AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

Geoff Bennett is away.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: Hurricane Beryl reaches Jamaica, continuing its deadly path of destruction through the Caribbean.

The fallout from President Biden's debate performance continues, as calls for him to step aside from inside the Democratic Party grow louder.

And we preview the United Kingdom's general election one day before voters head to the polls.

STEVE, Labor Supporter: Something has to be done because it's close to breaking point, I think, for the majority of people in this country.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Residents of Jamaica hunkered down today as heavy rains and punishing winds from Hurricane Beryl pounded the island.

Power was out across much of the capital, Kingston.

The center of the Category 4 storm passed just south of Jamaica this afternoon.

At least six deaths have been attributed to Beryl since it began its march through the Caribbean earlier this week.

New images reveal the extent of the devastation brought by the record-breaking Hurricane Beryl after the storm slammed into islands across the Southeast Caribbean on Monday with heavy rain and ferocious winds.

SEYMOUR LABORDE, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Resident: It's hard to think about it.

It's hard to see it.

I don't even want my enemies to go through such a storm, such a devastation.

It's really tough.

AMNA NAWAZ: Communities left with no water or power, boats tossed onto the shore, and entire neighborhood reduced to mangled heaps of metal.

MARLON GIBSON, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Resident: This is actually the strongest storm that we have had come through Saint Vincent in my lifetime.

AMNA NAWAZ: Marlon Gibson lives in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which took a direct hit.

MARLON GIBSON: You're really just hoping for the best.

And all around me there were houses in the village.

Their roofs were flying past.

You could see it passing.

It was just a terrifying experience.

AMNA NAWAZ: Nearly all of the residents of one of Saint Vincent's small islands were left homeless.

With nowhere to go, many are now making their way to the capital, Kingstown.

Sharon DeRoche is among them.

She rode out Beryl in her bathroom.

SHARON DEROCHE, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Resident: The whole thing opened up.

And it was a hard four hours battling.

AMNA NAWAZ: And, in Grenada, the prime minister said communications were down and almost nothing was left standing on the island of Carriacou.

Satellite images showed a grim before-and-after from above.

DICKON MITCHELL, Prime Minister of Grenada: To see this level of destruction, it is almost Armageddon-like, almost total damage or destruction of all buildings, whether they be public buildings, homes or other private facilities.

AMNA NAWAZ: Relief efforts by the United Nations, local governments and nonprofit groups are now under way across the region.

Once Beryl passes by Jamaica, the hurricane is set to head next toward the Cayman Islands.

It's forecast to reach Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Friday morning, and its remnants will likely reach Southern Texas by Monday.

Seen here from space, Beryl's winds peaked at 165 miles an hour earlier this week, making it the earliest Category 5 storm in recorded history and the strongest July hurricane ever, its massive size fueled partly by climate change.

Michael Lowry is a meteorologist and hurricane specialist for WPLG-TV in Miami.

MICHAEL LOWRY, Meteorologist, WPLG-TV: There's no doubt that the warmer waters are due primarily because of the warming climate.

And we are seeing the effects of that in stronger hurricanes.

Hurricane Beryl moved over the warmest waters that we have ever reported in the Atlantic, going back 40-plus years.

AMNA NAWAZ: This unprecedented storm, Lowry says, is kicking off what's expected to be one of the most active hurricane seasons on record.

MICHAEL LOWRY: Water temperatures going from 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit could mean a fivefold increase in devastating flooding rainfall, on top of the greater potential for these storms to more rapidly intensify.

AMNA NAWAZ: And as countries in the storm's wake reckon with Beryl's aftermath, weary residents are preparing for a long hurricane season ahead.

Back in this country, much of the U.S. will be facing extreme heat over the Fourth of July weekend, with heat indexes reaching into the triple digits.

We're going to look at that and new rules to protect workers from heat later in the program.

In the day's other headlines: Israel's military says it killed a senior Hezbollah commander in Southern Lebanon today.

The commander was identified as Muhammad Nimah Nasser, who went by the name Abu Naameh.

The IDF says he led a unit responsible for shooting rockets into Israel.

Cross-border fire between the two sides has ramped up recently, sparking a global diplomatic effort to prevent all-out war.

In Israel today, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told a group of soldiers that he's prepared for any possibility.

YOAV GALLANT, Israeli Defense Minister (through translator): We are striking Hezbollah very hard every day, and we will also reach a state of full readiness to take any action required in Lebanon, or to reach an arrangement from a position of strength.

We prefer an arrangement, but if reality forces us, we will know how to fight.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the meantime, a settlement tracking group says that Israel has approved the largest seizure of West Bank land in three decades.

The group, called Peace Now, says the territory in the West Bank amounts to nearly five square miles.

The current Israeli government considers expansion in the West Bank as legal and legitimate after Israel captured that territory in the 1967 War.

Many Palestinians see these expansions as a barrier to any lasting peace.

Much of the international community has deemed settlement expansion a violation of international law.

Here at home, voters in two more states are closer to having abortion measures on the ballot this November.

In Arizona, abortion rights advocates say they have more than double the required signatures for a measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution.

And in Nebraska, activists on both sides of the issue say they have submitted enough signatures for dueling measures, one to protect abortion rights and one to preserve the state's current 12-week ban.

Three other states are trying to add abortion measures to November ballots, while constitutional amendments to enshrine abortion rights are already on the ballot in six other states this fall.

