JOHN YANG: Tonight on PBS News Weekend, Israel's# offensive turns to southern Gaza raising the death## toll as hopes for a renewed ceasefire window.# Then what a new methane deal reached at the## UN's climate summit today means for the future of# climate change, and how doctors are navigating the## new abortion landscape almost a year and a half# after the Supreme Court dismantled Roe vs. Wade.

WOMAN: It becomes clear that they're# leaning towards a termination I have## to say unfortunately, this is illegal# in the state of Wisconsin.

And it feels## like I'm abandoning my patients and saying that.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: Good evening, I'm John Yang.

Tonight,# hopes for another pause in the fighting in Gaza## anytime soon have dimmed considerably.# Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu## ordered his negotiators home from Qatar,# saying the talks there had hit a dead end.

Since fighting resumed at least 200 Palestinians# have been killed bringing the death toll## since October 7 that's more than 15,200.

Those# numbers from the Hamas run Gaza health ministry.

Meanwhile, the focus of Israel's renewed aerial# bombardment of Gaza has shifted from the north.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): In the southern Gaza# City of Khan Younis, the streets are engulfed## in smoke.

The Israeli military has dropped# leaflets urging residents of the city and the## surrounding area to evacuate further south but# beleaguered Gaza and say there's nowhere to go.

They seek refuge wherever they can find it like# this makeshift camp outside Al-Nasr hospital.

NIHAD ABU HABEL, Displaced Gaza Resident# (through translator): We fled the North## before comin ABU WAEL NASRALLAH, Displaced Gaza Resident# (through translator): Our houses are gone.## Our property is gone.

Our money is g What is left to cry for and then they# tell us we will get aid.

Where is it?

JOHN YANG (voice-over): As the wounded fill# Al Nasr hospital today that aid 50 trucks full## according to the Palestine Red Crescent# Society enter through the Rafah crossing## along the Egyptian border.

The first relief# since the ceasefire ended Friday.

Yesterday,## Israel had blocked me from getting into Gaza.

Since the fighting resumed the Israeli# Defense Forces says it has th an 400 Hamas targets across Gaza.# Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin## Netanyahu said the fighting would not# stop until Israel meets its objectives.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister# (through translator): We will continue the## war until we without the ground operation.

The ground# operation was necessary to bring the## results until now and it is necessary# to bring the results moving forward.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): With hopes of a renewed# ceasefire dissipating, Vice President Kamala## Harris spoke with reporters in Dubai, laying# out the Biden administration's vision for KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. Vice President:# Five principles guide our approach for## post conflict.

No forcible displacement,# no reduction in territory and no use# of Gaza as a platform for terrorism.

We want to see a unified Gaza and West# Bank under the Palestinian Authority and## Palestinian voices and aspirations# must be at the center of this work.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): Mark Regev, a# top adviser to Netanyahu says Israel## wants a security buffer zone inside# Gaza to further separate it from## Israel to ensure they will never be# a repeat of the October 7 slaughter.

MAR REGEV, Senior Adviser to Prime# Minister Netanyahu: You won't have a## situat directly on the border position just to# cross over and kill our people.

Again,## there will have to be security arrangements# on the ground to prevent that JOHN YANG (voice-over): In Tel Aviv and across# Israel, thousands rallied demanding the release## of the 136 hostages Israel says are still being# held by Hamas.

But Hamas leaders told Al Jazeera## today that there would be no more hostages# exchanged with Israel until the war is over.

JOHN YANG: At the United Nations# COP28 climate conference in Dubai,## Vice President Harris pledged $3 billion# toward a global fund to help poor nations## adapt to climate change.

The United States# also committed to doubling energy efficiency## and tripling the use of renewable energy by# 2030.

Harris said the time for action is now.

KAMALA HARRIS: The urgency of this# moment is clear.

The clock is no## longer just ticking.

It is banking, and# we must make up for lost time.

And we## must treat the climate crisis as the# existential threat that it truly is.

JOHN YANG: Officials also announced a# major new initiative aimed at getting## methane emission to near zero by 2030.

In Atlanta,## a protester is in critical condition# tonight after setting themselves on## fire outside the Israeli consulate.

