Transcripts For KQED PBS 20240704

Major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour, including jim and maxie goldman, and kathy and Paul Anderson. The john s and James L Knight foundation fostering an informed and engaged community, more at kf. Org. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Good evening. Welcome to the newshour. The u. S. Economy added 187,000 jobs last month, slightly fewer than expected, but still a sign of a resilient job market. The under plane it rate dipped to 3. 5 . The Unemployment Rate dipped to 3. 5 . To break it down, we are now joined by catherine ramp l. Thank you for being with us. What are the Key Takeaways from this report . What stands out the most . I think it was a solid report. It was a slower pace of growth. But a more sustainable pace of growth. And frankly, not even that slow. 187,000 jobs is exactly equal to the average pace of job growth we had in the decade proceeding the pandemic. In many ways, it was a relatively strong report, probably what the Federal Reserve was looking for. Hopefully assign that we might be able to avoid a recession. The economy seems to be holding out now against a recession a lot thought was closing in. Has it led to concerns that jay powell might be overdoing it . Certainly some people think he is. If you look at where the fed says rates are going to go, they have anticipated one more Interest Rate hike this year. Markets donteem to believe them, they dont think it will actually come. I think what happens in september, in the months ahead in terms of fed policy, it is still a live issue. We dont know what they are going to do. They will be monitoring the data to make sure they do their best to avoid tipping us into a recession. Womens Labor Force Participation rates are at an alltime high. What do you make of that . It is remarkable. Viewers may remember that a couple of years ago, three years ago, there were a lot of articles and coverage about a she session, the idea being that women were disproportionately hurt by the pandemic recession because of the kinds of occupations they were in, as well as being disproportionately hurt by childcare disruptions in schools going remote. There were a lot of fears working women would be set back a generation. Instead, the reverse has happened. Women have come back at least financially, or labor wise, stronger than ever. The Labor Force Participation rates for prime age women are around record highs. I dont know what to attribute that to. It could very well be the fact there is more remote work available. It could be the fact more women are collegeeducated today than in the past. As a result, that has country beaded to the greater likelihood to be in the workforce. It is a bit of a puzzle and a good problem to have, or a good puzzle to have. Lets talk about wages. The fed doesnt want them to rise too fast. Workers want to make more money. Where does that stand right now . The numbers for wage growth were a little bit stronger than the fed might want to see. I dont necessarily know that means we should expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates more aggressively than we thought they would have done. In the sense that it is a lag. It may be that workers are catching up to the price growth that we have already seen elsewhere in the labor market. Demanding higher pay to compensate for the fact they are getting more expensive. And it does not seem so high that i think it will be because for concern. It is one month of data, we will have to watch what happens in the months ahead. Other indicators have been more comforting for the Federal Reserve. Things like overall price growth coming down for example. Thank you for that insight and analysis. We appreciate it. Im stephanie sy with newshour west. Here are the latest headlines. Former President Trump entered another not guilty plea. This time to a revised indictment in the classified documents case. The new charges say mr. Trump a worker to delete security video at his estate in florida. He was already accused of illegally taking classified documents and making false statements. A court in russia has sentenced Alexei Navalny to 19 more years in prison. This time for extremism. Showing him looking gaunt and wearing a prison suit. The state news report said he will serve the new sentence concurrently with existing terms of nearly 12 years. His supporters said it is part of a campaign to silence the kremlins fiercest critic. Ukraine attacked a major russian port today, damaging a warship and halting maritime traffic for several hours. The Ukrainian Navy and Security Service said drones hit a black sea naval base and hub for exporting grain and oil. Ukrainian media showed a drone heading toward a russian landing ship. Russians said they repelled the attack but reuters retained video showing the ship listing badly. Republican president ial candidate Chris Christie got a firsthand look at Battle Damage in ukraine. He met with president zelenskyy in kyiv and visited aearb town where russian occupiers left a mass grave of civilians. He called for u. S. Unity on supporting ukraines fight. Hes the second gop president al candidate to visit. Mike pence visited last month. Antony blinken announced a pause of select