October 22, 2024 - PBS News Hour full episode

GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

Amna Nawaz is away.

On the "News Hour" tonight: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both court Latino voters two weeks ahead of Election Day.

Lebanese first responders trying to rescue those wounded by Israeli airstrikes increasingly find themselves in the line of fire.

And we take a look at state ballot measures that could have ripple effects nationwide, including by boosting turnout in this year's presidential election.

REID WILSON, Founder, Pluribus News: In this election, in which Vice President Harris and former President Trump are running so close, hey, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 votes, that could be the difference between a President Harris or a second Trump term.

GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Two weeks from today, the final votes will be cast and the polls will close in this year's presidential race.

Until then, the Trump and Harris campaigns are making their cases in battleground states across the country.

Laura Barron-Lopez has this report.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Both presidential nominees made appeals to a critical voting bloc today, Latino voters.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: The level of genius, entrepreneurship, energy that they have, it's an incredible community and, I like them and they like me.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Former President Donald Trump received a warm response from Latino business owners and religious leaders at his golf club in Miami.

(CHEERING) LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Trump again used dark language to describe the state of the country... DONALD TRUMP: We are a nation in decline.

We're a failing nation.

We're left out all over the world.

No matter where you go, they laugh at us.

They can't even believe what's happening.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: ... and spent time sowing fear around transgender Americans.

DONALD TRUMP: All they think about is transgender operations.

All they think about is, we want men -- we want men to play in women's sports.

There's a sickness going on in our country.

We have to end the sickness.

NARRATOR: It sounds insane.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: In the final sprint to Election Day, Republicans have poured millions of dollars into anti-trans attack ads that target Democrats up and down the ballot.

NARRATOR: Kamala's agenda is they/them, not you.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The former president also repeated attacks on his opponent's intelligence, criticizing Vice President Harris for not doing any public events today.

DONALD TRUMP: She's lazy as hell, and she's got that reputation.

And there's something wrong with her too.

She's slow, low-I.Q., something.

I don't know what the hell it is.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Vice President Harris had staff meetings and briefings in D.C., before giving interviews to Telemundo and NBC.

QUESTION: We are sitting here two weeks away from election night.

Last election, the former president came out on election night and declared victory before all the votes were counted.

What is your plan if he does that again in two weeks?

KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: Well, let me say this.

We have got two weeks to go.

And I'm very much grounded in the present in terms of the task at hand.

And we will deal with election night and the days after as they come.

And we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well.

QUESTION: So, you have teams ready to go?

Is that what you're saying?

Are you thinking about that as a possibility?

KAMALA HARRIS: Of course.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Today, in Wisconsin, former President Barack Obama joined Harris' running mate, Governor Tim Walz, as the state kicked off early in-person voting.

GOV.

TIM WALZ (D-MN), Vice Presidential Candidate: Our team is running like everything is on the line, because everything is on the line.

BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States: Donald Trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us and them.

Now, for him, us means the -- quote -- "real Americans" who support him.

Anybody who doesn't, they're them.

And he employs this strategy, like politicians have for millennia, because having people divided and angry boosts his chances of being elected.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Republican vice presidential nominee Senator J.D.

Vance campaigned in Arizona.

SEN. J.D.

VANCE (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate: We got to make sure that if this election is as tight as it could be, that we're the ones who are on the winning side and not them.

And the only way to do it is to work our rear ends off for the next two weeks.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez.

GEOFF BENNETT: The day's other headlines start in the Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his 11 trip to Israel since the war with Hamas began.

He arrived this morning in a bid to revive cease-fire talks following Israel's killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week.

Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials throughout the day.

He urged Israel to use Sinwar's killing to its advantage at the negotiating table.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: I believe very much that the death of Sinwar does create an important opportunity to bring the hostage at home, to bring the war to an end, and to ensure Israel's security.

This is and we have to make sure that this is a moment of opportunity to move forward.

