Americans stay healthier and happier. When we see the little ones, its very heartening, makes us all feel younger again. John the Hidden History of a photographer who captured the daily lives, struggles, and contributions of Asian Americans. Major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by certified Financial Planner professionals are proud to support pbs news weekend. Cfp professionals are committed to acting in their clients best interests. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for pubc broadcasting and contributions to the station from viewers like you. Thank you. John good evening. Im john yang. In gaza, tens of thousands of palestinians are being forced to flee again. The Israeli Military has issued new and expanded evacuation orders amid signs it is preparing to move into densely populated central rafah. About a third of rafah has been evacuated. Thats more than 300,000 people. Many of them have already moved several times in the past seven months as they fled israeli air bombardment. This time they are being asked to go to what the israeli army is calling an expanded humanitarian era area. We received a call from the army, a recorded call, asking us to evacuate the area we are in. We are preparing to go to muwasi because they said it is a humanitarian area, but we do not know whether to go. I dont think it will be a safe area, because the israeli army does not have a safe area in gaza. They target everything. John in centralaza, overnight airstrikes killed at least 15 people, 16 of them at least 19 people, 16 of them women and children. The u. N. Warns that a fullscale rafah invasion would further cripple humanitarian deliveries of muchneeded food, water and fuel. Russian forces have taken control of five more villages outside of kharkiv as they press a renewed offensive in ukraines northeast. The regions governor says Russian Artillery and airstrikes are pummeling more than 30 villages. The capture of that territory expands the russian buffer zone along the border. Ukrainian Authorities Say nearly 2000 civilians have fled the fierce fighting. The russian push comes as ukraine waits for promised western ammunition and weapons to reach the frontline. Heavy rains have triggered deadly flash floods on three continents. In northern afghanistan, the un the u. N. Says more than 300 people have died in the past few weeks. More than a thousand homes have been destroyed, swamped in mud. In southern brazil, new storms battered a region already reeling from more than a week of deadly floods. At least 136 people have died. In kenya, floods and mudslides have swept away people and homes. At least 267 people are dead. Hundreds of thousands of people in both countries are now displaced. And unusually strong storms on the sun are producing brilliant displays in the night skies here on earth. The splashes of dazzling colors known as the Northern Lights are being seen as far south as the florida keys, across the west coast from seattle to southern california, and in europe from the United Kingdom to spain. Scientists say were in a period of peak solar activity. A large number of explosions called solar flares and coronal mass ejections are sending energized particles into space. When those particles hit earths atmosphere and magnetic field, a vivid, colorful glow is produced. The spectacle is drawing people out into the night to see it and photograph it. Noaas Space Weather Prediction Center issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning, saying power grids, gps, and High Frequency radio transmissions could be affected. Sightings of the Northern Lights may be possible through the weekend and into next week. Still too, on pbs news weekend, how living and working around young people is keeping Older Americans happier and healthier and the legacy of a photographer who chronicled the daily lives of Asian Americans. This is pbs news weekend from w eta studios in washington, home of the pbs newshour, weeknights on pbs. John four years after the start of the pandemic, hospitalizations for covid are at an alltime low, but there are new variants. And now bird flu is in the headlines. Its been found in at least 36 dairy herds across nine states, but so far this year theres been only one confirmed human case. So how concerned should we be about all of this . Katelyn jetelina writes the popular newsletter your local epidemiologist and was just named one of Time Magazines 100 most influential people in health. How concerned should we be about bird flu . Katelyn whats clear is this is continuing to spread among cows and other animals, but the risk to the general public is very low. This really means there is nothing we can do, other than dont touch dead birds or animals, dont drink raw milk and maybe even call your congressmen for better biosecurity support. But this is denitely not march of 2020. And its definitely not even january of 2020. But of course, the situation can change. And usually with outbreaks it can change very quickly. I think that alarm bells for the general public should really start going off if we start seeing human to human spread. Right now, its really an all hands on deck response for Public Health to prevent another pandemic, and staying laser focused on protecting the small group of americans that are at higher risk. And that is dairy and poultry workers right now. John another thing thats caught a lot of peoples attention is the report that the fda had found dead viral fragments in milk. Milk bought at Grocery Stores. That sounds pretty scary. How concerned should people be about that . Katelyn it is scary, and it does sound scary, but i calmed down when i knew that we