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by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuiutions for america's neglected needs. an to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. this is nada tawfik -- this is "bbc world news america." dr. sayy thee fighting to save his life. former white house chief rategist steve bannon has been arrested and pleads not guilty to charges of defrauding a public fund set up to finan' donald trum's border wall. >> joe biden. ok me over, will you? katty: he has tried twi bbeore but neve this close, as

joe biden prepares to deliver his speec we lo at the urney that got him one step away from the presidency. >> ♪ happy birthday to you katty: and the science of singing in the age of cov. why the louder you belt out your favorite tunes, the more likely you are spread the disea. welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. opposition figure is fighting for his life and hospital. his spokesperson thinks he has beenoi poet -- beenned. he was on a flight to moscow when he felt violently ill. his teamuspects that poison was slipped into a cup of tea he drank at the airport before boarding his flight. he is president putin's most famous critic and a thorn in the kremlin's side. bbc has more.

reporter: this was him momen before boarding his flight. soon after that cup of tea, he collapsed. owa feassenger filmed this -- as medics came to his help, capturing the groans of agony. by the time he was structured off, the biggest opposition figure in russia was unconscious. those close to him believe he has aten poisoned deliby. from moscow to siberia, his wife rushed to his hospital bedside as doctors revealed they were working to save his life. these are the last images he posted from his trip. he was in siberia to help bill a youngivists preparing to take on pro-kremlin politicians at local elections. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: he is now in intensive re. in a,. and on a ventilator. we still don't have a diagnosis. i will pass on any new

information as soon as we get it. i ask you not to trust other sources. reporter: earlier frothe hospital corridors, hisid and investigators.e of police >> of course, poisoning is being considered as e of the possible causes. but apart from that, there are many other possible conditions which could come on suddenly share the same symptoms. reporter: with a huge online following, he has the power to bring big crowds onto russia's streets, protesting against f politics oe kremlin. he has been arrested for that multiple times. and his anticorruption funds have been rated repeatedly by police. it dig into the private lives and finances of the powerful here. plenty would like that stop. the kremlin has warned people not to jumpo conclusions over what has happened. if he has been poiso md, the

questit be not only who did that, but how russia has becomett a country where aks on prominent critics are not only possible, but increasingly regular now. tt sarahs joinsom moscow with all of the latest on this story. how plausible isha ithe was poisoned and the kremlin might be behind it? >> as to the poisoning, certainly he is the aid traveling with him, he appears to believe quickly that he was poisoned. it seems that doctors who first atteed him in the plane and after that on the way from hospital suggested his symptoms looked like poisoning. from in that report, the doctor in the hospital where he has been treated, talked about gpoison as one plausible and possible scenario. as to who is behind it, that isb a muger question. certainly this is not the first

person who has mysteriously fallen suddenly ill like this. and several serious critics of the krein, serious opposition voices in russia, haveufn the pastred similar situations. katty: so he has a lotf enemies. what would you infer from what has happened about the timing of this? he has been a thorn in the kremlin's side for a long time. and he's very famous. it is a risk, it would be a risk doing something like this.hy so now? what about this moment? report: it is not clear because we don't know who did it. dan indeed if it was -- and if he was deliberately poisoned. but we know he is active on multiple fronts. he is not only a very well-known and very prolific anticorruption orinvestighis reports that he puts out longer films that he and his team produce and publish on youtube arextremely

influential. they have reached hu audiences around the country and they often spark protests against officials. we know also he is very active in terms of hi political projects. to key one at the moment is sponsoring and helping i supporting people, candidates, young politicians, who want to run for office at a local level and to challenge pro-kremlin he has been doing that recently as well. there are multiple fronts on which he is challenging the kremlin, tho in authority. we don't know exactly what he was doing in siberia. it's possible he was involved in some anticorruption investigation, a new one, which may involve local figures who may not be happy about what he is working on. katty:ch thank you very clearly a man who has a lot of enemies. but also friends too. the germans have said they would try to get him out of russia with an ambulance aircraft and that is reportedly something ey want to do to perhaps some -- have some kind of investigation.

