♪ william: good evening. geoff bennett and i'm none the was are away. tonight, israel allegedly strikes back at iran retaliating for last week's unprecedented

drone and missile i. the house advances spending bills on foreign aid with bipartisan votes which -- and how people in recovery are helping a small town in kentucky bounce from economic decline and the opioid epidemic. >> it was like i had finally found my purpose in my community and when that happened, doors opened that i did not even know i was knocking on. ♪ announcer: major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour including jim and nancy and the robert and virginia

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plan.org. ♪ announcer: and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ announcer: 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. william: welcome to the newshour. there is an uneasy calm across the middle east after both israeli and iranian officials had muted responses to israel's retaliatory strike in central iran. the region had been on edge since an attack on israel. reporter: it is not every day

that something explodes near and iranian bays during a time of intense regional tension but today that is what happened and all sides are trying to downplay it. near the central city of isfahan this morning, iran's air defense targeted small drones but former military and intelligence officials tells pbs newshour this was an israeli strike your a guard to bays nuclear technology center. by day, iranian state tv showed isfahan quiets. >> life is going on according to normal. reporter: and a local iranian military commander says there is not much to see here. a sound heard early in the morning today in esfahan was not an explosion, it was our powerful air defense hiring at a suspicious object. it caused no damage at all. reporter: which is apparently how both iran and israel wanted

it. israeli officials refused to claim credit. the only exception was indirect criticism. the far right security official tweeted a word that best translates to "laying. -- lame. but an italian official revealed this. >> the u.s. was informed at the last minute but there was no sharing by the u.s., it was your information. i think that what happened was also a result of the g7. reporter: for six days, president biden and the group of seven industrialized countries urged israel to show restraint. to iran's unprecedented april 14 at attack with more than 300 missiles and drones launched from iran towards israel and response to israel killing seven senior iranian generals in

syria. in public, all u.s. officials would say today is that the u.s. did not play any parts. >> i'm not going to speak to that except to say that the u.s. was not involved in any offensive operations. reporter: and europeans urged more restraint. reporter: at one point last night the u.s. was so concerned about further violence it restricted the movement of u.s. officials inside israel. for perspective we turn to suzanne maloney, vice president and director of foreign policy at the workings institution, a washington think tank whose work focuses on iran and the middle east. what do you think the message is that israel is sending to iran with this strike? suzanne: i'm glad to be here. i think the israelis were trying to demonstrate to iran that they

can penetrate its air defense system. the iranians were not able to do the same. they are also trying to demonstrate the capabilities that the israeli military can bring to bear. it did so in a calibrated and focused way in the attack last night but the message from the level of sophistication from the operation from what we are learning from some of the reporting being done suggests this is something that would pose a real threat to iran if israel chose to attack iran's nuclear sites or other key elements of its military-industrial complex. reporter: i pointed out that this location is near a major irgc base and some nuclear facilities. why does that particular message land well in tehran? suzanne: for a long time i think the iranians have been concerned about a potential israeli strike

on their nuclear infrastructure and they have taken a lot of steps including the air defense system to try to ensure that the israelis could not succeed doing so. i think the attack last night showed the israelis could, if they chose, take out key nodes of the program. to take out the program as a whole would take more capacity and necessitate the involvement of the u.s. but the strength sent a -- the strike sent a message to iran. reporter: we saw little implicit criticism from the is really far right that this did not go far enough. this was not a direct mirroring of the attack on iran. this is not the same scale nor did israel claim credit for the attack. why? suzanne: i think the israelis are reacting and a way that is responsible and calibrated and

that is important to ensuring they don't find themselves spiraling up in an escalatory way out of control. i think the u.s. and the g7 leaders as you suggested have also been influential in helping persuade the israelis they have time to demonstrate to the iranians that there will be a price to be paid for the attacks that took place last weekend. the iranian attack was completely disproportionate to anything we have ever seen. it was unprecedented. i suspect what we saw last night was the first of a number of steps the israelis will take to make sure that iran does not repeat that kind of attack again. william: why is iran downplaying the attack practically suggesting it did not happen? suzanne: that is par for the course for the as la mike republic. there have been other incidents over the years are attributed to israel dispiriting away of the

