PBS NewsHour; Wednesday, December 28, 2022, 3:00pm-4:00pm PST

JUDY: GOOD EVENING. I'M JUDY WOODRUFF. ON THE "NEWSHOUR" TONIGHT, AFTER THE STORM, THE BUFFALO NEW YORK REGION DIGS OUT OF MANY FEET OF SNOW AS THE DEATH TOLL STEADILY RISES AND MORE FLIGHTS ARE CANCELLED. THEN, A RECURRING CRISIS. THE MAYOR OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI AGAIN DECLARES AN EMERGENCY AFTER COLD WEATHER DAMAGES THE CITY'S BELEAGUERED WATER SYSTEM. AND, OUT OF THE SHADOWS, A MOVEMENT BY NON-PROFITS, POLITICIANS, AND THE WORKERS THEMSELVES AIMS TOECRIMINALIZE THE SEX TRADE IN THAILAND. >> I WANT WORK EQUALITY. HUMAN EQUALITY. GENDER EQUALITY. EVERYONE IS LIKE A HUMAN, HUMAN RIGHTS. JUDY: ALL THAT AND MORE ON TONIGHT'S "PBS NEWSHOUR." ♪ >> MAJOR FUNDING ♪

-- MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY -- ♪ ♪ ♪ >> MOVING OUR ECONOMY FOR 160 YEARS, BNSF, THE ENGINE THAT CONNECTS US. >> PEDIATRIC SURGEON, VOLUNTEER, TOPIARY ARTIST, A RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL ADVISOR TAYLOR'S ADVICE TO HELP YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE. LIFE WELL PLANNED. >> THE WALKING THRIVE TOGETHER. SUPPORTIVE BY THE JOHN D. AND

CATHERINE T MACTHUR FOUNDATION, COMMITTED TO BUILDING A MORE PEACEFUL WORLD. MORE INFORMATION AT MACFOUND.ORG . 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. JUDY: THE GREAT BLIZZARD OF 2022 IS PASSING INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS, BUT ITS LEGACY LINGERS, ON THE GROUND AND IN THE AIR. "SOUTHWEST AIRLINES" SCRUBBED ANOTHER 2,500 FLIGHTS TODAY, AND THE NUMBER OF DEATHS NATIONWIDE FROM SNOW AND FREEZING

TEMPERATURES TOPPED 60, WITH MORE THAN HALF OF THOSE IN WESTERN NEW YORK STATE. JOHN YANG BEGINS OUR COVERAGE. JOHN: ACROSS BUFFALO, MOUNDS OF PLOWED SNOW ARE RISING AND AFTER DAYS OF FRIGID COLD, SO ARE TEMPERATURES, AND THE POTENTIAL FOR MORE PROBLEMS. OFFICIALS WARN THAT THE THAW COULD LEAD TO THE DISCOVERY OF MORE DEAD AS SNOWBOUND HOMES BECOME ACCESSIBLE. SO THEY'VE NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS DOOR-TO-DOOR. CITY AND COUNTY OFFICIALS HAVE BEGUN TO OTHER OUT. >> STORM AFTER STORM, THE CITY UNFORTUNATELY IS THE LAST ONE TO BE OPEN AND THAT SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE. IT IS EMBARRASSING, TO TELL THE TRUTH. JOHN: BUFFALO MAYOR BYRON BROWN. >> AS TOUGH AND AS STRONG AS THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE COULD BE IN A NEWS BRIEFING, HE DID NOT SAY ANY OF THIS TO ME ON THE PHONE OR FACE-TO-FACE. JOHN: ACROSS THE COUNTRY,

STRANDED AIR TRAVELERS SPENT ANOTHER LONG, FRUSTRATING DAY - , ESPECIALLY ON "SOUTHWEST -- SOUTHWEST AIRLINES. PLAQUES I THINK THE WORST PART WAS WHEN THEY CANCELLED OUR FLIGHTS, THEY DIDN'T GIVE US OUR LUGGAGE. SO, THESE CLOTHES HAVE BEEN ON US FOR FOUR DAYS. JOHN: THE AIRLINE AGAIN CANCELED MORE THAN 60 PERCENT OF ITS FLIGHTS FAR MORE THAN ANY OTHER , CARRIER. LAST NIGHT, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGIEG TOLD JUDY WOODRUFF THAT THE AIRLINE CAN NO LONGER BLAME ALL ITS PROBLEMS ON THE STORM. >> RIGHT NOW, I WOULD SAY MELTDOWN IS THE ONLY WORD I CAN USE TO DESCRIBE WHAT IS HAPPENING ACROSS SOUTHWEST AIRLINES' OPERATIONS. JOHN: TODAY, THE HEAD OF THE SOUTHWEST PILOTS UNION CALLED FOR MAJOR CHANGES. >> THEY ARE USING PROCESSES AND I.T. FROM THE 1990'S WHEN WE WERE AN AIRLINE, LESS THAN A QUARTER OF THE SIZE. >> I'M TRULY SORRY. JOHN: IN A VIDEO STATEMENT, SOUTHWEST CEO BOB JORDAN ACKNOWLEDGED HIS COMPANY'S FAILINGS. >> THE TOOLS WE USE TO RECOVER FROM DISRUPTION SERVE US WELL, 99 PERCENT OF THE TIME; BUT CLEARLY, WE NEED TO DOUBLE DOWN ON OUR ALREADY EXISTING PLANS TO VER AGAIN FACE WHAT'SO THAT WE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. JOHN: IN BUFFALO, OFFICIALS SAY

LONG DAYS OF RECOVERY AND MOURNING LIE AHEAD. THE BODY OF 26-YEAR-OLD CONGOLESE REFUGEE ABDUL SHARIFU WAS FOUND IN A SNOW DRIFT. HE'D BEEN DUBBED "911" FOR HIS WILLINGNESS TO HELP THOSE IN NEED. >> ABDUL SHARIFU WENT OUT TO GET FOOD AND PROVISIONS FOR HIS PREGNANT WIFE WHO'S ABOUT TO GIVE BIRTH. AND HE DIDN'T MAKE IT BACK HOME. JOHN: AND EVEN AS THE THAW SETS IN, THSANDS OF PEOPLE STILL NEED HELP GETTING FOOD, MEDICINE AND TRANSPORTATION. , BUFFALO'S DEATH TOLL FROM THIS STORM IS ALREADY THE CITY'S HIGHEST EVER FROM A WEATHER EVENT, SURPASSING THE BLIZZARD OF 1977. DON PAUL IS A LONGTIME BUFFALO METEOROLOGIST, A RESPECTED VOICE IN THE CITY WHO HAS COVERED THE CITY'S WEATHER FOR NEARLY FOUR DECADES. WE THINK OF ONE QUESTION. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN IN A CITY LIKE BUFFALO?

DON: I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS THE ANSWER RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE BLIZZARD OF 1977, WHICH WAS ALMOST ENTIRELY WINDBLOWN SNOW, WAS NOT WELL FORECAST. IT WASN'T A TOTAL SURPRISE. THIS STORM HAD DAYS OF ADVANCE WARNING NOT JUST FROM SOMEONE LIKE ME BUT CERTAINLY FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, AND WE ASSUMED FEWER PEOPLE WOULD TRY TO VENTURE OUT INTO IT. AND BUFFALO IS KNOWN FOR BEING ABLE TO HANDLE SNOW. THE CITY HAS FEWER CLOUDS PER CAPITA THAN A CITY THAT GETS LESS SNOW LIKE WHERE I GREW UP IN THE NEW YORK AREA. NEW YO SANITATION DEPARTMENT PER CATA HAS FAR MORE AND YOU HAVE SO MANY ABANDONED CARS. SIMPLY CANNOT GET DOWN THE STREET BUT APPARENTLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS HAS BEEN SO MANY PEOPLE WANTED OUT AND GOT INTO THEIR CARS AS WELL AS PEDESTRIANS AND FACED THE WORST

POSSIBLE, MOST BRUTAL CONDITIONS I HAVE PERSONALLY EXPERIENCED IN MY LONG LIFE. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE AND AS BAD AS IT WAS HERE IN MY HOUSE, IT WAS WORSE IN BUFFALO. JOHN: WE HAVE SEEN EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS GET MORE EXTREME IN RECENT YEARS. DO YOU SEE ANY CONNECTION WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IN THIS STORM? DON: PROBABLY. THERE IS GROWING EVIDENC THAT THE MARKET WHICH IS WARMING TWO TIMES TO THREE TIMES FASTER THAN THE REST OF THE GLOBE, BY WARMING UP, HAS CAUSED THE POLAR JET STREAM EPISODICALLY TO WEAKEN. A VORTEX KEEPS MOST OF THE POLAR AIR BOTTLED UP OVER THE POLAR REGION BUT WHEN THAT POLAR JET WEEKENDS, IT CAN ALLOW EPISODIC STRETCHING OF THE POLAR VORTEX FAR TO THE SOUTH, GENERALLY EAST OF THE ROCKIES, AND THIS CAN HAPPEN IN THE MIDST OF AN

