♪ john: tonight on pbs news weekend, why recruiting and america's confidence in the u.s. military are both lagging. then, the fight over oklahoma's aproval of the nation's first publicly funded religious school. and how the closure of a small city's sugar beet processing plant is disrupting farmers and the community. >> there ain't much you can do about it. it's a corporate decision. and a crappy corporate decision. but that's just the way life works. my biggest concern is the employees. everybody that works there. ♪ >> major funding for pbs news

weekend has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, this is sam. how may i help you? >> this is pocket dial. >> with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contbutions to your pbs station from viewers like you.

thank you. john: good evening, i'm john yang. the death toll from the maui wildfire keeps climbing. it now stands at 93, the most people killed by any u.s. wildfire in a more than a century. hawaii governor josh green surveyed the damage with fema head deanne criswell and warned that the number of dead will grow. he said the search for bodies will take time. >> we have to go with caution. there are heavy metals there. there are toxic states where the houses have come down and the businesses have come down. the recommendations are to avoid those structures because they can still fall on people. and we've lost too much life already. john: the maui chief of police said that so far only 3% of the burned area has been searched. he said the pace should pick up as more help arrives. amid the search for the dead, there are tales of survival and trauma. one family escaped the flames by jumping into the ocean and

staying there for 5 hours. as survivors told of their ordeals, the pain of not being able to save others was evident. >> i saw one friend dead on the ground like a piece of charcoal, like pompeii almost, just dead. i mean, there's nothing you could do. it was that fast. john: to help the some 4,500 people who need shelter, officials said that so far they've secured 500 hotel rooms. in china, it's heavy rains that are causing problems. in western china, a mudslide and flash flood left at least 21 people dead. chinese officials said a highway was damaged and power knocked out. searchers were looking for 6 people reported missing. in ukraine, russian shelling killed 7 people today in the southern region of kherson. ukraine's internal affairs ministry reported that among the dead were four members of one family: a newborn, her parents, and her 12-year-old brother. and in the black sea, a russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo ship.

it's the first time russia has fired on a merchant vessel since pulling out of a deal that allowed ukraine to export grain shipments through the black sea. and last night was peak viewing all over the world for the annual perseid meteor shower. the moon was just a slim crescent, so in places without much light pollution or cloud cover, meteors could be seen streaking across the sky at a rate of one a minute. it's not too late to catch the celestial show. there will be some stragglers tonight and early this week. still to come on "pbs news weekend" -- a rural community is forced to adjust when the main customer for its farmers' crop shuts down. and the court battle over the approval of the nation's first publicly-funded religious school. ♪ >> this is pbs news weekend from weta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour weeknights on pbs. john: today's u.s. armed forces

face a number of challenges, from how to support ukrainian forces in the war against russia, fend off sophisticated cyber attacks, and counter china's growing military might. as ali rogin reports, just as important as these global challenges are the issues the military faces at home. correspondent: the all volunteer military has reached crisis levels of liver treatment, while at the same time the american public's perception of the armed forces is increasingly divided. a recent poll found confidence in the u.s. military is at its lowest level in more than two decades. only 60% of people said they had confidence in the u.s. military. some military branches are falling short of their yearly were reading goals by the thousands. the army is said to fall 15,000 recruits short this year. matthew is a writer for advice and has covered the military and its relationship with the public for the last decade. why are we seeing this record low confidence in the military? >> i think there are a lot of

different reasons. probably the biggest one right now, this immediate drop is the end of the war in afghanistan, withdrawal from it and how quickly the taliban was able to retake it. there were a lot of bad objects and terrifying stories that have been in the wake of it, and when america loses a war, confidence in the military goes down. there are a lot of culture war issues brewing around the military, and only 1% of the american population serves in the all volunteer force, and that creates a disconnect. correspondent: that is a good segue to my next question, which is what about these low recruitment levels. what is leading to them? >> a lot of different things. one is that the recruitment standards are pretty high. only around 23% of youth ages 17 to 24 can meet the standards for