iranian nuclear archives which was done by mossad. the iranians never acknowledged that these incidents took place. they tried to blame them on other terrorists. they want to reassure their own population that they are in control and i think there is a desire to avoid any sense that there is the potential of a larger military conflict. reporter: we saw yesterday a mid-level iranian commander suggesting that any further violence could change iran's nuclear posture. iran claims its nuclear program is civilian. what empire could the latest violence have on the thinking of iran's leadership about pursuing nuclear weapons? suzanne: i think it is clear that the long commitment suggests this is not a civil nuclear objective they have with

respect to their nuclear program. with everything we know from the archives and other sources suggest it is clearly designed for military purposes. they have not yet taken the final steps, they have not weaponized. they could move them closer than they are today which is closer than at any point in history to nuclear weapons capabilities such as leaving the nonproliferation treaty or fully kicking out the international atomic energy agency. i think there is a lot of trepidation in the international community about those kinds of moves. it would be a various step from the iranian government. reporter: you have pointed out that the current generation of iranian leaders is different from their previous generation of leaders that came into power in 1979 when the shah was overthrown and you say the new generation is more dangerous and unpredictable. suzanne: what we have seen in

the last decade is an increasingly risk tolerant iranian leadership. those that served on the front lines and who have been involved in the development of a proxy network across the broader middle east want to use force and are prepared to use it. they have engaged in the kind of behavior that has targeted u.s. officials such that some are still under protective custody. they also jumped on board with the russian war in ukraine in a way that no other country in the world has by supplying drones that have made a major difference in russia's efforts. i think what you see is a leadership that is more prepared to engage in maligned behavior and feels insulated by their relationships with russia and china. reporter: thank you very much. ♪

william: in the hug -- and the days other headlines, a jury has been seeded for donald trump's criminal hush-money payments trial in new york city. the man in critical condition after setting himself on fire this afternoon in the park directly opposite the courthouse. emergency crews extinguished the flames and rushed him away on a stretcher. police officials described the scene. >> we called officers. they run into the park. they make efforts to put him out using their codes, fire extinguishers. fdny eventually responded. we extinguished the fire and removed him to cornell burn unit where he is right now in critical condition. william: authorities say the man through pamphlets with conspiracy theories into the air before setting himself on fire.

police and paras arrested a man at the iranian consulate today after he threatened to blow himself up. officers swarmed the building and cordoned off the site. they found no explosives. the suspect was convicted last year of trying to set a fire at the same location. harris is on high alert as it gears up to host the olympics. the biden administration added new sanctions today on groups accused of raising money for extremist israeli settlers in the west bank. the action also targets the leader of a far-right groups known for violence against palestinians. the treasury department says the sanctions undermine the peace, stability and security of the west bank. attacks on palestinians have increased their sins war in gaza began. the white house announced today new restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the alaskan wilderness. the rule limits development across more than 13 million acres or roughly half of what is

known as the national petroleum reserve. it also blocks plans for a road that would have cut through a national park to reach a copper mine. white house officials spoke about the measure today. >> this administration will continue to take ambitious action to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. protect america's lands and waters and fulfill our responsibility to the next generations of americans. william: environmentalists welcomed the move but fossil fuel companies and alaskan lawmakers worn it will have a negative economic impact. the environmental protection agency has designated two forever chemicals as hazardous substances. the compounds are used in many products including cookware, carpets and firefighting foams. the designation requires that their release into nature be reported to authorities, that the spill be cleaned up and those responsible pay for their

removal. the announcement follows the epa's decision last week to require water utilities to cut similar chemicals in drinking water to near zero levels. the federal aviation administration is requiring longer rest times between shifts for air traffic controllers. the change comes amid growing concern over fatigue following a series of close calls at airports. the faa is investigating one such incident at reagan national airport in washington yesterday. two passenger jets came within 400 feet of one another on the tarmac before controllers told the pilots to stop. ukraine's forces says it shot down a russian bomber in a remote area of southern russia but moscow insists the plane crashed due to a malfunction. russian missiles pounded a region in central ukraine. at least eight people died and 30 others were injured. >> the house was burning.