A security# guard who tried to intervene was al Police said they found a Palestinian# flag of the scene and called it an## act of extreme political protest.

And a# Bavarian Blizzard has dropped record snow## amounts on much of Germany, Austria,# the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

The storm knocked out power to thousands# installed travel across the region,## grounding flights burying highways# and forcing mass transit to close.

Still to come on PBS News Weekend, a new pledge# to reduce methane emissions around the world and## how abortion restrictions are affecting the# care doctors can give patients in Wisconsin.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: At the COP28 summit in Dubai today,## 50 oil and gas companies representing# about pledged to reduce methane emissions to near# zero by 2030.

Methane is a byproduct of oil## and gas production that can trap 80 times as# much heat as carbon dioxide in the short term.

The companies including industry# giants like Exxon Mobil, Shell and## BP say they'll achieve this by plugging leaks# at their facilities and ending th of burning off excess gas with flares.

The# same time the Biden administration announced## new rules to enforce major elements# of that agreement in this country.

Earlier, I spoke with Fred Krupp the# president of the Environmental Defense## Fund, who was at COP28.

I asked him# what makes this deal so important.

FRED KRUPP, President, Environmental# Defense Fund: John, I've been at this## for a lo I don't think we've ever had as good# a day for the climate as we had today.

First, we had the U.S. EPA announcing the# strongest methane rules for the oil and gas## sector on the planet.

Second, we had 50 companies# representing 40 percent of global oil production,## pledging to virtually eliminate their# methane pollution.

And then third,## we saw an announcement from the# U.S. and China that they've agreed## to incorporate methane in the future# into their pledges internationally.

And methane, John, is 80 times more powerful# as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide pound## for pound in those first 20 years.

And so# reductions now that will happen as a result## of these three actions mean that storms will be# less ferocious temperatures will be lower than## they would otherwise be over the next 10 years.# Thanks to the actions that were pledged today.

JOHN YANG: Is this a long term solution to the# problem is just a sort of short term quick fix.

FRED KRUPP: Well, we have to both do# methane to reduce temperatures in the## short term and we cannot stop working.# In fact, we have to accelerate our work## on eliminating carbon dioxide.

The oil# and gas industry took this one step.

But they have to do a lot more than this.# We have to move away from reliance or## dependency on fossil fuels as quickly as# we can.

But while we're still you them,## we have to eliminate this very# powerful greenhouse gas methane.

JOHN YANG: This agreement is voluntary.

The oil# companies have to do what they what they promised## to do.

And a lot of environmental groups don't# like that.

They say there's no accountability## mechanism or guarantee the companies will# follow through.

What do you say to that?

FRED KRUPP: Well, I think it's good to be# skeptical of pledges at the COP.

A lot of## pledges that have been made at this# Conference of the Parties year after## year aren't delivered on.

In this particular# pledge, we structured it to have built in.

So the oil and gas companies# are agreeing to report their emissions## by monitoring them and then sending them to# an international independent third party.

In addition to that, the Bloomberg Philanthropies# today announced a major $25 million gift to not## only the Environmental Defense Fund, but it will# stand up an accountability partnership, that will## make data transparent.

And so we'll be able to see# exactly who is meeting this pledge, and who's not.

JOHN YANG: But there's really# no teeth in that they sort of,## you're relying on public shaming, to just sort# of publicize that they're FR ED KRUPP: It turns out that oil companies in# order to stay in business, like other businesses## need public support a license to operate.

But# there is some more teeth than that.

Just a couple## of weeks ago, the European Union pass new methane# regulations that anticipate within a few years,## they will put in place import standards that# require companies to meet this sort of cleanup.

And the sort of cleanup we're talking about, John,# is not incremental.

The average company that has## signed up will have to reduce their methane# pollution by 80 to 90 percent, and not by## some faraway date of 2050 but by 2030.

There'll# be giving these measurements to an independent## international third party and methane sat an# Environmental Defense Fund project that we'll## be able to look at 80 percent of the oil and gas# infrastructure worldwide, multiple times a week.

And that's how we will know whether companies are# meeting the standards.

And then the purchasers## like the European Union, and maybe a few years# later Japan will be able to enforce that.