have over 100 years of data on the effectiveness of pasteurization. Also, just to confirm that the pasteurization was working, the fda tried to grow active virus from these pasteurized milk samples from Grocery Stores. And the experiments failed, which is actually a good thing, because that means these viral fragments were broken pieces that just could not replicate and thus cannot harm us humans. Since those studies have been done on the milk, theyve also tested other milk products like cottage cheese and sour cream. And those are safe, as well as beef in Grocery Stores is also safe to consume. I think the bottom line here is just do not drink unpasteurized milk. It can make you very sick, especially at this time. John so thats bird flu. Lets talk about covid. Tell us about these new variants that have the intriguing nickname flirt. Katelyn yeah, so what we know is that covid continues to mutate, right . This is just what viruses do. The latest and greatest variant is omicron, but with very small changes, right. These flirt variants have only two additional mutations on the spike protein. This is compared to about 50 changes that we saw with the huge omicron wave back in 2021. So just with two small changes, we know that this isnt going to cause a tsunami of infection. Its just not different enough than previous ones. The question is whether it will cause a wave, a wavelet or nothing at all. And unfortunately, time will just tell. John so only two mutations. Does that mean that if you got a booster last fall or since last fall that that would take care of it . That those variants would not be able to get around that booster . Katelyn if you are uptodate on your covid19 vaccine, which for the majority of people means a fall vaccine some are eligible for a spring vaccine and yeah, its not a perfect match, but it will certaly help against severe disease and death. Because this is mutated a little, that may mean well see a little more infections than before. But you are very well protected against severe disease if youre up to date. John is the Covid Vaccine going to continue to be reformulated and keep up with these variants and sort of almost like the annual flu, they have to figure out what the dominant strain is going to be . Katelyn yeah, thats exactly right. It looks like were moving towards a flu model. Where covid 19 vaccines will be updated every year, to match as best as possible the circulating strain. The fda meeting is actually next month is midjune. To make a final decision on what exact strain is in that vaccine. But to the general public, know that you can definitely expect an updated vaccine this fall again. John measles, there was a global surge in measles. There was some talk earlier that the United States was worried about what was going to happen here. What is happening with measles here in the United States . Katelyn yeah, i mean measles is coming in hot this year. And while the u. S. Has a small number of cases, 132 cases across 21 states, it still more than double what we had last year. I think the biggest problem with this is were giving measles opportunity to spark more, right, with more embers. Because fewer people are getting vaccinated. And the challenge and problem with this is it just increases the probability of a spark finding a really large unvaccinated pocket and spreading like wildfire. So we were really wanting to reduce these embers as much as possible right now. John [16 59 49]back to covid. With the ebbing of the pandemic, a lot of these requirements are going away, and just recently, the requirement for hospitals to report data about covid hospitalizations ended. They no longer have to report that information. As an epidemiologist, does that concern you . Katelyn its incredibly concerning, because it feels like we are kind of going back to our prepandemic times. It was incredibly important to have hospitalization data to understand where we need to be concerned, where action needs to take place, or like right now , that the hospitalizations are really low and we can relax a little. I think the the positive news, though, is that health and Human Services is proposing a new rule that all hospitalizations continue to report covid 19 as well as other viruses, starting on october 1, during nonemergency times. And its certainly open for public comment, but im optimistic that this reporting will continue, which will allow us to have a really nice National Picture on what is going on with viruses at the moment. John thank you very much. Katelyn thanks for having me. John Census Bureau data says americas population is older than its ever been. About 18 of americans are 65 years old or older. In 30 years, its projected theyll represent 28 percent of the population. And as that demographic grows, some of them are reimagining retirement. Ali rogins report is part of our series rethinking aging. One, march it out. Ali 76yearold shelley malinoff doesnt go to work anymore, but she doesnt feel retired. Theres the exercise class, and i leave it a little early to get to water aerobics at 9 00. And then theres tai chi, and then im taking three classes on campus, so i do need to have time to do my homework. The hardest thing is not to do too much. Ali you have a busier schedule than most millennials i know. Yeah, yeah. Which is great. Ali shelley lives at mirabella, a luxury apartment complex for older adults, right on Arizona State universitys campus in tempe. She has access to asu classes and facilitiesand, most important, to her access to the community. No. Thursday is a busy day for you. Ali Charity Morrison is a gradua student here studying music, and shes part of shelleys regular social