foreign assistance programs for niger. Humanitarian and food aid will continue, as will diplomatic and Security Operations for u. S. Personnel. A military junta overthrew the democratically elected president late last month. Back in this country, the u. S. Food and Drug Administration has proved the first oral medication to treat postpartum depression in adults. The major depressive episode typically occurs after a childbirth. Until now, treatment for the condition was only available as an iv injection given at Certain Health care facilities. The Biden Administrations new policy limiting asylum for migrants will remain in effect while legal challenges play out. A federal Appeals Court on thursday overruled a lower court that ordered the policy to end. The rule says migrants must first seek protection before they reach the u. S. Border or apply for asylum online. Officials in florida carried out a live fire reenactment today of the Parking School massacre that killed 17 people. It was part of a civil lawsuit accusing a former sheriffs deputy of failing to protect students and staff. Earlier, nine members of congress toward the crime scene, joining the victims families and prosecutors. Afterward, the democrats and republicans spoke of bipartisan action. To see the blood of children on the floor in a School Together is going to change the way we interact and cooperate with each other. Text messages. Hes serving life in prison. Two house members expelled in april they said they were celibate. Justin pearson said they want special elections on thursday. The victories allow them to fully reclaim their seats in the republican dominated legislature. Local officials had already reinstated them, but only terror temporarily. Famed harvard law professor and longtime advocate for reparations, charles overture junior, has died. He represented anita hill, tupa shakur, and survivors of the 1921 tulsa race massacre. He had been battling an alzheimers disease since 26 team, but no cause of death has been officially cited. Chars ogletree was 70 years old. Basketball pro Diana Taurasi is the first player in wnba history to score 10,000 points in a career. The Phoenix Mercury star reached the milestone last night against the atlanta dream in her 19th season. After the celebration, she went on to win t finish with a seasonhigh 42 points. Still to come, negotiations to end the hollywood Writers Strike resume. A Top State Department official discusses threats to Global Health and a lifesaving aids relief program. David brooks and jonathan k partway in on the latest trump indictment. And much more. This is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington, and in the west from the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at Arizona State university. Back in march, newshour revealed allegations american Machine Tools gaa haas automation sold millions of dollars of its technology to the russians arm industry through its foreign administer distribute her. They said it halted sales to russia as soon as they sent troops into ukraine in early 2022. According to new research, they may still be supplying the russian arms industry indirectly. Support from the pulitzer center, our correspondent reports from kyiv. This is the instrument Building Plant known as npz. It manufactures high end optics used by the Russian Military. Everything from targeting system to their weapons and night vision for infantry. Npz does not want you to know where it gets its hightech equipment from. That is why they have pasted their own logo over the one of the manufacturer of this machine tool. Seen in a promotional video in april. But they missed a spot. Zoom in and you can see the distinctive red h above the control panel identifying it as a computer numerical control machine tool made by haas automation of oxnard, california. Npz is not alone in being partial to haas Machine Tools. They are used throughout the Russian Military industrial complex. They can be used to mil, cut, or shave metal with any shape necessary. For years, they sold Machine Tools in russia through its official distributor. Even though sanctions have been in place against the Russian Defense industry for almost a decade as a result of the annexation of crimea. Only after the fullscale invasion of ukraine last year did they officially sever its relationship with them and made no direct or indirect shipments or sales to russia since march 3, 2022. But the organization that originally exposed their dealings in russia says even that may not be true. He is an advisor at the Economic Security council of ukraine. He told newshour spare parts needed to maintain the machines already being used in russia continue to flow into the country via a Mysterious Firm in china called Machine Tools co ltd. It does not seem to have a website or phone number and was set up two weeks after haas officially pulled out of russia. Since the moment when russia received the shipment from oxnard, california, since october 2022, this Chinese Company supplied or conducted around 200 shipments of haas products. All of those shipments are worth about six hundred thousand dollars. Customs records show that they branded spare parts were being shipped to russia as recently as april of this year. More