A U.S. judge has temporarily blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a rule against discrimination in health care on the basis of gender identity.

The measure was finalized in May and was due to take effect on Friday.

But 15 Republican-led states sued, saying it would require their Medicaid programs to pay for treatments and surgeries for transgender people.

Tennessee's attorney general applauded the block, saying that the law is -- quote -- "an attempt to illegally force every health care provider in America to adopt the most extreme version of gender ideology."

The defense has rested in the bribery and corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez.

His lawyers called several witnesses over two days, though the New Jersey Democrat himself did not testify.

Menendez has pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold, cash and gifts, in exchange for favors he provided to three New Jersey businessmen.

Menendez has resisted calls to resign from the Senate.

Last month, he filed papers to run for reelection as an independent.

The leaders of Russia and China have met for the second time in as many months as Moscow seeks international support for its war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping sat down in Kazakstan during a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

That follows a trip by Mr. Putin to Beijing in may.

A Kremlin spokesperson said the two leaders discussed Ukraine, they agreed that any peace talks without Russia's presence would go nowhere, and they pledged mutual support for one another.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): Russian-Chinese relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction are experiencing the best period in their history.

Our cooperation is not directed against anyone.

We do not create any blocks or alliances.

We simply act in the interests of our peoples.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile in Ukraine, the smoke from Russian missile attacks filled the skies over the eastern city of Dnipro.

Officials there say the strikes killed at least five civilians and injured 47 others.

Wall Street headed into the July 4 holiday on mixed footing.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day just a fraction lower, but the Nasdaq climbed to get another record closed, adding nearly 160 points.

The S&P 500 also closed at a new record.

Meanwhile, like father, like son.

NBA superstar LeBron James has reportedly agreed to a two-year $104 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, meaning he will almost certainly get to play with his son Bronny, who was drafted by the Lakers last week.

No father-and-son duo has ever shared the court in an NBA game.

For the elder James, next year will be his 22nd season in the league, tying a record for the most ever.

Still to come on the "News Hour": the government releases new rules protecting workers from extreme heat; why a decades-old lawsuit brought by Gary, Indiana, against firearm manufacturers may soon be over; and a look at the heroic work of Ukraine's railroad workers since Russia's invasion.

In the days following President Joe Biden's poor performance on the debate stage, Democrats have pondered how to approach the future of his reelection campaign.

Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas was the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to call on Biden to drop out of the presidential race.

He joins me now.

Congressman, welcome and thanks for joining us.

I'm sure you have seen these reports too of a number of your Democratic colleagues circulating a letter that they are proposing sending to the president asking him to step aside as the nominee.

You have said you're not involved in those efforts, but I wonder if you can just give us some insight here.

How many of your Democratic colleagues share your concerns?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): I think it's widespread.

And my colleague from Arizona Raul Grijalva, one of the senior members, a ranking member, was a chairman of the committee, he just came out publicly this afternoon.

I think that there are many colleagues out there who realize what a severe, grave threat we face.

If Donald Trump, a criminal, and his gang can take over our government in January, we may never get it back.

And all those things, climate, you were talking about earlier with the hurricane, needing to address the climate crisis, protect our public schools, ensure reproductive freedom,all of the issues we care about at home and abroad are going to be threatened by Donald Trump.

We have to put forward our strongest candidate.

And after the debate, after a year of lagging in the polls, today, a New York Times pull out that they're six points apart, there's some of us just seeing we have to do something to save our republic.

And we're not confident that Joe Biden can provide the answer, as much as we admire his contribution and accomplishments.

AMNA NAWAZ: Congressman, when you say those concerns are widespread, how many of your fellow lawmakers are you talking about here?

And why aren't more saying so publicly like you are?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Well, Amna, I can't give you a number.

I can tell you that not every one of my colleagues is situated as I am, as a member who's not endangered, and who's not beginning his career, as you can tell by looking at me.

I recognize that some people are very concerned about what the effect will be on them of coming out in opposition, as it will be interpreted, though we don't oppose the president.

We simply ask him to make the very important decision of stepping aside and enabling us to defeat Trump.

But they're concerned about that.

And so, yes, there have been rumblings.

As you heard, yesterday in Maine, in Washington state, opposite ends of the country, two of our Democratic colleagues said they expected Donald Trump to be the next president.

In the middle, there are several of that have expressed their concern about what's happening and the performance in the debate.

So I think there's a great undercurrent, many questions that need to be asked.

What we need is the president out there, if all is well with him, engaging with journalists like you here on the "News Hour" and in other forum and town halls, answering the tough questions, demonstrating that Thursday night debate is not the consistent problem he has, but it was an aberration.

I hope it was.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, Congressman, for the record, I should say we would welcome a chance to sit down and speak directly to the president.

But you know as well as I do that the president has now said repeatedly he is not dropping out.

He's made that clear to his campaign staff, to funders he's spoken to.

We know he's meeting with Democratic governors tonight.

He's giving a network interview on Friday.

He's campaigning over the weekend.

Is there anything that you think the president could say or do right now that would change your mind?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Well, first, let me say, I think there are things that could happen that could change his mind.

