Transcripts For KQED PBS 20240703

Permanente employees walk off the job to protest staffing shortages, low wages, and burnout in the Largest Health the u. S. Warns guatemalas government is interfering with the peaceful transfer of power following democratic elections. We speak with the countrys president elect. Even though the corrupt functionaries in the general Attorneys Office are going to continue attempting any way to derail the process and deny the people the electoral result, its not going to work. Major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by moving our economy for 160 years, bnsf the engine that connects us. These are people who are trying to change the world. I thrive by helping others every day. People who know know bdo. The Walton Family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during Climate Change so people and nature can thrive together. Supported by the macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. More information at macfound. Org. And with the ongoing support of these institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. Thank you. Amna welcome to the newshour. The Largest Healthcare strike in u. S. History is underway after the nonprofit healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente and its unionized workers failed to reach a new contract agreement. Geoff more than 75,000 healthcare workers walked off the job today at kaiser facilities in 5 states and washington, d. C. So whats happening is, kaiser has not been bargaining with us in good faith and so its pushing us to come out here and strike. We dont want to. We want to be inside just taking care of our patients. But unfortunately, kaisers not bargaining in good faith. Geoff the strike is set to last 3 days as contract negotiations continue, focusing on wages increases and solutions to staffing shortages. Caroline lucas is the executive director of the coalition of Kaiser Permanente unions. Thank you for being with us. They are fighting better benefit. Most of the 75,000 striking Kaiser Permanente workers have walked out the job in powerpoint you. What specifically are you asking for . Caroline i think you have captured it. We are looking kaiser executives to listen to the voices of Frontline Health care workers as they raise to the forefront to short staffing crisis that is impacting patient care within Kaiser Permanente. Geoff staff say they are exhausted, that the Staffing Levels of the kaiser facilities are unsafe. Patient wait times, they say, are dangerous. Paint a picture for us of what an average day at a Kaiser Office or hospital looks like right now. Caroline thats a good question. I was just talking to folks in colorado and the receptionist and the Audiology Department was saying people are often on hold for 60 minutes just to reach him and once they do get through to him, hes offering them appointments two months to three months out and that same story is true across california, in portland, in washington, d. C. Area, where patients are waiting for a long time just to speak to someone to be told your next appointment is not for months and months out. Geoff the Healthcare Industry nationwide is facing labor shortages and here is what a kaiser executive had to say about that. I think that coming out of the pandemic, Health Care Workers have been completely burned out. The trauma that was felt caring for so many Covid Patients and patients that died was just difficult. And so people have left the industry as a whole. Geoff so practically what more could Kaiser Permanente be doing in terms of recruiting and hiring staff that it is not already doing . Kaiser permanente has a huge advantage in that it has Frontline Health care workers who want to step up and work on longterm solutions to the staffing crisis, comprehensive solutions. Those look like Infrastructure Investment in the workforce, growing our own in terms of education and training, developing a pipeline for new Health Care Workers to join Kaiser Permanente, and developing a robust wage and benefit package that not just attract new people into Kaiser Permanente but retains existing staff. Geoff as we mentioned, this is a multiday, multistate strike. What do you see is the impact on patients who need Immediate Care . How might those folks get the health care they need right now . Caroline i think that is a question a lot of people ask. Frontline Health Care Workers have been seen patient care suffer now before they went out on strike, there were long waits in the Emergency Department and patients were facing long waits to access care prior and all of the wait times, all of the delayed care compounds in a situation that creates a real patient care crisis so we know Kaiser Permanente received 10 days notice from us which is both a legal obligation an ethical obligation to provide notice to strike. That is an opportunity for kaiser to fix the staffing crisis by negotiating good solutions. Having failed to do that, kaiser executives will be spending lots of money on outside Expensive Companies to come in and staff facilities. They could be staffed by Kaiser Permanente employees. Geoff what does kaiser need to do to meet the unions demands . Caroline kaiser needs to listen to the voices of Frontline Health care workers as they come up with longterm staffing solutions. Some of those Solutions Look Like incentives to attract new staff into the health care field. It looks like providing training so that the right staff have the right skill set to deliver care. It looks like incentivizing off shifts, night shift, weekend shifts that are really hard to staff right now partly because differentials have not changed in 30 years and most concerning, we just heard from causer permanente Kaiser Permanente on an issue that Kaiser Permanente is interested in outsourcing the jobs of Health Care Workers that a year ago they were calling heroes. Geoff what are differentials . Caroline shifts like night shift, weekend shifts, they are harder to staff and attract people to and there are added costs