GEOFF BENNETT: Blinken also urged Israel's leaders to allow more humanitarian aid into Northern Gaza amid a renewed Israeli offensive there.

The U.S. warned last week that it could cut Israel's access to weapons funding if it doesn't let more supplies in.

The State Department said today that more aid trucks have entered since then, but more needs to be done.

The FBI said today that it's investigating an unauthorized release of classified U.S. documents.

They relate to Israel's plans for a possible retaliatory strike on Iran for its ballistic missile attack on Israel earlier this month.

Marked top secret, the documents first appeared last week on the Telegram messaging app and spread to channels that are popular among Iranians.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said it's unclear if the documents were leaked or obtained through hacking, but officials do not expect more to be released.

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed world leaders to a summit of the BRICS block of developing economies.

That initially included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but the alliance has since expanded to embrace Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and others.

Among the more than 20 world leaders in attendance are a number of U.S. adversaries, including the president of Iran and China's Xi Jinping, but there are also U.S. allies, including India's Narendra Modi.

The summit will last for three days and is seen as a chance for Putin to counter the Western narrative that Russia has been isolated on the world stage following its invasion of Ukraine.

Cuba is working to get the lights back on following Friday's massive power outage, even as parts of the island deal with deadly flooding caused by Hurricane Oscar.

Many of the two million people living in the capital, Havana, have been living in darkness for days, with some using wooden stoves to cook food before it goes bad.

Power was partially restored in the city last night, but anger and frustration persist, with protesters taking to the streets for a second night.

MARLEY GONZALEZ, Protester (through translator): We have been without power for four days.

The food has spoiled.

The children are struggling.

We have no cold water.

We have nothing.

GEOFF BENNETT: Meantime, communities in the east of the country are facing massive flooding left behind by Hurricane Oscar, which has killed at least six people since making landfall on Sunday.

Cuba's president said on state TV that some areas are still hard to reach and that search-and-rescue efforts are ongoing.

Officials in North Carolina say they overcounted the number of official deaths from Hurricane Helene.

Officials in Buncombe County, which includes the city of Asheville, now say there were 42 deaths there as a result of the September storm.

That's down from the initial report of 72 lives being lost and aligns with the state's overall counting of fatalities.

Authorities say the reasons for the change include updated causes of death and communication challenges after the storm knocked out cell phone service to some areas.

Federal health officials say that an E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's quarter-pounders has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states.

One person has died and 10 others have been hospitalized, including a child.

The CDC says the infections were reported between September 27 and October 11.

They occurred in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Federal and state health officials are investigating the outbreak.

Federal agents arrested the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch on charges that he ran a sex trafficking and prostitution operation from 2008 to 2015.

The indictment alleges Mike Jeffries lured young men with promises of modeling work and coerced them into sex acts.

Two alleged co-conspirators, including his romantic partner, were also arrested.

Jeffries helped revitalize the struggling retailer during his two-decade tenure, during which it became known for its sexualized marketing.

He stepped down in 2014.

Prosecutors said today's charges are proof that powerful people in the industry can no longer take advantage of those most vulnerable.

BREON PEACE, United States Attorney For Eastern District of New York: To anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called casting couch system, this case should serve as a warning.

Prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison.

GEOFF BENNETT: The arrests come after similar allegations were first reported in a BBC investigation last year.

A lawyer for Jeffries says he will respond to the charges in court.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended little changed.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped just six points, so basically unchanged.

The Nasdaq managed a slight gain, adding just over 30 points.

The S&P 500 was also virtually flat on the day.

And Thelma Mothershed-Wair has died.

She was one of a group of Black students known as the Little Rock Nine who integrated an Arkansas high school in 1957.

The U.S. Supreme Court had declared segregated classrooms unconstitutional three years earlier, but the governor of Arkansas had ordered the National Guard to block the students from enrolling at Little Rock's Central High School.

Mothershed-Wair and her eight classmates had to be escorted in by federal troops.

