AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

Geoff Bennett is on assignment.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: Congressional negotiations over government funding grow increasingly urgent after the Treasury says the U.S. could hit its debt limit in less than a month.

Multiple reports of justices' questionable financial dealings prompt a Senate probe into Supreme Court ethics.

And the new head of the World Food Program, Cindy McCain, discusses the worsening hunger crisis and widespread displacement in Somalia.

CINDY MCCAIN, Executive Director, World Food Program: They're not only facing drought and the inability to be able to feed themselves, but they're also facing conflict as well.

So those two combinations are almost a perfect storm for what could be famine.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: The White House is renewing its demand for Congress to lift the debt ceiling without conditions, as the nation could default on its debt in less than a month.

Since January, the government has been deploying extraordinary measures to pay its bills, but the money could run out as early as June 1, according to an estimate by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

That puts Washington on high alert to avoid a dangerous and unprecedented default.

Following all of this are our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, and congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins.

Good to see you both.

Thank you for being here.

LISA DESJARDINS: Good to be here.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, Laura, let's start with this.

The president has said he's not going to negotiate.

But, yesterday, the White House called the four congressional leaders, invited them to a meeting at the White House on May 9.

What is that about?

Are they changing strategy here?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: In the near-term, no, they're not changing strategy.

The president's position is still the same.

And White House press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made this clear during her briefing today.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, White House Press Secretary: He's going to make it very clear in this meeting that they're going to have next week how it is Congress' constitutional duty to act, that he is not going to negotiate on the debt ceiling.

Been very clear.

That is not going to change.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Now, Karine, as well as other White House officials I have spoken to, say that the president in that meeting is going to say that they need to avoid a default, and that there cannot be any conditions attached to that, so, again, the message still the same.

But, also, they are going to talk about initiating this separate process to address the budget, to address appropriations.

Why now?

They say because they finally saw somewhat of what House Republicans want in that bill that they passed last week.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Lisa, he's going to have to work with Republicans on this.

Where are they right now, especially Speaker McCarthy?

LISA DESJARDINS: It's going to be a test, as it has been, I think, in the last few weeks for House Republicans.

Right now, they also are not changing their strategy.

I will report that we know Speaker McCarthy and also Republican Leader McConnell do plan to go to that meeting on May 9.

They will both be there.

But House Republicans insist they will not back a clean -- so-called clean debt ceiling bill.

That's the only thing the president says he will accept, hence our major problem here.

In addition to that, Amna, we have some very particular dynamics in the House of Representatives, our viewer familiar with some of these.

I want to look at what we're facing here.

In the House of Representatives, Speaker McCarthy has just a four-vote majority.

In addition, as part of the deal to become speaker, he agreed to a rule that allows any member to force a vote on his own removal.

So, in other words, a clean debt bill, should it come down to it if McCarthy even feels that's the right thing to do, politically, would be suicide for him.

So McCarthy needs something here to appease his base.

On the one hand, one piece of, I think, pragmatic good news from Republicans is, I don't hear any Republicans saying, what's the big deal?

We're not worried about the debt ceiling.

They say they are worried about it.

They don't want to risk default.

On the other hand, their base is fired up about what they see as just a tidal wave of red ink, and they think this is a do-or-die moment to try and get spending cuts.

AMNA NAWAZ: And, Laura, there's reason to be worried, right?

That deadline is coming near.

But we have come close before.

There have been debt limit standoffs before.

We all remember the 2011 fiscal cliff.

How are those past experiences driving the White House approach today?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: It's entirely the foundation of the White House approach, Amna, because the president was a key player there, if you will remember.

So, since President Biden took office in 2021, he's had the same line, no negotiation over the debt limit increases tied to spending cuts.

He won't do it.

In 2011, then-President Obama started off negotiating with then-Speaker John Boehner about spending cuts, about tax increases.

They couldn't come to an agreement.

And so, ultimately, the two people that hammered it out was then-Vice President Biden and then-Minority Leader McConnell in the Senate.

And, ultimately, those two people came away with very different lessons from 2011.

McConnell said then that his lesson was that you could use the debt limit to ransom, use it as ransom and take it as a hostage to get ultimate spending cuts that they want, that that was something he thought that Republicans could ultimately do again.

President Biden's lesson was very different.

He and then-President Obama walked away from that saying, no, we can never negotiate again over clean increases to the debt limit.

And all of the advisers that -- or allies close to the White House inside the White House, people outside the White House that I speak to say that something that's been driving the president since he took office.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Lisa, we talk a lot about where the president is, where House Republicans are.

What about Democrats on Capitol Hill?

What's the role for them?

LISA DESJARDINS: They will in the Senate, but truly what we have seen from Democrats and Republicans is acknowledgement that this really is not in the Senate's wheelhouse altogether.

I want to play something we heard from Senator Mitch McConnell today, the House -- the Senate Republican leader.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It should be clear to the administration that the Senate is not a relevant player this time.

They have got to have a measure that can pass the House.

How does it pass the House?

It has to have the support of the speaker.

And I'm behind the speaker.

LISA DESJARDINS: One thing that is happening in the Senate and also in the House are some backup plans.

And we're going to be doing more reporting on days to come.

There are some Democrats talking about a maybe a discharge petition in the House.

That's complicated.

We will come back to that.

There are bills being filed as sort of worst-case scenarios.

But there's just not clear that they have the votes in either chamber.