the military. the reasons why are all over the place. there are fitness standards people cannot meet. there are weird things like visible tattoos on the head or the neck or the hands can often keep people out. past criminal records, no matter how minor, and a big one now is drug use. i am not talking about just marijuana, which is legal in many states but will prevent you from joining. also things people take for their mental health, a bione being adhd medication. if you have been on a stimulant in the past 24 months you have to get a wver or they do not want you to join. correspondent: is it the case that more and more people are using these medications who might have otherwise been good to the military? is that what is happening here? >> absolutely, there are a lot of people who smoke marijuana casually, do not have a problem with it and would be fine active service members.

if they change the recruitment standards, then they would get a lot more recruits. you are seeing slackening in some places. the air force recently lifted the ban on visible tattoos. people can have tattoos on their hands annex and be able to join just fine. correspondent: in terms of confidence in the institution, and how much does your reporting show military leaders are paying attention to this and are looking at ways to address it? is it something that they are actively thinking about on a routine basis? >> military leadership is incredibly aware of this. i would say readiness around recruitment and the lack of confidence in the american military feed back into each other and has become a big culture war issue in the country. they are constantly talking on capitol hill about what they need to do, what they need to change, what they need to address to get people more involved in the military, get the recruits they need, and to

prove to the american public that its military is ready for the fight, the power competition taking over the planet. correspondent: the military is trying different strategies to reach out to new cohorts of people. they are reaching out to the lgbtq+ community, women, people who are gamers, and yet some of these efforts have landed them in the hot seat for conservatives to accuse them of engaging in the culture wars and being woke. >> you are seeing how the military addresses this paradox. they are betting on the american public and not on legislators, anin some cases attempting to even public -- punish legislators in a number of ways. the most curious of this is tommy tuberville. space force was supposed to build a base there. this new force that is very technically advanced. to prevail -- tuberville is

preventing over 200 military promotions. he is doing this because he says he is worried dod has conveyed a verbal and written commitment to it service members to allow them access to abortion care, and because of that he is stalling these promotions. space force recently said we are not going to build a base in alabama. we are going to stay in colorado. there are a bunch of different reasons why this happened. one of the biggest is that space force requires highly educated, highly technical class of recruits, and it is doing a lot of outreach to women, and access to reproductive health care is a number one issue with that demographic, a they are not going to want to move to alabama where they're access to reproductive freedom is curtailed. correspondent: what sort of impact is this having not only on the day-to-day work the military does but as it looks toward the future.

we are moving out of the war against terrorism posture into this great power competion era , and there is a lot happening in terms of the military's overarching mission. how are these twin issues affecting those endeavors? >> there is simply not enough people joining the military right now. there are not enough young americans, especially enough young americans that work the computer, that no the site revealed joining the military and preparing that military for the threats coming from russia and china. these are two countries that have pretty advanced -- they have figured out the cyberspace, and i would say america is still playing catch up, and part of the reason why is because it has the shortfalls and cannot recruit the kind of people it needs to get in there and change the game around cyber. correspondent: thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you so much for having me. ♪

john: farming can be an uncertain endeavor. the mercy of weather, pests, and blight, but another sometimes unexpected factor for farmers around the country, the business associations of the companies rely on. stan parker reports on how closing a processing plant in one small community is upending the area's farmers and economy. correspondent: for 90 years and four generations, the cayko family has grown sugarbeets on their family farm, here on the far western edge of north dakota, just outside fairview, montana. but now, that's a thing of the past. >> it gave us some pride to say, oh yeah, i'm a sugar beet farmer. it was something people didn't really hear of very much. correspondent: in february, the beet processing facility in nearby sidney, montana announced it would close for good, spelling the end of an era here on the lower yellowstone river

