wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. amna: i am amna nawaz. the supreme court weighs whether federal protections overwrite strict state abortion bans at 7:00. federal protections for emergency medical care override a near-total ban of abortions at the state level. geoff: after months of wrangling in the house, president biden signs a major foreign aid package that includes tens of

billions of dollars for ukraine. amna: and evangelical christians in ukraine are caught in the >> many prayer houses have been closed, sealed off, and believers are forced to gather in private homes in secret in order to pray and take part in rituals. a™ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> consumer cellular this is sam how can i help you? >> a pocket dial. >> with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no

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more information online. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. amna: welcome to the newshour. it was a charged atmosphere at the supreme court today as the justices heard arguments in a major abortion case out of idaho. the court looked at whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide medical care in emergency situations would apply to states with strict abortion bans. currently, more than two dozen states ban or severely restrict abortion access but there are six states in particular, including idaho, with no health exceptions. geoff: the case brought protesters on all sides of the

abortion issue to the court today for what was the second case on reproductive care before the court in the last month. special correspodent sarah varney joins us. she's spent years covering health care and is closely following the case. thank you for being with us. the arguments were lively and there was a lot of talk about this federal law and how it is applied. sarah: the idaho law you outlined when into effect after the supreme court overturned roe v. wade two years ago and made abortion illegal except when the woman is about to die during her pregnancy. the biden administration sued idaho saying the state's ban conflicts with a federal law. it basically requires hospitals to stabilize all patients even if that requires an abortion, not just when the patient is about to die but to preserve their health. geoff:geoff: there were some intense exchanges especially from the court's liberal wing who seem to take issue with the idaho law. >> idaho law says the doctor has to determine not that there is a serious medical condition but the person will die. >> yeah.

>> that's a huge difference, counsel. >> your honor, we agree that the -- there is daylight between how the administration is reading emtala and what idaho's defense of life act permits. we agree that there's a controversy here. >> no, no, no, no, no, there's more than a controversy. what you are saying is that there is no federal law on the book that prohibits any state from saying, even if a woman will die, you can't perform an abortion. geoff: what concern is she highlighting? sarah: she is saying if the federal government cannot compel states to provide medical care it will always be up to the state to make that call. conceivably a state like idaho, which does have fetal personhood , could prioritize fetal life over a pregnant woman's life even when the pregnancy is not likely to survive.

the briefs in this case are full of women being denied standard medical care in idaho and around the country. justice sotomayor described a real-life case of a woman in florida who was 16 weeks pregnant when she went to the er and felt water leave her body. that is a premature rupture which puts you at risk for serious uncontrolled infection. she was refused treatment because the fetus which would not survive was still alive and eventually the woman bled out and was given an abortion. these were the cases the justices were bringing up. the justices were focused on the harm and permanent harm, loss of fertility that women face with pregnancy. at one point it was surprising. justice amy coney barrett who is a staunch opponent of abortion rights was taken aback by what she was hearing happening at hospitals in iowa -- idaho and elsewhere. >> i'm kind of shocked actually

because i thought your own expert had said below that these kinds of cases were covered. and you're now saying they're not? >> no, i'm not saying that. that's just my point, your honor, is that -- >> well, you're hedging. i mean, justice sotomayor is asking you would this be covered or not, and it was my understanding that the at these would be covered. >> yeah, and those doctors said, if they were exercising their medical judgment, they could in good faith determine that lifesaving care was necessary. and that's my point. this is a subjective standard. >> but some doctors couldn't, is -- some doctors might reach a contrary conclusion. geoff: in the dobbs decision it was justice alito who seemed particularly focused on this matter of fetal life. in today's arguments he talked a lot about unborn children. >> regarding the status and the

potential interests of an unborn child, the hospital must stabilize the threat to the unborn child. and it seems that the plain meaning is that the hospital must try to eliminate any immediate threat to the child, but performing an abortion is antithetical to that duty. >> and in many of the cases you're thinking about, there is no possible way to -- to stabilize the unborn child because the fetus is sufficiently before viability that it's inevitable that the pregnancy is going to be lost, but idaho would deny women treatment in that circumstance. geoff: put that portion of the argument in context for us. sarah: justice alito appears ready to take up the question of fetal personhood which has been the ultimate goal of the -- justice courses mentioned. there are lies in idaho, alabama, texas -- there are laws in idaho, alabama and texas said the pregnancy is a full person under the law. justice alito's decision really signals a willingness to go there. it essentially says if there is a tossup between having to choose between a woman's life and a fetus' life, it is up to the state who gets to win ou we know the case will likelyt. geoff: reverberate beyond idaho. sarah: texas has also sued