AMNA NAWAZ: Laura, we can't stress this enough.

What's at stake here, not just a default, but even coming close?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Coming close, there are significant economic consequences.

We saw that the credit rating can be impacted the way it was in 2011.

But if we go over the cliff, and there is a debt default, the consequences are these, at least one million jobs lost, a possible recession.

The country's credit rating would tank again, as well as interest rates going up, likely cuts to Medicare and Social Security benefits and military paychecks delayed.

And the longer the default is, the more jobs lost, up to as many as seven million.

And from the White House perspective, Amna, President Biden feels as though he may have a little bit of leverage here, because even though McConnell said that this is ultimately solved by a deal between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy, the White House knows that this ultimately isn't actually solved until Speaker McCarthy can get the votes on the floor of the House and convinces Republicans to go along with any deal they come up with.

AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, walk us through what comes next.

LISA DESJARDINS: OK, here we go.

We have got that May 9 meeting.

But we think we have a lot of time until June 1.

No, not really, because the truth is, June 1 -- May 9 meeting, after that, that's when we start talks.

How about this?

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to recess on May 19.

So, in Congress time, we really just have a couple of weeks.

And I will tell you something that I'm watching for even some Republicans too only today on the Hill, that they may be interested in sort of a temporary extension, 30-day extension of the debt ceiling.

Who knows.

We have seen this play before.

But that's something that is in the air right now.

AMNA NAWAZ: Congress time very different, as we know.

Laura, while I have you here, I need to ask you about another situation I know you have been tracking on the U.S. Southern border.

Title 42, as you have talked about a lot, set to lift very soon.

The administration is preparing for what will surely be an increase of people coming.

And they have announced some new measures today.

What can you tell us about that?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, the Department of Homeland Security requested that an additional number of troops be sent down to the Southern border by the Defense Department.

This announcement would be 1,500 military troops sent to the border arriving May 10, for at least 90 days.

Their tasks, though, Amna, are going to be data entry, warehouse work, administrative aid, and that is in addition to the 2,500 National Guard troops already there.

And the White House stress today that these troops will not be interacting with migrants at all and that ultimately the reason that they're having to do this is because they expect more migrants to head to the border with the lifting of Title 42.

AMNA NAWAZ: Another huge story we will be following ahead.

Laura Barron-Lopez, Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines: Law enforcement agencies across Texas spent a fourth day hunting for a gunman who killed five neighbors near Houston on Friday.

Search teams have said they have yet to find a trace of the suspect or clues to his whereabouts.

More than 250 officers, including U.S.

Marshals, are part of that manhunt.

The final criminal case and the death of George Floyd ended in a conviction today.

A Minnesota judge found former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao guilty of aiding and abetting manslaughter.

In May of 2020, Thao held back bystanders while fellow officers restrained Floyd, despite his pleas that he could not breathe.

Thao had already been convicted of violating Floyd's federal civil rights.

A section of Interstate 55 and Central Illinois was closed again late today as a precaution a day after a dust storm touched off deadly pile-ups.

Six people died and at least 37 were injured.

More than 70 vehicles were caught up in Monday's fiery crashes about 75 miles north of St. Louis.

Police said today that some of the burned and mangled bodies are still unidentified.

BRENDAN KELLY, Director, Illinois State Police: We are working with -- again, with our special agents to help identify them and use -- use the techniques that we have when we are investigating criminal investigations to be able to link the information we have to surviving family members.

AMNA NAWAZ: Officials say that the wind blew up blinding dust clouds from newly plowed fields near the highway.

Crews worked through the nights to clear away the wreckage and the dirt.

The Israeli military has launched airstrikes over Gaza tonight, answering a new barrage of Palestinian rockets.

The violence erupted after Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan died in Israeli custody.

He'd been on a hunger strike for nearly three months.

News of his death triggered a volley of 26 rockets from militants in Gaza.

In the West Bank, Palestinians demonstrated and clashed with Israeli soldiers in the streets.

The exodus from Sudan intensified today with long lines at ports and border crossings, as rival factions kept fighting.

U.N. officials said more than 100,000 people have already fled the country, with more than 330,000 displaced within Sudan.

In the north, thousands were on buses and trucks bound for neighboring Egypt.

Many said they have battled scorching heat and gone days without food.

AISHA IBRAHIM DAWOOD, Former Khartoum Resident (through translator): When we left Khartoum nearly a week ago.

It was very difficult, because there were 28 of us.

And the young boys don't have visas, but we kept them.

We left under heavy fighting during clashes and artillery.

It was a real suffering.

AMNA NAWAZ: The two warring parties agreed today to a new seven-day cease-fire starting on Thursday.

Previous truce attempts have failed to stop the fighting.

Back in this country, more than 11,000 movie and TV writers walked off the job.

Picket lines quickly went up in New York in the Writers Guild's first strike in 15 years.

Members are demanding higher pay from the rise of streaming services.

Several late-night talk shows said they will start airing reruns immediately.

This year's Tony Award nominations are out, highlighting the best of Broadway.

The musical "Some Like It Hot" based on the 1959 movie led all productions with 13 nods overall.

Three other shows received nine nominations apiece.

The Tony Award ceremony will be held on June 11.

And on Wall Street today, smaller and midsized bank stocks slumped again amid worries about their health and about the broader economy.

Leading indices were down 1 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 367 points to close at 33684.

The Nasdaq fell 132 points.