for workers taking those shifts so they are an incentive to take an off shift. Geoff thanks so much for your time and insights. We appreciate it. Caroline thank you for your time. Amna in the days other headlines, former President Trump appealed a new york judges ruling that he committed fraud by inflating the value of his assets for banks and insurers. That came as mr. Trump returned to a manhattan courtroom for day three of the civil trial in the case. Attorney general Letitia James filed the lawsuit and was also on hand. President biden hinted today he may try to bypass congress to get more money for ukraine. Last week, House Republicans forced the removal of ukraine aid from a bill averting a Government Shutdown. At the white house today, the president said, there is another means by which we may be able to find funding. He gave no specifics, but said he plans a major speech on the issue. At the vatican today, pope francis kicked off a meeting on the future of the Roman Catholic church, with his reform agenda on the line. The threeweek synod will cover issues ranging from womens roles to lgbtqplus catholics to Climate Change. The pope opened with a mass in st. Peters square and a call to put aside liberalconservative divisions and remake the church. We are not here to make a political rally. We are here to walk together with the gaze of jesus who welcomes those who are weary and oppressed. Come, you who feel far away,. Come, you who have closed the doors to hope. The church is here for you the church has open doors to all, to all, to all. Geoff amna for the first time, nonclergy and women will be allowed to vote. Police in india have arrested the editor of a news outlet that criticizes the hindu nationalist government. Investigators accuse newsclick of receiving funding from china. New delhi police raided the offices and homes of staffers on tuesday. Today, hundreds of protesters accused the government of silencing criticism. This years nobel prize in chemistry goes to three scientists Whose Research lit up the world of nanotechnology. Moungi bawendi, louis brus, and alexei ekimov, all based in the u. S. , discovered tiny, bright particles known as quantum dots. Their work led to widespread use in led lights, tv screens, and even medical imaging. Bawendi spoke today in boston. Its this new field that has reached out and touched many other parts of science. And, you know, i find that incredibly rewarding to learn about all these areas where we could be providing something to those fields. Amna in medicine, Quantum Dot Technology can illuminate blood vessels in tumors or track drugs as they flow through the human body. Mourners in San Francisco paid final respects today to the late senator Dianne Feinstein as she lay in state at city hall. Feinstein was the citys first female mayor and ultimately served three decades in washington. House speaker emerita nancy pelosi was among those who viewed the casket today. The allday procession lasted into the evening, with the funeral scheduled tomorrow. And, on wall street stocks rebounded as oil prices dropped 5 dollars a barrel, easing pressure on inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial average gained 127 points to close at 33,129. The nasdaq rose 176 points, nearly 1. 4 . The s p 500 added 34 points. Still to come on the newshour, the deadline for resuming student loan payments kicks in. Guatemalas president elect discusses efforts to keep him from taking office. How a lack of sleep is taking a toll on Teens Mental Health , plus 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. Geoff two candidates are entering the republican race to be the next speaker of the house, and the first votes could be cast one week from today. But its unclear how long it will take to find a successor to Kevin Mccarthy. Amna the ousted former speaker didnt assume the role until four days into the legislative session earlier this year, and only after 15 rounds of voting by representatives. Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins is here to update us as history once again unfolds on capitol hill. A busy day for you. Thanks for being here. It has only been a day since Speaker Mccarthy was ousted. How is that shaping up . Lisa you might wonder why anyone would want to be speaker but this job does not come up often. Only five people have served in this re this century and we have three names at the top of the list night. Steve scalise, the current number two republican in the house. Jim jordan, well known as chairman of the house judiciary committee. The other name, kevin hearn of oklahoma, he does head a large Republican Study Committee but hes only been in congress for three terms. He is pushing himself as someone outside of leadership. Here is what he said last night about why hes considering joining the race. Certainly, i did not volunteer to be this. But when you have people asking you about taking a different direction than what we have done historically in this congress, we are doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results where leadership keeps ascending through the ranks. People asked me about looking at an alternate choice. Lisa it is a battle royale. Some of the most respected and deepest relationships in the House Republican conference between those two but this is not just about those people. This is also about the rules. There are some moderates who say we cannot go through this again. Some who say no. What these men who are running want to say about that wont matter and we will find that out next tuesday when they will speak to their conference. The soonest we could have a new speaker nominated is next wednesday. This will have a major impact on things including ukraine, jordan ukraine. Jordans police saying they would not support money for ukraine. Amna there is an acting speaker. How does that impact the work of the house . Lisa the acting speaker, speaker pretend is pro tem is Patrick Mchenry of north carolina. It is interesting here is that there are some things he cannot do because