everything was falling down from the roof. it was dangerous to run out from the house which is why many did not leave and stayed at home in hopes it would finish soon but this did not happen. william: william: to help counter substrates the ukrainian president appealed to a special meeting of nato defense ministers today for at least seven air defense systems. nato allies agreed to provide more such systems but the secretary-general stopped short of saying how many they would send. elections in the world's largest democracy got underway today. hundreds of millions of voters across india wellhead to the polls over the next six weeks. they will choose 543 members of parliament and decide whether to give the prime minister a third term. in one area, lines formed hours before polling stations opened and some voters are hoping for a change from the hindu

nationalist government. >> the first thing i came 204 is to have a country without any religious disharmony. we have all come to vote. hindus, muslims, christians, we are altogether. william: most polls predict a victory for mr. modi and if so he would be only the second leader in india's history to win a third term. on wall street stocks ended the week mixed. the dow jones industrial average gained more than 200 points. the nasdaq fell for a sixth straight session dropping 300 19 points. the s&p 500 slipped a 43. still to come, on the newshour, the biden administration releases updated title ix predictions against harassment, discrimination and sexual assault on college campuses. and david brooks and jonathan capehart reagan on the week's political headlines. ♪

announcer: this is the pbs newshour from wep a studios and washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism from arizona state university. william: on capitol hill today one of the most significant votes of the year, in the house, the leaders of both parties worked to oppose the most fiery voices in their own caucuses pushing aid for ukraine and other allies over a key hurdle. he said de chardin joins me now. reporter: this was a massive win for ukraine and a massive loss are those that fear more involvement but it was also a day where we saw the house move away from them was conservative and liberal voices. you could have missed it looking at the silent capital steps and grace guide this morning but inside a defining day for this congress and u.s. allies. >> now is the moment, history

has its eyes on this chamber. >> we are at an inflection point. reporter: the high-stakes vote was procedural, whether to tee up the four foreign aid bills as dozens of republicans voted against their own party. watch the democratic column on the left for a rare shift. emma kratz moved to vote yes saving the bills and potentially speaker johnson. this political gamble brought a win. >> it is not the perfect legislation. it is not what we would write if republicans were in charge. but this is a best possible product we can get under these circumstances to take care of these important obligations. reporter: signs of possible trouble ahead for johnson. >> civil war has broken out in the house of representatives. reporter: marjorie taylor greene went online saying she is working to get more votes to oust him. >> if you are a republican voter or donor, they should give you

pause to ask what is happening to the republican party right now? reporter: the package is big dollars, 90 5 billion with a far reach. the most muscle goes to ukraine, the piece that divides the republicans are the most accounts for $61 billion. $9 billion is loans that could be forgiven. for israel, a large increase over the original senate bill. it contains no additional conditions on israel aid, a raw issue for many on the left. back on the capital steps, some hardliners are considering ousting johnson now. >> what i can tell you is that we have to turn this around immediately. >> i am open. i'm not going to tell you what i'm going to do. we will see if that materializes and if the trigger is pulled. it won't be up to me but i'm

definitely frustrated like a lot of the conference. reporter: others point to a new push, vote on johnson in the fall. >> he has taken a lot of heat. and to his credit, he stepped up to the job. >> i don't think it would be a wise course of action. reporter: while others pushed back. >> the vast majority of the majority [indiscernible] >> chuck schumer seems to be in charge which is frustrating to me. >> if it is not mike johnson, then who? reporter: many democrats defended their move as an easy choice. >> we have to make sure the

republican party cannot stand in the way of absolutely vital ukraine, israel and taiwan military assistance. reporter: whatever happens to johnson, self -- democrats see someone else involved. >> trump is somewhat of an isolationist or nationalist. he has sent negative messages to the international community reporter: since reporter: 2016. the four bills are on track for passage tomorrow. in the house they will go to the senate as one package and they are expected to pass but we don't know the timing. william: a remarkable development. this was a procedure oh vote. why was this so pivotal? reporter: in the trump era, there were many questions about american identity and the republican party. you can look at today as something that could set the direction for existential

questions about political and global direction. here is what i mean. look at some of the things involved in this procedure oh vote today. this keeps us on track for current policy in ukraine and israel. major issues of public debate. and one of the bills does contain what would amount either a tick-tock band or forcing that company to sell. we have a major digital impact across social media. also today, a loss for the republican hardliners. we told our audience that that is the group that has spent this congress thing we will not compromise. we think compromise is wrong. today was one of their last real stands this time in congress. not a lot of time left for the congress to do business. these weekend votes are one of the last big items on the agenda. this was a victory for speaker johnson. we will see how long it lasts.