around emtala. if idaho wins you can be sure that at least six states that do not have the health exception for the mother will follow idaho's lead. we are seeing this play out on the ground in emergency rooms. you would imagine those types of cases and women being turned away would just continue to escalate. geoff: sarah varney, thank you so much. sarah: thank you. a™ amna: in the day's other headlines. president biden signed into law a massive foreign aid package after months of delay amid republican opposition. the $95 billion measure includes

assistance to ukraine, israel, and taiwan. president biden celebrated the achievement today at the white house, saying it was long overdue. pres. biden: it was a difficult path. it should have been easier and it should've gotten there sooner. but in the end, we did what america always does. we rose to the moment and came together and we got it done. amna: president biden said they'll send the first shipment of new aid to ukraine in the "next few hours." that initial $1 billion package is expected to include air defense capabilities, armored vehicles, and artillery rounds. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy thanked u.s. lawmakers for approving the broader $61 billion dollar aid package for his country. he said "this vote reinforces america's role as a beacon of democracy and leader of the free world." he said that comes as ukraine, for the first time, used long-range ballistic missiles the u.s. secretly sent them to strike russian forces. the weapons can travel nearly twice as far as their mid-range versions. meanwhile, officials in china are condemning the new u.s.

assistance to taiwan. they say the move pushes the self-governing island into a "dangerous situation". >> the time one issue is purely china's internal affair and does not tolerate any external interference. we resolutely oppose it. we urge the united states to take concrete actions to honor its commitment not to support taiwan independence and stop arming taiwan in any way. amna: beijing's criticisms came as u.s. secretary of state antony blinken arrived in shanghai. he' s in china for three days of talks with senior officials aimed at stabilizing relations between the two countries. israel has launched strikes on northern gaza for a second day. the israeli military targeted beit lahiya on the northern edge of the strip, after warning locals to evacuate a day earlier. residents say the shelling was as intense as during the start of the war.

separately, israel says it struck around 40 targets in southern lebanon today, as its battle with iran-based hezbollah intensifies. hamas released a video today of hersh goldberg-polin, an american-israeli hostage who was of ducted on october 7. -- abducted on october 7. it features the 23-year-old, who lost part of his arm in the attack, delivering a statement likely crafted by hamas. it's not clear when the video was recorded. goldberg-polin's parents released a video today saying they are relieved to see their son alive and they urged mediators to reach a hostage deal. >> we are here today with a plea to all of the leaders of the parties who have been negotiating to date. be brave, lean in, seize this moment, and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones, and to end the suffering in this region. amna: negotiations for a hostage deal and ceasefire remain deadlocked. hamas rejected israel's latest proposal earlier this month because it did not include a permanent truce, among other terms. pro-palestinian demonstrations spread to more colleges today. the university of texas, austin saw hundreds of protesters march through campus, leading to

tensions with state troopers. several demonstrators were arrested. some of those involved say it went too far. >> from the beginning, we wanted a peaceful protest. we wanted something that was just like a community gathering, that was meant to show our frustration with the university, but unfortunately, it did not turn out that way. amna: meanwhile at columbia university, campus officials announced they will extend talks with pro-palestinian protesters for another 48 hours. the deadline to remove their encampment was last night. this afternoon, house speaker

mike johnson was interrupted by demonstrators during a visit to the school to address anti-semitism on campus. arizona's house voted to repeal the state's near-total ban on abortions today. it now moves to arizona's senate. three republicans joined all 29 democrats in voting to overturn the civil war-era measure, which offers no exceptions for rape or incest. the vote comes two weeks after arizona's supreme court revived the law, sparking national headlines and putting political pressure on republicans in the battleground state. the biden administration issued new protections today for airline travelers. they require cash refunds for canceled flights and for flights that are delayed at least three hours for domestic travel, and six hours for international. the rules also require airlines disclose any additional charges, like seat selection or carry-ons, before booking. transportation secretary pete buttigieg said today the changes

won't just benefit passengers. >> unsurprisingly, airlines are not the ethnic about us holding them to a higher standard. but, i believe that this is in the interest of the airline sector because it builds passengers' confidence in the airlines as a whole. amna: the new regulations will take effect over the next two years. on wall street today, stocks closed with little change as interest rate concerns overshadowed some strong corporate earnings. concerns ove. 25 years after his son was killed at the columbine mass shooting, a father continues his calls to end gun violence. judy woodruff visits a north carolina community trying to talk through its divisions. plus much more.

>> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and from the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. amna: we return now to that sweeping foreign aid package that is now law and set to deliver tens of billions of dollars to ukraine, israel, and taiwan. lisa desjardins is here to walk us through what happens now. the biggest portion of that foreign aid package is for ukraine. how soon does the money and weapons get there? lisa: almost immediately, within hours or days. while this has passed congress with a lot of drama, this is a world matter now. let's look at some of the

biggest money. $60 billion. the largest portion, $23 billion is to replenish u.s. stockpiles. $14 billion would be new weapons for ukraine that would go through contractors in america. $8 billion would be a transfer of existing weapons. what do we know about the weapons? ukraine is in desperate need. the white house announced the first $1 billion will be mostly for short range antiaircraft missiles. we know there is a need in ukraine. there would be artillery, those big guns, 105 millimeters, 155 millimeters. and anti-armor systems and mines to push back at the russians. what is not on that list -- long range antiaircraft systems. the white house did announce that -- biden and his administration were able to get those in there. we did not see patriot missiles. big deal because the missiles that russia can send can take out areas around kyiv, like the

power plant. they were in need of antiaircraft missiles potentially like patriot missiles. we are waiting to see if the biden administration acknowledges more of those kinds of long-range, more expensive weapons will be sent soon. amna: it was a journey to get here. this took over a half year. what does that tell us about the capital right now? lisa: remarkable in this time of partisanship that national security was a unifying cause. listening to senators last night, mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer, it was some of the most unified rhetoric i have heard from both. they called this package historic. >> we can wish for a world where the responsibilities of

leadership do not fall on us or we can act like we understand that they do. tonight, as at so many moments in our history, it calls for america to lower its guard. >> failure to pass the supplemental would have been a gift to putin and iran. politically, economically and culturally. i am glad that when it mattered most, finally, finally, finally, both parties came together to do the right thing for our nation's security. amna: there were opponents to this. there were fewer republicans who voted no than the previous version, those who did said this was misguided. >> congress cares more about sending billions to wage endless war in foreign countries, cares more about this than saving our own country. it seems no price is too high, no weapons system is off limits. or only strategy appears to be

spend, spend, spend and then spent some more with little to no thought to what the consequences. >> this is a longtime american debate. amna: we know there is a in this package for israel and taiwan. where will that money go? lisa: for israel first of all, $14 million, that is money just for israel itself. there is another $9 billion of humanitarian relief that will include gaza and other crisis points around the world. $8 billion will go to the indo pacific region. there is a lot happening to counter china that will include money to try to expand u.s. submarine presence in the region. amna: we are talking about $95 billion in aid. how long will this last? lisa: it has been a long time even getting here.

$95 million, ukraine, $60 billion in this bill. up until this point we have given about $44 billion. this is more than the u.s. has given in aid since 2022. sources think this can last in ukraine for perhaps a year. if the u.s. months they consent were aggressive and expensive weapons and it would last less time. geoff: lisa desjardins, thank you so much. lisa: welcome. a™ geoff: the u.s. fda said samples of milk taken from grocery stores across the u.s. have tested positive for remnants of the bird flu virus that has infected dairy cows. the agency said it is confident the milk you are buying is safe. officials also said the findings suggest the virus is spreading more privately than previously thought. to help slow the spread the usda

announced dairy cattle must be tested for the virus before moving to a new state. we are joined by the director of the pandemic center at brown university. let's start with the latest update. particles of this virus found in commercial pasteurized milk. how concerned should the everyday consumer be? >> i do not have reason to be concerned at this point. finding evidence of genetic material which is what the test results told us is not alarming. in order to know if the virus will infect us we have to do a different kind of test. this test was not that. they are undergoing those tests now. i do not have any reason to think we will be harmed because we use pasteurization. i have no reason to think the h5n1 virus is any different from the other pathogens we think could be in milk.