than a year after they say they halted any sales or shipments to the country. Many of the spare parts appear to be made specifically for a haas model vf2yt machinetool. One of which is owned by the npz plant 2000 miles east of moscow. Further procurement records show the plant is one of their clients. Meaning it is possible the spare parts sold via china were special ordered to maintain the haas machine at npz, whose owner has been subject to u. S. Sanctions since 2015. [speaking russian] npz did not always obscure the logos on its equipment. In this promotional video released seven years ago, several machines are featured to highlight how modern the factory is. Including the vf2yt, capable of shaping materials as tough as steel. Then in 2018, npc announced on russias official state procurement marketplace that it needed a replacement engine. Illustrating how reliant russias arms industry was after sales support. In that instance, the Spindle Group of switzerland supplied the motor. Today, npz uses its machines to shape the casings for its various sites and scopes. The finished casings look like this and are collected in the wooden box before being painted and fitted to army equipment. Like this. These instruments are supplied to the russian army with tags, vehicles, and also exported. Ask the applications are analysts, and so is the list of Russian Defense firms that use the equipment over the years. They make Flight Control system control systems attack helicopters. This is nii victor, for the russian Army Surveillance systems. In this is electro pens, having its machines disinfected during the covid pandemic. They make Communication Systems for the Russian Military. The list goes on. That is why ukrainians have been pushing u. S. Enforcement agencies, like the office of foreign asset control, to act more aggressively against American Companies whose products continue to flow to the russian arms industry. I think most of all it has powerful tools at its disposal to make sure for the sanctions. It is hes an advisor to the office of ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and coach of the u. S. Cochair of the group on russian sanctions. He said russia managed to ramp up production despite the unprecedented sanctions imposed by america and its allies. They are partners, which we have been dealing with sanction matters. Quite disappointed about our findings. They have been doing a lot of efforts to stopping this. And now we are telling them that this has not stopped. I think on that rate of production that has just doubled. I think this is quite obvious that much more has to be done. The Biden Administration says it acted forcefully to restrict the russian arms industrys access to technology and needs to sustain its war machine. Like setting sanctions on Russian Companies and export controls on american firms. But what have the agencies that set the rules done to enforce them . Four months after newshour exposed the allegations haas was violating those rules, the u. S. Treasury and department of commerce could not say whether they were investigating the company or planning. We reached out to haas to inform the company its equipped and continued to be shipped to russia via the chinese intermediary company. They did not agree to an interview but said in an emailed response they had no records of sales to the entity and any sales to russia were being made by third parties in contravention of haas policy. If the company is selling genuine haas parts, it doesnt appear to have acquired them from haas. They voluntarily terminated their relationship with the sole distributor for russia and belarus on march 3, 2022. Haas has not conducted sales or shipments to anyone else in russia since the date. Haas has repeatedly told us it voluntarily stopped doing business in russia last year after the fullscale invasion of ukraine. Sanctions have been in place against the russian arms industry since 2014. Sales of millions of dollars worth of haas equipment to Russian Defense firms between 2014 and 2022 plainly helped moscow rearm ahead of its unprovoked aggression. I dont need any of this their past sales in russia are not the first time its dealings with the country landed the company in hot water. They own americas only formula one racing team. Which was prominently featured in the popular Netflix Series drive to survive. C true criticism for a sponsorship deal with a russian company. The deal meant putting the russian flag on race cars and putting his son in the drivers seat. Its very strange. The sponsorship was only canceled after russias fullscale invasion, and both father and son were subsequently slapped with eu and u. K. Sanctions. But officials at the department of commerce and treasury have yet to give any sign that they plan to go after american manufacturers that may have violated the sanctions regime on russia, nor is there any sign that they plan to add the distributor to the list of officially sanctioned entities. Im sign human im simon is from ski in kyiv. Major studios and producers are sitting down today for the first time in three months with the Writers Guild of america, the first sign of any progress and possibly the first step on the road to a deal. Jeffrey brown has the latest