valley, where for almost a century, sugarbeets have been a fixture of the economy and the local identity. no factory means no sugarbeets. trucking them is just too expensive to take them somewhere else, and efforts by locals to buy the plant were unsuccessful. after years of fraught contract negotiations between owners and growers, the news wasn't a total surprise. >> there's anger at first, and then there's disappointment. correspondent: jeff beiber is the president of the montana dakota beet growers association. he farms with his son justin just down the road from the cayko family. >> when they finally announced that they're actually going to close the plant and move away from production of sugar beets in the valley here, it goes to a level of disappointment and discouragement that i haven't felt in a long time. correspondent: american crystal sugar company, the nation's biggest sugar refiner, has owned sidney sugars for roughly the last 20 years. the company declined our request for an interview, but in a statement said they had to close the plant because the farmers weren't willing to grow enough

acres to keep the plant profitable. the growers say that's not the full story. >> we did everything we could to keep sidney, montana open. we took several cuts to our pay over the years. the farmers were willing to take those cuts to keep sidney open and keep the option of growing beets in sidney, montana. correspondent: beiber says the cuts just kept coming year after year. >> they were taking money off of the table and to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. but that money wasn't staying in sidney, montana, and it wasn't being reinvested back into the plant to prove to us that they wanted to stay here. correspondent: the closure impacts not just the farming community, but also the city of sidney, where the silos, beet piles, and steam plumes are baked into the community identity. >> there ain't much you can do about it. it is a corporate decision and a crappy corporate decision, but that is just the way life works.

correspondent: rick norby is the mayor of sidney. >> my biggest concern is the employees. everybody that works there, you are part of their family, and i still get treated that way today from working down there just a couple of years. correspondent: for decades, the beet plant has offered reliable, good paying work. >> it has always been a security. a fall back on, and now it is not here anymore. correspondent: it was also a cornerstone of the local economy. citing a 2012 study from north dakota state university, leslie messer who works with a local economic development non-profit- says that through property taxes and wages, sidney sugars put more than $10 million annually into the local economy. >> that was 120 jobs. those were good paying jobs for our communit correspondent: despite the loss of the factory, the farmers and this fertile valley will continue to produce. >> the one thing i can say about agriculture over the years is that that is the engine that always runs. so through the ebbs and tides of the oil and gas, the ag has been the economic driver that keeps

everything stable. correspondent: now these family farms are embarking on a new challenge, and they'll tackle it the same way they've done it for generations: together. >> my son has helped a lot. that young mind of let's make it work, let's figure out how to do it has helped the old dog and me start looking towards the future a little more. i was pretty set in my ways with the beets around, but it's going to be a change, and i am willing. correspondent: this year, the caykos will be trying their hands at corn and soybeans, as well as spring wheat, which was already in their rotation. >> changing over to some of these newer crops and different machinery and different farming methods in general is going to be kind of nerve wracking. especially for maybe the older generation. correspondent: as one chapter closes, another opens for the growers, who are looking to pass down what was passed down to them, for generations to come. for pbs news weekend, i'm stan parker near fairview, montana. ♪

john: for several years, the supreme court has been lowering the barrier between church and state in education. the court said last year that religious schools could not be excluded from programs that send taxpayer money to secular private schools. now, oklahoma officials have approved the creation of what would be the nation's first religious public charter school. that has set off a court battle that will likely end up at the supreme court. adam kemp is one of our community's correspondents. he's based in oklahoma city. adam, first of all, what's the proposal that the oklahoma officials have approved and who's asking for it approved and who's asking for it? >> it's an it's an online charter school called saint isidore of seville, interestingly enough, named after the proposed patron saint of internet users. it will be an onli charter school run by the catholic archdiocese of oklahoma. they plan on using it and they spelled this out directly in