OTHERWISE MILDER THAN AVERAGE WINTER. IT SOUNDS COUNTERINTUITIVE, ESPECIALLY TO NONSCIENTIST DENY LISTS BUT WE CAN SEE -- DENIALISTS, BUT WE CAN SEE EXTREME OTHER EVENTS FOR SHORT PERIODS AND WE ARE GOING TO MOST OF THE EAST INTO THIRDS OF THE COUNTRY, GOING TO GO BACK TO WELL ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATUS OVER THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR DAYS AND INTO THE NEXT WEEK. A LOT OF T SNOW WILL MELT BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO ERASEHE TRAGEDY. JOHN: THIS HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A ONCE IN A GENERATION STORM BUT THAN WHAT YOU JUST SAID, WHO WILL BE SEEING THESE MORE FREQUENTLY? DON: WE COULD BE. THERE IS NOT TOTAL AGREEMENT AND THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY BETWEEN PHYSICISTS AND CLIMATE SCIENTISTS AND METEOROLOGISTS BUT SOME RESEARCHERS SUCH AS DR. JUDAH: IN THE BOSTON AREA HAS DONE IN-DEPTH RESEARCH AND BELIEVES THESE EPISODES NOT ONLY WILL BE HAPPENING MORE OFTEN BUT

HAVE BEEN HAPPENING MORE OFTEN THAN PRIOR TO THE ACCELERATED MORNING SO WE ARE SEEING THESE WINTERVENTS. WHAT WE HAVE ALSO SEEN IS SOME TROPICAL EVENTS THAT APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE CHANGE IN THE JETSTREAM AND THAT APPEARS TO BE, BUT AGAIN, NOT CONCLUSIVELY, TIED TO ARCTIC WARMING. IN MY ESTIMATION, WE ARE SEEING THESE EPISODES MORE OFTEN BUT I AM NOT A RESEARCHER SO I STAND ON THEIR SHOULDERS WHEN I SAY THAT. JOHN: YOU TOLD OUR PRODUCER EARLIER TODAY THAT YOU WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT THIS STORM WOULD MEAN FOR BUFFALO MOVING FORWARD. WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT? DON: I'M AFRAID THAT THIS DISASTER, BESIDES THE HORRIFIC HUMAN TOLL, IS GOING TO TAKE A TOLL ON BUFFALO'S IMAGE AND THE PLACE WHERE POTENTIAL INDUSTRIES LOCATE WHEN IN FACT, BUFFALO DOES NOT SUFFER RISK OF MEGA-DROUGHTS, WILDFIRES, MASSIVE FLOODING AND THE OTHER EVENTS THAT ARE DEFINITELY TIED TO A WARMING CLIMATE. WE HAD MORE REFUGE AND OF COURSE

OUR WATER SUPPLY IS VIRTUALLY INEXHAUSTIBLE FROM LAKE ERIE AND THE OTHER GREAT LAKES. WE ARE IN A CLIMATE IMPACT REFUGE, BUT THIS SETBACK, IN ADDITION TO THE TRAGEDY, I'M AFRAID IS GOING TO HURT BUFFALO'S ECONOMIC WELL-BEING. IT'S NOT GOING TO BE QUICKLY FORGOTTEN. JOHN: DON PAUL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OUR THOUGHTS ARE WITH EVERYBODY UP THERE IN THE BUFFALO REGION. DON: THANK YOU, JOHN. ♪ JUDY: IN THE DAY'S OTHENEWS, UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY DECLARED THAT HIS COUNTRY'S REFUSAL TO GIVE IN TO RUSSIA HAS INSPIRED THE WEST AND THE WORLD. HE SPOKE IN HIS ANNUAL, END-OF-YEAR ADDRESS TO THE UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT. LAWMAKERS REPEATEDLY STOOD APPLAUDED AS ZELENSKYY URGED THEM TO STAY UNITED. >> UKRAINE BECAME ONE OF THE GLOBAL LEADERS. OUR NATIONAL COLORS ARE AN

INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL OF COURAGE AND INVINCIBILITY. IN ANY COUNTRY, WHEN THEY SEE BLUE AND YELLOW, THEY KNOW THAT IT IS ABOUT FREEDOM. ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT SURRENDER, WHO UNITED THE WORLD AND WHO WILL WIN. JUDY: MCDERMOTT THOSE AREAS ARE NOW PARTS OF RUSSIA EVEN THOUGH MOST OF THE WORLD'S DEGREES. NORTH KOREA SAYS ITS LEADER KIM JONG-UN MEANS TO KEEP BUILDING UP HIS MILITARY IN THE NEW YEAR. STATE MEDIA REPORT KIM ADDRESSED HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS OF THE RULING WORKERS' PARTY ON TUESDAY. HIS PLANS REPORTEDLY INCLUDE ADDING MULTI-WARHEAD MISSILES AND A SPY SATELLITE. IN ISRAEL, THE INCOMING FAR-RIGHT GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED THAT EXPANDING JEWISH SETTLEMENTS ON THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK WILL BE A TOP PRIORITY. GUIDELINES RELEASED TODAY CALL FOR LEGALIZING UNAUTHORIZED OUTPOSTS AND EVEN ANNEXING THE WEST BANK. THE NEW GOVERNMENT TAKES OFFICE TOMORROW.

THERE'S WORD THAT RETIRED POPE BENEDICT'S HEALTH HAS TAKEN A TURN FOR THE WORSE. HE IS 95-YEARS-OLD AND HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY FRAIL. THE VATICAN SAID THIS MORNING THAT HIS CONDITION HAS WORSENED. DURING A WEEKLY GENERAL AUDIENCE, POPE FRANCIS URGED THE ROMAN CATHOLIC FAITHFUL TO REMEMBER HIS PREDECESSOR. POPE FRANCIS: I'D LIKE TO ASK ALL OF YOU FOR A SPECIAL PRAYER FOR EMERITUS POPE BENEDICT, WHO, IN SILENCE, IS SUSTAINING THE CHURCH, LET US REMEMBER HIM. HE IS VERY SICK. LET'S ASK THE LORD TO COMFORT HIM AND SUSTAIN HIM IN THIS TESTIMONY OF LOVE TO T CHURCH TO THE VERY END. JUDY: BENEDICT RETIRED IN 2013, THE RST PONTIFF TO RESIGN IN 600 YEARS. THUNITED STATES WILL JOIN OTHER COUNTRIES, IMPOSING NEW COVID TESTING FOR ALL TRAVELERS FROM CHINA, AS OF JANUARY 5. TODAY'S CDC ANNOUNCEMENT APPLIES TO ANYONE AT LEAST 2-YEARS-OLD. IT COMES AS CHINA HAS DROPPED ITS RESTRICTIVE COVID POLICIES

AND AS INFECTIONS THERE HAVE EXPLODED. PROSECUTORS IN NEW YORK STATE LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION TODAY INTO REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN-ELECT GEORGE SANTOS, FOR LYING ABOUT HIS HERITAGE, EDUCATION, AND WORK RECORD. A REPUBLICAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY ON LONG ISLAND SAID IF INVESTIGATORS FIND A CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED, SHE WILL PROSECUTE. THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS ALSO LOOKING INTO THE MATTER. ANOTHER LEADER OF THE PLOT TO KIDNAP MICHIGAN GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER HAS BEEN SENTENCED. BARRY CROFT JUNIOR GOT MORE THAN 19 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON, AT A HEARING TODAY IN GRAND RAPIDS. THE OTHER PLOT LEADER, ADAM FOX, WAS SENTENCED YESTERDAY TO 16 YEARS. ON WALL STREET, FALLING OIL PRICES AND TEXTURES HELP TO PUSH MAJOR STOCK INDEXES DOWN BY 1% OR MORE. THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE LOST 365 POINTS TO CLOSE AT 32,000 875 -- 32,875. THE S&P 500 SLIPPED 46 POINTS. WE WILL LOOK -- STILL TO COME ON