The S&P 500 dropped to 48.

And a passing of note.

Canadian-singer songwriter Gordon Lightfoot died Monday in Toronto.

He emerged from the city's folk scene in the mid-1960s and earned five Grammy nominations with a string of hits in the 1970s.

Here he is performing "If You Could Read My Mind" on the BBC in 1972.

(MUSIC) AMNA NAWAZ: Gordon Lightfoot was 84 years old.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": communities along the Mississippi River struggle to handle the highest floodwaters in decades; the U.S. surgeon general warns of the health risks associated with loneliness; a new initiative aims to boost graduation rates at historically Black colleges; plus much more.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are spotlighting recent ethics concerns surrounding the highest court in the land.

In a Judiciary Committee hearing today, senators debated how to address concerns involving Supreme Court justices, including whether they should apply ethical guidelines to the justices themselves.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): The committee will come to order.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today's hearing focused on the Supreme Court and ethics, unfolding largely along partisan lines, with Democrats arguing the court has failed to uphold its own code of conduct.

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): Until there is an honest ethics process at the Supreme Court, these messes will continue.

The court has conclusively proven that it cannot police itself.

AMNA NAWAZ: And Republicans accusing Democrats of attacking the court.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): If you want to talk about making the court a better institution, I will be glad to work with you in that regard.

If you want to talk about destroying the court, count me out.

AMNA NAWAZ: Unlike the guidelines federal judges must adhere to, the Supreme Court has no formal ethics code.

Justices are meant to police themselves.

But a series of recent reports documenting justices' failures to disclose gifts and real estate deals has sparked questions about possible reforms.

ProPublica reported in April that Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts, including luxury trips from a billionaire donor.

They later reported the same donor purchased properties from Thomas including Thomas' mother's home, which he still lives in today.

Politico later reported Justice Neil Gorsuch sold a Colorado property to the CEO of a law firm with regular business before the court and didn't disclose that the CEO was a buyer.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN: Congress not only has the authority to legislate in this area, but the responsibility.

AMNA NAWAZ: In today's hearing, Democrats argued, lawmakers must now act.

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN: The Supreme Court should step up and fix this themselves.

For years, they have refused.

And because the court will not act, Congress must not.

AMNA NAWAZ: But Republicans dismissed the hearing as a liberal effort to undermine the conservative-leaning court.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): The danger isn't that rogue justices are operating without ethics.

It's that Democrats aren't winning every fight, and they find that reality intolerable.

AMNA NAWAZ: Not in the hearing room, Chief Justice John Roberts, who was invited by Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin to testify.

Roberts declined, calling congressional testimony - - quote -- "exceedingly rare" and cited -- quote - - "the importance of preserving judicial independence."

His letter included a statement on the court's ethics signed by all of the justices, all this as trust in the court is at record lows.

In a recent "PBS NewsHour"/NPR/Marist poll, more than six in 10 Americans said they have little to no confidence in the court.

To help us explore these issues of accountability and confidence in the court.

I'm joined by University of Virginia Law Professor Amanda Frost.

She testified at the hearing before Congress today.

Professor Frost, thanks for being here.

AMANDA FROST, University of Virginia School of Law: Thanks for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, it's worth noting we learned about the gifts to Justice Thomas, Justice Gorsuch's property sales through journalists uncovering the information and then reporting it.

From what you have seen, should that have been information that they disclosed?

AMANDA FROST: Yes, there were clearly failures to follow the ethics laws in those cases.

AMNA NAWAZ: And so what did you make of how the hearing unfolded on those issues today?

AMANDA FROST: Yes.

Well, some of that -- the conversation was productive.

I think there was a general recognition that one of the problems is lack of transparency and that the court is not taking its ethics obligations seriously enough.

So whether Congress takes action through legislation isn't clear, but at least they're shining a light on the issue.

AMNA NAWAZ: Is there context for this conduct?

When you look back in history, are there previous examples of ethical concerns on the court we can compare this moment to?

AMANDA FROST: Yes, there are a few.

I mean, most notably, Justice Abe Fortas way back in the 1960s took a $20,000 payment from a former client.

And that ended -- leading to his resignation, actually.

The public pressure led to that.

And he returned the money, even, but I think he realized that he couldn't withstand that kind of scrutiny because he had been paid while being a justice.

And that was a problem under the ethics laws.

AMNA NAWAZ: What about back in 2016?

I recall when Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had made some comments criticizing then nominee Donald Trump and, under public pressure, had to come out and apologize.

Does that all live in the same universe here?

AMANDA FROST: Yes, I think it does.

And I think she violated ethics laws by making those statements, or at least the code of conduct that justices say that they follow.

And she apologized and retracted those statements, as she should have.

Justice Thomas is not alone.

And that's the problem.

We need the court to be more accountable and all of the justices to be following these ethics laws.

AMNA NAWAZ: What about Justice Roberts not appearing today?

Do you think he should have?

And were there questions you would have liked to see him answer about this?

AMANDA FROST: Absolutely.

I was really disappointed that he didn't take the opportunity to have an interbranch dialogue on this question.

And justices testify.

This is not unusual.

And they testify about matters affecting the judiciary.

So I think it would have been helpful if he'd shown up and given the court's perspective.

AMNA NAWAZ: We have noted to, look, both Justice Thomas and Gorsuch are conservative justices.

The calls for accountability right now are largely coming for Democrats.