pasteurization does not remove the material but it changes the pathogens and either kills or activates them so they cannot infect us. i fully inspect that is what the test results will say. just more reason to choose pasteurized milk overwrought milk. geoff: we know this virus is more prevalent in derryk houston previously thought. how worrying is that? >> i am quite worried about that but i'm not worried because -- i am worried about it because it is an indication we are not doing good enough surveillance to try to keep track of the virus and stay ahead of it. we are not doing enough surveillance to protect the farmworkers we know are likely being exposed to the virus. where i am worried about this is specifically for the farmworkers. we have had a report of one farmworker who was affected. fortunately it was a mild infection.

historically people infected with the virus have not experienced mild symptoms. i'm most worried about protecting farmworkers who we think are likely having exposure to the virus especially now that we are finding out it might be in far more places than we previously thought. geoff: when it came to the usda doing more effective communication and surveillance, what does that mean? >> more testing. more testing of dairy cows is voluntary to this point. the usda recommends only testing cows with symptoms.

we know that is likely not to be sufficient to detect a virus. first of all you can only find it if you choose to do the test. in north carolina when they tested cows without symptoms they in fact found the virus. it for only doing voluntary testing and testing symptomatic cows than by definition we will not find the virus until after farmworkers of unexposed. there was a development where the usda said it would require testing of cows before they moved between states and that is potentially an important development particularly if we think the movement of cows is what is spreading the virus. we do not have a lot of data that tells us what is spreading the virus so it is hard for me to judge how much of an impact this policy will have. i think more testing is better than less testing so i am happy to see this but i wish we had more data that would give me more confidence that we are tracking this virus to stay ahead of it and protecting workers who might be exposed to it. geoff: how prepared is the u.s. for the possibility of a still remote -- we should emphasize

that -- bird flu pandemic. >> thank you for underscoring that. we are not in a pandemic by any means but we should very much pay attention to the virus. we have been tracking the virus for more than 20 years. some of the latest developments increase my worry a little bit. in terms of how prepared we would be to respond, we look back at the covid-19 pandemic and we saw many challenges. some have been addressed but some still have not. influenza is an easier case. when we started the covid-19 pandemic we had no idea whether we would have vaccines within a year. we already know we can make h5n1 vaccines. that puts us at an advantage but there will still be challenges and it will take time to make enough vaccine for everyone. there will be challenges about what we do in the meantime. influenza viruses typically affect the very young and the very old. we have more high-risk groups than we probably had with covid-19.

there are still some challenges to be sure. the reason my we are tracking this virus is so we can get a signal of its potential threat so we can act very quickly to prevent the kind of harms we saw in the early days of the covid-19 pandemic so we do not have a repeat of that. geoff: director of the pandemic center at brown university, thank you for your time and insights. >> thank you for having me. a™ amna: after russia attacked ukraine in 2022, some 20,000 ukrainian children were forcefully transferred to russia. that's according to war crimes charges filed in the hague last year that named president vladimir putin and an aide as the prime culprits. geoff: so as the city of mariupol in southern ukraine was being surrounded by russian

troops, the head of a christian orphanage decided to take matters into his own hands to get 19 children to safety. with support from the pulitzer center, special correspondent simon ostrovsky, has this report. simon: this is a pastor from mariupol. he runs a charity. staffed by evangelical ministers forced from their churches by russian soldiers. before the war, the pastor's ministry involved helping homeless children from the streets of mariupol. but now his job is bringing aid to soldiers and civilians along the front line. danger from the sky is a constant threat to his humanitarian work. >> do you hear that buzz? it flew near us and then over the road. please stay in the kitchen. simon: we just noticed a drone in the sky, a russian suicide drone. soldiers have asked us to stay inside so it does not see us. >> this is the perfect moment for a chaplain's prayer. please, lord, protect us from enemy drones and make them fly

away from here. bless these men in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. simon: before the war, the pastor was a respected figure in ukraine and russia as evidenced by this documentary celebrating his work with street children made by state-owned broadcaster russia today in 2013. >> we try to clothe them and bathe them, they were flea ridd en. simon: when russia lost its war against ukraine he went from hero to villain overnight. here is the russian ambassador to the u.n. describing his home for children as a secret military training camp.