JOHN YANG: Today, of course,# the Biden administration,## the EPA also announced new rules on# methane.

How are these two work FR ED KRUPP: Well, the Biden administration# rules are the strongest on the planet,## that will not only help clean up the United# States, but here at the COP, I've been meeting## with oil companies from developing nations.

And# most of the questions they've asked me have been,## what's that EPA regulation coming out?# What are the monitoring requirements.

And so because the United States is the biggest# oil and gas producer in the world, other countries## and companies look to our regulations to kind of# set the bar for their practices, it's plugging## leaks, it's when the compressor seals were# out and the compressor is leaking methane,## you'll have to replace them periodically.

You'll# have to regularly go look for and fix leaks.

This isn't rocket science.

This is something the# oil company should already be doing.

But an 80,## 90 percent reduction, that's a very big deal.

JOHN YANG: Is the agreement to reach the lower# levels to essentially bring it to n 2030.

Or just the grid also due to specific things# of plugging methane leaks and stopping ven FRED KRUPP: The agreement is performance oriented.# So we know now that these companies are leaking## two or sometimes 3 percent of the methane, they# take it out of the ground natural gases, methane,## we can two or 3 percent.

And the agreement# requires near zero defined as 0.2 percent.

So going from 2 to 0.2, that's where you get that# 80 to 90 percent reduction.

The reductions in this## pollutant mean will actually reduce pollution in# the next 10 years that we'll be able to feel that## benefit will be able to reduce temperatures# from what we would otherwise experience.

JOHN YANG: Do you think this year's# summit will be the time that they## finally address fossil fuels and deal# with fossil fuels?

Either an ag to reduce them or an agreement to# eventually eliminate their use?

FRED KRUPP: Well, I don't know that# that will happen.

This year there's## been an agreement by many countries# over 100 countries to triple the## construction of renewable energy and# to double energy efficiency by 2030.

So we need that those things in order# to be able to rapidly get away from## fossil fuel.

But I don't know that the# language of do we face it out or do we## get out of it completely by when will# be agreed on I don't think that's likely JOHN YANG: Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense# Fund at the COP28 summit.

Thank you very much.

FRED KRUPP: Thank you, John.

JOHN YANG: While the number of legal abortions# has gone up nationwide since the Supreme Court## overturned Roe vs. Wade, a recent report from# a group that supports Reproductive Rights sa there have been sharp declines in states that# impose new restrictions on abortion access.

One of those states Wisconsin saw# around 7,000 fewer abortions in the## year following the court's decision than the# state's annual average.

Marisa Wojcik of PBS## Wisconsin spoke with doctors there about the# effect on their work and on their patients.

JENN VOLLSTEDT, Former Labor and# Delivery Nurse: When I got the results,## I knew what I MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): Jenn Vollstedt# is a former labor and delivery nurse in## Milwaukee.

At 12 weeks pregnant, Volstead# was told something weeks pregnant, she found out she# and her unborn child were at risk.

JENN VOLLSTEDT: I knew that if I carried that# pregnancy to term I was putting my own health## at risk.

And I also knew that my baby if# she survived a term would only suffer.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): Jenn Vollstedt# made her decision while abortion was still## legal.

The cascade of events following the# U.S. Supreme Court's ruling ov constitutional right to an abortion# hit states like Wisconsin the hardest## creating a near total abortion# ban in the state one year ago.

CHRISTOPHER FORD, Emergency Medicine: We have yet## to see wha MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): Healthcare# providers like Christopher Ford,## a Milwaukee based emergency medicine# physician found when the default legal standing reverted# back to a law from 1849.

It says destroying## the life of an unborn child is a felony,# except to save the life of the mother.

CHRISTOPHER FORD: We are in a situation where that## interpretation of a law from# 1849 is really a KRISTIN LYERLY, Obstetrician-Gynecologist: We# didn't even know that germs cause disease in 1849.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): Before Roe v.# Wade was overturned, Dr. Kristen Lyerly,## an OB/GYN from Green Bay, counseled patients# at one of the few Planned Parenthood clinics in Wisconsin that provided abortions following the# decision she Dr. Ford and Dr. Jenn Jury McIntosh,## a maternal fetal medicine physician in Milwaukee,# joined a lawsuit challenging the 1849 law.