So this entire conversation seems to be unfolding in a very partisan arena.

How do you look at that?

AMANDA FROST: Yes, unfortunately, it does feel partisan, which is too bad.

I have been talking about this for decades.

And it really shouldn't be viewed as partisan.

I think part of the problem is, because the court is so lacking in transparency, and because it's not making clear what it does to follow ethics laws, the only way we hear about these stories is through occasional investigative reporting.

If the court itself was more transparent, I think it prevents some of these partisan issues from arising in this Democrat-and-Republican-type split.

AMNA NAWAZ: So what does that transparency look like?

What is the remedy here, specific to these examples too, with Justice Gorsuch and Thomas?

What do you believe should happen?

AMANDA FROST: Well, I wish the court on its own would adopt a code of conduct.

Right now,it's the only court at the federal judiciary that does not follow a code of conduct or have one that's binding on it.

And so I wish the court would on its own do that.

If not, Congress could compel them to do so through legislation.

And, hopefully, they would then quickly respond.

And so I'm hopeful that might be what happens in the near future.

AMNA NAWAZ: Do you see that happening in this congressional body?

AMANDA FROST: Right now, unlikely, but the conversation is progressing.

And I think the recent revelations of unethical conduct by a variety of justices have led more people to think reform is needed.

AMNA NAWAZ: Help us understand a little bit more specifically what that code of conduct would call for.

You mentioned, of course, federal judges have to abide by that kind of -- those ethical guidelines.

What specifically do you want to see when it comes to Supreme Court justices?

AMANDA FROST: Yes, so the code of conduct that currently binds the lower court judges, but not the Supreme Court, that would be a great model for the Supreme Court, and they could tweak it as needed for the special situation of being a Supreme Court justice.

It requires things like the courts must make sure never to do something that appears improper, the appearance of impropriety, as well as actual impropriety.

They need to be careful about who they go and speak in front of, who they accept gifts from.

They just have to be more conscious of the fact that they are public figures, and they are deciding cases, and legitimacy of the court is very important to the American people, if they want to trust the outcomes from that court.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, when it comes to the American public and their trust in the Supreme Court, we know that trust, like many major institutions, has been on the decline.

There's a recent "PBS NewsHour"/NPR/Marist poll that asked people how they feel about the court, their confidence in the Supreme Court; 53 percent of Republicans said they feel mostly confident, just 24 percent of Democrats, 39 percent of independents.

And when Justice Alito was asked about that, he answered -- quote -- "Well, yeah, what do you expect when you're day in and day out they're illegitimate, they're engaging in all sorts of unethical conduct, they're doing this, they're doing that?"

Professor Frost, is criticism of the court contributing to their credibility problem?

AMANDA FROST: So, I think there's many reasons why the court is losing some of the public support and trust that it's had in the past, not just these ethical problems.

But I feel like these ethical problems are a self-inflicted wound, because the court, if it was more transparent, if it had an employee responsible for advising them on ethics, so that they weren't making mistakes and constantly failing to follow the law, then these stories would go away, or at least they would be diminished.

And so I feel like the court has injured its own reputation by not taking action.

AMNA NAWAZ: That's University of Virginia Law Professor Amanda Frost joining us today.

Professor Frost, thanks for being here.

AMANDA FROST: Thank you for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: The world faces a food crisis.

Some 345 million people are what's known as food-insecure.

Simply put, they don't have nearly enough to eat.

Last year, the international community filled gaps open by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

But those were largely stopgap measures.

And, today, food systems remain fragile.

The U.N. World Food Program is at the center of confronting those challenges.

Its new executive director is a familiar face to many Americans.

And she spoke with Nick Schifrin.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Cindy McCain, businesswoman, philanthropist and, most recently, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, became the WFP's 14th executive director last month.

Her first trip to the field in that role is to Somalia, which is facing its worst drought in 40 years that killed last year an estimated 43,000 people.

Ambassador McCain joins us from the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Ambassador McCain, thank you very much.

Welcome to the "NewsHour."

What are the conditions that Somalis face?

CINDY MCCAIN, Executive Director, World Food Program: Well, they face an uphill battle, number one.

They're not only facing drought and the inability to be able to feed themselves, but they're also facing conflict as well.

So those two combinations are almost a perfect storm for what could be famine.

And, mind you, we kept famine away from Somalia last year, and we're going to try to do our very best to do the same thing this year.

We have to remind people to not forget about Somalia.

We have to remind people that things are really tough in Somalia and why we need their donations and their support for this.

NICK SCHIFRIN: More than 7.5 million Somalis in total -- that's a little less than half of the country -- need assistance, and nearly three million have been displaced by both drought and instability, exactly what you just said.

And many of those live in camps.

You visited a camp as part of your trip on the Ethiopia border, met with families.

What are the challenges that those people face?

CINDY MCCAIN: A lot of people are not eligible yet or have not been able to get assistance.

So they're living there on the hopes that they're going to get assistance.

Remember, because of the funding dropping this year, we're not going to be able to feed as many people as we did last year.

So what we're faced with now is,at the six-month period, telling people we cannot give them any more assistance.

That's a tough decision.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The U.N. request for funding for Somalia is $2.6 billion.

How short are you?

CINDY MCCAIN: Well, we're short probably most of that, to be honest with you.

I mean, we are faced with less money than we were -- we -- was available last year.

And that was unprecedented last year, if I may say.