on the standoff for our arts and culture series candace. The strike by tv and film writers began before the summer, and last month, sag aftra joined with their own strike after their negotiations broke down over similar issues. The dual strikes have upended the industry, halting promotion of new movies and shows, and shutting down production. Jane fonda is among those out on the picket line. These unions coming together is historically important. Union solidarity forever. The new talks will have to solve major divides over streaming, revenues, and the role of a. I. We get an update now from matthew bellamy, entertainment journalist and Founding Partner of puck news. Thank you for joining us. It is worth noting that even before they sit down today, there was new mudslinging, but what brought to the writers and producers back to the table . I think honestly the pain that has bn in for it on both sides over the past three months is driving this. We are getting to missioncritical where some of these movies slated to come out next summer are in peril. The Fall Television season is basically on life support, and these writers are also getting desperate. They are feeling the pinch of no work for three months. I really do think it is the overall collective pain of this threemonth strike by th writers coming home to roost, and they are saying, lets at least see if there is common ground. It is interesting they started with the writers, not the actors. Or does it stand, and should it be seen as a new strategy to go to the Writers First . That has been the strategy from the beginning, they went first, then they went to the directors. The directors did make a deal. Then they went to the actors and decided they would strike. The length of term here is a factor. Also, the rhetoric on the actors side, especially from the president of sagaftra, has been ratcheted up. The studio side thought they might have a better chance going to the writers. There has been focus on the actors and writers issues. What about the studios and producers . These are different kinds of media companies, traditional studios as well as streamers, do they come with the same top things they are after . How together are they . That is fascinating and distinguishes this strike from other labor impasses. The Major Players on the studio side are companies that are traditional like disney and warner bros. Also Companies Like amazon, apple, netflix, that are Tech Companies and have dismissed different business interests. They are selling subscriptions. That is their primary business. The others have other businesses like linear television. Their latenight shows are shut down. Theme parks will they will not have new product to promote the theme parks. The studio side is not an entirely coalesced coalition. They are negotiating to put on the best face. Behind the scenes, theres a lot of debate amongst the members. There is one interesting site activity where there are some independent studios making films. They are getting socalled waivers from the unions. Explain that. It has caused some tension. These are not waivers. These are in interim agreement. For certain productions that are not financed or distributed by these major studios and streamers, you can sign in interim agreement that says we agree to everything the guild is asking for. Doubledigit rise in wages, 2 of all of your revenue on the content. You can sign the agreement and go into production on a show or a movie. Whether the talent involved is willing to do so is a separate issue. We saw viola davis specifically back out of a movie that got an interim agreement because she did not feel it was appropriate to be working while her fellow actors are not. There are almost 100 now that have gone these interim agreements and are able to shoot. In recent days, we have seen big name actors come together to help build a very large fund to build other actors in need. Does it point to a level of solidarity that we expected . Does it point to a potential for a long strike . The level of solidarity in this strike has been pretty extraordinary. Both on the writers side and the actors side. Basically the writers were able to go to the picket lines around the country and say you are not going to shoot this show. Most productions shut down. On the actors side, you see an extra ordinary level of solidarity because they have not been on strike since 1980. This is new ground. Especially the social media era where they can mobilize and you have big stars under pressure from the guild and social media to provide funds for the actors out of work. It is not a surprise you see this level of giving and solidarity. We will keep watching. Thank you very much. The u. S. State department launched a new effort to respond to Global Health crises and put Lessons Learned during the covid19 pandemic into action. The bureau of Global Health security and diplomacy is aimed at better preventing, detecting, and responding to existing and future health threats. Its first leader is esteemed overall just dr. John makanda song, investor atlarge for Global Health diplomacy, and the global aids coordinator for the industry. I spoke to him earlier this week about his new role. Welcome to the newshour. In creating this new