I still believe that he puts country ahead of self, unlike Donald Trump, and that, as these numbers come in, as he hears from our members, he may well make the decision that this is not the race that he should be making and that he doesn't want a legacy that is so impressive in the Senate and as our president to end with a transfer of power to a tyrant.

As far as my mind is concerned, I have never been in doubt that I would be actively supporting the nominee of our party that and that might well be President Biden.

I just think it's a little heavier a lift than if we had a new candidate who could appeal to the double haters, as they're called, and to the many people out there who've been saying in the polls, they're unwilling to support President Biden and they don't believe that he's the person who can do the job over the next four years.

AMNA NAWAZ: Congressman, other Democratic lawmakers I have spoken to express a lot of concern about there not being very much time left in this election cycle.

They also say, if President Biden were to drop out, another candidate would now have to make him or herself known to the rest of the country.

There's not a lot of time for that.

And I should point out in the latest CNN poll, it's Vice President Harris who's the only one who comes within the margin of error in terms of a hypothetical matchup with Donald Trump and with other high-profile governors in comparison there, Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg in the Cabinet, and also Gretchen Whitmer.

Do you think she should be the nominee if you're asking President Biden to step aside?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: I'm not selecting a nominee at this point or speaking for any candidate.

She's certainly a talented person who should be in the mix.

Time is short, but I think we have time for a fair, open, democratic process where any of the individuals you just mentioned, several other governors, perhaps members of the Senate or the Cabinet, could present themselves to the American people.

I think their numbers will immediately go up as they become identified outside of their states, and that having someone new, someone a little more youthful, in this race could give us the edge to defeat Donald Trump, an edge we may not enjoy if the numbers stay as they are.

I just ask that the president and his circle of close friends and family look at the numbers and determine, how are we going to prevail in November if things continue as they have over the last year and as they have worsened in recent days as a result of the debate?

AMNA NAWAZ: In the few seconds we have left, do you believe that that window is closing if President Biden were to make that kind of decision?

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: I think that it's a decision that needs to be made in just the next few days.

Every day counts.

Time is of the essence.

We don't have that much time before Chicago.

I will be there for him or for whoever might be our nominee.

But let's put forward our best case, our best opportunity to save our country from what would happen under a Trump regime.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett of Texas joining us tonight.

Congressman, thank you.

Good to speak with you.

REP. LLOYD DOGGETT: Thank you, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: Britain goes to the polls tomorrow for an election in which the center-left opposition Labor Party led by sir Keir Starmer is expected to claim victory.

The Conservatives, who've governed since 2010, fear a landslide victory for Labor could force them out of power for a generation.

Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Britain's South Coast.

MALCOLM BRABANT: For decades, West Worthing has been a true-blue conservative fortress.

But if the changing political tide turns this district red, it'll signal that the Labor Party is riding to a landslide victory across the country on a wave of quiet desperation.

STEVE, Labor Supporter: Something has to be done because its close to breaking point, I think, for the majority of people in this country.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Like millions of voters, this former soldier and paramedic feels poorer after 14 years under the conservatives.

Steve, who declined to give his surname, trusts Labor's promises to raise living standards.

STEVE: What sort of life is it when you feel that you're literally surviving, you're not living a life, you're surviving from one month to the next?

And people are fed up with it.

They want some change.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Labor's candidate here is Beccy Cooper, a public health doctor, who's passionate about one of the party's main pledges, to heal the ailing National Health Service.

DR. BECCY COOPER, Labor Candidate: At the moment in hospitals, we are seeing 18-month waiting times.

Well, things are actually starting to kill people, which is terrible.

So, I liken it to getting a patient off life support.

That's what we need to do first of all.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Cooper says investing in preventive medicine will ultimately pay dividends.

DR. BECCY COOPER: The cost-benefits always show, if you put money into prevention, you end up saving lots of money in treatment.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Knighted for his public service record, Conservative candidate Peter Bottomley, Britain's longest-serving lawmaker, is struggling because his party crashed the economy two years ago, following a series of government scandals during the pandemic.

SIR PETER BOTTOMLEY, Conservative Candidate: We're not top of the pops, but we're here for a purpose, and I'm here to get reelected if I can.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Like other Conservatives, Bottomley fears a Labor supermajority in Parliament.

SIR PETER BOTTOMLEY: I think that you will get very quickly buyer's regret, voter's remorse, and they will say, why didn't anyone tell us?

Well, I won't say, I told you so.

But I will say it now.

Think before you vote.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Trainee police officer Roland Mensah is seeking integrity and hasn't found it.

ROLAND MENSAH, Trainee Policeman: There's so many sleaze and lies and everything that goes on in this current government, which it's not -- it's unacceptable.

MALCOLM BRABANT: But he is not impressed with the Labor leader either.

ROLAND MENSAH: You have to say things that you don't even believe in.

So that's what Keir Starmer is doing right now.

Things that he believes in, he's not saying it because he has to say things that are going to win him the election.

MALCOLM BRABANT: In an election commercial, Keir Starmer polishes his man of the people image with a Labor-supporting former soccer star.

SIR KEIR STARMER, Labor Party Leader: How are you?

MAN: Good.

How are you?

SIR KEIR STARMER: Are we good?

MALCOLM BRABANT: Labor isn't known for wealth creation, but Starmer says his priority is economic growth.

SIR KEIR STARMER: I want in five or 10 years this to be a better country.

Living standards are better.