THE "NEWSHOUR," WE LOOK AT THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE BIDEN PRESIDENCY. HOW VARIOUS STES ARE RESHAPING THEIR MARIJUANA LAWS. ACTIVISTS PUSH TO MEMORALIZE THE SITE OF THE LARGEST SLAVE AUCTION IN AMERICAN HISTORY PLUS MUCH MORE. ♪ >> THIS IS THE PBS NEWSHOUR FROM WETA STUDIOS IN WASHINGTON AND IN THE WEST FROM THE WALTER CRONKITE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY. JUDY: JACKSON, MISSISSIP IS DEALING WITH A WATER CRISIS ONCE AGAIN. THIS TIME, RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES ARE UNDER A "BOIL ADVISORY" BECAUSE OF A LOSS OF PRESSURE THAT BEGAN ON CHRISTMAS EVE. LISA DESJARDINS HAS THE LATEST. LISA: THIS IS THE THIDD WATER -- THIS IS THE THIRD WATER CRISIS IN TWO YEARS AFTER A SYSTEM BREAKDOWN IN 2021 AND A TREATMENT-PLANT FAILURE LAST AUGUST. EACH TIME RESIDENTS WERE LEFT WITHOUT WATER FOR WEEKS. MAYOR CHOKWE LUMUMBA SAID THE

CITY IS MAKING PROGRESS BUT THIS WAS AGAIN CAUSED BY SYSTEMIC ISSUES. >> WHEN THE T TEMPERATURES DROPS LOW AS THEY DO, WHEN WE HAVE THE ISSUES IN THE HUNDRED OF MILES OF PIPE THAT WE HAVE THERE IS NO WAY TO DEAL WITH THAT. LISA: THE PROBLEMS WERE SO BAD THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE STEPPED IN AND AS PART OF AN AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY APPOINTED EXPERT TED HENIFIN AS A NEW "IERIM MANAGER" TO HELP FIX THE PROBLEMS THERE. AND TED HENIFIN JOINS ME NOW. TED: IT IS ALWAYS TERRIBLE THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH PRESSURE TO GET WATER INTO THEIR HOUSE. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING THE LAST COUPLE DAYS TO REMEDY THAT. TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT THAT THE MAJORITY HAVE ENOUGH PRESSURE TO ACTUALLY GET WATER IN THEIR HOMES PAID WE HAVE A BOIL WATER NOTICE WHICH IS A PRECAUTIONARY NOTICE TO TELL PEOPLE TO BOIL WATER BEFORE THEY DRINK IT.

WE WILL DO SOME MORE TESTING PROBABLY LATER IN A WEEK, SHOOTING FOR FRIDAY. YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET THOSE RESULTS AND GET THE BOIL WATER NOTICE LIFTED. EARLY SATURDAY MAY BE AT THE LATEST. LISA: YOU CALL JACKSON A CANARY IN THE COAL MINE AS FAR AS WATER CRISIS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THESE DECADES OF PROBLEMS, WHERE DO YOU SEE THE ISSUES HERE? WAS THIS A FAILURE OF GOVERNMENT, A FAILURE OF RESOURCES? TED: EVERYONE COULD TAKE I THINK IT IS NOT THAT ATYPICAL. A BIT OF A CANARY IN THE HOME LINE. LACK OF INVESTMENT ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AN UNDERGROUND INFRASTRUCTURE IS NOTORIOUSLY LOW. THE STUFF UNDER THE GROUND THAT PEOPLE CANNOT SEE IN GENERAL IS A HARD PLACE TO PUT A LOT OF

MONEY. IT'S NOT A GREAT POLITICAL TIME TO GO OUT AND CUT THE RIBBON ON A PIPE NO ONE CAN SEE IN THE GROUND. JACKSON HAS A T OF ISSUES WRAPPED AROUND THAT. LISA: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO HELP IN JACKSON. THIS IS A CITY THAT HAS NOT EVEN MAPPED AND DOES NOT KNOW WHERE ALL OF ITS VALVES ARE RIGHT NOW. IS THAT MONEY GOING TO BE A BAND-AID OR DO YOU THINK THIS COULD REWRITE THE FUTURE FOR THIS CITY? TED: I DO THINK IT WILL REWRITE THE WATER FUTURE. WE CAN PUT ISSUES LIKE THIS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR. DEEP-FREEZE -- CLIMATE CHANGE IS SHOWI UP IN DIFFERENT WAYS. ALMOST NO WAY TO PROTECT ALL OF

THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE SOUTHERN CITIES FROM THAT KIND OF DEEP-FREEZE. EVERYTHING WE PUT IN NEW AND REPLACE WOULD BE THINKING IN TERMS OF THIS NEEDS TO BE MORE PROTECTED AND RESILIENT TO FREEZING WEATHER BUT THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE PROBLEM ACROSS THE SOUTH IN CITIES. JACKSON, I THINK THIS INVESTMENT APPLIED WISELY WILL REWRITE THE HISTORY FOR WATER IN JACKSONVILLE. LISA: THIS HAS REALLY TRIED THE PATIENCE OF RESIDENTS IN JACKSON. HOW WOULD YOU SAY THEIR OUTLOOK IS NOW MADE ALL THE DIFFICULTIES THEY ARE STILL FACING? >> THEY HAVE BEEN STOIC THROUGH THIS. I WAS APPOINTED AT THE END OF NOVEMBER AND I HAD A COUPLE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS. VERY OPTIMISTIC AND ENCOURAGING TO HELP ME MAKE WHATEVER PROGRESS I CAN. A LITTLE CONCERNED NOW, LESS THAN ONE MONTH IN, WE HAVE A MAJOR DISASTER AROUND TYPES AND

WATER. HOPEFULLY, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE ME A BREAK AND UNDERSTAND THIS TOOK A LONG TIME TO GET HERE. I AM COMMITTED TO TRAKE BIG DIFFERENCE IN THIS FIRST YEAR. YLISA:ND M A TED OVERSEEING WATS IN THE CITY OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI. THANK YOU. TED: THANK YOU, LISA. JUDY: AS 2022 COMES TO AN END AND PRESIDENT BIDEN REACHES THE HALFWAY POINT OF HIS FIRST TERM IN OFFICE, AN AVERAGE 43 PERCENT OF AMERICANS TELL POLLSTERS THEY APPRE OF THE JOB HE IS DOING. THIS, AS THE PRESIDENT PREPARES TO FACE A NEW REALITY NEXT WEEK: A REPUBLICAN MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ IS HERE TO WALK THROUGH THIS WHITE HOUSE' CHALLENGES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO FAR AND TO LOOK AHEAD TO 2023. LAURA, HELLO. YOU COVERHE WHITE HOUSE SO YOU

ARE FAMILIAR WITH A LOT OF THIS SO LET'S START BY LOOKING BACK. FIRST TWO YEARS, WHAT WERE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THIS WHITE HOUSE? THIS IS WITH DEMOCRATIC CONTROL. LAURA: THESE FIRST TWO YEARS, FULL DEMOCRATIC CONTROL AND A NUMBER OF THE BIG TICKET WERE VOTED ALONG PARTY LINES SO DEMOCRATS PASSING THOSE FOUR. THIS INCLUDES THE BIG COVERT RESPONSE FUNDING AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PRESIDENCY. RECENTLY, THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT WHICH IS THE BIG, DEMOCRATIC WISH LIST BILL THAT HAD CLIMATE CHANGE ACTION, PRESCRIPTION DRUG REFORM, AS WELL AS A'S SUBSIDIES. SOME OF THE THINGS PRESIDENT BIDEN LOOKS TO TALK ABOUT THE MOST HIMSELF IS THE BIPARTISAN BILLS HE HAS BEEN ABLE TO PASS. SHE PROMISED SHE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO THAT. HE HAS QUITE A LONG LIST OF BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION HE HAS ENACTED. EXPANSION OF HEALTH CARE FOR VETERANS THAT WERE EXPOSED TO

