Florida teachers and students to talk about lgbtq issues. Amna and the pregnancy struggles about the is really survivors of october 7 and gazans under siege. Im so exhausted. I cannot walk or get up to feed him or hold him. Announcer major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by leading our economy for 160 years. Bnsf, the engine that connects us. Announcer the kendeda fund committed to restoring meaningful justice through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. More at candidafund. Org. Carnegie corporation of new york. Supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement and the advancement of International Peace and security at carnegie. Org. And with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. Announcer this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Geoff welcome to the newshour. Chuck schumer is taking on israels far right government over the war in gaza. Amna the highestranking jewish elected official in the United States delivered a scathing speech charging that Prime Minister netanyahu has lost his way in the military drive to crush hamas. Chuck schumer said that in yahoo and is government are an obstacle to peace and israel needed new elections. The Netanyahu Coalition no longer fits the needs of israel after october 7. The world has changed radically since then. And the israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past. Amna netanyahus Political Party shot back that israel is not a Banana Republic and that its more a policy has wide public support. In Gaza Palestinian official said and aid warehouse was hit by an israeli airstrike killing eight people. The Palestinian Authority is getting a new Prime Minister but the choice may not satisfy u. S. Calls for reforms leading to a palestinian state. The president named an economist to the post. He is a longtime ally to the president and whether he will undertake real change is unclear. A federal judge in florida has rejected formers motion to diskless to dismiss the classified documents case against him. Stir trump is accused of illegally soaring storing sensitive documents. The law is vaguely worded according to mr. Trump. Prosecutors disputed those claims and said mr. Trump urged others to lie and coverup. President biden came out today against a planned sale of a u. S. Deal to a Japanese Firm saying it would harm american workers. I came as he came a campaign visit to saginaw, michigan aimed at raising support among black and union supporters. The Vice President stopped in a clinic that offers abortion services. Former donald trump Treasury Steven Mnuchin has announced he is organizing a group of investors to buy tiktok. This comes after the house voted to ban on the app in the u. S. Unless it cuts ties with its chinese owned parent company. They did not say who might be in that investor group. In japan a higher a High Court Ruled that denying samesex marriage is unconstitutional. The court has no power to overturn existing laws but it urged the government to do so. Crowds in tokyo cheered and hailed the decision as a step towards equality but plaintiffs called it only a partial victory. I still think that we are so far behind other countries. We cannot be compared to them. It feels like japan is the only country that is not changing. Though our society is changing, japan alone has not changed at all. Amna japan is the only member of the g7 industrial democracies that does not have Legal Protections for samesex unions. The Elon Musk Company spacex reached a kind of milestone with the third test of its giant starship rocket but luck did not last. The unmanned spacecraft blasted off from texas and had a flawless flight for about an hour. The rocket was destroyed as it headed for a splash down in the indian ocean. Two previous tests ended in explosions after left off. On wall street, stocks lower. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 137 points. The nasdaq fell 49 points. And a passing of note. The leading civil rights activist of the 1960s, dorian ladner died in washington. She began fighting for justice as a teenager in her home state of mississippi. She was involved in every civil rights protest of the 1960s. She was 81 years old. Still to come, outrage and concern over the treatment of black women in Higher Education. How quantum computing could help us understand more about the universe and beyond. The mother of a slain journalist, james foley, discusses her new book out on her son and much more. L. A. This is the pbs newshour from w eta studios in washington and in the west from the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at Arizona State university. Amna the Biden Administration is struggling to find solutions to to Foreign Policy struggles. In each case it is working with the European Union whose Foreign Policy chief is visiting washington. Nick schifrin sat down with him today. Reporter we are joined by the high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union. Thank you and welcome back. Let me start with israel and gaza. Today, the Senate Majority leader, chuck schumer, made a speech saying that the israeli Prime Minister has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in gaza which is pushing support for israel worldwide to historic lows. Do you agree . Well, i perceive a change in the mood of the Public Opinion in the u. S. With respect to what is happening in gaza. More and more people are feeling concerned with what, i certainly can call a massacre with 30,000 people killed. President biden and the Vice President have been saying too many, certainly. And it is not just in the u. S. , it is true that the whole world is concerned about what is happening there. Reporter the criticism of the majority leader was almost personnel to the Prime