People feel their schools are better, their hospitals are better, they have got a better chance in life.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Starmer's opponent, Rishi Sunak, Britain's first prime minister of color, portrays himself as a dependable leader for dangerous times.

Under Sunak, a rich former banker, inflation has come down, but he's been waterboarded by the financial mess he inherited and accusations that he's out of touch with ordinary people.

NARRATOR: We face unprecedented challenges here at home because of global insecurity.

But by sticking with the plan, Rishi Sunak is setting the ship and making progress.

RISHI SUNAK, British Prime Minister: You can have tax cuts with the Conservatives or you can have thousands of pounds of tax rises under the Labor Party, because he's simply not being straight with you about what is coming.

Mark my words.

Your taxes are going up if he is in charge.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Although the Labor leader has purged his party of some hardcore left wingers, Conservatives fear Starmer is not the moderate centrist he claims to be.

SIR KEIR STARMER: I would say I'm steely.

Other people say ruthless.

I'm absolutely determined to get to where we need to get to.

And whatever decisions are needed to get there, I will take.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Unless the opinion polls are completely wrong, Britain is about to take a step left at a time when much of Europe is turning hard right.

The only uncertainty is just how big Labor's majority is going to be in Parliament to push through its legislative program.

ANAND MENON, Director, U.K. in a Changing Europe: I think there's precious little signs of hope in the country at the moment.

There's a pervasive sense that Britain is broken, and a pervasive lack of faith in politics to fix it.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Political scientist Anand Menon.

ANAND MENON: Whilst people want a change of government, whilst people are fed up with the Conservatives, I'm not picking up any real sense of faith that Labor will be able to address the problems the country faces.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Jaywick on the east coast is one of Britain's most deprived areas.

Decent affordable housing is scarce here and elsewhere.

Charity worker Sarah Cox supports Labor's plans to build cheap homes.

After buying her first property, the economy tanked, and her mortgage payments shot up.

SARAH COX, Labor Supporter: I have a really good job, a management level job, and I can't afford to go to Starbucks and get coffee because it's too expensive, because food shopping and the electric bill and the mortgage have taken all my money.

It needs to change.

It doesn't need to change under Nigel Farage, though.

It needs to change under Labor.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Jaywick belongs to the district being contested by Nigel Farage, the catalyst for Britain's exit from the European Union and Donald Trump's most prominent ally here.

Farage's anti-immigration Reform Party could help boost Labor's majority by attracting support from disaffected voters who would normally back the Conservatives.

NIGEL FARAGE, Reform Party Leader: You know, nothing works anymore, does it?

Nothing works, the Health Service, traveling anywhere?

Try to get your kids or grandkids to get a house.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Farage believes the Labor Party will implode after five years in power and hopes Britain's divided right will unite behind him at the next election.

Are you destroying the Conservative Party?

NIGEL FARAGE: No.

They have destroyed themselves.

They have literally betrayed the wishes of Brexit voters.

It was about getting back control of our country, getting back control of our borders.

They have given us record levels of immigration.

We are literally living through a population explosion on these islands.

And that's devalued the quality of life of everybody, apart from the richest.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Leading Conservatives hope potential reform voters will reject Farage, attacking him as an apologist for Vladimir Putin after he claimed that the West's eastward expansion provoked Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

NIGEL FARAGE: I stood up 10 years ago in the European Parliament and said, let's stop poking the Russian bear with a stick.

And I said, there will be a war if we carried on the current course.

And they are only screaming and shouting at me because I was right.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Farage's candidate in West Worthing is former tax official Edmund Rooke.

It's Rooke's first foray into the politics of Britain and Vladimir Putin.

EDMUND ROOKE, Reform Party Candidate: We have given him cause, or a pretext, rather, to invade Ukraine by the fact that we've surrounded his country with NATO countries like Poland, Estonia, et cetera, et cetera.

MALCOLM BRABANT: In West Worthing, Peter Bottomley might be saved by wavering Conservative voters who believe Farage is boosting Russia's cause.

SIR PETER BOTTOMLEY: I'm not going to start discussing Nigel Farage's views on international affairs, because I wouldn't want to have him marrying my daughter or taking my mother out to lunch.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Across the market square, Beccy Cooper says she wants to restore trust in politics.

DR. BECCY COOPER: I think its become a bit too circus-like.

It's become a bit too much about sort of the awful things that some people right at the top of politics are doing.

We need to get rid of that, cut out the rot.

MALCOLM BRABANT: In what some commentators regard as a desperate attempt at a Hail Mary pass, the Conservatives wheeled out former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, removed from office because of numerous scandals.

BORIS JOHNSON, Former British Prime Minister: Good evening.

Good evening.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Johnson warned against what he calls Starmergeddon.

BORIS JOHNSON: Racking up taxes on pensions, on property, persecuting private enterprise, attacking private education and private health care, with all the pointless extra burden that will place on the taxpayer.

And all the time, poor old Starmer is so terrified of disobeying left-wing dogma that he's reluctant to explain the difference between a man and a woman.

And he just... (LAUGHTER) BORIS JOHNSON: And he just sits there with his mouth opening and shutting like a stunned mullet.

SIR KEIR STARMER: We've got plenty to say, because this campaign is about change.

It's about turning the page and rebuilding our country.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Keir Starmer may not be a showman, but the polls suggest that Britain wants the change he is offering, although, for many, voting Labor will be a leap in the dark.