BURN PITS. THE BIG BIPARTISAN FRASTRUCTURE BILL THAT WAS PASSED WITH A NUMBER OF BIG NEGOTIATIONS THAT WENT ON FOR A LONGIME. UKRAINE A, AND AN INVERTED RAIL STRIKE. THESE WERE BIG BIPARTIN BILLS AND SOMETHING THE PRESIDENT HAS REALLY TRIED TO CHAMPION AND SAY, LOOK, A LOTF PEOPLE DOUBTED THAT I COULD WORK WITH REPUBLICANS AETJUNDDY:DI Y NOW D IN THE MIDTERMS AS THE DEMOCRATS LOST THEIR NARROW MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE AND YET PRESIDENT BIDEN, SOUNDING POSITIVE ABOUT THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING AND SOUNDING POSITIVE ABOUT WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO, WHETHER HE IS GOING TO RUN AGAIN. YOU ARE TALKING TO PEOPLE INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE. LAURA: PEOPLE INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE ARE CONFIDENT. THEY HAVE PEP IN THEIR STEP AFTER THE MIDTERMS AND THEY FEEL AS THOUGH EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE ENTERING THIS NEW ARENA WITH A DIVIDED CONGRESS THAT THERE COULD BE MORE PRESSURE O

REPUBLICANS THAN ON THE ADMINISTRATION. THEY ARE GOING TO FOCUS HEAVILY ON TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY GOT ON AND IMPLEMENTING A LOT OF THOSE BIG BILLS WE WENT OVER. I WAS TALKING TO A NUMBER OF DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS TODAY INCLUDING SENATE DEMOCRATS BRIAN SCHATZ OF HAWAII AND HE TOLD ME HE THINKS HIS SUCCESS COMES DOWN TO THE FACT THAT HE ALLOWED CONGRESS TO WORK BY ITSELF AND REALLY JUST WORK AMONGST EACH OTHER AND THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN DID NOT TRY TO OVERSTEP, DID NOT TRY TO STRONG-ARM THEM TOO MUCH AND GAVE THEM ROOM TO NEGOTIATE. THE SENATOR SAID THAT THAT MAY BE AN OLDER LEGISLATIVE TACTIC THAT COMES FROM PRESIDENT BIDEN'S YEARS IN THE SENATE BUT THAT THEY THINK THAT IT WORKS. I WAS ALSO TALKING TO A WHITE HOUSE ALLY TODAY AND THEY SAID THAT INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE, WHAT THEY LOOK AT IS THAT PRESIDENT BIDEN HAS BEEN ABLE TO PASS A LOT OF BIG-TICKET ITEMS. BIPARTISAN ITEMS WITHIN HIS FIRST TWO YEARS AND THAT HAS BEEN A KEY TO SUCCESS FOR PRESIDENT THAT HAVE BEEN RELIT

-- REELECTED. JUDY: NOW THAT THEY ARE ABOUT TO FACE THIS REPUBLICAN MAJORITY, WHAT IS THE WHITE HOUSE DOING TO PREPARE TO GET READY? LAURA: THERE'LL BE A LOT OF INVESTIGATIONS WHEN HOUSE REPUBLICANS TAKE CONTROL AND THEY TALKED ABOUT INVESTIGATIONS INTO HUNTER BIDEN, TALKED ABOUT INVESTIGATIONS INTO CABINET MEMBERS. A NUMBER OF CABINET MEMBERS, AND THE REPRESENTATIVE WHO HAS PREPARED TO TAKE OVER A KEY COMMITTEE -- THEY HAD THIS TO SAY ABOUT INVESTIGATIONS. >> THIS COMMITTEE WILL EVALUATE THE STATUS FOR THE FOREIGN PARTNERS AND WHETHER HE IS A PRESIDENT WHO HAS BEEN COMPROMISED OR SWAYED BY FOREIGN DOLLARS OR INFLUENCE. I WANT TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS AN INVESTIGATION OF JOE BIDEN AND THAT IS WHERE THE COMMITTEE WILL FOCUS IN THIS NEXT CONGRESS. LAURA: IN ADDITION TO INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF, THERE'S TALK OF INVESTIGATIONS FOR THE HEAD OF THE HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS OTHER CABINET OFFICIALS AND THE WHITE

HOUSE HAS BEEN PREPARING BY DESIGNATING AN ENTIRE TEAM, HIRING MORE LEGAL COUNSEL, HIRING A SPECIFIC COMMUNICATION TEAM TO HANDLE THIS. THEY ALSO EXPEC TO ADD TO THAT TEAM EVEN MORE NEXT YEAR AND MAY ALSO HAVE TRIED TO HELP FEDERAL AGENCIES PREPARE, TELLING THEM THAT THEY NEED TO BEEF UP ON STAFF IN PREPARATION FOR ALL OF THIS OVERSIGHT THAT IS TO COME. IN THE FUTURE, THEY ARE ALSO SAYING THEY THINK THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DRAW MORE CONTRAST THAN THEY HAD IN THE PAST. THIS IS FULL DEMOCRATIC CONTROL AND NOW, IT'S GOING TO BE A SPLIT CONGRESS AND AS REPUBLICANS, NOW THAT THEY ARE IN CONTROL OF THE HOUSE, CANNOT JUST BE AN OPPOSITION PARTY. THE WHITE HOUSE THINKS THEY CAN DRAW MORE CONTRAST WITH HOUSE REPUBLICANS. JUDY: YOU TALKED TO A LOT OF PEOPLE. WHAT IS THE SENSE OF WHETHER OR NOT, GIVEN THE CHANGING MAJORITY IN THE CONGRESS, WHETHER THIS PRESIDENT IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO GET ANY SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATION PASSED FOR THE NEXT LAURA: FEW YEARS? I HEARD FROM A LOT OF

PEOPLE I TALKED TO TODAY IS THAT WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IMMIGRATION, WHAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW IS THE TITLE 42 DEPORTATION POLICY THAT WAS STARTED UNDER TRUMP IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, WHICH ALLOWS FOR THE IMMEDIATE DEPORTATION OF MIGRANTS TRYING TO SEEK ASYLUM IN THE U.S., THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE HELD IN PLACE INTO THE NEW YEAR AND THE SUPREMEOURT IS GOING TO RULE ON THAT. THE WHITE HOUSE, IN RESPONSE TO THAT THIS WEEK, CALLED ON CONGRESS ANDOUSE REPUBLICANS TO WORK WITH THEM TO TRY AND PASS COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM. THAT COULD BE A POSSIBILITY. IT IS A BIT OF A LONG SHOT. THERE'S ALSO POTENTIAL MORE LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS COMPETITIVENESS WITH CHINA. AGAIN, THE WHITE HOUSE ALLY THAT I SPOKE TO TODAY SAID THAT IF YOU LOOK AT -- THEY ARE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW THE NUMBER -- THE HANDFUL OF REPUBLICANS, ABOUT SIX THAT VOTED FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL AND 12 WHO

VOTED FOR THE CHIPS BILL, THE SEMICONDUCTOR BELL, THE HOUSE REPUBLICANS THAT ARE REMAINING IN THE HOUSE, THOSE COULD BE PEOPLE WHO COULD COULD POTENTIALLY WORK WITH THEM IN THE NEW CONGRESS. JUDY: LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ. YOU ARE GOING TO BE WATCHING IT ALL. THANKS SO MUCH. LAURA: THANK YOU. JUDY: IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST WELL-KNOWN SEX TOURISM DESTINATIONS, SEX WORKERS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND POLITICIANS ARE PART OF A GROWING MOVEMENT TO DECRIMINALIZE THE INDUSTRY. FROM THAILAND, NEWSHOUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEHA WADEKAR HAS THIS REPORT. NEHA: EVERY YEAR, THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS FLOCK TO PATTAYA CITY IN THAILAND TO ENJOY ITS WHITE SANDS, GENTLE WAVES, AND WATER SPORTS. BUT AT NIGHT, THE CITY TRANSFORMS FROM A FAMILY-FRIENDLY BEACH PARADISE INTO A RED LIGHT HAVEN, TOURISTS LOOKING FOR AN X-RATED GOOD TIME. MASSAGE PARLORS, GO-GO BARS,

BROTHELS, THE INFAMOUS RED LIGHT DISTRICT. ALTHOUGH SEX IS EVERYWHERE, SEX WORK IS STILL ILLEGAL, AND SEX WORKERS LACK THE BASIC RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS ENJOYED BY EMPLOYEES IN OTHER INDUSTRIES. A LOCAL SUPPORT GROUP CALLED SERVICE WORKERS IN GROUP, OR SWING, SEEKS TO FILL THAT GAP, OFFERING SERVICES TO MALE, FEMALE, AND TRANSGENDER SEX WORKERS. TODAY, SWING'S PATTAYA CITY MANAGER, BOBBY, EXPLAINS WHY HIS ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN SO VITAL FOR SEX WORKERS, ESPECIALLY DURING COVID. >> WHEN COVID STARTED, THERE WERE NO TOURISTS, WHICH MEANT NO CUSTOMERS. THE SEX WORKERS COULD NOT EARN ANY INCOME BECAUSE BARS WERE CLOSED. IT WAS HARD FOR THEM. NO MONEY, NO PLACE TO WORK. SOME OF THEM HAD TO GO BACK HOME TO THE COUNTRYSIDE AND WAIT