>> in a number of regions in ukraine they have set up children's camps where children are hosted. one was a camp in mariupol where children were. . turned into future fighters simon: the vilification of the pastor's organization is no quincy that's. russia's propaganda machine has systematically sought to characterize evangelical christians across occupied ukraine as extremists or charlatans to justify the seizure of their property. >> all kinds of religious -- the activities of the swindlers has been curtailed considerably since the start of the special military operation. >> the orphanage from mariupol, it was like competition. they said pastor, you have just 14 minutes. not 45, not 50. the last chance. it is crazy.

simon: once the pastor and his orphans were out of mariupol, there weren'-- there was no way back. russia and ukraine established an impenetrable frontline. . 's church was eventually gutted in the fighting. >> russian mortars. simon: this is his church today. russia expropriated the building and turned it into a municipal service center. some 206 evangelical churches have been destroyed in an effort to bolster russians orthodox church through force. his life work, the orphanage, was converted into a military barracks. the pastor said he lost a lot more than the physical property.

one of his 36 adopted children was killed. >> they killed my daughter. they killed many of my friends. they killed many of my church members. russian soldiers leap inside my children's bedroom. we pay a huge price for freedom. simon: the chairman of the institute for religious freedom, the ukrainian watchdog group. he told me russia has killed as many as 40 religious leaders from the course of the war. at least 45 have been detained or imprisoned by russian forces, the majority of from our evangelical pastors. at least seven are still being held. >> many prayer houses have been closed, sealed off and believers are forced to gather in secret to pray and take part in rituals. the occupation forces in the

occupied areas are of the opinion they are all american spies were secret agents for the west. simon: he is one of the many pastors russian forces kidnapped and accused of being an american spy. >> they came early in the morning to our house. 15 guys, fully loaded, machine gun shields and everything. i was arrested. they took me to church. they searched the house, church and everything and took me to prison. simon: this pastor is an american citizen originally from ukraine. after being ordained in texas, he founded a church in a southern ukrainian city. >> they accused me of running an underground operation. the protesters were under my command. we were supporting the ukrainian army with finances and weapons

and things like that. simon: was any of that true? >> no. simon: do you think part of the reason they arrested you and took you captive was because you are an evangelist echo >> they were telling this. they said we hate three kind of people -- americans, nazis and evangelicals. they said -- kill you. the way they say it like you have a one-way ticket. simon: the pastor spent four more days in solitary confinement waiting to be executed. instead, he was released without explanation.

he has since fled but continues to minister in areas that have held out against russia. russia in the meantime repurposed his church. >> now it is a police department. there is a police department, they do all kinds of things in their. the cut down the cross. they really hate evangelical churches. simon: people say vladimir putin is a christian, family values conservative leader. >> where is the family? when i hear putin is profamily, are you serious? i am very angry. i do not understand this. this is fighting about freedom. especially religious freedom. simon: two years have passed since the pastor escaped mariupol with the orphans. they spend most of their time in germany. now, finally, they are ready to come home. he becomes emotional as he drives to the polish border to meet them. the pastor said he never expected to survive long enough to see them again. >> how is it going? >> we are at the border, pastor. we are transporting luggage and the kids are crossing by foot. >> mariupol!

[laughter] simon: although the pastor's orphans have returned to ukraine, western ukraine for now, he still prays for the day when they can go back to their hometown of mariupol. amna: it has been 25 years since 12 students and one teacher were killed in the columbine massacre in littleton, colorado. the largest mass killing at a high school at the time.

school shootings have grown to much higher levels and there have been several mass shootings with tragic losses at schools like sandy hook. tom lost his son daniel at columbine that day. welcome to the newshour. thank you for joining us. 25 years can feel like a very long time and maybe not that much time at all. i hope you do not mind if i begin by asking how are you doing? tom: doing well. some healing comes with time. it does not seem like 25 years to me, frankly. amna: why is that? tom: i cannot explain it. daniel is still 15. i do not think of him at what he would be doing today. he is still 15. amna: you have dedicated your life and your days to honoring daniel, doing what you can to end gun violence, traveling around the country and talking to people. what has that journey been like and what have you learned along

the way? tom: i have met a number of other people who have suffered this kind of loss. that gives me inspiration because i know some of them speak up about this issue and some have chosen not to or just cannot. that keeps me going. it can be very difficult. obviously after 25 years and seeing progress made in some places and nationally not seeing much progress until two years ago. amna: tell me about that progress. the trend of gun violence in america has gotten worse in the last 25 years. where are we in our effort to end gun violence? how would you assess this moment? tom: we have seen a lot of