bureau, the state Department Hopes to elevate the issue of Global Health in u. S. International policy. How will this new bureau and Public Health experts and diplomats more efficiently and more effectively . The new build was launched today for secretary blinken. Let me start off by saying it is a historic moment. The threat in the world is a threat everywhere in the world. Three things the bureau has tried to do. One is to elevate and lead with the United States diplomacy. So that countries Work Together in a coordinated and collaborative fashion to address these threats. Secondly is to eleva security as part of a foreign policy. We see how devastating a disease that in 20 was unknown. In three short years, it killed 20 Million People, disrupted economies in a way that was unimaginable. Close to trillions of dollars. Lastly, truly to coordinate on efforts domestically because we know the United States is a Global Leader in the field of Global Health. Those assets, if called appropriately in collaboration with partner countries, can be a tremendous tool responding to disease outbreaks. Drawing on your experience leaving the agency that responded to public Health Crises across the continent of africa known as africa cdc, you confronted the early days of the ebola crisis, the hivaids crisis, the covid19 crisis across the continent. What lessons did you learn in that experience you hope to apply to your new role . The one lesson during the sentence to Disease Control as prevention was for the corporation matters. Because when disease emerge, it moved quickly. When covid19 was recognized in wuhan. It took 20 days for 66 countries in the world to be affected. 20 days, 66 countries affected. It took only three years for 20 Million People to die from the pandemic. The african cdc was to work at the political level with the head of states, work policy levels, and bring the whole continent to corporate and collaborate and coordinate the efforts as much as possible. That is lesson number one. At the launch of the bureau, i said we need to lead with four cs, corporate, collaborate, coordinate, and. The centrality for us to better respond to disease outbreaks and threats is to follow the leads. The launch of this new bureau comes at a time when funding can be imperiled for another critical u. S. Global Health Imperative known as pep far, the emergency plan for aids relief, established under president bush in 2003. For the first time in the programs history, republicans are threatening the reauthorization of it. Because they say it is a vehicle for promoting abortion access, which is not true. It is a bludgeon objectively not true. Still, the program has been caught up in cultural wars. How do you respond to that . First of all, i always like to lift the mirror and look where we are coming from 20 years ago. Hiv and aids in the world, we saw in africa, many countries in africa, that the Corporate Market was striving. We saw in hospital after hospital being full of people. Because of the United States morally and values, it became a defining moment. It changed the narrative, hivaids. And today, 25 million lives have been saved. 5. 5 million children have been born free of hiv. It is thanks to the commitment of the American People through the program. The u. S. President s emergency plan for u. S. Aids relief. The goal is to bring hivaids to an end by 2030. And it is very feasible. This is not the time for us to on the leadership the world has recognized, and it reflects our values. That is not the time for us to step back from those remarkable gains which are very fragile. I have been optimistic the bipartisanship that characterized and has done so for 20 years will prevail and will continue to be reauthorized for five years. What is the key to sustaining those gains and convincing Political Leadership that the fight against hivaids across the globe is not over, and that the u. S. And the world in fact need to be prepared for the next outbreak . Absolutely. We have to recognize thanks to our efforts, about 20 Million People in africa are currently receiving lifesaving treatment. However, they have to receive this treatment every day. If you stop taking that treatment after a few weeks, the virus comes back. It becomes a threat to the individual, which means 20 Million People will. It becomes to transmit the virus. And the systems, the infrastructures we put in place is helping those partners countries, and protecting us. Each time a disease outbreak is out there, the infrastructure we put in place is used frequently and often in responding to those disease threats. It is a critical moment we finish the fight and we do not get complacent. The new head of the bureau of Global Health security and diplomacy. Great to have you here. Few people have done much to confront Global Health crises around the globe as you have. It is a privilege to speak with you. In 2024, the republican president ial Campaign Season is in full swing. Candidates are stumping on a host of key issues. One that is missing from their agenda, Climate Change. Despite a summer of record setting heat, Republican Voters still dont see a warming planet as a concern. As William Brangham reports, neither do the republican candidates want to lead