UNTIL PATTAYA GOT SOME TOURISTS BACK. IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT MONEY, BUT ALSOHE EFFECTS ON HEALTH. SOME OF SEX WORKERS HAD STRESS SYMPTOMS AND ANXIETY ATTACKS AROUND HOW TO SURVIVE HERE. IT WAS A HARD TIME. NEHA: BEFORE COVID, BOBBY ESTIMATES THAT SWING PATTAYA SUPPORTED AROUND 15,000 SEX WORKERS. SINCE THE PANDEMIC, THAT NUMBER HAS DROPPED TO JUST 4000. DURING THE PANDEMIC, THAILAND CLOSED ITS BORDERS. BARS, CLUBS, AND MASSAGE PARLORS TOOK A TWO-YEAR HIT, SHUTTERED UNTIL JULY OF THIS YEAR. TO MAKE IT WORSESEX WORKERS DID NOT QUALIFY FOR GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE BENEFITS OR FINANCIAL SUPPORT BECAUSE THE INDUSTRY IS ILLEL. 38-YEAR-OLD NUCHADA TASEE IS VOLUNTEERING AT SWING. SHE USUALLY OFFERS HER CLIENTS "SPECIAL MASSAGES," A NORMAL MASSAGE, PLUS SEXUAL BENEFITS. TASEE USED TO WORK IN A FACTORY UNTIL A FRIEND TOLD HER HOW MUCH

MORE MONEY SHE COULD MAKE AS A SPECIAL MASSEUSE. WITH TWO YOUNG SONS AND AN AGING MOTHER DEPENDING ON HER, TASEE NEEDED THE MONEY. >> I DON'T LIKE THIS WORK THAT MUCH, BUT I EARN SO MUCH MORE MONEY THAN WORKING IN THE FACTORY. THIS WORK COMES WITH HIGH RISKS, ESPECIALLY DISEASES. CONDOMS BREAK OR GET LOST. SOMETIMES, A CUSTOMER TAKES IT OFF. I DON'T LIKE IT, BUT I CAN STILL HANDLE IT. WITH THESE KINDS OF INCIDENTS, I NEED TO TAKE HIV PREVENTION MEDICINE, WHICH IS QUITE EXPENSIVE. NEHA: SEX WORKERS LIKE TASEE FACE HIGHER-THAN-AVERAGE RISKS OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AND UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES. SWING PROVIDES THEM WITH CRITICAL HEALTHCARE SERVICES. THE OUTREACH PROGRAM SETS UP A MOBILE TESTING TRUCK. IT PARKS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY AND OFFERS CONSULTATIONS AND HOSPITAL REFERRALS, AS WELL AS FREE TESTING FOR HIV AND SYPHILIS.

A FEW HOURS LATER, ANOTHER SWING TRUCK SETS UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT. ANNA, A 37-YEAR-OLD TRANSGENDER SEX WORKER, HELPS SWING HAND OUT THE PRE-PREPARED FOOD BAGS. THE LINE BEHIND THE TRUCK GROWS QUICKLY. AND IN JUST 15 MINUTES, THE VOLUNTEERS HAND OUT HUNDREDS OF BAGS OF FOOD AND RICE. IT'S A LIFELINE FOR SEX WORKERS WHO ARE OFTEN NOT ABLE TO AFFORD EVEN BASIC GOODS. LATER, IT'S TIME FOR ANNA TO GO TO WORK. SHE INVITES US BACK TO HER APARTMENT TO CHAT AS SHE GETS READY. AS A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY, ANNA WORKED A LOW-PAYING FACTORY JOB. AFTER SHE TRANSITIONED, SHE WANTED TO PURSUE HER DREAM OF BECOMING A CABARET DANCER. SHE TRAVELED TO THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT, SAW SEX WORK EVERYWHERE, AND BEGAN DOING IT HERSELF TO EARN A LIVING. >> BECAUSE AROUND THE WORLD CALL THAILAND.

THAILAND IS FACTORY OF SEX WORKER. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GO TO THAILAND AND YOU NOT SEE SEX WORKER, SAME AS YOU GO TO KFC AND YOU NEVER SEE FRIED CHICKEN. NEHA: AFTER YEARS WORKING IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT, ANNA KNOWS ALL ABOUT THE RISKS AND CHALLENGES OF SEX WORK. >> SOMETIMES CUSTOMERS STEAL MY MONEY. SOMETIMES I GET SOME VIOLENCE, I -- WHEN I GO TO POLICE STATION , THEY MUST HELP ME. AND THEY NOT HELP ME BECAUSE MY JOB. BECAUSE WHAT I WORK. BECAUSE I WORK ILLEGAL WORK HERE IN THAILAND. NEHA: ANNA IS ONE OF THE PEOPLE FIGHTING TO LEGALIZE SEX WORK. TO HER, A SEX WORKER IS MUCH THE SAME AS A GIG WORKER OR A CONSTRUCTION WORKER, AND DESERVES THE SAME RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS. >> IF HAVE A GOOD ECONOMY, NOBODY WANT TO COME INTO SEX WORKER LIFE. I WANT SEX WORK BECOME TO LIKE, LEGAL WORK.

I WANT WORK EQUALITY. HUMAN EQUALITY. GENDER EQUALITY. EVERYONE IS LIKE A HUMAN, HUMAN RIGHTS. NEHA: PATTAYA ISN'T THE ONLY CITY KNOWN FOR SEX WORK. IT'S ALSO RAMPANT IN THAILAND'S CAPITAL, BANGKOK. SEX WORK BECAME ILLEGAL IN THAILAND ONLY IN 1960, AND ADVOCATES BELIEVE LEGALIZING IT AGAIN WOULD GIVE SEX WORKERS ACCESS TO GOVERNENT BENEFITS, LEGITIMACY, AND PROTECTION AGAINST SOCIAL STIGMA. WE'RE HERE IN PATPONG, THE HEART OF BANGKOK'S RED LIGHT DISTRICT. SEX IS EVERYWHERE HERE, BUT IT'S STILL ILLEGAL, WHICH IS WHY POLITICIANS, ACTIVISIT AND SEX WORKERS ARE FIGHTING SO HARD TO DECRIMINALIZE THE PRACTICE. HERE AT THE THAI PARLIAMENT, POLITICIANS ARE DRAFTING LEGISLATION FOR A VISION OF LEGALIZED SEX WORK BASED ON SIMILAR LAWS PASSED IN COUNTRIES LIKE GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS. TUNYAWAJ KAMOLWONGWAT OF THE MOVE FORWARD PARTY IS ONE OF THE POLITICIANS FIGHTING FOR THIS IN

THE HALLS OF POWER. HIS BILL REGULATES THE REGISTRATION, HEALTHCARE AND WELFARE OF SEX WORKERS. IT ALSO OUTLINES HOW THE INDUSTRY WILL BE TAXED, AND WHERE IT CAN BE ADVERTISED. >> IT HAS TO AWAY FROM THE CHILDREN. THE PLACE FOR ADVERTISE. NEHA: KAMOLWONGWAT'S NEXT STEP IS TO GET THE BILL THROUGH COMMITTEE. IT'S NO SMALL FEAT IN A COUNTRY WITH CONSERVATIVE POLITICIANS, RELIGIOUS LEADERS, AND CITIZENS OPPOSED TO T IDEA. ONE OF THAAND'S MOST VOCAL OPPONENTS IS SANPHASIT KOOMPRAPHANT. HE'S THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE THAILAND ANTI-TRAFFICKING ALLIANCE. WHILE KOOMPRAPHANT BELIEVES SEX WORK SHOULD BE DECRIMINALIZED, HE DOESN'T SUPPORT LEGALIZATION, BECAUSE HE THINKS IT WILL ENCOURAGE PROSTITUTION AND EMBOLDEN SEX TRAFFICKERS. >> THE SEX WORKER BUSINESS DOES NOT CREATE WEALTH. IT'S CONSUMPTION WITH NOTHING IN