JENN JURY MCINTOSH, Maternal Fetal Medicine: Now# we're operating this narrow channel of providing## the best care not committing malpractice,# and being careful not to break a law.

These## pregnant people either have high risk conditions# themselves, so medical complications.

But on the## flip side, we also take care of fetuses.

So it's# the most Family Centered Outcome that we can.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): Prior to the# Supreme Court's ruling, Wisconsin patients## and physicians had more options when it came to# making decisions KRISTIN LYERLY: We would have conversations# about what all their options were.

We would## talk about everything.

Sometimes we would# connect them with pr we would connect them with adoption services.# Sometimes they would go home and think about## it.

And they just wouldn't return for# that second visit.

But often they did.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): Now these doctors# are managing a much different reality.

JENN JURY MCINTOSH: If it becomes clear# that they're leaning towards a termination, I have to say, unfortunately, this is# illegal in the state of Wisconsin.

And## if this is what you choose to pursue, then# we'll have to give you information on how to## pursue this out of state.

And it feels like# I'm abandoning my patients and saying that.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over):# Some physicians like Dr. Lyerly,## left Wisconsin so they can continue to provid KRISTIN LYERLY: I have the joy of working# in rural Minnesota and Northern Arizona on## the Navajo Reservation.

So in a way, it's very# satisfying.

But the truth is, I want to be home.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): For# those who stayed they must now## navigate a law that many doctors feel i JENN JURY MCINTOSH: It's intrinsically vague,# which then causes physicians to potentially# second guess like is this risky enough?# Because everyone who practices medicine## knows that it can be very gray for a while# and then become very black and white.

And## you the longer you wait to intervene.# The worst outcomes are in general.

CHRISTOPHER FORD: We've heard reports, you know,## in other states that have very strict a you know, we've had patients that have# been told to wait in the car until they## become even more unstable in order to# present to the emergency department So at that point in time, they can do# something about it.

Now, of course,## that's an egregious example.

And that's# something that we do that is someone's interpretation of the law.

KRISTIN LYERLY: There was a time when I# sh e was bleeding, she was 21 weeks pregnant# with a desire pregnancy, but she wa so much that she had to go to the operating room# right away, and I had to perform an abortion.

And I couldn't help but to think to myself,# if this was happening to be in Wisconsin,## I would be terrified about what the# next steps would be about what the## implications for my future my career would be.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): Physicians worry,## not only about the CH RISTOPHER FORD: What I'm seeing over and# over and over again, is this getting worse## over time.

And a lot of it has to do with the# access of health care, with the access of care## to Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a lot of the# voices that are at the table right now.

Don't see## these patients, and they don't have any medical# background, but they're making these decisions.

JENN JURY MCINTOSH: I just want to# do my job.

So the fact that politics## are trying to be present in my exam# room, present in the back of my mind,## as I'm looking at a patient and talking to that# patient and their family, that it's impacting## that at all feels crazy to me.

Because really,# we should just be providing the best evidence## based medical care that we can that's right# for that patient and right for their family.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): And for Jenn# Vollstedt, she hopes in the future Wisconsinites## will be able to navigate these difficult# decisions without the barriers in p JENN VOLLSTEDT: Now, when I look back, I feel# so recovered and healed.

I also wouldn't have## my son if I didn't have this abortion because# of the timing if I had to carry it in term.

Julian, he is -- he just turned six# and he is one of the most joyful and## curious people I've ever met,# the more we try to focus on,## is that right or wrong?

Or is that okay?

The more# we're focused on making choices for other people,## when we're not involved in their health# care, and we're not medical professionals.

MARISA WOJCIK (voice-over): For PBS News Weekend,# I'm Marisa Wojcik, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

JOHN YANG: Now online, CDC data shows# life expense expectancy went up for## the first time since the pandemic,# but it's still lagging where it was## before COVID.

You can find all that and# more on our website pbs.org/newshour.

And that is PBS News Weekend for this Saturday.## I'm John Yang.

For all of my colleagues,# thanks for joining us.

See you tomorrow.