he was appointed and not elected as speaker pro tem. There is generally a theory and it has not been tested, but most people believe that no bills can move until there is an elected speaker but there is general confusion. A conversation had to members of congress. They themselves could not figure out what the speaker could do. He can keep the process going from my understanding. The reports come out. He is the acting speaker and he has been designated by mccarthy to be acting speaker. We cannot do any business on the floor until a speaker is voted in. Lisa i think that speaks for itself. The house is essentially paralyzed. Amna we know at a long ambition of his. It is a long ambition of his. Lisa he has not decided whether he will resign from congress as we saw from john boehner who left the speakership before him. He may endorse someone, he said, for speaker. When asked about what happened yesterday, about the substance of the claims that matt gaetz and others are making against him that he was someone who betrayed republicans, Speaker Mccarthy, former Speaker Mccarthy, said there was no substance. Here is how he put it. It was personal. It had nothing to do about spending. Everything he accused someone of, he was doing. It always about getting attention. I mean, we are getting email fundraisers from him as hes doing it. Join in quickly. That is not governing. Lisa that is one example of how emotional it was yesterday and those feelings are very present for republicans. He is one of the shortest serving speakers in history. On the other side, you have mitch mcconnell, one of the longestserving republicans in history. Why is there such a difference right now . Lisa i want to credit stephanie for raising this idea as well and it is a good point. The senate is designed, as George Washington put it, to be a factor against the house but there is Something Different about modern politics. We are seeing gerrymandering making district more partisan and more people rewarded for going to the extremes especially in the republican party. That is what is happening here and the house is place where theres more support of former president donald trump. Deeper support as we know. He has campaigned on disrupting institutions. I dont think it is acquainted and that we have seen the institution of the house disrupted more than it ever has been before. Amna unprecedented times. Lisa desjardins, thank you. Geoff what the future of the House Republican conference in limbo, we turn to republican congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of new york. Rifle to be with you. Geoff you opposed the ouster why . We were pushing forward our priorities. Border security act and both of those bills have been put on Chuck Schumers desk. We were making sure we avoided a debt default, that we were able to avoid a shutdown. We received trillions of dollars for the american taxpayer during that default deal that occurred earlier this year and people have to recognize that we are one third of the federal government. We still have to work with the senate and the white house to get things done but where he could control things in making the chamber run smoother, giving us enough time to read legislations of the days of having to pass bills to know what are in them are over. We felt like we were getting real Good Government reforms under Speaker Mccarthy and i felt it was unfair to have him removed simply because he put a bill the other day that prevented a shutdown on the floor which happened to pass for bipartisan support. Geoff two republicans say they are vying for the speakership. In your view, could either of them when the 218 votes needed to become House Speaker . Its possible that either one may be the next speaker. They are wellliked within the conference, both very effective communicators. So i think there is a chance it could be one of those two and it could be a dark horse that comes and can also get elected. The key is to see who will unite us, who will bring us together so we can move forward. We need to recognize that we need to stick together. We are going to get border security. We are going to be able to cut excessive, wasteful spending. We had a plan in place on how we were going to move forward, 40 days left to fund the government of how we were going to work this to get the things that we wanted for the American People in this appropriations process and unfortunately, we lost a significant amount of leverage yesterday when matt gaetz chose to side with the democrats to overthrow our speaker, which 97 of our conference supports. Geoff how will any future republican speaker have an easier time then Kevin Mccarthy did in trying to manage this fractious house caucus when you have a handful of republicans who say they are not focused and not really interested in the kind of compromise you are talking about . There are those who are here to govern. I include myself in that group and there are those who want to play charades. And unfortunately, those individuals are not serious about, you know, give and take and compromise that is needed for a Republican House that is outnumbered 21 by the republicans in the senate and the white house so we have to find a way to move forward. This will be the real test. It was truly personal with Kevin Mccarthy which is what many people say and perhaps we could still find a path forward with another speaker but if this group is going to continue to hold the rest of the conference and Congress Hostage as we try and do the work of the American People, i think it will be very difficult. Geoff in order to become House Speaker, Kevin Mccarthy made multiple concessions to the rightwingers that effectively drained his power including this agreement at any one member could call a vote to unseat him. Will those rules change with the next speaker . Many of my colleagues want to see the rules changed. They believe it should be at least half of the conference which has to be dissatisfied for a motion to vacate. Kevin mccarthy, as i said, worked very diligently