RETURN. THE EXPENSES PAID OUT IN HEALTHCARE AND WELFARE FOR PEOPLE IN THIS INDUSTRY ARE HIGH. THE ONES WHO BENEFIT MOST FROM LEGALIZATION ARE THE CUSTOMERS. IT'S SEXUAL EXPLOITATION. >> EVERYONE CAN WORK WHAT THEY WANT TO WORK BECAUSE MY BODY, MY CHOICE. I CAN DO WHAT I WANT. AND I NOT DISTURB ANYONE, AND I NOT MAKE ANYONE GET HURT FROM MY WORK. NEHA: ANNA MEETS UP WITH HER FRIENDS IN THE RED LIGHT DISTRICT. MANY OF THEM ARE SEX WORKERS WHO MIGRATED ILLEGALLY FROM NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES LIKE CAMBODIA OR LAOS. THEY HAVE EVEN FEWER PROTECTIONS THAN THAI SEX WORKERS. IF ABUSED BY A CLIENT, OR HARASSED BY THE POLICE, THEY HAVE NOWHERE TO TURN. THE BATTLE TO DECRIMINALIZE OR EVEN LEGALIZE SEX WORK CONTINUES. FOR ANNA, AND SO MANY OTHER SEX WORKERS, LEGALIZATION WILL MAKE THEIR WORK IN THE STREETS SAFER

AND EASIER, HELPING THEM EARN THEY MONEY THEY SO DESPERATELY NEED TO IMPROVE THEIR VES. FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR, I'M NEHA WADEKAR, IN BANGKOK, THAILAND. JUDY: THE PUSH FOR LEGALIZING MARIJUANA AT THE STATE LEVEL GAINED MORE MOMENTUM I2022. THIS FALL, FOR EXAMPLE, MISSOURI APPROVED LEGALIZATION FOR RECREATIONAL USE, MAKING IT THE 21ST STATE TO DO SO. TO GET A SENSE OF THE CHANGING PICTURE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, I SPOKE RECENTLY WITH OUR COMMUNITIES CORRESPONDENTS ABOUT THIS. GABRIELLE HAYES IN MISSOURI, ADAM KEMP IN OHIO AND FRANCIS KAI-HWA WONG IN MICHIGAN. I STARTED BY ASKING GABBY ABOUT THE KEY ELEMENTS OF THE NEW LAW IN MISSOURI. GABRIELLE: IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT BACK IN NOVEMBER, THIS AMENDMENT PASSED WITH 53% OF

PEOPLE VOTING YES. IT ESTABLISHES A LOT OF THINGS. FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE KNOW THAT IT ESTABLISHES A LOTTERY PROCESS WHERE THAT WILL SORT OF BE THE MECHANISM FOR PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO BE AWARDED LICENSES. WE KNOW THAT THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA LICENSES WILL KIND OF GET FIRST DIBS FOR BEING ABLE TO SELL AS EARLY AS NEXT YEAR. THE AMENDMENT ALSO ESTABLISHES A 6% TAX, SO THE STATE HAS ALREADY ESTIMATED THAT THEY BELIEVE OR EXPECT TO SEE AS MUCH AS $40 MILLION BEING GENERATED ANNUALLY FROM THIS AMENDMENT GOING INTO EFFECT. WITH THAT MONEY -- WHAT THAT MONEY IS GOING TO BE USED FOR VARIOUS. ONE THING OF NOTE THAT A LOT OF PELE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IS THE PROCESS OF EXPUNGEMENT. THE AMENDMENT ALLOWS FOR PEOPLE WITH CERTAIN NONVIOLENT

MARIJUANA OFFENSES TO HAVE THEIR RECORDS EXPUNGED INTO A PETITION FOR RELEASE. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE KEY THINGS. EVERYTHING FROM TAXES TO WHAT THE MONEY WILL BE USED FOR AND WHAT IS IN THE LEGISLATION. JUDY: YOU WERE TELLING US DIFFERENT REACTIONS AROUND THE STATE. TELL US HOW STATE AND LOCAL LEADERS ARE WEIGHING IN ON THIS. GABRIELLE: WE HAVE HAD SOME MIXED REACTIONS ACROSS THE STATE. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME OUT FOR THE AMENDMENT, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED IT, INCLUDING KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, MAYOR QUENTIN LUCAS, WHO SAID HE WOULD VOTE YES FOR IT BUT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STATE IN SANDERS, WE HAVE MAYOR JONES WHO IS FOR LEGALIZATION BUT BROUGHT UP THE POINT OF EQUITY AND WANTING IT TO BE AN EQUITABLE PROCESS. JUDY: LET'S TURN TO ADAM IN OKLAHOMA. WE KNOW OKLAHOMA LEGALIZED MEDICAL MARIJUANA FOUR YEARS AGO IN 2018. TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE

IMPACT THAT HAS HAD AND WHERE THINGS GO FROM HERE IN OKLAHOMA. ADAM: OKLAHOMA HAS EXPERIENCED A BIT OF A GREEN RUSH IN THE YEARS SINCE MEDICAL MARIJUANA WAS LEGALIZED. MORE THAN 7000 GROW OPERATIONS HAVE POPPED UP HERE IN THE STATE AND 2600 DISPENSARIES WHICH IS MORE THAN CALIFORNIA AND COLORADO HAVE COMBINED. THAT IS DUE IN LARGE PART TO THE VERY LOW START UP COSTS IT TAKES TO OBTAIN YOUR MARIJUANA BUSINESS LICENSE IN OKLAHOMA. IT IS $2500 IN THE STATE COMPARED TO ARKANSAS, JUST FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S $100,000 TO START IT. ALL THAT SAID, OKLAHOMA IN MARCH IS GOING TO HAVE A STATEWIDE QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER TO LEGALIZE RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA. RIGHT NOW, IT IS JUST BUSINESS IS BOOMING IN OKLAHOMA FOR MARIJUANA. JUDY: I FOLLOW OKLAHOMA POLITICS. I WAS BORN IN THE STATE. WE KNOW IT HAS BEEN FAIRLY CONSERVATIVE POLITICALLY.

HAS THERE BEEN PUSHBACK TO THE LAW FROM THE GOVERNO OR THE STATE LAWMAKERS? ADAM: GOVERNOR STITT INHERITED THE PASSAGE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA. HE BECAME GOVERNOR AS IT WAS PAST SO HE HAS SPOKEN A LOT ABOUT THE NEED TO KINDA FIND TUNE THE SYSTEM AND EVERYTHING AND HE HAS SAID THAT HE HIMSELF PERSONALLY OPPOSES RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA AND WILL PERSONALLY VOTE AGAINST IT BUT THIS IS A STATE QUESTION SO IF IT PASSES, IT WILL BECOME THE LAW OF THE LAND. THE REST OF THE STATE SEEMS TO BE VERY ONBOARD BOARD WITH RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA. IT IS POLLING RIGHT NOW VERY WELL. IT IS AHEAD OF, YOU KNOW, THE NO VOTE AT THE MOMENT, AND IT'S ALSO PROBABLY THE BEST SHOW OF ITS POPULARITY IN THE STATE, MORE THAN 10% OF ALL OKLAHOMANS HAVE A MEDICINAL MARIJUANA LICENSE. JUDY: IT IS SO INTERESTING ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED THERE. I WANT TO TURN TO MICHIGAN.

FRANCIS, WE KNOW MICHIGAN APPROVED MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN 2008 AND RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA 10 YEARS LATER IN 2018. HOW HAS THAT BEEN GOING? FRANCIS: MICHIGAN IS THE FOURTH LARGEST MARIJUANA MARKET IN THE COUNTRY. IN THE FIRST 11 MONTHS OF 2022, MICHIGAN HAS ALREADY HAD $2.1 BILLION IN MEDICAL AND ADULT USE RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA SALES. ECONOMISTS ESTIMATE THAT ONCE THE INDUSTRY IS FULLY SET UP AND MATURE, CANNABIS WILL BE A $3 BILLION INDUSTRY, BRINGING IN $500 MILLION IN STATE TAXES PER YEAR, CREATING 24,000 JOBS UP AND DOWN THE SUPPLY CHAIN, AND HAVING A TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF $7.85 BILLION. JUDY: YOU WERE TELLING US THE CANNABISNDUSTRY IS FACING SOME CHALLENGES GOING FORWARD. FRANCIS: ALTHOUGH MARIJUANA IS LEGAL AT THE STATE LEVEL, BECAUSE IT REMAINS A SEDULE A IS