joe biden has tried and failed to become president twice before. democrats hope that his third bid will indeed prove the ter tonight on the final night, the former vice president except his party's nomination as the ndidate who will take on donald trump in november. . in the year of turmoil, could this be joe ben's moment? >> look me over, will you? katty: joe biden's political brand is empathy. a rm handshake, a look in the eye, a arm around the shoulder. he showed it in his first run 1988.he white house way back in that bid failed, amid questions over the very authenticity he held so deal -- so dear and eight speech that stole too closely from the leader of the british labour party. >> why is it that joe biden is the first and his family ever to go to a university? >> why am i the first candidate in a thousand genations to be able to get to the university?

>> my ancestors worked in the coal mines don't come after -- don't come up after 12 hours to play football. >> the people that work eight hours in the ground, then come up and play football. >> hello, everybody. >> biden dropped out of the race. even then, he knew it wout. not be his l >> there will be other opportunities for me to campaign for president. >> 20 years later, he ran again and lost to barack obama. but what began as a rivalry turned into a partnership. obama said he always wanted biden to be the last person in thee room when ths a big decision to make. after two terms as vice president, there was talk of hig runninn in 2016. but the death of his son bo changed his plans. unfortunately, i believe we are out of time. the time nessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination. >> if the biden's political currency is embas -- is empathy, it comes from knowing grief which may mean 2020 i

finally his moment. 170,000 americans are dead from covid. the whole country is grieving. after all this time, democrats hope that makes jo biden the right man for the job. katty: we are joined by the former chairman of the council of economic advisers under president obama. ihenow professor at the university of chicago. thanks very much for joining me. you know joe biden well. o i was focusihis grief and empathy. apparently i got it all wrong. what you say is he has a booth -- a bruce springsteen kind of >> you are totally right that theme funal humanity of the guy is one of empathy. and as you say, i worked with him closely in the first o term the obama administration when i was in the white house. and i do think that there is a nature of the society, where we are at this moment in american

society, which is one with a lot anger and disrespect and people saying nasty things about you and each other. i do think the strongest thing that vice president biden had a going for him throughout the primary, and now as we go into the general, is that people view him as fundamentally a decent guy. i don't think that is separated. i said in an article he had a bruce stink -- aruce springsteen vibe going on. that was about policy. he cared about working people and his fus in the administration was about manufacturing and things like that. i don't think that thse can really brated from his personality in that empathy and caring for the common man. that's kind of his thing. katty: caring for the common man may be something that is needed now in america. . we have had jobs numbers showing that again, once aga m, more thanlion americans lost their jobs last week. is joe biden progressive enoh

for the more liberal base of the democratic party today? >> that's a good question. i think he is. progressive members of the democratic party enthusiastically get behind him. you have seen it in the convention, you saw bernie nders hielf give a very rousing defense of joe biden and why it was important to elect him. the democratic party, as you know, is a very b tent party. it combines a lot of different groups. for sure, any one leader isot going to speak for every group in exactly as they want it. but i felt that they looked pretty unified. perhaps more unified than the republicans even did in 2016 where there were some pretty big divisions between the trump wings and some of the other wings. i don't think the facthat a big tent party thereos going t be some disagreements on policy,

i don't thinkhat is necessarily that disturbing for his prospects to win. katty: i agree. the democratic party looks more unified than the democratic pa iy probably didn 2016 when there was a big split betweennt hillary c and bernie sanders. it is not going to be enough, is it, for him to be anti-trump? we have hed a lot of anti-trumpers at the dnc during the course of this week. it did not work for democrats in 2016. house. not win him the white he has to offer more than that. >> i think that's fair. also in fairness to the vice president, he has put out a very ambitious, comprehensive economic plan. that is the area inow about this. e build back better plan. withia a very substa investments in infrastructure and what he calls the caregiving economy,s whichlot of stuff about health, childcare, and taking ce of one another. manufacturing and clean energy. so if were to get into a

debate on policy, i don't thiat he vice president or his campaign need to shirk from that or be ashamed in any way. i think theyave put forward a lot of details. they should -tt just be anmp. i think that probably would not be enough. t boy, there is a lot that they want arge about with rrent administration. katty: ok. f joining m chicago, thank you very much. durinack on the progr the course of this election campgn. donald trump's former chief strategist steve bannon was arrest earli today and has been charged with fraud and money laundering. he has been -- has pleaded not guilty to diverting hundreds of thousands of dolners from an on campaign to build a privately funded wall along the u.s. border with mexico. the money was used to put personal expenses. t-barbara plher has more. reporter: the scheme was connected to the border wall whgnh was mr. trump's ure campaign promise.

