In ukraine as the grueling counteroffensive tries to recapture territory from russia. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. The ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. Consumer cellular, this is sam. How may i help you . This is pocket dial. Well, somebodys pocket, thought id let you know that with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. Thats kind of our thing. Have a nice day. 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. Thank you. Amna welcome to the newshour. Today, warnings from within and outside of government about the potential effects of a Government Shutdown. That includes concerns from the department of justice that National Security could be affected, a signal from moodys that it would downgrade u. S. Credit, and red flags from scores of other groups, from the military to lowincome families. Congress has until saturday to figure this out. So, where do things stand . For that, we turn to our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardins, on capitol hill. Lisa, great to see you. So, at this stage, is there any hope on capitol hill that a shutdown could be avoided . Lisa there is always hope, of course, amna. But i will say it is very faint at this moment. It is hard to see exactly how a shutdown is avoided. Part of the reason here is because this all started in the house side with the idea of competing interests. There is one potential solution the senate side. I want to take a look at the senate floor right now. As i speak to you, the senate is now voting on a shortterm funding bill. This is an initial procedural vote, but it does at this moment have the support to move forward. The senates version of this is relatively simple, amna. Keep government funded. They also would include some funding for ukraine. That is something that is more controversial on the house side. The senate is hoping to get that through sometime this week, but its not clear, and, in fact, i would say it is unlikely that the house is going to simply pass that bill. Amna lisa, for Many Americans watching this unfold, this is a little baffling. So help us understand where we are right now by reminding us why we are here right now. Lisa right. Far be it from modern congresses to be logical, but this is an especially wild and i think confusing situation. Part of the problem, as i said earlier, is that House Republicans had competing goals within their own conference. Some wanted to have more spending cuts than others. Some wanted to use tougher tactics than other. We have talked about that before. I think its more simple right now to talk about where we are in terms of the decisions that House SpeakerKevin Mccarthy has to make, because the next moves are really up to him. He has a few key options realistically. First, lets talk about option one. That is the idea of bringing that senatepassed funding bill to the house floor. Lets talk about pros and cons. On the pro side, a shutdown likely would be avoided. There probably would be enough republicans decide with democrats to pass that funding bill. But on the con side for that, it would need those democratic votes. And that brings the other point. That would potentially threaten Speaker Mccarthys own speakership. Now, thats not an option that he likes for many reasons. So, lets talk about his next option Speaker Mccarthy has, would be to pass essentially republicanonly funding bills, large funding bills, complicated funding bills. Thats what theyre doing now. That would assuage conservatives, his speakership would be saved. But, amna, the cons are, i dont have to tell you, that would essentially guarantee a shutdown, because passing those large and more complicated yearlong funding bills would take weeks to resolve with the senate. They would simply run out of time. Now, i asked Speaker Mccarthy today if hes concerned about his speakership. He said, no, hes worried about the american people. Hes worried about issues like border security. But, to me, that left open the question of whether he really would try and get this done this week. There are some longshot options here as well i want people to be aware of. One is the house could pass a shortterm funding bill. Theyre trying, but so far they have not been able to figure out amongst themselves, republicans, what that would look like. And then theres a discharge petition. We have some of the smartest viewers in the world. You know that. I think theyre familiar with this concept that if enough members of the house signed a petition, they could force through a funding bill, but that again could put Speaker Mccarthys speakership in jeopardy. So this is why were where we are now. Amna where we are with the clock ticking and days away. Lisa, while i have you, i need to ask you about another major story on the hill. There is increasing pressure on new jersey democratic senator bob menendez to resign. Hes facing bribery charges and an arraignment tomorrow. Just bring us up to speed here on what we should know. Lisa the now steppeddown the former chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee is here today. We werent sure he came up came for a vote, but amid calls for resignation by many, increasing numbers of democratic senators, including fellow new jersey senator cory booker who wrote this today. He said, the faith and trust of new jerseyans have been shaken to the core. Stepping