progress made at the state level. essentially in blue states. we have seen nothing done -- in fact we have gone backward at the national level since columbine up until two years ago, when they passed a bipartisan act. it took almost 30 years to get something significant like that. i feel grateful that we have that. i think it is great we have seen some legislation passed but i also feel, while it took 25 years after columbine, we should not have to wait another 25 years for something significant to pass out of congress. amna: how do you view the tension between what we see at the state level and the lack of action at the federal level? what you want to see in terms of specific steps? tom: the states that do not have a red flag law really need to have one. especially one step you could take from when someone is identified as someone who is a potential harm to themselves or

others. it is the simplest thing we can do. it is so frustrating to see a number of states have not done that and we do not have it at the national level. amna: you see different responses from different states. tennessee response to a mass shooting they suffered last year, legislation passed a bill that allows teachers and staffers to carry a concealed weapon in school after the get some training. there has been criticism, there have been people sing it could save lives. how do you view this? tom: i see it as a step backwards. i'm against arming teachers. accidents can happen. when you have someone at the scene who is holding a firearm, the police do not know who the

good guys and the bad guys are. also, there can be crossfire. you can make a situation worse by introducing a firearm. if for example the potential shooter has not started shooting it. there are many things that can go wrong. amna: as you well know, if daniel had lived he would be 40 this year. i imagine this work allows you to honor his memory as much as you do and it must keep you closer to the pain of losing him. do you ever think about stopping and stepping back? tom: not really. but you are right. it is painful. many people think when you do something like this, you are honoring your son dealing with this issue that it is somehow healing. every time i talk to a group of people, i'm talking about what happened to me, what happened to

daniel. 25 years later, i still get choked up when i do that. it is a reminder. it is a trigger to what happened. amna: what do you want us to know about daniel? tom: i want people to know that daniel was a wonderful, sweet kid. boy scout, played piano. he was very shy, very inquisitive. what i most admired about daniel is he took on his weaknesses. he was not athletic yet he chose to join the cross-country team at columbine. he was so shy yet he chose to join the debate team at columbine where he had to get up in front of other people and speak. that has been the inspiration for me. i am also introverted. if he can do it, i can do it. amna: tom, thank you for the gift of your time and sharing more about daniel with us.

tom: you are very welcome, thank you. geoff: issues such as inequality, gender have become subjects of national debate. the focus on what elected leaders in washington say and do about them. yet many of the same issues play out on the local level in communities with their own particular histories and challenges. judy woodruff recently challenged one such community in north carolina as part of her ongoing series. >> history in the county is not so pleasant. judy: inside this room in burlington, north carolina, residents have come together to talk through a very difficult subject. their divisions. >> some gargantuan problems with our school system. >> i do not care what side of the spectrum you are on we are in a tough situation.

judy: they are being led by rich, who through his nonprofit has spent decades trying to help communities like this one come together during increasingly divided times. >> we have separated from one another more and more in our country. and so that has led to a coarsening of our politics and public discourse. it is a fight or flight mode which says i am so frustrated, so afraid, so anxious and fearful that i will throw up my hands in disgust and frustration and fear of one another and retreat. or i will come out swinging and try to win at all costs. judy: how does this community in alamance county play into what you just described? >> i have great affection for this community. but we have to tell the truth about what is happening. the truth is this is one of the most divided places in america i have worked.

>> i am here to say, what is your name? judy: one key decision is overgrowth. in the rural part of the county, it is a busy time of the year. he runs a nursery, situated in the middle of a cow pasture. when everything is blooming, his business is booming. >> this is our prime time. we make all of our money from the first of march until mother's day. judy: yet that same boom also worries him. since 2010, alamance county has grown twice as fast than the country as a whole thanks in part to its highways, nearby colleges, open land and relatively low cost of living. that is turning more of the farmland that he and many others love into commercial distribution centers, housing developments and public roads. >> that kind of growth, the

people who have grown up in that community, they do not like it because they have lost their neighborhood. they have lost their way of life. they have lost everything that was once resembled what alamance county was. judy: for him, the growth and influx of newcomers is forcing difficult questions about zoning, taxation and the future. >> therein lies the pressure that we feel from the agricultural community that i work with and represent through the farm bureau. the biggest thing is where these people live? where are they going to live? where are they going to go to school? judy: over in east burlington 20 minutes away, the pressure is being felt acutely. >> six days before the start of the new school year there are more issues in the school system. judy: last fall amid ongoing

funding shortfalls, the alamance-burlington school system suffered a major outbreak of mold. the result of years of neglect. it led to a two week delay to the start of the school year. >> what they told me is something i felt a lot of us knew. we knew the upkeep of our schools was lacking. judy: do you have good memories of the school? >> i loved it. judy: this school board member grew up in east burlington and attended cummings high school. this area was once home to the western electric plant, a major employer in burlington. but since its closure in 1992, he said the communities east of the train tracks have suffered from neglect, lack of investment