For the PBS "News Hour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in London.

AMNA NAWAZ: More than 90 million Americans are under heat advisories this week.

In the West, where a record-breaking heat wave is expected to be long-lasting, firefighters are working to extinguish several major wildfires, forcing thousands of Californians to evacuate.

All of this comes as President Biden unveiled long-awaited regulations designed to protect workers from excessive heat.

Stephanie Sy has more -- Stephanie.

STEPHANIE SY: Amna, many people may not realize it, but heat is the leading cause of weather-related death in the U.S. As many brace for triple digits in the days ahead, protection from extreme heat is top of mind for many.

Hayley Smith is an environmental reporter with The Los Angeles Times and has been covering all this closely.

Hayley, it's good to see you.

It seems every July more heat records are shattered, and yet I have seen a lot of superlative language around what's facing Central and Northern California this week.

Why is this heat wave so concerning?

HAYLEY SMITH, Environment Reporter, The Los Angeles Times: Hi.

I think it's for two reasons.

One is that this is not only a severe heat event, but it's also a prolonged event.

We have got excessive heat warnings, in effect, basically from the far northern counties of California all the way down to the Mexican border.

Portions of the Coachella Valley are going up to 120 degrees, the Sacramento area and the Central Valley up to 115 degrees, even 110 here in some parts of Los Angeles.

And these temperatures really aren't supposed to let up until at least next week, so there's just no chance for people to find any relief.

STEPHANIE SY: Yes, even at night, I understand.

A statement from the National Weather Service's Bay Area office stood out to me, because it says the scale, magnitude, and longevity of this heat wave will likely rival anything they have seen in the last 18 years.

Talk about what the major impacts may be, including wildfire risks.

HAYLEY SMITH: Absolutely.

So, with rising temperatures like this, we see increased risk of wildfires, and that's because the hotter temperatures really dry out the state's landscape and vegetation and just prime it to burn.

So, as you said, we have already seen at least half-a-dozen wildfires popping up around the state this week.

One that we're watching really closely is the Thompson Fire in Oroville, Butte County, which has already burned some structures, injured firefighters, and prompted thousands of mandatory evacuations.

But the other risk of heat, as you referenced at the beginning, is that it is so, so dangerous.

It is, in fact, responsible for more deaths in the United States than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined over the last 30 years.

So there's just something so insidious about extreme heat, and not a lot of people are totally aware yet of how dangerous it can be.

STEPHANIE SY: Absolutely.

And a heat wave in 2022 in California was blamed for hundreds of excess deaths, some 395.

It's been assumed that many of those deaths were heat-related.

Are officials better prepared this year?

HAYLEY SMITH: Yes and no.

I think that officials, in terms of lawmakers, policymakers, emergency responders, are getting better at being aware of the dangers of extreme heat and trying to communicate them to the public.

Here in Los Angeles, for example, we have seen the city activating some cooling centers, where people can just go get some water and some shade and take a break from the heat.

There has also been a lot of information campaigns launched in recent years trying to educate people about the dangers.

But, as you mentioned, that 2022 heat wave killed almost 400 Californians.

There was another heat wave in Phoenix last year where it lasted for 31 days and killed about 645 people.

So the dangers are still very much there.

STEPHANIE SY: Right.

Let's talk about these new workplace rules that the Biden administration has proposed to protect workers from heat-related risks.

What are they, and are they like regulations that California has had in place for years already?

HAYLEY SMITH: Yes, this is such a big news.

OSHA this week has moved forward a proposed rule that would establish indoor and outdoor workplace heat standards for millions of workers, some 35 million workers in workplaces like kitchens and farms and warehouses, where temperatures regularly soar to 80 degrees or hotter.

And so what these regulations would do would be triggering things like employers needing to provide water and rest breaks.

And at 90 degrees, some of those things would become mandatory, mandatory rest breaks and water breaks, things like that.

And, yes, to answer your question, this does mimic some moves that we have made here in California.

We became the first state in 2006 to establish heat standards for outdoor workers.

And just last month, we passed standards for indoor workers.

And it's also important to note that these OSHA -- these proposed OSHA regulations, would also apply to states that have kind of done the opposite, like Florida and Texas, where they have actually passed laws recently to prevent employers or cities from establishing worker protection.

So these federal rules, if they were approved, would supersede that and hopefully help save some lives.

STEPHANIE SY: So, according to the EPA, there are an average of about 34 deaths a year attributable to heat on the job.

Construction workers bear the most risk.

But that still doesn't account for thousands of other heat-related deaths every year nationwide.

What else are officials doing to reduce heat-related fatalities?

HAYLEY SMITH: Yes, you're right.

It's presumed that a lot of these heat death numbers are undercounted.

We know that they're chronically undercounted.

Here in California, we are working on establishing a heat wave ranking system that would actually rank heat waves similar to what is done for hurricanes, so like a Category 5 heat wave, for example.

The state is also working to improve its efforts to surveil and track heat-related illnesses and deaths.

And then, at the federal level, there's actually been a huge push in recent weeks to get FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to broaden its definition of a major disaster to include extreme heat, which advocates say would open up new avenues of funding for cities and states that are trying to deal with this worsening issue.

STEPHANIE SY: That is Hayley Smith, an environmental reporter with The Los Angeles Times.