to empower the membership to make sure that we were seeing the Good Government reforms on the floor that we wanted because we were tired of the way that nancy pelosi ran the chamber. It was sadly to his own detriment because he did agree to that motion to vacate by one individual and when this one individual sided with a handful of republicans and all the democrats including the socialist squad against our own conference, that was an unfortunate circumstance, something that should have never happened particularly at this present time when we have so much work to do to pass the remaining appropriations bills. The house passed four out of the 12 funding bills in the senate has done 00 this all needs to be resolved within the next 40 days. Thats a lot of work considering we lost the next two weeks. Next week, we will be electing a speaker. Until we elect a speaker, we cannot bring any bills to the floor. Geoff is there any semblance to the plan to avoid a Government Shutdown right now . At least one of the men vying for the speakership says that is now a thing of the past. Rep. Malliotakis it will be a harder pass for the senate to push down any type of ukraine funding. I think originally, there was no side deal like matt gaetz said. The speaker reaffirmed that to us yesterday, but he had said to the conference that, look, we really want to secure our border. That is the houses number when asked. The senates number one ask is not anything for america. It is actually to fund ukraine. Down the line, the negotiation would be to undo President Bidens executive orders that created this migrant crisis thats hurting cities like mine and maybe there would be a trade in that type of negotiation setting. Geoff what message does this infighting among House Republicans send to the country in this Election Year about whether House Republicans can govern and whether they themselves are governable . Rep. Malliotakis this is the challenge with any slim majority. Any four or five people decide that they want to create chaos, they can do so. Only two things can happen here. We need a larger majority so its a governing majority in no small group can take us as hostages, or we have to see may be some bipartisanship, but i doubt that considering the democrats joined the far right here to do this to us. So i feel that, you know, matt gaetz is certainly not representative of the conference. In fact, most people in the conference would like to see him out. Certainly not representative of Republican Values and the fact that he would cut this deal with alexandria ocasiocortez to overthrow our speaker. They need to look at what the republicans are fighting for. Right . We want a secure border, stop thi inflationary spending stop this inflationary spending. We want energy independence, parents bill of rights. We pushed all this stuff over to the senate. Geoff thanks for your time. Amna donald trump waited on the speaker battle today but he did not endorse a mccarthy successor. Mr. Trump we will do whatever is best for the country and for the republican party. Amna he was speaking to reporters at the courthouse where the civil trial accusing him of fraud is underway. That trial has become a vehicle for the former president and frontrunner for the gop nomination to amplify violent rhetoric against his perceived enemies from judges to legal clerks and the attorney general. White house correspondent laura barronlopez has been following the developments and joins me now. Good to see you. The judge is arthur. He opposed to gag order on mr. Trump yesterday. Why . Laura the judge imposed this gag order very quickly on trump, saying he cannot make comments about court staff and this came hours after former President Trump attacked that judges principal law clerk include social. Trump baselessly accused the law clerk of having a relationship with majority leader Chuck Schumer and also said that this law clerk is running the case against me and they should be dismissed immediately. This is clearly a pattern from the former president where he is directly attacking any officials that are involved in these cases against him. Amna you have reported on this other pattern before. We have seen former President Trump directing most of his derogatory attacks against officials of color. Are we seeing that same pattern again . Laura he did it just this week again when he was in new york city directly attacking new York Attorney general Letitia James when he was there for the civil fraud trial. Heres what he had to say about james. We have a racist attorney general who is a horror show. This is a disgrace. You have to go after this attorney general because shes turning off everybody from coming in. Laura that is a pattern from the former president , specifically when he talks about black jurists, judges, prosecutors. He uses words like racist, animals, rabbit, thugs. Rabid, thugs. Amna tell us about that. Laura violent rhetoric is a feature, not a bug, of trumps campaigning style. It goes back to 2016 when he used to use a lot of violent rhetoric during his campaign but recently, there has been over the course of the last two weeks, and increase so if we break it down, on september 22, trump suggested that the former chairman of the joint chiefs should be executed. September 29, he mocks the assault on paul pelosi that was a violent political attack. He calls for shoplifters to be shot on site. You will remember he said in 2020 when the looting shorts, the shooting starts. On october 3, he said, which was just yesterday, when speaking to right wing media, he said migrants are poisoning the blood of our country. I checked with an historian, and she said that that language that hes using, talking about migrants, echoes language used in nazi propaganda by adolf hitler when adolf hitler actually said that jewish people and migrants were causing a blood poisoning. Germany. Amna this is language we have seen before. It is often dismissed and categorized as erratic. Over time, some have become numb to it because it is what we have