ILLEGAL AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, MANY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ARE UNWILLING TO RISK WORKING WITH CANNABIS BUSINESSES SO LEGAL CANNABIS BUSINESSES HAVE TO FIND LOCAL BANKS AND CREDIT UNIONS WILLING TO WORK WITH THEM. JUDY: REALLY INTERESTING. SO MUCH MORE GOING ON THAN MOST OF US CERTAINLY REALIZED AROUND THE COUNTRY. SO GOOD TO HAVE THESE REPORTS FROM THE THREE OF YOU. FRANCIS, ADAM, AND GABBY, THANK YOU ALL. ACTIVISTS REJECT, ARE FIGHTING TO SHINE A SPOTLIGHT ON A PAINFUL MOMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY. BENEDICT MORAN. BENEDICT: THREE MILES FROM THE CENTER OF SAVANNAH SITS THIS

NONDESCRIPT PLOT OF LAND. THOUSANDS OF CARS DRIVE BY IT WITHOUT NOTICE EVERY DAY, BUT THESE TREES MASK A DARK HISTORY. IT WAS NEAR HERE, MORE THAN 150 YEARS AGO THAT THE LARGEST SINGLE AUCTION OF ENSLAVED PEOPLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES WAS HELD. THE SALE WAS ADVERTISED IN NEWSPAPERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND, OVER THE COURSE OF TWO DAYS IN 1859, MORE THAN 400 CHILDREN, WOMEN, AND MEN WERE SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, TO SETTLE THE GAMBLING DEBTS OF A WEALTHY PLANTATION OWNER. ACCORDING TO NEWS ARTICLES OF THE TIME, RAIN FELL AS THOUGH THE HEAVENS WERE CRYING. THIS EVENT BECAME KNOWN AS THE WEEPING TIME. UNTIL RECENTLY, THE TRAGEDY WAS FORGOTTEN, UNKNOWN EVEN TO THOSE WHO LIVED CLOSEBY. LARRY GORDON IS THE PASTOR OF THE SOLOMON TEMPLE CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST, LOCATED JUST DOWN THE STREET. HE SAYS, FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE, HE HAD NEVER HEARD OF THE INFAMOUS AUCTION. BENEDICT: -- LARRY: IN 2006, WE FOUND OUT THAT THIS IS THE AREA

WHERE THEY SOLD THE MOST SLAVES IN UNITED STATES HISTORY. I GREW UP IN THIS AREA, TWO BLOCKS DOWN, AND I PLAYED IN THIS AREA, AND IT BLEW MY MIND. BENEDICT: TODAY, HE LEADS A COALITION OF NEIGHBORS, WHICH HOPES TO CREATE A MEMORIAL HERE, SO PEOPLE ACROSS THE NATION MAY LEARN ABOUT THIS PAINFUL PAST. LARRY: I WAS TRYING TO PRESERVE THIS AREA AND GIVE THOSE WEEPING TIME SLAVES A VOICE. BENEDICT: BUT THE CITY OF SAVANNAH HAS OTHER PLANS. LAST YEAR, CITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZED THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HOMELESS SHELTER HERE. IT COMMISSIONED AN ARCHEOLOGICAL STUDY, WHICH CONCLUDED, THIS ISN'T PRECISELY WHERE THE AUCTION HAPPENED. CITY OFFICIALS SAY IF A MEMORIAL IS TO BE BUILT, IT SHOULD BE DONE ON THE EXACT LOCATION WHERE THE AUCTION ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE. THAT'S HERE, BEHIND THE GATES OF A PRIVATELY HELD PLYWOOD FACTORY. REVEREND LEONARD SMALL WORKS WITH PASTOR GORDON, BRINGING THE CAMPAIGN TO SOCIAL MEDIA. THEY SUED THE CITY TO BLOCK THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HOMELESS

SHELTER. HE SAYS, THE ENTIRE AREA IS SACRED. >> THIS LAND IS THE LAND THAT THEY'RE SAYING HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH A WEEPING TIME SALE. THIS AREA WAS THE ENTRANCE FOR THE ELITE. THIS AREA IS INTIMATELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SALE. BENEDICT: WHAT SHOULD BE REMEMBERED AND COMMEMORATED IN PUBLIC SPACES. BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, SAVANNAH BECOME ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST CITIES IN AMERICA, LARGELY BECAUSE OF COTTON, GROWN AND PICKED BY ENSLAVED PEOPLE. BUT WALK THE STREETS OF THE CITY TODAY, OR TAKE A RIDE IN ITS FAMOUS TROLLEY TOURS, AND YOU'LL SEE FEW MEMORIALS TO TT PAST. THAT'S WHY MANY WANT TO PUT THE SITE OF THE WEEPING TIME SLAVE AUCTION ON THE MAP. LARRY: THE LARGEST SLAVE SALE IS IMPORTANT NOT JUST BECAUSE OF

THE NUMBERS, BUT IS BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING THAT ALLOWS US TO SEE THE INTENSITY OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. BENEDICT: KWESI DE GRAAS HANSSON IS A GEOGRAPHER WHO HELPED DISCOVER THE LOCATION OF THE WEEPING TIME AUCTION SITE. HE SAYS,HE WEEPING TIME IS PART OF A HIDDEN, SILENT, AND SOMETIMES ERAS LANDSCAPE OF SLAVERY IN THE SOUTH. LARRY: MANY PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE, IF WE DRIVE THE STREETS OF SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, THOSE STREETS WERE CARVED OUT OF PINE GROVES BY ENSLAVED PEOPLE. WE ARE ALL BENEFITING FROM THEIR LABOR AND THEY DESERVE O HONOR. BENEDICT: THAT MEANS, TELLING THE FULL STORY OF SAVANNAH'S PAST. >> THIS TOUR IS ABOUT TRUTH TELLING, RECONCILIATION, HEALING , AND REPAIR. BENEDICT: PATT GUNN RUNS UNDERGROUND TOURS, WHICH SHE SAYS, TRIES TO GIVE TOURISTS THE FULL TRUTH ABOUT SAVANNAH'S HISTORY. ON A RECENT MORNING IN OCTOBER, GUNN GUIDED A GROUP OF TOURISTS ON A WALKING TOUR OF THE CITY. >> AWE TAKE THIS TO A BLOCK WALK, YOU WILL FIND ZERO MARKERS ON SLAVERY, NO MARKERS BY THE

CITY OF SAVANNAH, LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED. BENEDICT: THE GROUP VISITED CAVERNS UNDER BAY STREET WHERE GUNN SAYS ENSLAVED AFRICANS WERE LIKELY KEPT BEFORE BEING SOLD, AND A SQUARE WHERE MANY BANKS PROFITED FROM SLAVERY. >> THEY CREATED EIGHT BANKS IN THE SQUARE. AND THOSE EIGHT BANKS TRANSFERRED BY ASSIGNMENT, ARE STILL EXISTING. BENEDICT: THE 2015 SHOOTING OF CHURCHGOERS IN NEIGHBORING SOUTH CAROLINA UNLEASHED A NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SYSTEMIC RACISM, AND AN EFFORT TO REMOVE MANY PUBLIC SYMBOLS OF THE CONFEDERACY. PAT GUNN LEADS A MOVEMENT TO CHANGE THE NAME OF ONE OF THE CITY'S 22 HISTORIC SQUARES, WHICH, SINCE 1851, WAS NAMED AFTER JOHN C. CALHOUN, HE WAS A AND A FIERCE DEFENDER OF SLAVERY WHO ALSO ADVOCATED FOR THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF NATIVE AMERICANS. DURING A HEATED PUBLIC COMMENT SESSION, SAVANNAH RESIDENTS CAME

OUT IN SUPPORT OF THE NAME CHANGE. >> I CANNOT IMAGINE HOW ANYONE WOULD WANT TO CONTINUE TO HONOR CALHOUN IN OUR CITY. >> IT SHOULD BE JUST THAT SIMPLE. IT IS JUST TIME TO DO THIS. BENEDICT: OTHERS DEFENDED CALHOUN, CALLING FOR THE CITY TO KEEP THE NAME. >> TRYING TO CHANGE IT TO ME IS AN INSULT TO MY HERITAGE. MY FAMILY'S HERITAGE, AND THE CITY'S HERITAGE. BENEDICT: SAVANNAH MAYOR VAN JOHNSON SAYS, RENAMING THE CALHOUN SQUARE, AND MEMORIALIZING THE WEEPING TIME, IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO REWRITE HISTORY. IT'S RATHER AN EFFORT TO EXPAND IT, TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE OF SAVANNAH'S PAST. ULTIMATELY OUR GOAL IS TO , MAKE SURE SAVANNAH'S ENTIRE STORY IS TOLD. SOME PEOPLE ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT OLD MONUMENTS. I WANT TO CREATE NEW MOVEMENTS. BENEDICT: JOHNSON SAYS A MEMORIAL TO THE WEEPING TIME SLAVE AUCTION SHOULD BE BUILT, ST NOT ON THE SITE WHERE THE HOMELESS SHELTER WILL BE. MY GOAL WILL BE TO CONTINUALLY -- >> MY GOAL WILL BE TO COINUALLY TRY TO SEEK OUT A WAY TO ALLOW FOR SOME PUBLIC