down is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgement that Holding Public office often demands tremendous sacrifices. Amna, senator menendezs seat is up next year. Democrats cannot afford to spend money on it. They dont want someone under indictment, especially with this indictment, to be running again. Theres a lot of pressure for him the resign. So far, he says, no way. Im staying. Amna Lisa Desjardins on capitol hill for us, covering it all, lisa, thank you. Good to see you. Lisa youre welcome. Vanessa im vanessa ruiz in for stephanie sy with newshour west. Here are the latest headlines. We have latebreaking news to report. The Writers Guild of america says its strike will end at 12 01 a. M. Pacific time wednesday. The union instructed members they can return to work while a vote to ratify a contract agreement with studios in ongoing. Meanwhile, the auto strike hit day 12 today, and, in a first, President Biden joined a picket line against ford, stellantis, and general motors. He shook hands and bumped fists with United Auto Workers members just outside detroit. With megaphone in hand, he urged them to stick with it. Pres. Biden uaw, you saved the Automobile Industry back in 2008 and before. You made a lot of sacrifices, you gave up a lot and the companies were in trouble. But now theyre doing incredibly well, and guess what, you should be doing incredibly well too. Vanessa a state court judge in new york ruled that former President Trump and his company, the trump organization, committed fraud for years. A Summary Judgment says mr. Trump hugely overvalued his assets and exaggerated his net worth. The finding resolves the heart of the states case ahead of a nonjury trial on remaining claims. Trumps lawyer said they intend to appeal the decision, calling it fundamentally flawed. Meanwhile, in mr. Trumps 2020 election subversion case, his lawyers are claiming a proposed gag order would violate his free speech rights. In a federal court filing late monday, they called it an obvious attempt by the Biden Administration to unlawfully silence its most prominent political opponent. Special counsel jack smith says a gag order would target what he calls false and inflammatory statements. The u. S. Supreme court has cleared the way for a new Congressional District map in alabama. Without dissent, the justices today refused the states appeal to keep republicandrawn lines that a lower court had rejected. Instead, a courtappointed official has proposed maps with a second majorityblack district. Black residents make up more than a quarter of alabamas population. The federal government and 17 states are suing amazon, accusing it of stifling competition and forcing inflated prices on other platforms. The action, filed today in washington state, said the ecommerce giant exploits its monopolies in ways that enrich amazon but harm its customers. The company replied that the lawsuit is wrong on the facts and the law. Thousands of people kept pouring out of the nagornokarabakh region in azerbaijan today as an overnight explosion claimed new victims. Reports said at least 68 people died and scores were hurt outside of stepanakert, when a gas station blew up. Most of the victims were Ethnic Armenians fleeing to armenia after azerbaijans military captured nagornokarabakh. In armenia, the u. S. Aid administrator Samantha Power appealed to the azeris. Samantha we know that there are injured civilians in nagornokarabakh who need to be evacuated and it is absolutely essential that evacuation be facilitated by the government of azerbaijan. Vanessa south korea held its First Military parade in a decade today, a show of force in the face of aggressive actions by the north. Thousands of troops marched through the rainy streets of seoul as tanks and weapons rolled by. President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to ramp up the souths defenses. Pres. Yeol if north korea provokes, the south Korean Military will immediately respond based on practical combat capabilities and firm military readiness. If north korea uses nuclear weapons, its regime will be brought to an end by an overwhelming response from the south koreanu. S. Alliance. Vanessa in iraq, at least 100 people have died following a fire at a wedding celebration. 150 people are reported injured. The blaze broke out in nineveh province, tearing through a large event hall. Local officials said it started after fireworks were lit. The death toll is expected to rise. Back in this country, california now has a new law that blocks School Boards from banning textbooks that teach about race, sexual orientation, and gender. Democratic governor gavin newsom signed the measure on monday. He said it was long overdue amid a nationwide surge in banning and censoring books in schools. And we have a passing of note, hall of fame baseball player Brooks Robinson has died. The Baltimore Orioles third baseman won 16 consecutive gold gloves, played in 18 allstar games, and was the American League mvp in 1964. A statement announcing his death did not state a cause. Robinson was 86 years old. Still to come on the newshour, our exclusive interview with Vice PresidentKamala Harris. The head of the United Auto Workers discusses ongoing negotiations and the president s trip to the picket line. Maui residents return to their communities more than a month after devastating wildfires. And we report from the front lines of ukraine amid the brutal, ongoing counteroffensive. 