where the United Auto Workers union is on strike, trump rallied supporters at a nonunion facility and made direct appeals for labors support. Do me a favor. Just get your union guys, your leaders. To endorse me. But your leadership should endorse me. And i will not say a bad word about them again. Reporter but with trump comfortably leading the debate participants, the twohour spectacle appeared unlikely to change anything. For the pbs newshour, im laura barronlopez. Amna today the government of nagornokarabakh said it would dissolve, formally ending more than 30 years of separatist rule for the ethnically armenian enclave inside azerbaijan. As ali rogin reports, this comes after azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week that has triggered a massive humanitarian crisis with more than half of nagornokarabakhs population fleeing to neighboring armenia. A massive exodus, visible from space. The only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to armenia now an escape road. People arrive in armenia hungry and scared. We ran away to survive. It is horrible. Children are hungry. Reporter that is a reference to last weeks artillery attack. Residents rushed for cover after Azerbaijani Air strike set buildings on fire. They called it an antiterrorist operation and released video of drone strikes on what they said were Armenian Defense positions. The 24 hour offensive ended in a russian brokered ceasefire forcing separatist kara bach karabakh troops to disband. Azerbaijan raised their flag in villages they say they liberated. The azerbaijani president declared victory. As a result, azerbaijan has restored its sovereignty. His objective is to erase karabakh. Reporter richard is a former u. S. Ambassador to azerbaijan. It was not long ago he was talking about pushing armenians not only out of karabakh but out of armenia itself. Reporter last weeks attacks were shortlived but the damage is deep. Usaid administrators but food and medicine are still scarce. Exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis. For months azerbaijan blocked the only road connecting the enclave with armenia, cutting off supplies. That is a classic genocide condition. Reporter he was the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal court. He says azerbaijan uses starvation as a weapon even after the International Court of justice ruled the blockade, quote, may have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals. He says it shows genocidal intent. The decision to fully blockade the corridor after the National Court of justice said to him blocking the corridor created risk of death. So he knew and he did it willingly. Reporter todays crisis is not new. Nagornokarabakh first declared autonomy during the soviet union but for the past 30 years intermittent violence plagued the region. What happened in the breakup of the soviet union is you had a group of armenian nationalists who wanted to make an independent entity. Reporter when the soviet union collapsed the enclave was seized by armenian separatist forces backed by the Armenian Military in a war that ended in 1994. In 2020 azerbaijan launched a 44 day war and regained most of its previously lost territory. Fighting left tens of thousands of armenians in the region without a plan for peace but under the protection of russian peacekeepers. Armenian president nicole pesci nguyen said they failed to secure the responsibility will be on azerbaijan who adopted an ethnic cleansing policy. Reporter russia says peacekeepers evacuated civilians. Russias Foreign Ministry said, quote, the armian leadership is making a huge mistake by deliberately attempting to sever armenias multifaceted and centuriesold ties with russia. That in itself should be a cause of concern. About what role a Russian Peacekeeping operation would play. Having basically attacked oneparty in the conflict. What russia is trying to do is to make sure these countries do not resolve their conflict without russia being the key actor. Reporter today nagornokarabakh s government said it would cease to exist ending its three decade bid for independence. This week saw another player with a historic relationship in the region, turkeys erdogan, who wants to create a land corridor between turkey and azerbaijan through armenia. Despite longterm talks brokered by the u. N. U. S. And other efforts to forge a deal, a peace settlement between erdogan and armenia seems unlikely. What will happen is to recreate the environment before the fighting broke out where the u. S. And the eu have been trying to mitigate a peace agreement. Reporter from the u. S. , calls for calm. Secretary of state Antony Blinken has spoken twice with azerbaijans president to prevent further violence and maintain the ceasefire. We think it is important the ceasefire be maintained, that humanitarian needs be addressed. The People Living in the karabakh region are azerbaijan citizens regardless of their nationality. Their safety, security, and wellbeing will be insured by the state of azerbaijan. Reporter but how azerbaijan treats its own citizens is questionable. The president has concentrated power and weakened any form of opposition or dissent. Independent organizations say there are as many as 200 Political Prisoners including journalists and activists. Among them, worldrenowned academic a worldrenowned academic who faces 12 years in prison under counterfeiting charges, allegations he denies. His youngest son lives in the u. S. He was a congressperson. That made him very powerful. Over the years he investigated corruption inside the azerbaijani government including in nagornokarabakh. He is on pretrial detention where he has been denied access to food and medicine to treat his