come to expect from former President Trump when you talk to people who practice rhetoric and its impact, what do they tell you about why it matters . Laura all the experts i talked to about extremism as well as historians say this rhetoric directly leads to violence. January 6 was of course the most it was the largest event that we saw in terms of the former president s language inciting people to go to the capitol and storm it. Death threats against the blind judge overseeing the january 6 federal case, those deaths threats led to Death Threats led to arrests. The fbi ohio office shortly after trumps maralago resort was rated. At the end of the day, all extremism experts i talked to say this not only normalizes violent rhetoric but also encourages violence. Amna White House Correspondent laura joining us tonight. Thank you. Laura thank you. Geoff more than 28 Million People must now begin paying their Student Loans back again. The resumption began this month and its expected to be challenging in many ways as the department of education tries to answer borrowers questions about how the Monthly Payments will look. John yang has more. John geoff, President Biden has taken many paths to try to fulfill his Campaign Promises to cancel student debt. One avenue was shut off in june, when the Supreme Court struck down his plan to cancel as much as 20,000 in debt for borrowers. So the president has been using existing, targeted programs to cancel some debt. Today, he announced another 9 billion in forgiveness for 125,000 borrowers. Pres. Biden with the latest debt cancellation, in total, my administration has canceled 127 billion in student debts for nearly 3. 6 million americans. This kind of relief is lifechanging for individuals and their families. But its good for our economy as a whole as well. John separately, the Education Department is making another attempt at mass relief, like the plan the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional. Washington post reporter danielle douglasgabriel covers the economics of Higher Education, including federal loan programs. What the president adds today, who benefits from that . Emily its a Progress Report on a bunch of initiatives designed to help defrauded students, to help public servants, and also to help people who are permanently disabled receive the kind of loan forgiveness that they are entitled to but really have not gotten because of mismanagement of these programs, because of overly complex rules that have made it difficult for borrowers to be successful so we are thinking here teachers, social workers, folks who, you know, are in fields where they are not necessarily making high incomes but have had to take on a lot of student debt, for licensing and other needs like that, they are the ones really able to benefit from these initiatives. Amna the president said john the president said he has canceled debt for 3. 5 million borrowers but thats a very small sliver of the 43 million owe the federal government student loan money. What more can the president to buy himself without asking congress . Apparently congress doesnt think so and that has been the issue here. You know, very many activists would like to see the president find some kind of unilateral route to canceling far more Student Loans than for the 3. 6 Million People, but as we saw with what the Supreme Court did in june, those paths will likely be challenged and could end up being unsuccessful. I think this new path that the administration is taking, one of going through federal rulemaking processes is probably, at least from what im being told by Higher Education experts, a more sound path to receiving sweeping debt cancellation but its not exactly clear yet whether it will be a match for match for what the plan that we saw that was struck down by the court had offered, which was up to 20,000 of Student Debt Relief for millions of borrowers. Its not clear if that is exactly what this new path will deliver but it does at least show that hes not willing to give up on this policy. This is the same week that loan repayments resume after an interim during the pandemic, during covid issues. Is the administration doing anything, the big things the administration is doing to help people as they get back into paying their loans . Emily rolling out this most recent income driven repayment plan is a pretty big step in trying to make it easier for borrowers to afford their payment. This is by far the most generous repayment plan on the market in terms of protecting more of an individuals income in the calculation of their Monthly Payments. It offers a shorter pathway to forgiveness for people who are low balance borrowers, low income borrowers, but at the same time, im hearing that they are having trouble getting through to their services, having long wait times. Some of them are having issues with the plan. But to the administrations credit, they have offered effectively a 12 month grace period whereby if borrowers are having a hard time with their payments, it will not be reported to the Credit Bureaus and they wont end up in collection. Those are important steps to make sure you dont have a huge spike in delinquencies. Still, you really want to see what the next couple of months are going to produce in terms of how people are feeling about their payments, how they are managing that bill back into their budget. For some people, this is sometimes even a 1000 bill that is being added back at a time where we are still dealing with inflation, still dealing with high housing costs and the like. Really curious to see how this plays out in the next few months. Geoff what advice would you give a borrower who is having trouble to make their claimants payments . This new plan is a great option for a lot of people, particularly people who are struggling because it really would help you to manage your payments because depending on how much money you are making especially fear if you are unemployed, you can qualify for zero Monthly Payment but still receive credit towards having