his approach has been more slow and more quiet and yet he emerged today as the winner with the help of the democrats. william: you mentioned that you could not find another example in modern congressional history where the minority party saved the majority party why? did the democrats do this? ? reporter: issues of ukraine and israel. the parties become more of the foreign security hawks than the republicans. i can report from sources involved that there was a high level talk from democrats to republicans saying over the last week or two that if you bring this -- these bills to the floor, we will support you and make sure you are not ousted. i don't have the reporting that he tacitly accepted the deal, that is what we see on the floor. another thing for democrats, it really was a win win for them.

it showed the republicans, they are ready to govern and the republican base is very concerned and upset about this happening here they are getting phone calls already. many republicans will go home and have to explain what happened. and speaker johnson's position is weekend in his own base. william: thank you for all of this great reporting. ♪ william: the biden administration put out new title ix rules that will increase protections for lgbtq+ students and change how schools handle cases of campus sexual assault. these moves reverse several changes made by the trump administration including sex discrimination will -- they

fundamentally change the way schools conduct assault investigations, removing the trump era requirement that victims be cross-examined and hold in person hearings. the new rules sidestep the controversial issue of transgender athletes saying that was still under review. for more on these changes i am joined by the washington post laura meckler who has been following all of this closely. thank you for being here. these rules go into effect in august. on the issue of lgbtq+ students, it says that it is illegal to discriminate against those students. that was not the case before? reporter: the biden administration has long held it was the case before. they say title ix which bars discrimination on the basis of sex has always included sexual orientation and gender identity as part of that that is a way to

discriminate on the basis of sex. that is how they have been acting and adjudicating cases. this regulation gives that more heft by putting it into a formal regulation. saying this is the official federal governments interpretation. william: on this issue of changing the rules with regard to how investigations are handled about sexual assault, explain to me what the situation was and now what these new rules do. reporter: the question of sexual love doll and harassment on campus has been a huge one for well over a decade. the obama administration tried to address this with its own set of guidelines and the trump administration wrote their own regulations. they set out a simple -- a system that was a court like procedure where there would be a separate investigator different

from the person that made the judgment and you would have a cross-examination opportunity and a hearing. and it was a very -- a higher burden of proof for what would be considered sexual discrimination or harassment under the law. they had a system that was different in a couple ways, it was a more formal court like system and it was also a higher bar for proving your case. what the biden administration rule does is revised the system with one of its own making tweaks. giving schools more flexibility. reporter: there were a number of

concerns. from the point of view of the survivors, if you mandate a cross-examination situation it would be re-traumatizing for them. the people on the others said this is how you got to the truth. and colleges themselves did not like being put in the position where they were becoming a de facto court. they said, that is not what we do and we are not comfortable with that. it was another problem. in terms of the burden of proof and how difficult it is to prove your case, that is about where you want those scales of justice to hang your are you going to make it a little easier for people that are pledging these incidents happened? or do you want to make it harder to prove? your case? the biden rules come down on making it a little easier to prove your case. william: there has been a good deal of pushback.

congresswoman virginia foxx has said that some of the rules are redefining sex and gender in america. what is the argument they're making their? reporter: this is an argument conservatives are making all over the country and legislating based on that. they don't accept the idea that you can change your gender. that you can be born a boy and decide you are a girl. other people would say that there are people that entering delete really feel they are in fact the other gender and acknowledging that and i accommodating that is the right thing to do. from a conservative point of view, and there is legislation dealing with is all over the place in conservative states, what they are trying to say is that this is a threat to other girls and women. they don't want someone born a boy showing up in the girls locker room. they take great issue. i got a lot of response today