diabetes. Civil society has been completely abolished. People are scared to talk. Reporter but his children talk even as they are intimidated. He sent us these photos of his ransacked room by what he suggests are azerbaijani ofcials. We feel threatened but our love and our dedication for our country is greater. Reporter a country torn apart by decades of war and trauma with a rift that grows as tens of thousands continue to flee. For the pbs newshour. I am allie romy. Geoff children can return to schools in lahaina, hawaii next month, and tourists will also be allowed back into parts of west maui. Weeks after the devastating fires, their officials are trying to help restart an economy that ground to a halt on parts of the island. William branham is in west maui and has been talking with residents about these plans. William, its good to see you on tuesday, you and the team gave us a glimpse of how people are still dealing with the aftermath of these fires nearly two months on officials there are now putting out some more concrete plans. As i understand it for when places will start to reopen. What exactly are they proposing . Well, jeff as you mentioned, schools will reopen the middle of next month. And since this inferno tore through this community, thousands of students have either been having to go to school in other counties or doing remote schooling or not going to school at all. And that just puts an incredible stress on the parents, who are also dealing with all the other aspects of disaster recovery. So there were four schools in lahaina. One of them burned so badly it cannot be recovered. The other three were damaged, and so they think that they can reopen those. So theyve been cleaning them doing all sorts of safety testing on the soil and air and the water to make sure its okay for the kids to come back and that is supposed to happen. On this issue of tourism. October 8 is the day that the governor set and so local officials have been trying to figure out what that really looks like. And so they have got this phased in plan where hotels will start to be opened not immediately in lahaina, but in areas adjacent to it, and tourists will be able to start to come back in and the hope is is that more jobs, more money will start to flow into this economy, which desperately needs it. Geoff what do local residents make of that . The residence we have heard from are not happy. Yesterday we attended the Maui County Council meeting and hundreds of people showed up. Standing room only. Many people expressing a sense of anger and frustration and grief and solidarity. This was local hawaiians and native hawaiians, many speaking native hawaiian language. They were expressing all manner of things that they do not want to keep feeling like secondclass citizens in their own community. They do not want to feel they are subservient to a tourist economy. They argue they dont have to lie rely solely on urism. They want to be more in control of decisions that are being made about how we go forward and that is what they feel is not the case right now. This is tra lauren, a Community Organizer in the area, here is what she had to say. I keep thinking that i ran out of tears. Im asking the council to do whatever it takes to keep the line. I could not afford to live at home and i would love so much to be able to move back home. I know a lot of my family feel the same sentiment. I am asking you to stand behind Multigenerational Families most importantly. It was a very powerful meeting. In some ways it reminded me of other tragic, galvanizing experiences i have covered, of things like katrina, or newtown, or standing rock, where tragedy falls on a community and people feel galvanized to action by that. That is what it feels like is happening in lahaina. Geoff what has the response been from local officials . The prevailing sentiment . On this very specific issue of tourism i talked to the mayor earlier this week, the mayor of maui county, and he is very sensitive to the idea that tourists would come here and treat the burned devastation of lahaina as another tourist attraction. He does not want to see that. In fact, as you drive around here, you will see miles and miles of black fabric that they they have strung up to try to create a privacy screen so the tourists do not stop and take pictures of the devastation. The governor is similarly argued has similarly argued that tourism done respectfully can you are the people who are still can honor the people who are still dealing with this tragedy every single day but can also bring people back to help boost this economy. I mean, it is estimated that 13 million a day have been lost since this fire swept through this area. But despite those arguments, the community does not seem sold on it. Something like 9000 people signed a petition saying, please delay the reopening, but officials are not heeding that call. Theyre going forward. Geoff William Branham reporting for us tonight from west maui. Alongside news our producers sam lane and maea lenei buhre. Thank you. William thanks, geoff. Amna 19 months after the Winter Olympics ended in beijing, one medal ceremony for the u. S. Figure skating team has not been held. It goes back to a doping scandal during february of 2022. A russian figure skater helped lead her team to a gold medal in a stunning performance. As the athletes prepared for the ceremony, news broke that valiev a had tested positive for a band performanceenhancing medication. She claims she accidentally ingested some of it. The ceremony was indefinitely delayed. Since then it has been tied up in along appeals process. It is the subject of a hearing this week in switzerland by an International Sports tribunal. Christine brennan is