and inequality. even as other parts of the city and county have prospered. it is a feeling summed up in a common refrain -- no chance elements. >> from people moving away, businesses moving away, neighborhoods going down. it even trickled over into our schools in east burlington. what their supports look like. i think that is why the no chance alamance came along because people feel we have always been left behind so why would it be different now? judy: in 2020 as the country dealt with the challenges of covid-19 and a racial reckoning after the murder of george floyd, the confederate monument in a nearby town became the focus of protests over race, inequality and injustice. the following year the naacp sued to remove the statute. last month, a state court ruled the county did not have the

power to take it down. so there it remains. now protected by a steel fence. >> anywhere in america the lines are there. various tensions and situations. also i do think you are starting to see more people trying to save other folks from a different perspective or more people trying to be willing to hear another point of view across racial lines. >> you learn new things from people you work with. judy: over at alamance community college, another sign of change. newly arrived immigrants practicing english. a growing share of alamance is latino. she said that has presented new challenges for public transit, bilingual services and many other areas. >> navigation of the ecosystem and educational system, health system, public safety. every area is trying to work creating more ideas of welcoming. and yet the county itself -- it is a live organism and changing

rapidly. some people do not want to to change. they are comfortable generally speaking of where they are and where they have been. newcomers like myself are bringing new ideas to the table. i honor the past of this community because someone built it before i showed up. judy: that ugly history includes allegations of racial profiling of latinos and racist language by the county sheriff who was sued by the department of justice over a decade ago. the case was ultimately settled yet mistrust remains. originally from colombia, she moved to alamance from new jersey 17 years ago. >> the division was there from the beginning. people questioned me if i was

legal in this country. i was told at times to go back were you belong. >> what the country needs, when i think alamance county needs is a civic path forward. judy: since he began working here in 2021, rich's focus has been on addressing all of these issues by first building a civic culture. creating spaces like this one where community members can meet to have difficult conversations and slowly establish trust. >> too many efforts begin too large. these comprehensive plans, utopian visions about what we want in society. what happens to them?

time and time again they start with great fanfare, a nice press conference, something at the most expensive hotel in town where they bring everyone together and then in a year or two they fizzle out. we say let's start. we need folks who want to start. >> be willing to go to places where we are not comfortable to hear attitudes we do not share. judy: the republican county commissioner. >> in addition to being divided, we are anxious. the county is anxious, people in the country are anxious. that has a tendency to make us huddle in the groups we already exist in. it requires us to be intentional to come outside those groups and to listen to one another and to trust one another. >> you can start with small steps. this is what we need to do. do not be afraid to talk to the person that feels different from you. >> let's be real. let's be honest about it. there are no guarantees this will work. judy: it is slow going. he said the answers to our big

national divisions will begin small, in rooms like these with community members focused on shared challenges and interests. >> if we insist on talking about political divides and political parties in a place like alamance or other places where we are working, we will have the same discourse we are having nationally. if we can get on a civic path where we say to people this is about the health of your community, this is about the future of your life. issues like mental health, safety, good public schools. the ways in which people work together in your community. a civic agenda. we can actually make progress. not only can we make progress, what i have found is we can push out the culture wars. push out the politics seeping in from other places and get people focused on what really matters to them, get them to work on those things and get progress made. that is what we need to focus

on. judy: for the pbs newshour, i am judy woodruff in alamance county, north carolina. a™ geoff: do not forget there is more online, including newshour legal analyst's preview of tomorrow's arguments in the supreme court and for president trump's claim of presidential immunity. amna: join us again back here tomorrow night when we visit ukraine's second-largest city. two years into russia's bombardment and hear resident's fears over what comes next. i am amna nawaz. geoff: i am geoff bennett. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you for joining

us and have a good evening. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> actually, do not need vision to do most things in life. >> yes, i am legally blind and yes i am responsible for the user interface. data visualization. if i can see it and understand it quickly, anyone can. it is exciting to be part of a team driving technology forward. that is the most rewarding thing. people who know bdo. >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy. and the robert and virginia schiller foundation. >> certified financial planner professionals are proud to support pbs newshour. professionals are committed to working in their clients' best interest. . >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the front lines of social change

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