from conservatives saying that the administration was going too far. william: lastly, this does not address this very controversial issue of transgender athletes. why did the administration pushback that decision? reporter: they officially say that a separate regulation that addresses sports is not ready. but what people tell me is that it is the politics and they don't want to be talking about this question of trans women competing on girls and women's sports teams in the middle of an election year. william: laura meckler from the washington post, thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. ♪ william: as lisa reported,

democrats helped speaker johnson get a foreign package over a key hurdle but he faces backlash from far right members in his own conference. on that and the other political stories shaping this week, return to the analysis of brooks and capehart. david brooks and jonathan capehart, the associate editor for the washington post. so nice to see you both. thank you for being here. david, if someone had arrived in washington today from outside the beltway, and had seen what went down which was a bipartisan group of people voting on something they agreed upon and that thing moving forward they would think -- that is ostensibly what governing looks like but here it is viewed as unbelievably unusual. david: kudos to speaker johnson. to his credit, he has hung in ere and he has bobbed and weaved to keep his job but in the end i think he did the right thing for the country and the world. and it was a test.

it is important to respect democracy. when you have a broad majority of people, not only in the house but also in the country, including 69% of republicans that think vladimir putin should not be allowed to take more land in ukraine, and this broad majority, democracy should prevail. the problem in our country is that over the last few years, angry minorities have ruled. william: on this issue of this angry minority, that has always been the talk about speaker johnson. he is beholden to them and cannot cross them. and yet, today he did. it sounds like governing. do you think this development today reduces the sword of damocles over his head otherwise known as marjorie taylor greene?

jonathan: three weeks ago we talked about marjorie taylor greene submitting a motion to vacate. this week, tom massey says i have a motion to vacate. and today another member of congress, a republican said, i have a motion to vacate. that sword of damocles is getting a little lower. i agree with david. it is fantastic finally at speaker johnson has put aside his own professional considerations, whether he will hold onto the gavel, in favor of the broad national security interests. the key question for me is, oh once they vote on this thing, they vote tomorrow, once that is done and the motions to vacate are acted upon assuming they are, what do democrats do? and if they do save speaker johnson, is he literally a

republican in name only speaker. i don't mean it in terms of the slur that republicans mean it but he would be speaker and a republican but the democrats would be running the chamber. william: lisa was reporting that she has some off the record scuttlebutt that johnson was offered some, if you bring these, we will protect you if it comes to that. will that actually materialize? david: when johnson got the speakership, he had to make concessions to the further right and put some of those people on the rules committee. if i am a democrat i'm thinking, the majority. it won't be johnson and it will be someone else that makes more concessions to the marjorie taylor greene's in the world and that will make life worse as a democrat. i think it is in the interest of

the democrats to say that johnson is our best shot at having a reasonable congress for the rest of the year. i'm looking at chip roy who voted against the ukraine aid. i'm looking to see which way he goes because i think he would carry a lot of votes. but if the democrats don't hold up johnson, i think they would be butchering the house, -- betraying the house. jonathan: i don't think it will get to that point. the reason johnson is bringing up these bills right now, i think it is because of democratic insistence that if you do this, we will come to your rescue but not until after you get ukraine aid over the finish line and these foreign aid bills over the finish line. william: let's turn to what is happening in the middle east.

since you were both last year at this table, iran shocked everyone with the extent of the attack on israel. israel, though they don't admit it, it, retaliated against that. do you believe this tit-for-tat has stopped temporarily? david: before the iran attack, israel's reputation was in freefall around the world. now you see israel -- all sorts of countries in the region like saudi arabia are rallying around israel but also france, u.k. and the u.s. suddenly, world opinion is back on israel side. and one of the best things that happened is that israel had to respond in some way. they have to reestablish some power so they had to prove they can reach into the middle of iran and have an attack if they

want to. but they did it in a restrained way and i have to give credit to the biden administration for their pressure because there were a lot of voices that wanted massive retaliation. i thought they did a very effective retaliation. iran's response was muted. it leads me to believe there is a bit of a week of de-escalation. william: how do you see president biden's hand and the use of american soft and hard power? jonathan: i would amplify what david said. i will give the biden administration credit. how many times have we sat at this table where we talked about the fact that the biden administration from the president down counseling the prime minister to not do this or that and to do this or do that and have the prime minister laugh in the face of the president?