them. Heat waves and wildfire. A major heat wave. Likely hitting 100 degrees today or tomorrow. Central park glowing orange. This summer, smoke from canadian wildfires cast a dystopian yellow haze over u. S. Cities. The drought stricken Colorado River forced seven southwestern states to consider drastic water cuts. It punished millions of americans. The impacts of the world were hard to miss. Out on the campaign trail, republican candidates were talking about everything but Climate Change. We are going to end the woke agenda. An open border is not a border. The worst inflation in 40 years. The republican silence on Climate Change is echoed in recent polling showing Republican Voters also dont see it as a concern. In a new pbs newshour npr and marist poll, while americans think Climate Change is a major threat, only 28 of republicans do. A third of republicans say it is a minor threat, and another third say there is no threat at all. To talk about Climate Change remains very difficult for a number of conservative lawmakers who feel that their constituents are themselves. Either apathetic or antagonistic to it. Lisa covers climate and environmental policy for the New York Times. She said this trend comes even as some Republican Leaders have shifted to acknowledge the Scientific Consensus on what is driving Climate Change. Overwhelming the Republican Leadership acknowledges Climate Change is happening, that it is driven, and in their view, in part by fossil fuels. The deep division is over what to do with it. Let me just say, clearly the climate is changing. Not as dramatically as the radical environmentalists like to present. Most republicans reject the single biggest way to cut the emissions driving Climate Change. To shift away from burning fossil fuels and transition to renewable power, like solar, wind hydropower, and geothermal. Fossil fuels are a requirement for human prosperity. What is more, many republicans pledge to rollback the Biden Administrations signature climate initiative, the inflation reduction act, which directs billions of dollars in subsidies and incentives to deploy those technologies. What you hear often from conservatives is we can address Climate Change, the emissions from fossil fuels without reducing the fossil fuels themselves. That is not the way scientists see it. They have said over and over again that in order to reduce emissions, we need to convert to Renewable Energy and reduce the burning of fossil fuels altogether. The leading republican, former President Trump, is also the most ardent denier of the reality of Climate Change. The environmentalists talk about this nonsense. Donald trump is a climate denier who has consistently cast doubt on climate science, he says it is a hoax. Leah stokes researches energy and Climate Policy. Under his administration, there was a massive gutting of bedrock environment to agencies like the Environmental Protection agency, rolling back hundreds of environmental regulations. Other leading republicans, like Florida Governor ron desantis, have also dismissed the issue as an exaggerated left wing talking point. Ive always rejected the politicization of the weather. Florida often suffers from disasters made worse by Climate Change. Since 2020, 16 major storms have caused over 100 billion in damage to the state. Sending insurance rates through the roof and some Insurance Companies out of state. Despite his rhetoric, ron desantis has implement the programs to address these disasters. On the ground, he has taken steps to protect florida against stronger storms, rising sea levels. What you are seeing is also common among many republicans in areas deeply threatened by Climate Change and resistance to push on fossil fuels, but openness and willingness to address what we call adaptation. Protecting areas against the consequences of Climate Change. Critics argue the main reason why republicans resist any limits on fossil fuels is campaign money. According to the money tracking group open secrets, the top 20 oil, coal, and gas donors gave out over 80 million in Campaign Contributions in the last two years. The money went almost exclusively to republicans and conservative groups. The problem is the fossil fuel industry has bought and paid for huge swaths of Republican Party politicians, whether in congress, state houses, or sometimes in the white house. A conservative think tank is drafted detailed has drafted detailed Climate Energy plan called project 2025 for the next republican president. The sweeping reforms would cut nearly all of the federal governments current climate work, blunt the use of Renewable Energy, and cut current regulations on the fossil fuel industry. Mandy is with the Heritage Foundation and was former chief of staff at the Environmental Protection agency. She helps write the section on the epa. The Republican Party understands the serious issue needs to be addressed, needs to be addressed through balance regulations. It should not be used as a means to justify expanded control of the federal government. It is unconscionable. It would be like being in a Global Pandemic and deciding what you needed to do was fire all of the doctors and nurses. That is basically what the conservative republican plan is if they take the white house