their application to spread their evangelical message of the church. that raises a lot of concerns for folks on matters of lgbtq plus issues, sexual gender orientation and sexual morality, whether or not, you know, all students will be accepted at this school. john: some of those concerns have led to a lawsuit, right? correspondent: that is right. there's been a coalition of groups that have kind of come forward, led by the aclu and the freedom from religion foundation, who are representing like nine different groups from oklahoma, nine residents, including teachers, some some parents, different public education advocates who are all asking these questions right now of who will be accepted, what kind of accommodations will be made for for different students, and basically how much the catholic church will, you know, use this school to possibly indoctrinate children, which is,

you know, quite the accusation going around right now, but something that these parents are very concerned about right now. it also comes at a time here in oklahoma where oklahoma is facing a critical shortage of teachers. the state is one of the lowest in the nation in funding per pupil, and it has a lot of parents and advocates quite concerned that they're for their further expanding this pot of money that is already too small for the number of schools here. john: i think all the statewide elected officials in oklahoma are republican, what are they saying about this? correspondent: -- >> wright -- right, attorney general getner drummond has already come out and said he believes this is an unconstitutional ruling that doesn't believe it has any merit. also believes it could be a slippery slope for for a number of different schools to try and

creep their way into oklahoma education. but governor kevin stitt has come out and has said he fully supports this measure. earlier this year, in fact, he had already made it possible through through a bill for parents to go ahead and take their public funding out of a public school and use it to go to a private school through a tax credit. he didn't address this lawsuit specifically, but here he is speaking about the need for more charter schools in his opinion. >> if the catholics want to want to set up a charter school specifically in mcalester, oklahoma, to educate their community and parents choose to go there, that's a great thing. and if the jewish community wants to set up a jewish charter school, that's an awesome thing. if the muslims want to set up a charter school and their parents want to go there, that's an awesome thing. parents want to influence and they want to be involved in their kids' lives. we're made up of communities here in oklahoma and taxpayers, and so too to unlock more school options. i'm always going to be supportive of that. correspondent: --

>> interesting to note as well, before the vote to approve this school and here in oklahoma, the virtual charter school board actually had a board member replaced right before the vote by someone who is considered to be an ally of governor kevin stitt. they were actually asked to be recused themselves from the vote. they refused to do so. it ended up being the deciding yes vote to to approve this school. john: adam, does it seem that getting to the supreme court was in the minds of the people who proposed this? >> yeah, john, it actually seems like it was a goal of the people who proposed this. they have talked pretty openly about wanting to cnge precedent, to allow uh public funds to go to religious institutions like this. they have kind of spoken about this being the test case to get to the supreme court to change that. john: do they belie the conservative majority in the supreme court would be receptive to this argument? >> yeah, i think they've seen the number of positive rulings

that religious institutions and the like have received from the supreme court in the past couple of years. and i believe they're hoping to take that next step. john: are any other religious groups or churches in oklahoma talking about doing the same thing here? >> there's already been some talk that a few different religions have already reached out to inquire about how to submit an application to to do this exactly, to launch their own charter school. so far, none of those have come through. but the catholic church is seems to be the one that's the main event right now. john: communities correspondent adam kemp in oklahoma city, thank you very much. for all of adam's reporting, visit our website, pbs.org/ne wshour. and that is pbs newshour weekend on sunday. judy woodruff talks to a judge about accountability for those

who try to overturn for 2020 election. i am john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. have a good week. >> major funding has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, and how may i help you? >> this is a bucket dial. >> >> i thought i would let you know with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

♪ >>

th program was made possible in part by contributions to your pbs station fr viewers like you. thank you. (warm music) - [narrator] "all creatures great & small" has lovingly captivated readers, viewers, and animal lovers for the past half century. the pages of james herriot's beloved memoirs of his colorful life as a rural veterinarian in the english countryside transport us back to a simpler time and place. a pastoral setting where lives of villars, farmers, and animals are intertwined. - [siegfried] james, is that you? how was it? good trip? - yeah. - [narrator] it's been said the third time is the charm. anthe same is clearly true for this show. season three of "all creatures great & small" on masterpiece captures the warmth, down to earth wit and the generosity of spirit