Minister. Do you agree with his criticism of netanyahu . We at the European Union have priorities and one would be to look for a two state solution and give the palestinians the right to have their own land. We would prefer to have a leader that could be compatible with this approach. Reporter that sounds like you do not think that netanyahu is compatible with that approach . He has been saying that he is opposed to that solution. Reporter this week you told the Security Council that israel is using starvation as a weapon of war. There is starvation in gaza. There are 1000 people starving literally and among them many children and they are dying. Why is there starvation . It is not enough humanitarian support entering to help these people. And why . Because israel is controlling the border and not leading in humanitarian support. So it is a logical consequence. You prevent humanitarian support from coming and people are starving. It is a logical cause and effect. Reporter but accusing them of using them as a weapon of war suggests they are doing sos purposefully. Israel has said there is no restriction on the amount of aid coming in and they blame united nations. I dont think so. Reporter what is your evidence . There is a lot of evidence that the controls at the border prevent the support from coming in. I dont think israel can say they are doing everything to allow support coming into gaza. Reporter in the same speech where you accused israel as using food as a weapon of war, you did not call on hamas to lay down weapons. Come on, i say that every time. I say that the freedom of the hostages is a must. I have been saying and repeating and i dont care to say it again. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization. They launched an attack that is completely unacceptable. And the hostages have to be freed. Reporter lets switch to ukraine. Have you spoken to the speaker of the house, mike johnson to urge him to allow for a vote for the 60 billion military and economic aid support package for ukraine stalled in the house . Not with the speaker of the house but i had the opportunity to speak with some members of the house on the republican side. And i tried to explain to him and ask him to explain to his colleagues just imagine what could be the consequences of a blockage of american support to ukraine. Just imagine tanks breaking the defense lines of ukraine. Having to put a puppet government in ukraine. Putting the people under an authoritarian regime and we know how that works. Putting the russian army at the border of poland and the baltics. Though security costs for the security costs for us europeans and for the u. S. Of a russian victory in ukraine is so great and unbearable that i urge everyone to understand that the support to ukraine has to continue and not just for generosity for the people defending themselves from an invasion but also in our own interests. Reporter can the European Union provide military aid to ukraine that is in enough quantity to replace American Military assistance . From the Military Point of view, no. You have been a stronger supporter because you have a greater capacity. No one can compete. And certainly, if you could stop doing that, no one else can take your place. Reporter there are already questions in europe about u. S. Reliability. I have been told there is military planning in germany if the u. S. Withdraws from nato. There are even people talking about the u. K. Offering a nuclear guaranteed to europe. There is no alternative for nato to ensure europe of the territorial threat that russia presents russia represents. At the same time there is a growing feeling among europeans that we have to develop more of our own capacities just in case. Just in case in the future we should take more responsibility from our side. And this is not a bad deal. I think this war has represented a wake up for european strategic thinking. There is a general feeling among europeans that we live in a challenging world and we make peace on mung us but that is not a rule. Reporter and is it not just about the war but also about the republican nominee for the president of the United States donald trump who has questioned whether the u. S. , if he was to be reelected would defend nato allies under article five. If donald trump is reelected, we will think about donald trump up for the time being we think about biden. Reporter thank you very much. Geoff students and teachers in florida can now discuss Sexual Orientation and gender identity in a classroom setting as long as it is not part of formal instruction. That is an important change part of a new settlement reached between state education officials and civil rights officials. Here is stephanie sy. Reporter this may be a state law but it has reached beyond florida with other conservative states inspired by the prohibitions. What the law has meant in florida is teachers even afraid to use the words day or transgender when speaking to students outside the classroom or even celebrating their own identity or support of the Lgbtq Community with rainbow stickers. But with this settlement some of those concerns may be put to rest. Joe saunders with Equality Florida told us this there is no question that following the settlement, students, teachers, parents of lgbtq students and lgbtq parents can say gay, can be gay, can be trans in floridas Public School systems and not be afraid of the bullying and the weaponization of this law to lead to sweeping censorship. Reporter however, the law was not repealed and still for bids specific class correctly him dealing with curriculum dealing with lgbtq topics and the governor called the settlement a major win. I am joined by danielle pryor, an education reporter with the npr affiliate in orlando. Thank you for joining the