the balance of your loans forgiven and that is a big difference that going on forbearance which is also a viable option for a lot of people, postponing payments until you can afford them but at least with the income driven repayment plan, you are working towards something even as you are having a difficult time financially. John what should borrowers keep in mind as repayments resume . Emily this 12 month grace period is a great option for people to make sure they dont end up in delinquency but i encourage people not to look at this as an extension of the payment clause. Interest is during this time. If borrowers can afford it, they should be making payments. They should be talking to their servicer and the Education Department to figure out which repayment plan is best for them. We are at a point now where we have so many options available to borrowers, far more than when i got out of college, so i think its a really great time for people to look at what is available, look at what fits their lifestyle, and really figure out how best to tackle this yet. Debt. John thank you very much. Emily thank you. Amna guatemala is central americas most populous country and critical to u. S. Efforts to control regional migration. In august, the country elected an outsider, an anticorruption activist who vows to take on entrenched elites that have weakened the judiciary and persecuted guatemalan journalists and activists. Nick schifrin speaks to the president elect in his first english language interview since the election, and reports on the promise of his presidency. Nick when the pact of the corrupt came for guatemalas democracy, they missed the crusader. Bernardo arevalo told guatemalans, yes they could fight corruption. And in augusts election, arevalo and his party came out of nowhere to overcome a political establishment that had tried to silence them. Nick what the people shout about is, enough with so much corruption. Nick arevalo handshaking at arevalo won in a landslide by appealing to young, urban, and indigenous voters. He wants to tackle corruption and build state institutions, to reduce the root causes that have pushed more guatemalans to migrate, than from any other latin american country. But the entrenched elites have resisted the peoples will. The Attorney Generals Office has raided electoral offices and seized election materials, to try and destroy arevalos party, and prevent his presidency. The u. S. Called those actions an effort to undermine the peaceful transfer of power, and is imposing visa restrictions on corrupt actors. Arevalo is a former University Professor and an outsider. But his father is former president juan jose arevalo, who gave birth in the 1950s to guatemalas first democratic spring after a century of dictatorship. Bernardo arevalos party is called seed movement, that hopes to birth a new spring for democracy. Thank you very much. Welcome to the newshour. You received a resounding mandate in this election but you will face a Relentless Campaign against your party including another radon electoral authorities this past friday so are you confident that you will in fact be sworn in as president in january . President elect arevalo yes, im very confident. Legally, there is no question. Politically, we enjoy a very high level of support from every quarter in society. We know that even though the corrupt functionaries in the General Office are going to continue attempting any to derail the process and deny the people the electoral result, it is not going to work. Nick has there been any evidence behind their accusations . President elect arevalo none whatsoever. We have been denied the right to defense because they basically have not granted us access to the case. They dont have any solid evidence and they are just spreading innuendo around our case. Nick you have called it a coup detat. Is that what you think is happening . President elect arevalo a coup detat is the moment at which a state institution alters Constitutional Order and that is what is happening. Their hope is that eventually, there will be some sort of reversal or alteration of the electoral result so that those who have been elected to take office will not be able to do so. And that is a coup detat. Nick u. S. Officials i speak to hope that visa restrictions have sent a message to entrenched interests in the private sector especially. Do you think that is the case . President elect arevalo we have been working with the private sector in order to begin to identify common efforts for development in the future. We know that many in the private sector are willing and really interested in collaborating with our government in this new vision for development we are bringing forward. But there might be other specific actors in the private sector that might still be acting in an undemocratic way. That is something. Nick you have received Death Threats. Some in the u. S. Government i talked to are concerned about your security. Is the u. S. Helping with your security and are you concerned about your own security . President elect arevalo we have received threats, Death Threats that have been given to us officially and these have resulted in the state providing enhanced Security Apparatus that we are working now with the collaboration of the United States. Geoff assuming nick assuming you become president , they will not be a majority. The other parties have not indicated that they will work with you. The judiciary apparently is against you and even that attorney general we spoke about will stay in power. How will you move forward with your agenda despite those challenges . President elect arevalo political alignments that were there before the electoral results are already beginning to change because previous political alignments were sustained by the possibility of having access to corrupt funds and this is disappearing because we have control over the budget and we are not going to allow corrupt actors to have control over the budget. And on the other hand, we cannot rely on a government