ACCESS TO THIS PRIVATE SPACE TO CONSTRUCT A SIGNIFICANT MEMORIAL TO WHAT HAPPENED IN SAVANNAH ON THE DAYS. BENEDICT: MEMORIAL PROPONENTS WANT A PLACE WRE DESCENDANTS OF THOSE WHO WERE SOLD CAN COME TO REMEMBER. ONLY THE FIRST NAMES OF THE VICTIMS OF THE SALE WERE RECORDED. GEORGE, SUE, AND THEIR CHILDREN, GEORGE JUNIOR, AND HARRY, SOLD FOR $620 EACH. NOT EVEN INFANTS WERE SPARED. HANNAH WAS JUST THREE MONTHS OLD WHEN SHE WAS SOLD. >> IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE, THE AMERICAN FAMILY, SAVE THIS SITE SO THAT THERE CAN BE A PLACE OF REFLECTION, CONTEMPLATION, AND CONSECRATION. IT IS UNCONSCIONABLE TO ME THAT IN 2022, IN A CITY THAT IS MAJORITY AFRICAN-AMERICAN, WE WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT TO SAVE THIS THING. BENEDICT: FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR,

I'M BENEDICT MORAN, IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA. JUDY: ONE NEW DEVELOPMENT TO REPORT. SINCE THIS STORY WAS FILED, THE SAVANNAH CITY COUNCIL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO REMOVE THE NAME OF "CALHOUN SQUARE." THE SAVANNAH MAYOR SAID THE CITY WILL NOW BEGIN SEARCHING FOR A NEW NAME FOR THE UNNAMED SQUARE, ASKING CITIZENS TO WEIGH IN WITH THEIR IDEAS. FRANZISKA TRAUTMANN IS THE FOUNDER AND CEO OF "GLASS HALF FULL," A RECYCLING COMPANY THAT CONVERTS GLASS INTO SAND FOR COASTAL RESTORATION PROJECTS AND DISASTER RELIEF. TONIGHT, SHE SHARES HER "BRIEF BUT SPECTACULAR TAKE" ON WHAT SHE CALLS "GLASSROOTS" RECYCLING. >> WHEN YOU THROW SOMETHING AWAY, WHERE IS "AWAY?" THAT IS SOMETHING WE LIKE TO ASK PEOPLE BECAUSE AS A SOCIETY, WE

HAVE LOST TOUCH WITH UNDERSTANDING WHERE OUR WASTE IS GOING. DO YOU KNOW IF IT IS ACTUALLY BEING RECYCLED AND IF SO, WHAT IS IT BEING TURNED INTO AND WHERE DOES IT GO AFTER THAT? I GREW UP IN A SORT OF RURAL PART OF LOUISIANA, A SMALL TOWN, AND WE STILL DO NOT HAVE CURBSIDE RECYCLING WHERE I GREW .SUP THOO UGHT THINGS MIGHT BE BETTER BECAUSE IT IS A BIGGER CITY. THEY HAVE A BIT MORE RESOURCES, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. TURNING THE FRUSTRATION THAT WE HAD INTO ACTION ULTIMATELY HAPPENED OVER A BOTTLE OF WINE ONE NIGHT THAT WE KNEW WOULD END UP IN THE LANDFILL AND THE MORE WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW OUR WASTE AND ACTIONS WERE CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ISSUE, THE MORE FIRED UP WE GOT ABOUT MAKING A CHANGE AND MAKING SOMETHING HAPPEN BECAUSE WE NO LONGER WANTED TO BE PART OF THE PROBLEM. WE WANTED TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. GLASS HALF-FULL STARTED IN THE SPRING OF BECAUSE OF MY CHEMICAL ENGINEERING BACKGROUND, I DID

NOT -- I KNEW THERE MUST BE A WAY TO TURN GLASS BACK INTO SAND, WHICH THERE IS. SAND IS A RESOURCE THAT CAN BE UTILIZED INHIS CITY. WE USE IT FODISASTER RELIEF, COASTAL RESTORATION, CONSTRUCTION, LANDSCAPING, FLOORING, AND NOW, INSTEAD OF GLASS GOING TO THE LANDFILL, WE ARE ABLE TO TURN IT INTO A USABLE PRODUCT THAT BENEFITS OUR COMMUNITY AND WE NOW RECYCLE OVER 100,000 POUNDS OF GLASS EVERY SINGLE MONTH. THE MAIN WAY WE WERE ABLE TO START WAS JUST BY STARTING SMALL AND WE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY AND WE GREW STEP-BY-STEP FROM THAT SMALL BACKYARD INTO A 40,000 SQUARE-FOOT FACILITY. ONCE WE COLLECT THE GLASS AND IT REACHES OUR FACILITY, WE WILL PUT INTO WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL GLASS MOUNTAIN AND FROM THERE, WE WILL PICK IT UP WITH THE FRONT-END LOADER THAT CAN LOAD OUR PULVERIZING MACHINE AND WE ARE LEFT WITH A PRETTY CLEAN SAND PRODUCT WE CAN SIFT INTO DIFFERENT SIZES. EACH SIZE HAS A DIFFERENT

UTILIZATION SO THE FINEST SAND IS REALLY GOOD FOR SANDBAGS. THE COURSE SAND IS FOR COASTAL RESTORATION AND PROTECTION PRODUCTS. WE JUST KEEP SENDING TRASH TO THE LANDFILL WHERE IT IS NEVER GOING TO DECOMPOSE, IT IS NEVER GOING TO DO ANY GOOD. THAT IS GETTING US NOWHERE. IF WE ARE ABLE TO TURN THAT WASTE INTO A ROURCE THAT CAN FIGHT OUR COASTAL EROSION ISSUES AND PROTECT OUR COASTS WHICH IS ERODING AT AN ALARMING RATE, IT FEELS LIKE A NO-BRAINER. THIS IS MY BRIEF BUT SPECTACULAR TAKE ON GLASS ROOTS RECYCLING. JUDY: A REMINDER OF WHAT ONE PERSON WITH A PASSION CAN GET DONE AND YOU CAN WATCH MORE VIDEOS ONLINE AT PBS.G/NEWSHOUR/BRIEF. PEOPLE LEAVING PRISON SAY THEY FACE DAUNTING BARRIERS IN FULFILLING THEIR SECOND CHANCES. YOU CAN LEARN MORE ON OUR

WEBSITE, PBS.ORG/NEWSHOUR. THAT IS THE NEWSHOUR FOR TONIGHT. I AM JUDY WOODRUFF. JOIN US ONLINE AND AGAIN HERE TOMORROW EVENING. FOR ALL OF US. PLEASE THEY SAY. AND WE WILL SEE SOON -- PLEASE STAY SAFE AND WE SEE YOU SOON. >> MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY -- >> CONSUMER CELLULAR HELPS PEOPLE COMMUNICATE AND CONNECT. OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM CAN FIND ONE THAT FITS YOU. TO LEARN MORE, VISIT CONSUMERCELLULAR.TV. >> AND WITH THE ONGOING SRT OF THESE INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS. AND FRIENDS OF THE NEWSHOUR, INCLUDING JIM AND NANCY, AND KATHY AND PAUL ANDERSON. >> THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO CHANGE THE WORLD. STARTUPS HAVE THIS ENERGY THAT ENERGIZES ME. I AM THRIVING BY HELPING OTHERS EVERY DAY. PEOPLE WHO KNOW KNOW BDO. >> THE FORD FOUNDATION, WORKING WITH VISIONARIES ON THE FRONT

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to Amanpour & Company. Tonight we're bringing you some of our favorite interviews of the year around climate, the existential challenge of our times. Here's what's coming up, a conversation with premier television naturalist, David Attenborough, who's documented profound changes in our environment for seven decades. Al ahead, the American politician who put climate change at the top of the agenda. lter Isaacson speaks with former US Vice President Al Gore. Plus filmmaker Dan Edge documents the making of a climate coverup in his frontline series, the Power of Big O. And finally, how musical artist Carole King went from natural woman to natural activist. [calm intense music]