group. She is also one of mirabellas artist in residenc who perform for and with their older neighbors. One of the things that i really admire about shelley is the moment we met, she speaks so positively of the people around her and the experiences around her. Thats a characteristic that i really would love to emulate. Narco you meet people that you would never, ever met before. I mean, Charity Comes to dinner, were going to be cooking. Where would i have met someone like charity . Ali University Based Retirement Communities are popping up at campuses countrywide, but mirabella Lifelong Learning director lindsay beagley says fewer is integrated into everyday campus life as asus model. These folks are really kind of pioneering the new retirement, which is a lifestyle thats centered on learning and deep, purposeful engagement. Ali studies show that intergenerational relationships are mutually beneficial. Young people gain selfesteem and have better attitudes about older adults, and interacting with young people boosts the mental and physical health of their older counterparts. Narco these are the preschoolers. They have got a lot of energy. Ali one case study is the benevilla Community Center for older adults in arizonas west valley, where many members are in the early stages of dementia. One of its biggest draws is an onsite preschool, activities with benevillas grandparents and grandparents are built into the curriculum. I stay out too late so nothing in my brain thats what people say when we get to see the tall ones, its very heartening and makes us all feel younger again. Ali benevilla member Colleen Peterson has family nearby but loves interacting with the younger generations here. I had one little boy and he was just sobbing and sobbing, and i just kind of patted him and then pretty soon he just slid right off my lap and went with the other kids and started playing. Ali peterson has mild cognitive impairment, which led to depression and anxiety. Her daughter kathy cathy says the children are a powerful antidote. I think the best treatment is, you know, socializing and working with those kids is so cheerful, and i think that has really helped. Ali an added bonus, the kids benefit from these intergenerational interactions, too. Aleena smallmans three year old daughter luna attends benevillas preschool. Shes had so much fun in a couple of the different like activities that they do. Shell just tell me about it for days, or shell ask me when she gets to go and see them again. Ali do you like being with the grandmas and grandpas . Do you have favorite grandmas and grandpas . Luna didnt want to hurt anyones feelings, so she didnt name names. Arizona is a popular retirement destination, but all across the country, there are plenty of programs for people who prefer to stay where they are. Here in the nations capital, a number of neighborhoods are bridging the generational divide for far less money. 77yearold fred oregan first moved to washington, d. C. s Mount Pleasant neighborhood 40 years ago. I thought we had three children. They grew up on this street. They went to Public Schools here in d. C. Grab your bag, we are going to walk to the school. Ali his kids moved out long ago, but oregan is still a fixture in the neighborhood. He pays 50 a year to be part of his neighborhoods village movement. Its a Grassroots Initiative that helps older adults stay connected to their communities. There are 270 villages nationwide, with dozens more in development. The first started in 2002 with a group of older neighbors in boston. They wanted to change the paradigm of aging and they didnt want to move. They loved their community. And how to do that . Ali Barbara Hughes sullivan is the executive director of the village to village network, which connects individual communities. They looked at the resources that were available to them. One of the things, as they are aging, they are going to need, such as, you know, possibility of transportation. Most certainly social programs and more interaction, but also the capacity to volunteer. Narco watch out for this guy here. Hold on. Get these kids out of the way. Ali fred oregan volunteers with the villages safe streets initiative, a collaboration with the d. C. Government. Every school day, the street in front of the local elementary is closed during dropoff and pickup. Wait, wait. Ali freds job twice a week is to guide students from the crosswalk to the schools entrance. I didnt join the village because i was aging. I joined the village because of its involvement in the overall community. Ali principal Jessica Morales says the school needs the villagers. Without our volunteers, we would not be able to do this work. Its been a very reciprocal kind of relationship. Were like, theyre keeping us safe and were also building relaonships with everyone. Ali some villages charge up to 900 a year to support a small paid staff, but thats still far less than other programs for seniors. The average annual cost of adult day programs is 20,000, and full time living arrangements can range between 50,000 and 100,000. We have a very Large Population of middle class folks in this country, and they are not poor enoh to receive state, local governmental support services, but theyre not wealthy enough to pay for those services either. Villages appeal to all spectrums, all economic and socioeconomic communities, because its there for everyone. There are younger members of the village, which is great, and there are older members and together thats the melding that really takes place. And thats the sort of dynamism. Its good for younger kids to interact with older people, to see that these arent just, you