Hayley Smith, thank you.

HAYLEY SMITH: Yes, thanks for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: Thirty years ago, Gary, Indiana, was declared the murder capital of the U.S.

Following the example of other cities, Gary sued gun makers and sellers for their part in fueling the city's violence.

As Jeffrey Brown reports, Gary's case is now the last one still active as this industrial city works to get a handle on gun violence.

JEFFREY BROWN: At Daniel Hale Williams Elementary in Gary, Indiana, graduating fifth graders were receiving end-of-the year awards.

Amid the celebration, the ceremony's guest speaker offered a warning of sorts, one with echoes of her own experience growing up here.

AALIYAH STEWART, ASW Foundation: Being excited for middle school is a very important thing, but a couple things happen as you get older.

You change.

You meet new people.

JEFFREY BROWN: By the time Aaliyah Stewart was the age of these kids, she had already experienced the horrific toll of gun violence.

AALIYAH STEWART: With Anthony, I was seven and my brother was like, our world.

His smile would light up an entire room.

A fight broke out.

And the story goes that he got out to break up the fight and was shot in the head.

So, gun violence is something that you really don't pay attention to until it becomes, like a reality at your door.

JEFFREY BROWN: And then it happened again.

AALIYAH STEWART: Yes, almost seven years later, my brother James was killed.

James was 20 and I was 13.

BRIAN EVANS, Gary, Indiana, Deputy Police Chief: In this community, it's more easy to get a gun than maybe a fresh tomato.

JEFFREY BROWN: Brian Evans is deputy chief of the Gary Police Department.

He joined the force in 1994, the same year the media declared the city murder capital of the U.S. with a homicide rate almost nine times the national level.

BRIAN EVANS: I have had days back then where we have had as many as five homicides in one day, most of it fueled by drug and then gangs for drug territory.

JEFFREY BROWN: The explosion of violence came after a long decline for Gary.

Founded as a company town at the turn of the last century, U.S. Steel's Gary Works employed about 30,000 people at its peak.

While its still one of the largest steel mills in the U.S., today it employs some 4,000.

That decline, accompanied by white flight, cut Gary's population by more than half, leaving an estimated 10,000 abandoned structures and a much less racially diverse community, today more than 80 percent Black, and more than a third of Gary's residents live below the poverty line.

BRIAN EVANS: Those jobs dried up and went away, leaving a big economic void here in a city that couldn't be filled as fast as they left.

And so we were affected by that, which ultimately affects everything.

JEFFREY BROWN: Including the crime rise.

BRIAN EVANS: Absolutely.

Absolutely.

JEFFREY BROWN: While Gary struggled to police its way out of gun violence, the city also tried another approach, one with national implications.

In 1999, Gary and other cities decided to pursue a sweeping new legal strategy, to sue gun sellers and manufacturers for not preventing illegal sales.

Well, nearly 25 years later, that suit has yet to full play out in court.

And now it appears it may never.

STATE REP. CHRIS JETER (R-IN): House Bill 1235 is the continuation of a long-running effort to remove sort of the last final lawsuit against gun manufacturers that has been pending.

JEFFREY BROWN: This past March, the Republican-led Indiana legislature passed and Republican Governor Eric Holcomb signed a bill that limited who can bring legal action against the gun industry.

Now only the state, not municipalities like Gary, can sue.

And the law was made retroactive to exactly three days before Gary filed its 1999 lawsuit.

STATE REP. RAGEN HATCHER (D-IN): It's insulting, to say the least, that this legislative body would make a determination about a lawsuit when that is the role of the judicial branch in the state of Indiana.

JEFFREY BROWN: Democrat Ragen Hatcher represents Gary in the Indiana General Assembly.

You're a legislator.

One of the arguments, of course, is that the legislature in a democracy is where these public issues should be addressed, rather than the courts.

STATE REP. RAGEN HATCHER: I don't disagree with that.

And I think that is what the legislature is for.

However, I disagree with the fact that it was made retroactive, and it was a law that was specific to one lawsuit.

JEFFREY BROWN: Is there a racial dynamic at play?

STATE REP. RAGEN HATCHER: I don't know what else could be in play right now except for a racial dynamic, a targeting of Northwest Indiana, a targeting of the people who have made a determination that this is a lawsuit that is important to this community.

Most of our Republican representatives are in rural areas.

And so, when we talk about inner-city crime, it's hard for them to understand the impact of that.

STATE REP. CHRIS JETER: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, members of the House.

JEFFREY BROWN: Republican Representative Chris Jeter, who authored the bill to kill the lawsuit, didn't respond to an interview request.

But Lawrence Keane, who represents the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearm industry, told us Gary's lawsuit unfairly targets legal gun sales.

LAWRENCE KEANE, National Shooting Sports Foundation: Gary's case is the last of some 40 lawsuits filed beginning in late 1998-1999 time frame seeking to blame the industry for the criminal misuse of lawfully sold firearms.

It has no merit.

JEFFREY BROWN: Keane points out that nearly 30 states have laws similar to the one Indiana just passed shielding the gun industry and that, in 2005, President George W. Bush signed a law giving the gun industry broad legal protection from lawsuits.

In essence, that means that the firearms industry is shielded from being held responsible in courts in ways that other industries are not.

LAWRENCE KEANE: Well, I disagree with the premise of your question.