And so, this year, we're going to have to learn to do more with less, be a little more creative in how we distribute things and how we -- and how we operate.

NICK SCHIFRIN: As you said, Somalia faces these twin crises, both of the drought, but also conflicts.

Some 900,000 Somalis live in areas that are controlled by the militant group Al-Shabaab.

How does that security situation complicate your work?

CINDY MCCAIN: It complicates a lot of it.

And also consider most of all our workers that are there on the ground, our WFP staff.

There is that element of insecurity that we are faced with every day.

And, most of all, the refugees are faced with it every day.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Of course, a lot of this is about climate change.

Somalia has faced five rainy seasons in a row below average.

It's in the middle of the sixth.

Temperatures are hotter.

How does that play out?

And how important is climate adaptation, things like finding new water sources, digging deeper boreholes, rehabilitating infrastructure?

CINDY MCCAIN: What that means for us is, is that we have to be creative.

Talk about -- talking about resilience.

With that comes wells, waters, water management, all the things that you just mentioned, and more, because the ultimate goal in this is to make the Somalis self-sufficient, so they can farm their own land and they can -- they can grow their own food.

NICK SCHIFRIN: I want to switch you over to Sudan, which, of course, is facing a humanitarian crisis, but also the threat of collapse because of violence.

Earlier, in April, three WFP workers were killed.

Two were seriously wounded.

You had to suspend operations.

Yesterday, you announced you could bring back operations in the south and the east.

CINDY MCCAIN: Mm-hmm.

NICK SCHIFRIN: How do you balance the needs of the Sudanese people that you're trying to help with the safety of your staff?

CINDY MCCAIN: We never left Sudan, but we got our -- most of our people out safely.

It is an absolute tragedy, what happened to our three -- our three WFP folks.

We will be resuming operations in four areas in the eastern part of the country.

Security is still a very top concern with that.

And what we're faced but now is the -- is reconfiguring our present.

Food is very short.

Water is very short within Khartoum and other parts of the country.

And the bottom line here is, is that we need help to be able to help these people and give them lifesaving food and water.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Ambassador, let me expand out.

Let me zoom you out, if you will.

When your predecessor took his job about six years ago, some 80 million people across the world faced starvation.

Today, that number is 345 million, including 50 million -- quote -- "knocking on famine's door."

What are the causes of that rapid expansion in that global food crisis right now?

CINDY MCCAIN: Well, conflict is certainly a large part of this.

Climate change is a large part of this, and the cost of food and grain.

I mean, it's everything because of what's happening in Ukraine.

And the -- and, of course, our ability or inability to get the grain out has caused the markets to fluctuate.

And so it's affected everything.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The U.S, of course, is the WFP's top donor.

And I do not want to bring politics into this, but I just want to ask one question, that you have said you could never forgive former President Trump for what he said about your late husband.

But are you concerned at all about bipartisan support for WFP if former President Trump becomes the Republican candidate or indeed the president again?

CINDY MCCAIN: No, I have to believe in the good hearts of our -- of not only our American politicians, but people around the world.

The United States is the largest donor to WFP.

But, again, we have many other donors as well.

So my job is to not only tell the story, especially about countries like Somalia, but help them understand the importance and the necessity to be sizable donors, but to respect the people that are -- that are so seriously hurt and vulnerable on the ground.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Ambassador Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, thank you very much.

CINDY MCCAIN: Thank you.

Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: While flooding along the Mississippi River happens every year, water levels are surging this year, thanks to a record snow across the Midwest that's been followed by a sudden thaw.

William Brangham reports.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Last fall, drought shrank the Mississippi to historic lows.

Now it's the opposite problem.

Water levels are hitting heights not seen in decades.

Communities up and down the Mississippi are inundated, stretching from St. Paul, Minnesota, to just north of Saint Louis, Missouri.

In Eastern Iowa, some streets appear as if they're a part of the river.

The city of Davenport's ballpark is surrounded.

But Davenport Mayor Mike Matson said his constituents are resilient.

MIKE MATSON, Mayor of Davenport, Iowa: There's certainly folks impacted.

And the American Cross and us work directly, the Salvation Army, others.

And we have a shelter for those that would like it.

We provide some assistance.

And we asked for a declaration, emergency declaration, and our governor granted that, so people can get individual assistance.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Is this a challenge for you all trying to plan a city that you want to stick around for generations to come when you're never quite sure whether the river is going to be low or whether it's going to be coming into your living room?

MIKE MATSON: We are a little bit concerned, as it seems maybe some of the storms, the precipitation levels or amount seems to be continuing to grow or increase in intensity.

That's certainly something we need to keep an eye on.

And we're always talking with our folks at the federal level about that.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: This recent flooding comes after the Upper Midwest experienced record winter snows.

And when April suddenly turned warm and did so fast, that melting snow sent a gusher into the river.

Jason Knouft is a freshwater scientist at Saint Louis University.

JASON KNOUFT, Saint Louis University: I always say that water touches every part of our lives.

And when we see flooding, when we see droughts, it disrupts supply chains.

We saw that last year in the Mississippi River with droughts.

And, this year, we're seeing it with these severe floods across the Upper Mississippi Watershed.

And the challenge that we face is that this is what we're expecting with climate changes is greater variability in weather patterns.

And we often think, well, this is the new normal.

And it's -- unfortunately, it's not the new normal.

Next year is going to be different.