covering it for usa today and joins us now. It is good to see you. Thanks for joining us. This positive test for Kamila Valieva was nearly 600 days ago. The hearing is starting this weekend we understand it has been delayed even further. Why is this dragging out so long . Reporter it is a question these athletes would like to know. What winning a gold medal or a silver or bronze, it is a highlight of ones career. This is unprecedented. Never before has there been an Olympic Event held and no metal ceremony. The fact it will be 600 days on saturday is extraordinary. It is one of those things that is the simplest of all events and things at the olympics, to give out the gold medal to that deserving athlete. So what has happened is as you mentioned, delay this week, the court of arbitration, the Supreme Court so to speak for International Sports has been meeting and i have been covering it. It is a closed hearing. As they were ready to finish their deliberations and start with the actual decisionmaking process over the next month or two, they abruptly adjourned and said they need more documents. Almost 600 days and you still need another document . Infuriating news for the u. S. Figure skating team and the others as well. Amna what are the possible outcomes . When do you expect this to end . Reporter Kamila Valieva at 15 years old is a minor. She might get a slap on the wrist and leniency just because of that. But if she is found innocent, the order of the metals would stay the same. Presumably russia, u. S. , and japan. If she is found guilty, one would assume, again, who knows, i have never seen anything quite like this, you would presume the u. S. Would be disqualified because of using this athlete who had been deemed to be using a performanceenhancing drug and doping. The u. S. Would move up, japan would move up to silver, canada which finished in fourth place would move up to bronze. You ask when this could happen. Obviously if the hearing stopped today, they would take between one and three months to render a verdict. Now that the hearing is being postponed for six weeks, theres a lot of numbers and a lot of alphabet soup with these organizations. The court will come back november 9 and look at this documentation they want to see. From that point the clock starts again. It would be between one and three months. We are pushing it into 2024 and a decision probably will not be made until the twoyear anniversary of those olympic games, february of 2022. Amna it is remarkable. How about how other skaters are viewing this . Male single skater vincent zhou issued a statement saying justice delayed is justice denied. My teammates and i will never have the chance to celebrate hard work culminating in a career defining achievement. Is that the sentiment of athletes you speak to . Reporter it certainly is. There are nine members of the u. S. Figures getting team. Not the individual competition we are so used to. All nine of them wrote a letter a month ago to the court of arbitration and asked that they have a seat at the hearing. Could they just sit there and be a representative. They were told no, you cannot come. This is a closed hearing. But in this case i thought they were incredibly classy and dignified when they said, could we watch this, because of course this is determining our fate as either silver medalist or gold medalists which also could impact the earning potential for those athletes. As i said, the court of arbitration for sports said no, it is closed. If Kamila Valieva had wanted the u. S. Team to have a representative or wanted this to be public, it would have been. This was Kamila Valieva and her lawyers deciding no. No one can see this. In fact, she the u. S. Wanted to come she did not show up. She did testify on tuesday via video which is allowed. Amna a remarkable turn of events and still this process is not over. Christine brennan of usa today covering this hearing for us. Thank you. It is always good to see you. Reporter my pleasure. Thank you. Geoff the blues guitar legend buddy guy once wrote, funny thing about the blues. You play em cause you got em. But when you play em, you lose em. The blues chase the blues away. For many thats still as true in the 2020s as it was in the 1920s. And its perhaps especially true for 32yearold kentuckian nat myers. Special correspondent tom casciato has the story for our arts and culture series, canvas. And a warning that some racial slurs myers was called are named in this piece. Everywhere i have been, someone has been abused, he sings. In his song yellow peril. Never going to win, some of us are born to lose. Reporter the song has what npr music deemed a swagger that leaps out of the speaker. Its nat meyers reaction to the racism, particularly the antiasian hate crimes that he observed during the pandemic lockdown. My thing about this song is, anything that tries to insert itself and breaks apart, what it means to be a minority or a person of color in america we aint going to let that happen. Reporter but nat meyers relationship to the blues goes back a long time before that. All the way back to the beginning. I had like a pretty archetypical, just like, american childhood, i guess, you know. Put my head on my heart that my hand put my hand on my heart every day and said the pledge. Reporter the son of a mom from south korea and a white dad from indiana, he was raised in a mostly white part of northern kentucky. My parents didnt really kind of instill in me a sense of my own identity in terms of me being asian. I look at younger pictures of myself. I look at a kid who really thought he was white. I didnt have a very happy childhood. I got picked on a lot, you know what i mean . I dont want to use the terminology. Little