The difference is, no other industry had been attacked with lawsuits like the firearms industry, and that's why legislation was necessary to stop these frivolous lawsuits.

No other industry is held responsible for the actions of criminals.

No one would think to sue Budweiser for drunk driving accidents.

RODNEY POL, City Attorney, Gary, Indiana: I would say it's -- this is more akin to the opioid issues.

JEFFREY BROWN: Rodney Pol is the city attorney for Gary.

RODNEY POL: If a doctor prescribes opioids to somebody that they know needs opioids, totally legal.

But if you have a doctor that's overprescribing and you have companies that are pushing doctors to overprescribe or prescribe to individuals that may not necessarily need it, now all of a sudden you have an opioid epidemic where people are addicted to them.

JEFFREY BROWN: While these arguments go on, gun violence persists, even as the number of homicides has fallen more than 50 percent since the mid-'90s.

BRIAN EVANS: This is the operations center, where we can view multiple cameras all over the city.

JEFFREY BROWN: Deputy Police Chief Brian Evans points to new surveillance efforts like this real-time crime center and better coordination with other law enforcement.

But also making his job harder, in 2022, the state ended a requirement that people in Indiana obtain a permit to carry, conceal, or transport a handgun.

BRIAN EVANS: Before, we could legally ask if you had a gun permit, if you are legally able to have the gun.

Right now, we don't have that right.

Matter of fact, we don't even have a right to encounter you just because of the gun.

AALIYAH STEWART: The steel mill is directly back that way.

JEFFREY BROWN: As for Aaliyah Stewart, she's focused on the continuing realities for many in Gary.

AALIYAH STEWART: My brother and his friends, this was the meet-up spot.

JEFFREY BROWN: Now 23, she's channeled the grief from the deaths of her two brothers into a nonprofit focused on empowering young people and preventing gun violence.

How prevalent are guns in the life of the young people you're working with?

AALIYAH STEWART: If I put 10 kids in here and said, how many of you have had a loved one killed to gun violence, nine of them are going to raise their hand?

JEFFREY BROWN: Nine out of 10?

AALIYAH STEWART: Nine out of 10.

It's their reality.

It's their truth.

I try to be the beacon of light, beacon of hope, providing an opportunity, a space to be theirself, somewhere to come where they have someone that looks like them, acts like them, and understands where they come from.

JEFFREY BROWN: While efforts like Aaliyah's go on, so does the city's lawsuit, at least for now.

Both sides will be back in court later this month, arguing whether the state's new law will in fact end Gary's nearly 25-year-old case.

For the PBS "News Hour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in Gary, Indiana.

AMNA NAWAZ: When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainians desperately tried to board trains to leave the country.

Since then, the Ukrainian railroad has played a crucial role in evacuating people from front-line cities, transporting world leaders, moving cargo and Ukrainian troops.

"News Hour" special correspondent Volodymyr Solohub and videographer Pavel Sookhodolskiy have this report.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: The early days of the Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine brought chaos to the nation's largest company, Ukrainian Railways.

With millions of people trying to flee, the train system was operating at peak capacity.

The company had to change schedules daily to shuttle thousands of people across the border.

Ukrainian Railways have become a lifeline for the country from day one of Russia's full-scale invasion.

They were carrying people out of the country, to safety, and carrying in so much needed aid and supplies.

Ukrainian Railways became the safest way for the world leaders to travel to Ukraine.

Heads of states, prime ministers, and presidents, including President Biden, they all took an overnight train from Poland to get to Kyiv.

Recognizing the vital importance of the rail system during the war, last fall, President Zelenskyy awarded rail workers for their commitment and bravery, thanking them for their contributions.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President (through translator): I want to thank all of you and all workers of our railways.

These are 220,000 people who, despite all the dangers, are working to make sure that our country keeps running.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: The Ukrainian train system was also under Russian attack, their cars pierced with shrapnel, their railways blown away by explosions, and their employees killed or wounded.

And it was a rail station that was the site of one of the war's most heinous Russian attacks in Kramatorsk, dozens killed by a cluster bomb that hit a crowded platform.

According to Ukrainian Railways, as of April of this year, almost 30 of its employees were killed and more than 90 were injured in line of duty, with more than 1,700 wounded on the battlefield; 22-year-old Andriy Sobkovskiy got his first job at 18 working for Ukrainian Railways as a train conductor.

But 10 months into his first time job, he was conscripted and, in April of 2022, three rockets hit the base where he was stationed.

ANDRIY SOBKOVSKIY, Ukrainian Railways Worker (through translator): I was stuck under a concrete plank.

I was sleeping on my bed when it happened, and this plate broke in half and fell on my legs.

A guy to my right died immediately.

He was simply crushed by debris.

A guy to my left was also conscious all the time, and I tried to help him.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: Andriy had to wait for 12 hours before he was rescued.

With part of the ceiling crushing his legs, his thoughts were of his close ones and his future.

ANDRIY SOBKOVSKIY (through translator): I was thinking about my family, about losing my legs.

I realized it back then, because even if your limb is crushed by something for two hours, then that's it.

I knew right away that I will lose both my legs.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: His rehabilitation is still ongoing two years after he lost his limbs.

He now has a special car to help him get around, but the biggest help comes from his family, even though, at first, they were all very shaken.

ANDRIY SOBKOVSKIY (through translator): It was very difficult.