The year after that is going to be different.

And the year after that is going to be different.

And it makes it very hard to plan.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Stillwater, Minnesota, the water crept right to the edge of houses and local businesses.

Now the cleanup begins.

Stillwater Mayor Ted Kozlowski: TED KOZLOWSKI, Mayor of Stillwater, Minnesota: It's always been a badge of honor in Stillwater to help sandbag, right?

Rite what's kind of concerning is, I just - - there's a delta somewhere where, does it make sense to keep doing these kinds of temporary preparations, or do we, as a city or a state or as a -- from the fed gov, have to bite the bullet and say, you know what, we need to do something permanent along the shoreline of our river community, of other river communities?

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The river levels now seem to be receding.

The hope is that the rest of that northern snow melts at a more manageable pace going forward.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm William Brangham.

AMNA NAWAZ: The U.S. surgeon general today declared a new public health epidemic in America: loneliness.

A new report from his office finds loneliness can have profound effects on mental health, as well as heart disease, stroke and dementia.

It tracks a decline in social connections, and links all of this to billions of dollars in health care costs.

Dr. Vivek Murthy is the U.S. surgeon general.

And he joins me now.

Dr. Murthy, welcome back to the "NewsHour."

Thanks for joining us.

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S.

Surgeon General: Thanks so much, Amna, for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So your declaration and this report very clearly link loneliness to matters of life or death, to put it plainly.

This one number stuck out to me.

It found social isolation increases the risk of premature mortality by nearly 30 percent.

How and why did you come to focus on this topic?

DR. VIVEK MURTHY: Well, I had certainly had firsthand experience with loneliness in my own life, and also in my care of patients, where I found so often people come into the hospital for one condition or another, but there was loneliness lurking in the background.

But it was only when I began my tenure as surgeon general that I started to realize, in talking to people across the country, that loneliness was extraordinarily common.

In fact, we are now finding that one in two adults report measurable levels of loneliness.

And it turns out that young people are most affected than any other group.

And here's why this is so concerning.

It's because we have realized that loneliness is more than just a bad feeling.

It has real consequences for our mental and physical health.

It increases our risk of depression, anxiety and suicide.

But social disconnection also raises the risk of heart disease and dementia and premature death on levels on par with smoking daily and even greater than the risks that we see associated with obesity.

So, however you look at it, loneliness and isolation are public health concerns that we have to prioritize.

AMNA NAWAZ: We see, according to your numbers, that things were already trending this way, that it was then an accelerated during the pandemic.

In fact, one of the numbers you highlight was, between 2003 and 2020, social engagement with friends decreased from 60 minutes a day in 2003 to just 20 minutes a day in 2020.

Before COVID, how do you see that?

What was driving that trend?

DR. VIVEK MURTHY: Well, there are a number of factors.

And I'm glad you mentioned COVID, because COVID has poured fuel on a fire that was already burning.

It's exacerbated loneliness and isolation.

But this has been building, Amna, for decades.

We have in fact seen a decrease in participation in community organizations, in faith organizations and recreational leagues over several decades.

We have seen that technology has fundamentally changed how we interact with one another and how we communicate with one another and, unfortunately, has often replaced what used to be rich in-person connections with online connections, which often are of lower quality.

And, finally, we see that people are just experiencing tremendous change in their lives.

They're moving more.

They're changing jobs more often.

And that can disrupt a lot of our social relationships.

It's not that these trends are necessarily bad, in and of themselves.

But what we have to do now in modern life is intentionally build in the infrastructure we need for connection in our individual lives, as well as in our communities.

AMNA NAWAZ: Coming out of the pandemic, I think a lot of people made choices that they thought were good for their well-being and their mental health, whittling down the number of friends that you see to a core group or working from home more frequently, having that flexibility in your life.

It seems like you're saying there could be a long-term negative side to some of those choices.

I mean, how do we fix that?

DR. VIVEK MURTHY: Well, it turns out that the choices you make about friendships are critical here, because it's not just having people around you or having relationships.

It's having healthy relationships.

So, some people during the pandemic found themselves focusing more on the relationships that really sustain them.

And that's a good thing.

But other people found themselves paring back on all of their social interactions, and that actually can be harmful.

So, the quality piece really matters.

And one of the worries I have on that, as we think about the various factors that are driving this, is, I think for too many people, especially for too many of our young people, the experience of social media has highlighted the importance of quantity of connection over quality of connection.

And we know that that's not a recipe for greater connection.

But, finally, just keep in mind this.

As big as this problem can seem, and as much as there is to do about it -- and we lay out in the advisory I just issued today on this subject a framework for a national strategy to address loneliness.

The key is to remember there are individuals steps that we can take in our own lives today that will make a difference, just spending 15 minutes a day with people we care about, making sure that we're fully present when we're interacting with others, and we're not distracted by technology, looking for ways to help other people, neighbors and co-workers, recognizing that small acts of service can be powerful in making us feel more connected with one another.

These are the small steps that can make a big difference in how connected we feel.

AMNA NAWAZ: You mentioned social media.

And I know, previously, you have talked about your concern about young people, in particular, using social media.

So, when you look at these kinds of state bans we're seeing now, for example, Utah being the very first to come out and say that anyone under 18 is banned from social media unless they explicitly have parental permission, how do you view those?

Are those a good idea?