jokes. People pressintheir eyes at you, you know, buckteethin at you. Its all real, you know what i mean . Reporter he took solace in skateboarding and the folks he met doing it. People i skated with taught me what true friendship was, and when i started hanging out with these cats, maybe it helped that they were two years older than me, though, but people stopped bullying me. Skateboarding helped me survive. Reporter another thing that helped him poetry. I was real young when i didnt know what poet was. I wanted to be a poet. Everything in my fiberwanted to be a poet. Reporter he loved the classics, homer and shakespeare. But nothing nourished his soul like the lyric and musical poetry of the prewar blues. I listened to all of these kinds of music when i was growing up, but when i started listening to like old blues, and particularly when i, i think i started getting deep into patton , charlie patton. The feeling id ever experienced writing music before was dwarfed. By the feeling and the emotion i got from listening to that, that old music. And to me, its the only kind of stuff ive ever wanted to play. Reporter and play he did, putting his own poetry to music. Reporter meanwhile, he soaked up the works of artists like ferry lewis, Big Bill Broonzy , and mississippis Robert Pettway and tommy mcclennan. This year philosophy ferocity of their playing and singing. Tom mclennan sounds like hes been smoking unfiltered cigarets cigarettes for 80 years and is still able to keep a note. Reporter but as meyers developed his own craft, he did so in private. Playing music was something i did purely to myself and to annoy my roommates. It was it was something that i kept completely to myself. Reporter it was when he came north to new york city in 2015 to study poetry at the new school that the idea of performance took root. What you really discover is how many cats are playing music out here on the street. Whether it be on the block, whether it be in the subways. I just started looking at them cats just like, what . What am i doing right now . I remember going out on the block and i played for like 10 hours or Something Like that. I made 20 but to me back then, i remember that was the first money id ever made as a poet. They paid me to do this stuff. Maybe they paid me to keep quiet, you know what i mean . But it was kind of a revelation in terms of like, oh, man, this is where the breads at. Reporter soon came covid 19, and like lots of musicians, all he could do was post his work online. Thats when this video on instagram caught the eye and ear of an instant admirer. I got this random email one day, it was like, hello, this is easy eye sound, record label owned by dan auerbach. Reporter dan auerbach is one half of the superstar duo the black keys. It sounded like a joke. I almost deleted the email. Reporter fortunately, he returned the email and soon he was writing songs with noted nashville songwriter pat mclaughlin, as well as dan auerbach himself, and recording right in auerbachs nashville home. The result his debut album, yellow peril. Ill put you in mothers locket drag you round in my back pocket reporter ten bluesy tracks, he says that owe an enormous debt to the prewar artists he so admires. The songs also perform a key function this music has provided for over a century. You tweeted in the summer on the road, im happy and blue, off the road im just blue. Yeah, i think im just im just a low down fellow all the time. Im just a sad person generally, being by myself is something, it is a crippling kind of loneliness and out on the road life gets so simple, you just trying to get from a to b in one piece. And when you get from a to b, just making sure that youre in like an energy type enough to be able to do your job, you know. Reporter you say, youre not a happy person but when you perform music and you see that thats making people happy. Does that make you happy . Oh, no doubt. A lot of people say, they play music for the fans or they make the music for these people like, we do this all for you. I do not abide that. I do this music because, like, literally i would die if if i werent playing this stuff. And so the fact that i can bring joy to other folks, it is such an impossible thing that i have been given the privilege of to do. Reporter for the pbs newshour, im tom casciato in brooklyn, new york. Amna theres a lot more online, including a look at the impetus behind this years surge in labor union strikes, including the ongoing auto workers strike, and what it means for working americans. That is that pbs. Org newshour. Geoff and join us again here tomorrow night for a look inside comedian and actor cheech marins museum for chicano art. And thats the newshour for tonight. Im geoff bennett. Amna and im amna nawaz. On behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. Major funding has been provided by. The ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. Including Consumer Cellular, this is sam. How may i help you . Pocket dial. Well, i would let you know with Consumer Cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. Have a nice day. Actually do not need vision to do most things in life. It is exciting to be part of the team driving the technology forward. That is the most rewarding thing. People who know know bdo. The ford foundation, working with visionaries on the frontlines 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. Cooks country is about more than just getting dinner on the table. Were also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes. We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook, and we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today. We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you