steve bannon and his associates set up a gofundme campaign to rees money for a segment of the wall and the brought in $25 million. the indictment says a lot of that money went to them instead. thathi mr. bannoelf diverted a million dlars, some of which he used to pay offexis personal nses. the game was up this morning and he was arrested on a yacht off the coast of connecticut question is, was any of this connected to the president? he says no, it was not, that he had dealings with steve bannon for a long time. in the two did fall out after mr. bannon left the white house. happy with the way the project was turning out. showboating is what he called it. but mr. bannon is the latest in a long list of former trump associates who have been esosecuted on criminal cha katty: arbor applied shatzer there. a quick look at other news. in belarl, a crimi case has been opened into the newly formed opposition belarusian coordinad council.

the group was set up by its leader to le a peaceful transfer of power after disputed presidential elections earlier inis month. thmbent president has called its creation an attempt to seize power. fireghters in northern california continue to battle dozens of separate fires sparked by lightning strikes. at least 50 buildings have been destroyed. there isar aal evacuation order in force for the town of vacaville. hcaliforn been experiencing a record heat wave, which in turn has led to deseries of thtorms. yemen's brutal civil war, aided by outside powers, has dragged on now for more than five years. 00at least 100eople have died and the conflict has arked the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world. children have often suffered the most. are international correspondent reports now on the remarkable story of one little girl's survival in a city that is on

the front lines. we warn you, you may find images distressing. reporter: this is a city of snipers. is one of the most dangerous corners. especially for the young. rueda sala i wounded but alive. minutes after aer sniper shot in the head. the seven-year-old left lying like a broken doll. it was her brother, ori, who rush to her side, and managed to drag her from the line of fire. he is only 10 years old. eda is now in intensive care after a low -- at a local attending her around-the-clock. but she probably owes her life to her brave bigrother. >> [speaking foreign language]

trslator: i was going to get water. i pulled the bottom -- bottle to the pavement. then as i was going home, i front of me lying on the ground. i ran to pull her. reporter: who pulled the trigger? rueda's family have no doubt. they told the bbcth witrebel snipers were to blame and it is not the first time they have targeted innocent children. rueda'surgeon says she arrived in the emergency department nscious. bleeding, and she is now stable. this is how childhood looks in a generation stunt war. menaced by malnutrition, and now by the coronavirus. but even those who know yemen's suffering altoo well are

shocked by what happened to rueda. dr., you have been on the ground in yemen for more than two years, and you have seen a lot of tragedy in that time. how were you affected personally when you saw these images? >> i was devastated. because i have a daughter too. and it was uly moving to see those images. shocking. it is simply unacceptable. i just don't understand how pelele could do this to a li child. but this slys a sto repeating in many areas across the country. >> but who will remember yemen's children now? with global attention fixed on covid-19. rueda and many others may be orla guerin, bbc news. katty: so much going on in the world, this is a story that is not getting enough attention

and those children still sufferinin you are wat"bbc world news america." still to come on the mrogram, it isting at a record place -- paste. how huge chunks of ice in greenland could affectillions of people around the world. ♪ katty: south korea's spy agency says north korea's leader k jong-un has handed over some of his responsibilities to his sister's. sister and other aids. our correspondent has more on those reports. >>pp theyr to be saying is i kim jong-un has handed down some responsibilities. this is not complete power. kim jong-un remains in overall control. he is the supreme authority. but what seems to be happening is he is delegating some powers to his sister and other aids. we understand the majoritye of power handed over has been to his sister. why is this interesting? one, we are looking at the power