in 20 25. Across the globe, this july was the hottest month on record. Yet another indicator of the increasingly harsh reality of presentday Climate Change. But the political schism in america over what to do about it continues. For the pbs newshour, William Brangham. For analysis on Climate Policy as well as the latest indictment of former President Trump, we turn to brooks and capehart, New York Times columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post. Good to see you both. I wanted to revisit, a quick look at williams report. One number stuck out to me. I want to get your take on it when americans are asked whether or not Climate Change is a major threat. About 56 say it is. When you break it down into partisan lines, this is among republicans, 28 think it is a major threat. 37 say it is a minor threat. 33 dont believe it is a threat at all. A little bit of a chicken and egg argument. Republicans are not talking about it because people do not think it is a threat. If they talked about it more, would people think it is a threat . Im old enough to go back to john mccain and Lindsey Graham who supported proposed the big Climate Change bill. You have republicans and democrats both with Climate Change proposals. Back then it was about a 20 point gap between democratic views of Climate Change and republican. Now it is a 50 point gap. One, everything is more polarized, two, republicans are more manufacturing than they used to be. And three, it has become a sign of political machismo that if one opinions has a, then we say z. So drill baby drill is the way to offend the elites. The weird thing is looking at a bunch of other numbers, three quarters of americans support global Climate Change treaties. We should be carbon neutral. Some work subsidence government subsidies. They are taking this extreme positions. Against a pretty large majority on a bunch of these sub issues. This is grounded in science and data, but Climate Change has taken on a political tenor. One of my first bosses said it is better to be effective than to be right. Can Republican Leadership find an effective way to convey that message . I dont know. Talk about chicken and egg. They are so worried about primary challenges, looking like they are bending to the local crowd, that they wont do things affecting their own constituents in real time. I dont remember, and you stole my line. Im old enough to remember john mccain and Lindsey Graham being the republicans helping to lead the charge and be serious about Climate Change. Yet we have seen spectacular stories. Bad spectacular. The ocean off florida above 100 degrees. Heat domes over various parts of this country, but also europe and asia. The wildfires turning cities orange because of the smoke blowing from canada. Not to mention the wildfires burning from portugal to turkey because of the high temperatures. If the politicians dont think it is something that needs to be addressed, there are people, their own constituents are living through it right now. It may not be a big election issue, but we know mr. Trumps ongoing legal issues will be a big issue in the next election. Indicted again on federal charges for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. He alleged those charges are what he calls election interference. He called them fake charges. 78 felony charges later, it seems like they are feeling fueling his dominance. When it is a political year, i think the maralago raid was a turning point. He has gotten stronger and stronger. Hes not only dominating the republican field, hes stronger against joe biden than at any point. So his political fortunes have risen and risen. Weve still got to do this. The one thing im impressed by this current indictment is it goes at the core threat here. Donald trump does a lot of bad stuff. But a threat to democracy is the core threat. That puts this front and center. Second, this indictment rises organically for all of the indictments that have been brought against the january 6 people. They have moved up to the promise keepers. It is the same charges, very conventional. It seems reasonably legitimate to me. Telling that to the mass public that most things are pretty fair in this town. That is not really good, a lot of people believe it has something to generally believe. I agree with david on this. But also, this indictment, the two others that we have seen to come, is one that is easy to understand, but also the American People understand this. Even though the insurrection is not part of the charge. All of the things happen in real time leading to the indictment. Seeing the news accounts however they are getting them, and this will be a trial, this will be a case they will be able to follow in the same easy way that they did the january 6 hearings. The only difference is they wont be able to see them. In terms of how it plays in the republican field, there is only a minority of fellow republicans saying mr. Trump should not be running. Most of them are echoing his claims there has been a weaponization of governmt that there is a political witchhunt. In iowa, he was asked about the charges and said he believes there politically motivated. His single biggest individual donor, a man named robert bigelow, 20 million to