solution that is based exclusively in our relationship between congress and executive. We have to find ways in which we build coalitions of social actors that support an agenda for development and this is the one that is brought forward to the attention of the Political Parties in congress. Nick and yet as you know, across decades, when leaders have tried to fight corruption, corruption has fought back, from when your father was president , there have been repeated backlashes all the way to more recent u. N. Efforts that included highprofile prosecutions and attentions. Why do you think your reform agenda will not share the same fate . President elect arevalo the future is not a repetition of history. We see time and again that societies that have had these type of problematic paths and problems actually find their way out of them and we believe that this is the moment for guatemalan society and that it is our duty as a government to try to foster these changer relations in order to break the vicious circle that has changed our country into poverty and corruption. Nick one of the efforts the u. S. Hopes to partner with you on is migration. How do you propose to work with the u. S. To stem migration . President elect arevalo first of all, we have to understand that we are dealing with a regional problem. We have to to understand the problem of migration both in terms of the reasons why people continue to escape from their countries, this is because of poverty or violence or a combination of both, and then have mechanisms to address these structural reasons. Nick your surprise election, if you dont mind me calling it that, your background has led some here in washington to believe you are, at least hope you are, a transform at figure. Do you think you are . President elect arevalo thats clearly what we intend to do, not only me, but my running mate, dr. Herrera, and our party. We came into politics because we want to transform the life of guatemalans for the better so yes, we believe and we are going to be a transformative force in guatemala. Nick what do you think your victory, your Movement Means when it comes to those who are so worried about antidemocratic forces gaining momentum across the region . President elect arevalo i think that we have to understand that what the people in the region want is transformation, change in their livelihoods. They need political systems that respond and addresses their needs. And that we need Democratic Institutions to be able to address those needs. And that it is our task to try to find ways into which we can make our governments in all the latin american region responsive to the needs of the population so that they are going to maintain their allegiance to our Democratic Institutions. In guatemala, we have an opportunity to build such a vision. This is going to be beneficial to all the countries in the region as well. Amna thank you very much nick thank you very much. President elect arevalo you are welcome. Geoff doctors recommend that teenagers get eight to ten hours of sleep every night. But many are sleeping far less than that, and nearly one in four also suffers from insomnia. William brangham reports from california on why its so hard for so many teens to sleep, and how its taking a toll on their Mental Health. Its part of our ongoing series, early warnings americas youth Mental Health crisis. William itll be another long night for 15 yearold keiko rakin, as she prepares for another day of high school in alhambra, california. I have homework to due every night. I usually have two tests a week. Im in sports and thats every day after school for two hours, im in five clubs. William five clubs . Keko five and i have leadership positions in all of them. I can get overwhelmed. You know, i can cry. I have a hard time breathing. And its just me thinking i have so much to do and i just dont have the time to do it. William the academic pressure, the college pressure, the sense that shes not doing enough, its turned keiko into a night owl. Most nights, this highschool sophomore says she goes to bed around 1 00 a. M. And only sleeps five or six hours. Does this feel like enough sleep for you . Keiko no, because its really hard for me to get up. And the whole day im constantly yawning. And i feel like i can fall asleep in class. Keiko is not alone. William keiko is not alone. According to the cdc, more than 70 of american teenagers arent getting enough sleep. Theres no question in my mind that teenagers sleep is less than its ever been and probably worse than its ever been. William lisa damour is a clinical psychologist in shaker heights, ohio and the author of the emotional lives of teenagers. While there are multiple factors causing forty percent of Highschool Students to report having persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, damour says sleep is a major culprit. When teenagers are not getting enough sleep, they are grumpier. They have a harder time focusing, they have a harder time remembering things. Theyre more likely to have accidents. They like themselves less. They like other people less. The bottom line on this is that if we could bottle what sleep does for teenagers and truly for all of us, this would be the most valuable drug on the market. William so just imagine devising this experiment, researchers make their subjects wake up hours before their normal wake up time. Then you force them to perform complex mental tasks for five days straight. Thats basically describing the average teenagers school week. She before the pandemic hit, the average public highschool start time across the nation was 8 00 a. M. Last year, california became the first state in the nation to mandate that classes begin no earlier than 8 30. Walking and talking in hallway while thats a Welcome Change for many, it hasnt changed much for gabby wong, a junior at mark keppel high in californias san gabriel valley. Gabby sleeping is just so its a victorious feeling almost, because its like i finally get to have enough sleep. William as cocaptain