of succession. who will take over north korea next should something happen to kim jong-un? you might remember earlier this year where he was gone from the public eye for severim weeks at a there were a number of rumors about his health. still, analysts believe some of du certainly that he has had some heart proce. katty: it is not just yemen amid the turmoil of the global covid pandemic. not much attention is being paid to the environment either. take the ice sheets that cover reeenland. a nert shows they are melting at a record pace. here is my colleague. reporter: rising temperatures of the world.he top in the summer, great chunks have always broken off the vast ice sheet that covers greenland. but a major new study shows the rate of loss is increasing.

anscientists have yzed a huge trove of satellite data to work out how much o greenland's ice has disappeared. the areas marked in red are extreme. the scientists who did the research are shocked by the >> it turned out to be another record year, toppinghe previous record in 2012 in terms ofroduction, mass loss to the ocean, and also, a single year of contribution from inland. reporter: it is not just greenland that has bedding ice. antarctica has been increasing too. here is what has been happening in greenland and the combined effect has been raising sea level around the world, increasingly rapidly. the two regions were adding two millimeters a decades.n the 90' now itke is more li 13 millimeters a decade, nd now that may not sou like much, but it is reckoned every centimeter of sea level rise

exposes millions of more people to the risk of catastrophic flooding. t so would we do? we can't stop the ice melting, the scientists say. if we can reduce carbon dioxide emissions, we can slow the rate of acceleration. that means t world will suffer less damage from rising seas. just unroll i bbc news. katty: we know what we need to do. when the lockdown came in force, one of the first activities to be hit with singing. there was a fear that choirs and conferences could spread droplets. new research shows the wayer you sing how could make a big difference. here is our reporter. >> 3, 2, 1. >> ♪ happy birthday to you reporter: we are in a basement in a zero particle clean room listening to happy birthday being sung over and er again. the reason? to try to find out if singing is any riskier than spe

so what is being measured here is what isoming out of our uths. the big droplets that may be go smaller ones.so the that is being captured bykn thi, what in as the aerosol. >> happy birthday, dear susan. happyo birthday, you. reporter: droplets typically are understood to fall a meter or two in front of the face. that is the basis for social distancing. the aerosols on the other hand are smaller and hang around in the air. til they are ventilated away, they hang around exactly where they are. >> it was -- it was one of the first activities to be shut down. when lockdown was eased, singers were told to be three meters apart. ♪ rerter: as restrictions have been eased,heormal two meters social distancing, in part because the rgsearch findin have shown there is a small difference between singing

and speaking. >> however, they have discovered that volume matters. loud singing or shouting can lead to a 30 fold increase and what sprang out of our mouths. >> volume is absolutely king. so if there is a lot of background noise, people are speaking or singing very loudly because of that, actually that would make me wary. reporter: for theater land which is largely a ghost town, it's good news for those who want to ng quietly, but not for large noisy audiences in enclos the key to safety, according to this resrch, is volume and ventilation. davidson lehto, bbc news. katty: actually, the key to safety for me is for me to not sing at all because i'nem virtually deaf. we report on a lot of big important stories on this show. for a moment, we want to focus on one that is on the smaller side. specifically tiny,iny

penguins. these four chicks in chicago's jaquarium havt hit a big milestone. when theyer swam for the v first time. they do l but once that one jumps in, watch t as. the others quick to follow. anyway. a chance to show you cute animal pictures. pwell donenguins. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. raymond james. the frman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

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captioning sponsored by inewshour productns, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff.to on the newshought: making it offipral. joe bideares to onrmally accept the nomina for president, as his fellow democrats sharpen their criticism of president trump. then, one on one. we are live with speaker of the house nancy pelosi to discuss the democraticonvention, and her plans to ensure the post office can deliver millions of ballots in the novemr election. plus, california burning. tens of thousands are told to evacuate, as major fires double in size, and theoronavirus complicates containment efforts. and, targeted.ng russia's leapponent to vladimir putin is hospitalized and in a coma after a possible