It turned out that it wasn't my family supporting me, but I had to support my family.

It was the most difficult for my grandfather.

He's 70 years old, a former soldier himself.

He took my injury very bad.

We were very close, I spent most of my childhood with him.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: It is for the people like Andriy that the Global Ukraine Rail Task Force raises money.

Earlier this year, a delegation of railroad companies' representatives from different countries came to Ukraine.

And they came bearing gifts.

NICK BROOKS, Co-Chair, Global Ukraine Rail Task Force: Well, we have come to show our solidarity with the Ukrainian rail system in this war of aggression started by Russia.

We primarily come to give the Ukrainian trade union.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: Nick Brooks co-chairs Global Ukraine Rail Task Force, which is an initiative of the rail industry from Europe and North America to support Ukrainian rail companies because of the Russian invasion.

NICK BROOKS: It's essentially -- Ukrainian Railways we think is a second army of Ukraine.

It's the backbone of the country, backbone of society, backbone of the economy.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: The support from the European and American colleagues is clearly appreciated by Ukrainian Railways leadership.

OLEKSANDR PERTSOVSKYI, CEO, Passenger Company at Ukrainian Railways: Psychologically, it's a very huge sign for our employees that they have solidarity of the entire railway community.

It's not -- they feel they are already have the largest community in Ukraine, but feeling being the part of the huge railway network and understanding that they are not alone, it's a very powerful message.

VOLODYMYR SOLOHUB: Ukrainian trains carry not only those presidents and prime ministers, but perhaps more precious cargo, the men and women wounded on the front lines and those returning home.

And with the end of the Russian war against Ukraine nowhere near in sight, Ukrainian Railways will keep playing a vital role in supporting the country's survival.

For the PBS "News Hour," I'm Volodymyr Solohub in Kyiv, Ukraine.

AMNA NAWAZ: Many of you will remember Flossie Lewis, who was among our earliest profiles in our Brief But Spectacular series.

She spoke to us in 2016 about growing old and living well and earned millions of clicks and shares online.

Well, tonight we hear from Flossie and from Brief But Spectacular series about creator Steve Goldbloom to celebrate a very special occasion, her 100th birthday.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: I am Steve Goldbloom.

I'm the creator of Brief But Spectacular, and I'm here with one of the best guests we have ever had.

It's Flossie Lewis.

And you are approaching a very big birthday.

You're going to be?

FLOSSIE LEWIS, 100 Years Old: A hundred.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: You're going to be 100 years old.

We first met when you were 91, and we did a video together.

FLOSSIE LEWIS: Yes.

And I asked: "What do you want me to do?"

And you said: "Just talk."

Getting old is a state of mind.

Now, I'm 91.

I'm badly crippled.

But I still think I'm 15.

Accepting the fact that the body is going to go, but the personality doesn't have to go, and that thing which is the hardest to admit is that character doesn't have to go.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: What does it feel like for you to watch that back?

FLOSSIE LEWIS: It feels like I haven't changed much.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: Yes.

FLOSSIE LEWIS: Yes, and that's a nice thing to feel.

Oh, well, I no longer see, as you know.

And the hearing is bad, as you know.

But we still talk as if we're old friends and as if I were once your teacher.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: Yes.

FLOSSIE LEWIS: And that's a lovely thing.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: You know, I was looking at some old footage that we had.

FLOSSIE LEWIS: Oh, I love that.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: But we were sitting there and talking about death.

How long would you like to live?

FLOSSIE LEWIS: When the eyes and the ears go, no point after that.

I no longer can read.

I mean, I'm looking at my fingers, and I can see 10.

But the pleasure of reading and making notes in the margin, that's gone.

But that's part of my life.

And I no longer write verse, because, even though I write it, I can't read it back.

I can't perfect it.

Oh, let's put it this way.

I do not want to die because I love too many people.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: Your character has not gone anywhere.

It's completely intact.

FLOSSIE LEWIS: I wish it were character, dear.

It's personality.

There's a difference.

No, I get away with murder every day.

(LAUGHTER) STEVE GOLDBLOOM: So, what I want to do is I want to ask you a few questions, but I'd like to disappear and make it -- go behind the camera.

I just want to say thank you, Flossie.

It's great to have you back.

FLOSSIE LEWIS: Thank you, Steve.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: What has changed since the last time we spoke?

FLOSSIE LEWIS: The body has grown old, really old.

I haven't lost a lot of the energy, but I can't walk.

And that really confines me.

There's nothing to be done about it.

I will be 100.

And that's a very deep thing.

And there are moments when I'm very sure, and then there are moments when I fall apart.

And that happens because -- because the memory, Steve, does go.

And, suddenly, I find myself in the middle of a sentence waiting for a word that I have known all my life, and it doesn't come.

And that can wipe you out.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: What do you derive the most pleasure from today?

FLOSSIE LEWIS: Remembering the people that I loved.

My name is Flossie Lewis, and this has been my Brief But Spectacular take.

AMNA NAWAZ: And a very hearty happy birthday to Flossie from everyone here at the "PBS News Hour."

Remember, there is a lot more online, including a story about a group of cacti species that's been poached to near extinction.

That's at PBS.org/NewsHour.

And join us again back here tomorrow night for a look back at a Supreme Court term full of consequential and controversial decisions.

In the meantime, that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us.