know, stuffy old people waiting for the wheelchair. Theres an integration process to this as well. So its meaningful to me. Ali back in arizona, shelley malinoff often winds down her day in the kitchen. She was solo when we visited, but she often entertains. I dont want to be in a place with just older people because youre really limiting yourself, so i feel it does make me feel better, really, being with younger people. I never had kids, so for me its i can adopt them, and i dont ever feel like they think of us as these old folks. Ali malinoff doesnt think of herself that way either. For pbs news weekend, im ali rogin in phoenix. John may is asian american, native hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage month. So tonight, for our hidden histories series, we introduce you to corky lee, a photographer who chronicled the daily lives, struggles, and contributions of Asian Americans, a community thats often marginalized, unsung, and unseen. Corky lee said his lifes mission was the pursuit of what he called photographic justice, changing america one photograph at a time. Corky in all my photographs, im trying to include as vignettes, pages that should be in American History books, that have been omitted. John his photos were used by the new york times, Time Magazine and the Associated Press among others. Lee was there when chineseamericans took to the streets of new york in 1975 to protest the Police Beating of a chineseamerican man. He was in detroit in 1983, when protests erupted there over the lack of prison time for two white men who had pleaded guilty to killing vincent chin. Lee said one of his most defining images showed sikhamericans in central park in the days after the 9 11 attacks, a time when sikhs were targets of violence and discrimination. Corky we read in the history books that america is a nation of immigrants. I just want to say that asians in this country are part and parcel of a much larger picture. John telling the story of his career, lee often said it began in junior high school, when he saw this iconic photo of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in a textbook. It shows only white men. Where, he wondered, were the thousands of chinese laborers who laid the tracks . On the 145th anniversary of the event in 2014, he did something about it, gathering descendants of those workers in utah for a recreation. Lee considered it his greatest achievement. That photograph will be hong next to the one that appears in every history textbook. So this is my small contribution or way for chineseamericans to reclaim part of their history. John Lee Young Kwok was born in queens in 1947, the eldest son of a laundry owner and a seamstress. He attended new york city Public Schools, where he acquired the nickname he carried the rest of his life, corky. He was the first member of his family to go to college, studying history at queens college. It was while working as a Community Organizer on new on manhattans Lower East Side in the 1970s that lee began taking pictures, documenting poor housing conditions. Corky when people look at the photographs, people can sort of read into it. If they see deplorable conditions, they can say this has to change, and maybe itll motivate people to do something to enact those changes. John lee took pictures of other things, too, and began selling them to newspapers and magazines. Corky it got to a point that i started to use the photographs for documentary purposes. And it became, i guess, a means of expression, because i cant write. I cant sing. I cant dance. John in a fivedecade career as a freelance photographer, he captured the everyday, often unsung accomplishments and struggles of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in politics, and demonstrating for bett housing, education and voting rights. He was a great believer in paying it forward. Annual photo auctions raised more than 100,000 in scholarship funds for the asianamerican journalists association. He never stopped working. While the world shut down for the pandemic, he documented the antiasian hate that spread from it. He died of complications of covid19 in january, 2021 at age 73. He left behind what may be the largest collection of photos depicting the asianamerican experience in the last halfcentury. More than 200 of corky lees photos have been collected in a new book, corky lees asian america, and hes the subject of a documentary called photographic justice the corky lee story. It airs monday on pbs stations. Now on the newshour instagram account, more of the stunning images of the Northern Lights from around the world. All that and more is on the newshour instagram account. And that is pbs news weekend for this saturday. On sunday, a new Film Documents the toll the russian invasion has taken animals in ukraine. Im john yang. For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow. Major funding for pbs news weekend has been provided by Consumer Cellular, this is sam, how may i help you . This is a pocket dial. Well, i thought i would let you know that with Consumer Cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. Thats kind of our thing. Certified Financial Planner professionals are proud to celebrate pbs news weekend. Cfp professionals are committed to acting in their clients best interest. More information at lets make a plan. Org. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. ] funding for this program has been provided by the fsc foundat bringing together adults of all abilities and backgrounds as they pursue passion, prosperi and purpose. Linda and alvaro pascotto the carol frank Buck Foundation in memory of carroll. Frank buck. Additional support provided