DR. VIVEK MURTHY: Well, I certainly think it's important and that we have these conversations and explore solutions to how to make social media safer for kids, because the truth is, more than a decade has passed where kids have been using social media in significant numbers.

And we haven't had adequate safety standards to ensure that our children are not exposed to harmful content, that their use of social media isn't so excessive that it robs them of their sleep and their time in person with others.

In fact, all of that is happening right now, along with the fact that social media for many young people is eroding their own self-esteem, because they're in this field where they are comparing themselves constantly to other people at rates that we have never experienced.

So, the bottom line is, we need to have this conversation about how to make social media safer.

And while there are different strategies that are being explored right now, I think the conversation is not only important.

I think it's welcomed by so many parents out there -- and I say this as a parent myself - - who are looking at what's happening and are saying, this is too hard for a single parent to manage on their own.

We need to do something as a society to make these platforms safer for our kids.

AMNA NAWAZ: You mentioned on the Web site there there's recommendations for individuals, for schools, for communities, and so on.

People can go to HHS.gov for more.

But there's no calls for federal funding or any kind of federal action this.

Is there some kind of government program or government action that could address this epidemic?

DR. VIVEK MURTHY: Absolutely.

And, in fact, we lay out some steps that policymakers can take here to address the crisis of loneliness and isolation.

They include funding more research in this area, so we understand who is most at risk and what solutions work, also extending more support to community organizations that can often be the lifeline of creating connection in our various towns and cities.

But they also include taking what we call a connection-in-all-policies approach to policymaking, which is to recognize that sometimes transportation policy, housing policy, education policy, sometimes, these have effects on our interactions with one another, on our ability to actually meet up and see people.

We see that with physical infrastructure all the time.

Understanding these consequences in the policymaking process is important.

We're used to thinking about financial costs with policy.

We have also got to assess social costs as well.

And the reason it is so important we do all of this work at an individual, government and community level is that social connection is really vital for our individual health, but also for the health of communities.

We know that communities that are more connected have lower levels of violence.

They have higher economic prosperity.

They're more resilient in the face of adversity, and they're more protected against division and polarization.

These are all challenges that we're struggling with today.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, joining us tonight.

Dr. Murthy, thank you.

Good to talk to you.

DR. VIVEK MURTHY: Thanks so much, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: As we enter another graduation season, historically Black colleges and universities are working hard to grow the number of students who walk across their stages in the years to come.

One program is doing that by focusing on reenrollment and giving students access to one-on-one educational support.

Hari Sreenivasan reports from Atlanta for our latest series on Rethinking College.

HARI SREENIVASAN: The Crown Forum at Morehouse College in Atlanta is part lecture series, part pep rally.

The weekly assembly is a celebration of an all-male institution renowned for producing Black leaders known as Morehouse Men, from Spike Lee to Martin Luther King Jr. MAN: And now you're graduates.

You will be moving forward.

HARI SREENIVASAN: We visited as the school recognize its soon-to-be-graduating seniors.

A week before we arrived, Morehouse honored one senior with a brand-new award.

MAN: The Dean Darden Academic Resilience Award is being presented to Mr. Roland Moses Bland.

(APPLAUSE) HARI SREENIVASAN: Resilience to overcome all the things that life threw at him.

ROLAND MOSES BLAND, Senior, Morehouse College: I got on academic probation after my first semester.

During that summer, my grandfather passed away.

My grandfather raised me.

When that happened, I decided to take time off from school and be there for my family.

I came back, smooth sailing.

And then COVID-19 hits.

Going back to school online, I don't know if that's for me.

And I decided to take some more time off of school.

HARI SREENIVASAN: So, when you came back, what were the challenges of kind of getting yourself focused, getting yourself in class, doing the work, doing it on time, not being distracted?

ROLAND MOSES BLAND: I started to visit the academic center, the Frederick Douglass Academic Center, actually taking the time to learn how to study.

Right when I got here, I was still immature.

I wasn't really taught the skills on how to study and how to retain that knowledge.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Bland learned those skills through a new initiative at Morehouse, the Student Success Program.

In partnership with the United Negro College Fund and the education firm InsideTrack, the initiative identifies students whose GPA falls under a 2.0 and intervenes with one-on-one academic coaching, tutoring and workshops.

ROLAND MOSES BLAND: The fact that they have a writing center that I can -- that anybody can go to, the fact that they have tutoring sessions that anybody can attend, and the tutoring sessions are tailored to your major in your class that you're taking, that was very important.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Versions of this pilot program that started at nine HBCUs have expanded to more than 30 schools with funding through 2026 aimed at helping students like Roland graduate.

It comes at a time when enrollment in historically Black colleges and universities is growing, and more students are applying.

But the sad reality is that only 38 percent of students at those schools end up graduating.

Even at an elite institution like Morehouse, the rate is only a little more than half.

So what happens between the time they come in and four years later or six years later, that half or sometimes less than half are walking out with a degree?

DR. MELVIN FOSTER, Associate Provost For Student Success, Morehouse College: Life happens.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Dr. Mel Foster is the associate provost for student success at Morehouse, where he's been teaching for 27 years.

DR. MELVIN FOSTER: There are those guys, when they come to Morehouse, they are now in a community of excellent students.

There is competition here.

We don't have to make it happen, right?

It's going to happen naturally.

And, sometimes, students will become more interested in the social aspect of being at the college.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Another massive challenge?

Finances.

DR. MELVIN FOSTER: Our cost of attendance is roughly about $51,000.