mr. Desantis superpac. He said he would not give them more money ahead of more major donors. Is it going to change his path Going Forward . He things hes going to moderate his message. Wheres hes been for the last three years . Hes doing the ron desantis thing, the strategy that is out, trump on the right. It is not working, and none of the other candidates are working. I dont see a crack in the republican primary. If your core story, which his core story is the elites are out to get us, then these indictments fit into that story. That is why it has helped him essentially. Does that message help his rivals . No. If im understanding the question correctly. Ron desantis is not going to beat donald trump because folks have to choose between coke and newco, they will choose coke. Choosing between trump and trump light, you will go with trump. Networks in the republican primary. You cant try to beat trump and think you are going to get the nomination and tack back to the middle. Youre so far gone from the middle that there is no amount of tacking back to the middle to make you palatable to the broad sweep of the American Public who find what ron desantis has done in florida to be objectionable. We talk about the impact this has on the elections. The impact about the web as a nation weaponization of government having on our democracy, there is a striking number i have to ask you about. Americans were asked about their overall confidence in the fbi. It is now at an alltime low. Among democrats, it has gone up four points. This is back in 2018. Down 12 points among republicans. It has tanked a whopping 24 points. It is part of a larger point. Doesnt that number were you . The number one important statistic has been two generations if they do the right thing most of the time. 75 said yes. 12 , 19 , it bounces around. Phenomenally low. Imagine Walking Around the city watching nbc, what i think what was glorious and inspiring buildings, and thinking that is full of monsters. All of that is illegitimate, it is a fraud. I cant even imagine that mindset, it is the mindset that says and frankly, a lot of people feel it is justified and probably is because of the failures of a lot of things happening in this country over that time. I get that. It is also the people who know better, not acting better and not speaking better. Knowing full well what is being said about the fbi, about government, what is being said about innocent people is wrong. And not standing up to it and say at the time no President Trump, that is not true, you should not do that. And standing up as leaders in the Republican Party also leaders of this country in saying this is not right, this is not correct, this is not who we are as a party and a nation. If someone with the moral courage to do that had done that, i think it would be a much stronger position than where we are now. I can tell you they are not trying to be pointyheaded individuals. They are tough americans. Tough, smart americans. Some republicans would say these people are pretty impressive. Do you see that happening . On that note. Always good to see you both. Have a good weekend. Dont forget to watch john yang moderate a panel of journalists on Washington Week tonight on pbs. They will have more on this weeks historic federal indictment of former presint trump. And on pbs news week and, 12 years after a summa tsunami sent fukushimas Nuclear Power plant into meltdown, japan plans to release more than one million tons of waste from that damaged facility. Her younger brother was out at sea when the tsunami struck and he lost his life. He has worked hard to rebuild his livelihood since. But he fears fukushima will be paying the price for years to come. It is a lifelong problem. This is our childrens problem. This is our grandchildrens problem. It will affect everyone. Look and say with certainty that this will be fine. That is tomorrow on pbs news weekend. That is the newshour for tonight. Im geoff bennett. On behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us and have a great weekend. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. Moving our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. Including kathy and Paul Anderson and camilla and george smith. The Walton Family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during Climate Change so people and nature can thrive together. The william and flora hewlett foundation. For more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. This is pbs newshour west, from w eta studios in washington, and from our bureau at the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at Arizona State university. For the First Time Ever a former american president is charged with conspiring to stay in office after losing an election. Today in indictment has been unsealed charging donald trump. After pleading not guilty an angry donald trump fires back. The president and is gaggle of lawyers asked me to reject votes. His former Vice President rebukes trump in his strongest terms yet. A d. C. Jury would indict and convict a ham sandwich if it was a republican. But other republican candidates including one of his nearest rivals, echo trumps claim it is all politically motivated. What is the most serious criminal case trump yet