of the schools debate team, one of her many extracurriculars, her school day starts at 7 30 a. M. I get nightmares nightly. William its the beginning of a grueling schedule that often keeps her up past midnight, something she admits has taken a toll. Gabby ive suffered with Mental Health issues since i was 11. But every night before i go to sleep, i just stare at the ceiling and i think, what have i not done . What assignment have i not finished . What Extracurricular Activities are coming up . What do i need to do for those extracurriculars . Youre thinking, i am not having an easy time with this. Why am i the only one struggling with this . But everybody is struggling with it. William gabby told us her sleep is often fluctuating. She sleeps between three and seven hours a night during the week. But up to 12 hours a night on the weekend. Gabby i still wake up feeling tired every day no matter what. William are your parents on you about this . Gabby oh, yes, yes. My parents have cut. My wifi is off by 12 00 a. M. Because theyre so concerned about me not sleeping. That concern develops and it ends up with me being anxious about not finishing certain things by 12 00. William every student we spoke with said this wasnt a result of parental pressure, they said these intense schedules and expectations were just part of being a teenager today. Another major impediment to teenage sleep, technology. Roughly nine out of 10 teens say they have access to smartphones or laptop computers. And nearly half say they are online almost constantly. There are plenty of teenagers who are losing sleep because they have their tecdhnology in their rooms, because they are on their phones late at night, because social media is so hard to pull away from. So theres definitely reason to think that using smartphones and especially at night has something to do with sleep loss in teenagers. The brain parts that are lit. Up, so to speak, are showing us variations among adolescents who get better or worse sleep. William at uclas center for the developing adolescent, neuroscientist Adriana Galvan and developmental psychologist Andrew Fuligni are studying the links between sleep and teenage Mental Health. Its a chicken or egg problem. Is it that the Mental Health concerns or issues cause poor sleep or is it the other way around, and theyre related . Doesnt really matter. But we know that people who suffer from, for example, anxiety or depression, which are the most common Mental Health challenges that adolescence may undergo, are associated with poorer sleep. William fulignii and galvan have found that students who perform well in school academically often sleep less, and are more likely to face Mental Health issues compared to their wellrested peers. But even more alarming ly, other research has found that students who sleep less than six hours a night are three times as likely to consider or attempt suicide compared to students who sleep eight hours. This all comes at a time when teenagers experience a natural shift in their circadian rhythm that begins to push them to stay up later. Andrew its not their fault. Its not their choice. Its what the biologys telling them to do. So they have to go to bed later. And then were actually many times asking them to go to school earlier and actually loading on the academic demands in the evening. William so what should parents do who are trying to help their teens get more sleep . Experts say their behavior is just as important. Andrew its not necessarily youre going to be on them all the time and harassing them to go to bed, but have an agreed upon pattern, and that in times that youre going to go to sleep, thats reasonable for teenagers. Were in a society where americans do not prioritize sleep. Its not just the adolescents who are doing this. All of us stay up late to get a little bit more work done or to go work out or get up early to go workout. All of that is passed on to what our kids see and model their behavior after. You have any ideas . Geoff gabby told us shes committed to trying to get more sleep going forward. She also cofounded a Mental Health nonprofit that aims to reach even younger students in the san gabriel valley. Gabby we would talk about how depressed we were, and a lot of adults would think youre only in like what, fourth grade . Fifth grade. But that was how we were feeling. And nobody validated that because they didnt expect it. And so seeing that, i dont want someone in the shadows to be going through that without someone like us or anybody, frankly, to step in and look at that and say, i see you, what youre feeling is valid. Just because youre young, it doesnt mean you cant feel that way. William for keiko rakin, she also hopes her school will create an Anonymous Tip Line for students to talk to other students about their Mental Health challenges. Keiko teenagers as a whole, we have those points where we go into these dark places that we cant eat, we cant sleep, we cant focus. And ive been there a couple of times, but i think that just talking to someone, if you really need someone, just having that connection whether its on , in person or not, could really help. William it would be muchneeded help that hopefully leads to some muchneeded sleep. For the pbs newshour, im William Brangham in alhambra, california. Geoff and that is the newshour for tonight. Join us again here tomorrow and we will speak with the head of the u. S. Army about how the branch is rethinking recruitment. Im geoff bennett. Amna and im amna nawaz. On behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour including jim and nancy beltre and kathy and paul anderson. Consumer cellular. This is sam. How may help you . This is a pocket dial. Thought i would let you know with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. That is kind of our thing. Have a nice day. The ford foundation, working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. This program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. 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