In 1999, they were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by then-President Bill Clinton.

Thelma Mothershed-Wair died this past weekend in Little Rock.

She was 83 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": we report from New York state on the races that could decide control of Congress; the federal government works to make it easier for people to unsubscribe; and author Richard Esposito discusses his new book on legendary crime reporter Jimmy Breslin.

Toss-up races in two of the country's bluest states could swing control of the House of Representatives next year.

Political correspondent Lisa Desjardins explores the unusual dynamics playing out in one of those states, New York.

LISA DESJARDINS: The temperatures are dropping in New York's Hudson Valley.

It is campaign season.

And in a parking lot in East Fishkill, a group of Republicans finish their coffee and get ready to fan out.

BONNIE MCHOUL WIEGARD, Dutchess County, New York, Republican Committee: Thank you, everybody, for coming today.

LISA DESJARDINS: Bonnie McHoul Wiegard with the local GOP is organizing this door-to-door effort centered on a bright red area in a deep blue county.

BONNIE MCHOUL WIEGARD: Throughout the state, New York Republicans and conservatives are fighting very hard.

LISA DESJARDINS: How Republicans do here and in other Democratic strongholds will likely determine who controls the House of Representatives.

For Democrats to retake the chamber, they need to gain just four seats nationally.

And in the two biggest blue states, California and New York, there are nine highly competitive House races where Democrats could flip a Republican seat.

That includes this district in the Hudson Valley.

Freshman congressman and Republican Mike Lawler faces a former congressman, Democrat Mondaire Jones.

Lawler is known as a hard worker.

He needs to be.

This district voted for Joe Biden by 10 points.

The area has a history of bipartisanship, but as we heard ourselves, things have become more acute.

BONNIE MCHOUL WIEGARD: I think this is the most important election of our lifetime.

I know every election is important, but I think, this year, it's not even Republicans versus Democrats.

I think it's good versus evil on state... LISA DESJARDINS: You think Democrats are evil?

BONNIE MCHOUL WIEGARD: Not the Democrats, but a lot of philosophies I do not agree with.

MAN: Hello, sir.

How's it going?

LISA DESJARDINS: The district is highly educated and, key for Republicans, home to a large population of former and current law enforcement.

That sharpens the larger debate over criminal justice and crime here, a key attack point for Republicans against Jones.

FMR.

REP. MONDAIRE JONES (D-NY): Of course, we need to end mass incarceration and defund the police.

LISA DESJARDINS: Jones said that once in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, but has since reversed it, as he told us in an online interview.

FMR.

REP. MONDAIRE JONES: To be very clear, those words were very stupid.

They were used at a very emotional time, not just for me as a Black man, but for the nation.

And I think history has recorded my strong support of law enforcement from my time in Congress, which is what matters.

WOMAN: Republicans in Congress have crippled abortion rights.

LISA DESJARDINS: As the sheer storm of campaign ads shows... MAN: Biden and Mondaire Jones spent money faster than they could print it.

LISA DESJARDINS: ... all of the national issues are swirling here, the economy, abortion, immigration, Israel and parental and LGBTQ rights.

But, overall, negatives dominate, as seen in a recent debate.

FMR.

REP. MONDAIRE JONES: My opponent is part of a Congress that is defined by chaos.

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): You're the one who chose to leave this district, pack it up to Brooklyn.

LISA DESJARDINS: Lawler confronted his past, a photo of him in blackface in college in a Michael Jackson costume.

Would I do this today?

Absolutely not.

I recognize why people are offended or upset or hurt.

In no way was I ever dressing up to demean or belittle or make fun of Black Americans.

BRUCE CONEENY, Republican Voter: It's a neck-and-neck race, you know?

LISA DESJARDINS: Bruce Coneeny is a Republican and former sheriff's deputy who points to a larger partisan tension, the presidential race.

He will probably vote for Lawler, but Bruce is unhappy with both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, thinking of his felonies and of January 6.