newshour. Help us understand what this settlement changed. I understand the text of the law was altered. It actually clarified the language of the law. The law was vague. Moving forward as we heard in your clip, parents and teachers and students will be able to speak freely and write freely about gender identity and sexuality in classroom discussions, on essays and on projects. Kids can read books again with gay characters, teachers can have gay state alliances and other lgbtq clubs at schools. It really gutted large parts of the law and clarified its. Reporter but the law remains in effect. What restrictions are still in place . The law still bans outright instruction about gender identity and sexuality in florida. That would include a class or a book or even a unit in a section of a textbook that would instruct people in any way about gender identity and sexuality. The law is still in effect as well as a lot of the policies that were inspired by the law. Like banding ap africanamerican history because there was a queer theory unit or making it so that sociology is no longer a core curriculum course for undergrads because it talked about human sexuality. So a lot of the law and the policies around the law are still very much in effect in florida. Reporter it seems both sides of this, lgbt q advocates as well as the governor seem to view this as a good thing. How do you figure that . Basically, the law is not overturned and not repealed. It is still very much in effect which is a win for the governor and his party. This was a big win for his conservative base when it was passed. It is also a big win for lgbt q advocates, oaks that have lived under this law for two years and were afraid to be out publicly and a School System fearing what might happen. This is a huge moment for the state of florida. Reporter you have been reporting on the impacts of this law. The impacts on kids and families who identify as lgbtq. What has it been like for them since the law passed . How did they react to the settlement . Ive spoken to many, whether they are a student or teacher who are gay who felt they could not be gay. They felt they had to be in the closet or go back in the closet. They felt hurt and sad by the fact that a big part of their identity was something that was somehow not appropriate enough to have in order to schools. This is such a win and such a celebratory time and celebration for them. I spoke with several plaintiffs that were on the lawsuit that resulted in the settlement and they said their 10yearold son just said wow, does this mean that we can finally say gay . And look what we did this is a big moment for lgbtq people throughout florida. Reporter other conservative states used this florida law as a template for their own prohibitions. When it comes to florida, where does it go from here in terms of legislature that would impact their citizens . Our last legislative session ended on friday and our strongest antilgbtq bills died in session. There is a trend we are seeing that this antilgbtq push that was so strong before is weakening in florida. I know a lot of the plaintiffs on the lawsuit and people that were a part of the settlement really hope people and other states are paying close attention because they say look what we were able to accomplish. There were protests at local high schools when the bill became a law and obviously, the lawsuit itself shows that sometimes when you speak up and fight for a long time that things can change. They hope to inspire other people in states that still have strong antilgbtq laws in place and floridatself still has a lot of those laws in place. Pings like a ban on gender affirming care. Things like a ban on gender affirming care. We will have to see the ripple effect. Reporter danielle, thank you for your reporting. Amna of the many horrors endured by palestinians and israelis since the hamas attacks of october 7, perhaps none are more than are more acute than those of expectant mothers. Our special correspondent has been charting the progress of their pain, pregnancies, sorrows and joys. She brings us their stories now. Reporter each day in gaza, mothers search desperately for food for their children. By night, as israeli airstrikes pound the strip, they play they pray the children will live to see the morning. Expectant mothers feared their babies will be worn at all. An estimated 50,000 women in gaza are pregnant with about 180 babies being born each day. Medical staff report newborns being birthed on bloodsoaked floors and dirty bathrooms of overwhelm hospitals and cesarean sections carried out without anesthetic. Three months ago she had an emergency csection after she went into labor while fleeing heavy bombing in north gaza. They bombed all of the hospitals in the north. The bombing was happening over our heads. Reporter her displaced family is living in filthy conditions so the wounds from her cesarean surgery have become infected. With medical stocks almost wiped out, she hopes the doctors will have enough antibiotics left to help her. Im so exhausted. I cannot get up to play a role in my babys life. Reporter trapped by bombing for weeks, three months pregnant, she finally made it here for a checkup. The doctors have devastating news. There was no heartbeat. And they have not been able to operate to remove the fetus because there are too many critically injured patients they have to treat first. If she has to wait much longer, sepsis could kill her. I have known for a month that my baby is dead and they still have not removed it because of the numbers of people here. I am scared because i have to have an operation without anesthesia. The doctors say i may become poisoned by the failed pregnancy. Reporter nutrition, scarce clean water are leading to a massive rise of pre