News : This week: Butte, Montana tackles a century of environmental damage

Monday, August 2, 2021

This week: Butte, Montana tackles a century of environmental damage

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August 2, 2021

Did you miss this week's "Sunday Morning"? Catch up now!

Rechanneling the boom-and-bust history of Butte, Montana

For a small town, Butte, Montana is rich in history – from being, at one time, the largest city between Chicago and San Francisco, to being the site of one of the world's most productive copper mines. But the closing of mines, and their distinction of being home to one of the nation's largest Superfund sites, have long cast a shadow over the place. Last summer the residents of Butte turned a corner in their efforts to reverse environmental damage and be delisted as a Superfund site. Correspondent Luke Burbank reports on how the town's past is informing its march forward.

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Alexander Vindman on truth and its consequences

Twin brothers Alexander and Eugene Vindman, brought to America by their Ukrainian father, had stellar military careers in their adopted country, until Alexander filed a complaint against President Trump for impropriety in his phone call with the Ukrainian president, and later testified at Trump's first impeachment hearing. Correspondent David Martin talked with the Vindmans about duty and the firestorm that ensnared them both when Alexander spoke out, as retold in his memoir, "Here, Right Matters"; and with their father, Semyon, about the meaning of freedom for Soviet émigrés coming to America.

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Jennifer Hudson brings "Respect"

Oscar- and Grammy-winning actress Jennifer Hudson received "marching orders" from the legendary singer Aretha Franklin, who hand-picked the "Dreamgirls" star for her true dream role. Hudson talks with contributor Kelefa Sanneh about paying tribute to the Queen of Soul with her performance in the new biopic, "Respect."

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MTV turns 40 years old

Correspondent (and former MTV host) Serena Altschul discusses the birth in 1981 of the cable channel devoted to music videos, that became a broadcast pioneer of pop culture, news and reality TV. This is no longer your grandmother's MTV!

The life lessons of "Three Little Engines"

"I think I can, I think I can" was the mantra of a confident locomotive in the children's classic, "The Little Engine That Could." But Bob McKinnon knew that life doesn't always bring success to those going it alone, so he authored a new book, "Three Little Engines," in which empathy and assisting others helps the book's characters overcome trouble they encounter on their tracks. Correspondent Lee Cowan reports.

The artist Wyland and his "whaling walls"

The artist known as Wyland has painted more than 100 murals around the globe featuring life-sized depictions of whales and other sea life. Correspondent Tracy Smith joined Wyland as he touched up a mural in Seattle, to discuss his creation of what has come to be a worldwide aquatic gallery — each artwork a public love letter to the ocean and its inhabitants.

Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building to reopen

The Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building, a whimsical fortress on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., that has been vacant for nearly 20 years, is about to reopen to the public, just in time for the institution's 175th anniversary. CBS News national correspondent Chip Reid talks with the Secretary of the Smithsonian, Lonnie Bunch III; the building's director, Rachel Goslins; and architect-designer David Rockwell about the upcoming exhibition, "Futures" – and the history of a building designed to be ahead of its time.

Passage: TV pitchman Ron Popeil

For decades salesman Ron Popeil hawked household gadgets to millions of TV viewers, mastering the airwaves with his informercials for the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and countless other devices you just couldn't live without. Jane Pauley looks back on the life of Popeil, who died this week at the age of 86.

From 2000: Informercial king Ron Popeil

TV pitchman Ron Popeil, who became a ubiquitous presence on TV by selling household gadgets to millions, died July 28, 2021 at the age of 86. In this "Sunday Morning" profile originally broadcast on January 9, 2000, correspondent Bill Geist talked with Popeil about his rise from demonstrating inventions at lunch counters, to mastering the airwaves with his informercials for the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, and countless other devices you just couldn't live without.

The painful history of anti-Asian hate crimes in America

While hate crimes in this country increased last year by two percent overall, hate crimes against Americans of Asian and Pacific Island descent rose by 146 percent, with the Trump administration's use of racist rhetoric during the pandemic blamed by some for the rise in violence. History shows that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders have had to weather this wave of discrimination and scapegoating many times before. CBS News correspondent Weijia Jiang reports.

Letters from "Sunday Morning" viewers

Host Jane Pauley answers correspondence from our audience.

Gallery: Notable Deaths in 2021

A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.

Watch the full August 1 episode!

Hosted by Jane Pauley.

The Book Report: New fiction and nonfiction (August 1)

Washington Post book critic Ron Charles checks out some of the latest "beach reads."

Book excerpt: "What Strange Paradise" by Omar El Akkad

The author of "American War" offers a heartbreaking novel that puts a face on the staggering statistics of the tens of millions of people displaced from their homes as the result of persecution and violence.

Book excerpt: "Intimacies" by Katie Kitamura

In a new novel by the acclaimed author of "A Separation," a woman is assigned to be the interpreter for a politician on trial at The Hague for war crimes, forcing her into the mind of a man who terrifies her.

Book excerpt: "Damnation Spring" by Ash Davidson

In this epic debut novel, set in the redwood forests of northern California, a lumberman takes a gamble on a parcel of land that could set up his family for years.