BRUCE CONEENY: My God, how many trials and convictions?

And then he's going to release all the people that entered the Capitol.

That's against -- that's wrong.

LISA DESJARDINS: That... WOMAN: Mike Lawler stands with Donald Trump.

LISA DESJARDINS: ... is a key Democratic point of attack at Lawler.

At a nearby diner, I asked him about Trump, a candidate his district most likely will reject, but whose policies he backs.

REP. MIKE LAWLER: Look, he is who he is.

He's 78 years old.

He's not changing who he is at this point.

LISA DESJARDINS: You support him?

REP. MIKE LAWLER: I think I do.

I will be voting for him.

But the choice is between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

TOM STEIN, Democratic Voter: When it comes down to it, he's got to support Trump or he won't have his job.

And I think that's -- I feel it's dangerous.

LISA DESJARDINS: Tom Stein is a Democrat we saw putting up signs.

He says Mondaire Jones and his race are critical to opposing Trump and the impact that he's personally seen, including on a local level.

What's the atmosphere?

TOM STEIN: It's an angrier atmosphere.

And I think that it comes from Donald Trump's rhetoric.

LISA DESJARDINS: The area is a collage of dynamics.

The longtime population here is aging and new groups are moving in, an influx from New York City, some progressive, some conservative, as well as recent generations of immigrants.

That includes a host of Hispanic communities.

Giselle Martinez is the first generation in her family to vote.

And at 22, she ran for and won a seat on the Newburgh City Council.

The city is one of Hudson Valley's urban centers, a Democratic stronghold, where a different Democratic congressman is more clearly out in front.

But the issues here are area-wide, including a rise in migrants, some undocumented, some here illegally and now voting citizens.

The battle for growing groups of Latinos is key to the valley's future and its present, why Giselle and other Latinas are doing their own door-to-door.

And she's noticed something.

GISELLE MARTINEZ, Newburgh, New York, Councilmember: We have seen a shift where specifically Latino men tend to lean more conservative and tend to vote more Republican.

LISA DESJARDINS: To Giselle, Republican policies are harmful and bipartisanship is not the answer.

I told her how Republican organizer Bonnie sees this year as a fight between good and evil.

GISELLE MARTINEZ: I would agree with her, actually.

This is an election between good and evil.

And I say that because, unfortunately, there's been very xenophobic and hateful rhetoric that's been thrown out about specific communities, specifically the immigrant community.

LISA DESJARDINS: The tension here reflects national issues and stakes.

But New York is not a swing state, and the Hudson Valley is really more blue than purple.

Republicans have made this lush landscape competitive.

It's a big test for Democrats in a big year.

Can they win in their own territory?

That will determine the fate of the House.

In Hudson Valley, New York, I'm Lisa Desjardins for the "PBS News Hour."

GEOFF BENNETT: Voters across the country will decide the fate of 150 ballot measures this fall.

The outcomes of those elections could have profound effects on people's everyday lives, from abortion access to criminal justice to the way people vote.

One of the states deciding how future elections will work is Montana.

And that's where we start with this report from Stan Parker at Montana PBS.

STAN PARKER, Montana PBS: This November, voters in Montana will be deciding on two ballot measures that would fundamentally change voting in the state if they pass.

MAN: Vote yes in November, and we will be able to vote person, not just party.

STAN PARKER: Republican Frank Garner is a former state lawmaker and retired police chief.

Now he's helping lead Montanans for Election Reform, the bipartisan group behind the initiatives.

FRANK GARNER, Montanans for Election Reform: If you wonder why we have polarization, where we have division, why we can't solve hard problems, it has to do with the system we use to hire people for the important job of governing.

STAN PARKER: If the measures pass, the state would have nonpartisan primaries and a majority winner requirement for future general elections.

Not everyone is on board, including fellow Republicans like state party Chairman Don Kaltschmidt.