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. Amna there are a number of issues swirling this week, with potential economic and political fallout, from the ongoing autoworkers strike, to a looming shutdown, to the first hearing in the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Geoff bennett spoke to Vice PresidentKamala Harris about all of that at Morehouse College in atlanta today, where she courted young voters as part of a monthlong multistate college tour. Geoff well, madam Vice President , thanks so much for your time. Vp harris thank you, geoff. Geoff and, as were here in atlanta today, President Biden is in michigan. Hes visiting the picket line of the United Auto Workers. Never before in modern history has a president sided so publicly with labor during an active strike. Why was that the right approach . Why not let the collective bargaining process play out, as this administration has done in previous labor disputes . Vp harris well, President Biden has been very clear that we are proud that we will be the most prolabor administration probably in the history of our country. We believe that its important to support workers and to support the dignity of work. And so and this has been a longstanding commitment that President Biden has had throughout his career, very much the same for me. And its just the right thing to do. And what we know is that, when we support workers in terms of their need to have wages and benefits that are commensurate with their value and what they are contributing to society and to our economy overall, everybody benefits. So, thats what youre seeing. Geoff well, let me ask you about that, because it strikes me that the shift to electric vehicles, which is a major point of contention in these contract talks, its almost as if the administrations two goals are colliding. On the one hand, fight climate change. On the other hand, build out the middle class by supporting unions. And yet we know that, when it comes to actually building electric vehicles, it requires less labor. And many of those jobs are nonunion jobs. Vp harris i would suggest to you that that is that perspective that some people have is grounded in a very old false choice. You can do both. And that is our perspective. We can do both. And that is about supporting, again, the importance of understanding the value of work, and that it should be compensated, commensurate with its value, and what we must do to invest in our economy, invest in innovation, and take on one of the biggest crises the world has ever known, which is the climate crisis. Geoff meantime, time is running out to avoid a Government Shutdown on saturday as House Republicans fight among themselves over whether or how to extend government funding. It appears likely that the House Speaker, Kevin Mccarthy, whos already slammed his farright flank, is trying to burn down the house, that he might need help from democrats. Should democrats supply their votes if it means avoiding a Government Shutdown and the related consequences that come with it . Vp harris well, let me start by saying it would be completely irresponsible to have a Government Shutdown. As is, i think, at this point, very wellknown and understood, a Government Shutdown could mean that the members of our military, service men and women, arent getting paid. It means that people who are doing critical work that is about upholding the structures of our government and all that we rely on in terms of those services could shut down. So lets start there. It would be completely irresponsible. Second, people are playing politics. Theyre playing political games. Theres a lot of showmanship that youre seeing. And if those people put those same levels of effort and talent into actually something that was productive, i dont think wed be in this place of talking about a Government Shutdown. Geoff should democrats step in and help avoid a shutdown if thats what is required . Vp harris well, right now, its very much in the hands of the republicans in congress to be able to do just that. Geoff also, on thursday, House Republicans are going to open their impeachment inquiry into President Biden with their first impeachment hearing. Whats the administrations approach, the administrations strategy for dealing with that House Republican effort . Vp harris well, i think that we are very clear that were not going to be distracted by political games, and were going to stay focused on what we have been doing. Im here in Morehouse College talking with a bunch of Young Leaders about the challenges that they face and the need for solutions. One of the big topics we talked about here was the issue of gun violence. And so our work has been to pass the most significant Gun Legislation that has been passed in 30 years because of our commitment to find solutions and to work on things that actually have a benefit, direct benefit to the people who need it. And so were going to continue doing that. Geoff youre also overseeing the first ever White House Office focused on preventing gun violence. Absent congressional action, how will that effort make a significant change . Vp harris well, congressional action is very important. Theres no question about that. And the failure to act, i think, is to the discredit of the importance of actually taking hold of the solutions