The median household income for African American families is less than our cost of attendance.

CURTIS CLARK JR., Academic Success Coach, Morehouse College: Remember why you came here.

You came here to get the degree.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Curtis Clark Jr. is an academic success coach who hears those and other challenges from students adapting to college life, especially first-generation college students.

CURTIS CLARK JR.: They may have never had someone who looks like them tell them: I believe in you.

You can do this.

You're capable.

I expect that you will achieve this.

I'm not hoping that you're going to be successful.

Like, I will be disappointed if you are not successful.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Clark graduated from Morehouse in 2015.

CURTIS CLARK JR.: I think about a number of students who I started with who I didn't finish with, which is why I'm glad we have this program now, because I could think of people that I would have liked to have seen be impacted by this program in my matriculation at Morehouse.

ADEBOLA ADERIBIGBE, Freshman, Stillman College: This semester especially was really hard.

HARI SREENIVASAN: In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Stillman College freshman Adebola Aderibigbe is away from her home in Nigeria, and finds her coach to be a huge help.

ADEBOLA ADERIBIGBE: I had a lot to deal with mentally.

And she was always checking up on me even on days I would just forget about her.

(LAUGHTER) ADEBOLA ADERIBIGBE: If she wasn't assigned to me, it would have been a rough semester.

HARI SREENIVASAN: But even a program like this can only go so far.

ADEBOLA ADERIBIGBE: It's also dependent on the students to accept those offers of assistance, because there's a limit to what the coach can do.

It's still up to me, as a student, to invest in myself and just be the best that I can be.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Another aspect of the program showing results so far, reenrollment.

AJA JOHNSON, United Negro College Fund: Getting a student back onto campus is a huge win.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Aja Johnson is the program manager for leadership initiatives at the United Negro College Fund.

AJA JOHNSON: We have been able to have about 700 students reenroll in their institution and get back on their educational journey.

And if you think about it, 700 may not be a robust number, but for some of our institutions, that's more than their student body overall.

Each step of the way, we are helping a student continue to stay on their educational journey and truly help them get to that graduation stage and walk across it.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Roland Moses Bland will do just that this spring.

He says he plans to work full-time on the online clothing company he and a partner started and hopes more of his peers can gain the necessary supports.

ROLAND MOSES BLAND: I felt like I was chosen.

And it'd be great if more students could feel like they are chosen.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Chosen to be Morehouse Men.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Hari Sreenivasan in Atlanta.

AMNA NAWAZ: Simran Jeet Singh is executive director for the Aspen Institute's Religion and Society Program and author of the book "The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life."

Tonight, Singh shares his Brief But Spectacular take on how focusing on the positive aspects of our multireligious, racial and ethnic world can disrupt bias and build empathy.

SIMRAN JEET SINGH, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Religion and Society Program: I was a senior in high school, and the fall semester had just started.

And I heard whispers, rumors that there was a terrorist attack in New York City.

And we all stood there and watched the news.

They mentioned the name of Osama bin Laden.

I hadn't heard it before.

And then they showed an image of him, and his turban and his beard as brown skin.

And, as I saw him, my heart sank.

I knew that my life would change forever.

And the death threats started that day.

Not many people believe this when I tell them, but I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas.

And, in a lot of ways, it was wonderful.

We saw our lives as very typical, always playing sports outside or riding our bikes or playing our video games with neighbors.

And, in some ways, our lives were very atypical.

And people on the streets or in grocery stores would remind us that they didn't feel like we belonged.

I was 10 years old the first time someone called me a terrorist.

I was at a soccer game.

The referee was doing equipment checks, making sure we had our shin guards and our cleats on.

And when he got to me, he said something about how he needed to check my turban and called me a terrorist.

And he said that he knows that people like me like to hide bombs and knives in our headwear.

And so I put my head forward and let him touch my turban.

And no one had done that before.

I felt like I was giving in to somebody's racism.

And, after that moment, I promised myself that, next time I'm in a situation like this, I'm going to stand up for myself.

And I just started to think about, what does it look like for us to engage with the challenges in our lives in ways that make us feel proud, and that we didn't run away, but also didn't inspire or amplify the anger in our hearts?

In these moments of violent racism, or even in the small moments of daily bigotry, I stop and I ask myself, how in this situation can I practice my values of oneness and love and service?

How do we really love our neighbor as ourselves?

We, in this country, do a very poor job of learning about one another and learning to live alongside difference.

Growing up in public schools in Texas, I didn't really learn about the cultures.

I didn't learn to appreciate them.

I belong to the world's fifth largest religion.

And there are about 30 million Sikhs around the world.

And yet 70 percent of Americans don't know who they are, they don't know who I am.

And, when they see me, they make all sorts of assumptions that have nothing to do with my faith or my background.

"The Light We Give" is a book what it's like to be different in this country, drawing from the Sikh tradition and Sikh teachings.

We fear what we don't know.

And part of the antidote to that is to create literacy, so that we know one another, we can respect to one another, and we can appreciate one another.

It's a simple step that we can all take, but it can make a really big difference.

My name is Simran Jeet Singh, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on finding hope in a difficult world.

AMNA NAWAZ: And you can find more Brief But Spectacular videos online at PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.

And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

Remember, there's a lot more online any time, PBS.org/NewsHour, including the full list of Tony Award nominees and our interviews with many of the Broadway actors being recognized this year.

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