over the last month now, it seems as though the come to jesus phone call the president and prime minister had -- since then, it appears the prime minister has been listening and heeding the warning over all sorts of things they talked about doing including an invasion of rafa. i think the fruit is bearing out on the president's very painstaking and patient quiet diplomacy and public diplomacy. william: do you agree that is what is happening? that we are seeing a shift? david: israel will do what is in its interests. it would be a disaster for israel and the region long-term if hamas was allowed to survive. i'm still reasonably confident

that they will go into rafa. the question is how they will do it. but it is not in israel's view to have a multi-front war. and having a massive retaliation on iran, you are looking at a massive hezbollah assault and a multi-front war. i think they were influenced by president biden and they need to keep the u.s.. but they will still do the things they need to do. this was a case in iran the case, their interests were aligned. william: biden is on a political tight rope. he has said, we stand steadfastly behind israel and if they need to go after hamas, we are with them. how much they really are against the humanitarian disaster unfolding in gaza is a problem. there is a clear political problem. not just columbia university

students protesting but democratic base voters across the country turning against that policy not liking the president's for israel. how do you see him navigating the as the election gets closer? jonathan: it is tough. you have a situation where you have a president who has massive foreign policy credentials dealing with a prime minister he has known for about 50 years who is running a country where the president says, there is no daylight between israel and the u.s. however, between me and there prime minister there might be a line and he is doing everything he can to solve all of the crises on the ground over there. at the same time, all of his work over there is not working to his benefit at home. as you were just describing, you have a lot of democratic constituencies that are not

happy with the president. i believe the administration when they say, from the president down, their considerations about how they handling the israel-hamas war, there are no political considerations involved in that. and i think that is one of the reasons why so many people are upset. if the president were playing politics, he would be doing all sorts of things to try to please the people demonstrating and doing encampments at universities. i would say to the people who are protesting and the young people who are upset and all of the folks who are upset at the president and the administration, keep thinking about the thing that president obama used to say to criminal justice activist and others who were upset with him for not doing more things on criminal justice or racial issues. and he would say to them, i need you to keep protesting on the outside because that puts

pressure on me on the inside to get something done. and i think that is what is happening. david: this aim thing that lbj was telling mlk. william: do you believe that politics are not getting into this and that this is just biden's core belief? david: he may tell himself that story but no human being looks at it this way. i don't believe that. i think the american people believe a couple things and a complicated way. they agree with what joe biden said, that israel sometimes goes over the top. they are also very pro-israel. if you look at john fetterman, the senator from pennsylvania who has been more pro-israel then golda my year, he is doing well in pennsylvania. william: with a very strong --

israel must defend itself at all costs -- position. david: unabashed. there is a market to say that israel is over the top but also to say what biden says, that israel has a right. there are fringes and i think some of the columbia protesters are part of this, and they are hate filled and bigoted. when i saw some of the picture is coming out of columbia, i thought of chicago this summer. we are going to the convention. and just like in 1968, there will be a lot of writing and it will get ugly. william: let's hope it does not turn that way but history is leading us in that direction. david brooks, jonathan capehart, nice to see you both and thank you. ♪

william: for years at the stories coming out of appalachian coal country have been grim, addiction, black lung disease and economic decline. a new story is emerging, one where people in recovery are helping their communities recover. jeffrey brown reports from hazard, kentucky. >> i have a book. reporter: mandy has long dreamed of having a place where she and fellow readers could gather to discuss books in hazard, kentucky. >> it is so out of what i typically read. reporter: it wasn't until january, 20 20 that her dream became a reality when she opened at this bookstore. >> access to a bookstore was two hours away. reporter: what made you think you could make it work? >> a lot of people ask that. reporter: what things did you

hear? >> my husband said that people don't even read physical books anymore and i said that i do. reporter: her bookstore has not only survived but thrived first through a major flood and then the pandemic. >> appalachian literature is the best-selling section of the story. an author originally from hazard cells well. reporter: it is an unlikely success story made more remarkable by her own story. >> i was a junior in high school the first time i saw oxycontin. and from that point on, from the very first one i knew that this is what i needed. reporter: after several years of daily opioid use she kicked her addiction into thousand five and opened her bookstore has given her life new meaning. >> it was like i had finally found my purpose in my community

and when that happened, doors opened that i did not even know i was knocking on. >> i could not believe there was a bookstore in hazard, kentucky. reporter: it is a story becoming more common says this author who has written two books about the nation's ongoing opioid crisis. he also recently reported on hazard, town of about 5000 through an online publication called the free press. >> i knew of hazard, kentucky only as a place of terrible devastation due to the opioid epidemic. reporter: more than 100,000 americans are still dying every year from drug overdose. it is a problem that continues to plague towns like hazard across kentucky, e state with some of the highest overdose death rates in the nation. collapsed with the collapse -- combined with the collapse of coal mining he says he was

planning to write a different story. >> i saw some things i did not expect to see witches -- tiny, tiny businesses starting up, started by local people. a lot of business owners and recovery from pain pill addiction and a lot of employees are also in recovery. reporter: did it feel counterintuitive to you? >> it did not at all. recovering addicts, they are very much like fossil fuels. energy rising from decay. and if you find ways of utilizing that energy, it can really benefit your business but also your town and your community. and that is exactly the story of hazard, kentucky. >> we have had 68 businesses open up in five years. reporter: hazards coordinator of downtown development says that many buildings here that once sat empty have been filled.

today, clothing stores, local coffee and candle shops, and new restaurants lined main street. growth spurred in part by people in recovery who hold about a quarter of all new jobs here. >> when you have this population that for 20 years during the really bulk of the opioid epidemic that were locked out of being able to do these things and now as they got clean and get these opportunities, they are running with them. reporter: that includes 45-year-old stephanie callahan, the owner of hot mess express 606. >> because i am a mess. reporter: she says it is a nickname she picked up from friends and family. she kicked her addiction 14 years ago when her son was born and in 2021 her life changed again when she quit her full-time job and opened this clothing and fashion store

catering to plus size women. >> there is nowhere in hazard to shop. i'm a big girl so i needed a place. after the coal left we lost all of our stores and i thought, ok, we need some clothing because i can't go to church looking like this. reporter: what did people say to you? >> they told me i was crazy. [laughter] i thought, i probably am. i had three men tell me in one day that i would never make it. reporter: three years later callahan has shown them. her store is often packed with customers and a few weeks ago she opened a second store offering men's clothing. it is all a testament she says to how far she and her hometown have come. >> people started coming in and it took off. but i think people are tired of nothing being here. in my addiction i would be bored and say, let's go get high. there was nothing to do.

now we can come down town and shop and each. reporter: business is coming back as our some former residents. today, luke teaches guitar and serves as director of operations and an art center in downtown hazard. for several years he toured across the nation as a professional country musician based in nashville. in 2017, after heavy drinking and drug use derailed his career, he said he knew he needed a change. >> my life was unmanageable. i could not stand me. i could not function at all. the idea was to come on and figure out a way to get clean. reporter: he says hazards recovery community has been crucial to him staying sober and he wants to help rebuild what was lost. >> i spent so much time a drain on the community that it is very gratifying to be able to be of

value to my community. reporter: economic progress though in hazard and across appalachia remains uneven as drug addiction rages on. even still, sam believes hazard has a fighting chance and offers a model for other small towns. >> the attitude that we need to find some big solution, some big factory with 250 jobs, whatever, those factories are not coming here. and if they came here, they would be mostly robots. it is the idea that you can find a path forward using local energies, local creativity and finding ways to nurture that. reporter: but how far can self-reliance or small really take you? >> it is a great question and i'm not sure the answer. i do think that what is happening here and in other

towns opens up a pathway towards the future that they never imagined. reporter: and mandy hopes the books at her store can help hazards next generation find that path. >> if there are kids that can see their worth through these books and literature, and maybe that keeps them from using, that is it for me, it is what drives me every day. reporter: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in hazard, kentucky. ♪ william: late tonight there are reports of a major explosion at a base south of baghdad used by iranian backed forces known as the pmf. the pmf is believed to have participated in iran's april 14 attack on israel and has also attacked u.s. troops. a senior iraqi official says the

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