DON KALTSCHMIDT, Montana Republican Party Chair: We have a great system right now.

If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

STAN PARKER: For more than 100 years, Montana has held separate primary contests for each party.

But under one of the proposed amendments, everyone running for office would go on the same primary ballot, and then the top four vote winners in each race, no matter their party, would go on to the general election.

Implementing a top four system likely wouldn't diminish Republican strength in Montana's elections, but reformers say it would incentivize candidates to appeal to all voters, not just traditional primary voters, who skew more partisan.

FRANK GARNER: I can't just pay attention as a candidate to just the primary voter or just what happens in the primary.

I have to worry about the general election now because of competition too.

So I have to govern more broadly.

I have to talk to more people.

STAN PARKER: But what if three Republicans and one Democrat were running in a deep red district,and the Democrat won just because the conservative vote split three ways?

That's part of why there's a second initiative that would require a majority winner in the general election.

FRANK GARNER: And we believe that's important because it causes our representatives to have to build coalitions, govern more broadly, and to be able to say that they enjoy the support of a majority of people.

STAN PARKER: What's left undecided for now, exactly how to implement the change, whether this could result in run-off elections or ranked-choice voting, as some other states have done.

At the heart of these reforms is an attempt to lessen the role of political parties in elections and allow independent voters to have a greater voice in the process.

FRANK GARNER: You have 40 percent of Montanans, don't forget, that don't identify with a party.

Those people feel completely disaffected by our current voting system.

STAN PARKER: Critics like Don Kaltschmidt want to see the party system stay.

DON KALTSCHMIDT: The Republican Party has their platform.

The Democrats have their platform.

The Libertarians have their platform.

I think all of us need to look at, which one do we mostly identify with?

And that has been a system that's worked very, very well in our state and we have had great representation of this.

STAN PARKER: The state Democratic Party hasn't taken an official stance on the ballot initiatives.

Former lawmaker David Wanzenried sees them as a misguided attempt to change voter behavior.

FMR.

STATE SEN. DAVID WANZENRIED (D-MT): Well, I think they're a substitute for the hard work that needs to be done, frankly.

It will be easy for us to vote for that and say, well, take care of that, now on to the next thing, and leave it up to somebody else to actually implement it, not pay attention to the details.

STAN PARKER: Garner recognizes these reforms will not be a cure-all for what he sees as the problems in politics, but thinks they are a needed first step.

FRANK GARNER: As much good as these will do, they aren't going to solve every problem, right?

We still have to have good people run.

We still have to work together to find solutions.

But, right now, we have a system that incentivizes the wrong behavior, and we have to change that fundamentally.

STAN PARKER: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stan Parker in Billings, Montana.

GEOFF BENNETT: For more on how those Montana ballot measures fit into the national landscape, we're joined now by Reid Wilson, founder and editor of Pluribus News.

That's a digital media outlet tracking public policy in the states.

It's great to have you here.

REID WILSON, Founder, Pluribus News: Thanks for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: So Montana is considering a nonpartisan primary.

What else are voters considering this year?

REID WILSON: Well, first of all, we're seeing a lot of ballot initiatives that have to do with ranked-choice voting.

Now, that is, when you walk into a ballot, instead of choosing just one candidate, you can rank your best choices.

The thinking on that is that voters will be able to prioritize the candidates who build the broadest coalition and, therefore, we will have fewer extremists from the right or the left and more people who work towards consensus and building those big coalitions.

We're going to see those ballot measures in Colorado, Washington, D.C., Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon.

Interestingly, in Alaska, voters are going to decide whether or not to repeal their existing ranked-choice voting.

So it's not exactly something that everybody absolutely loves, but this is the highest number of these ballot initiatives on ranked-choice voting that we have seen - - we have ever seen on a single ballot.

GEOFF BENNETT: On a separate matter, on the campaign trail, we have heard Donald Trump and Republicans warn against noncitizens voting in the election, which we should say is already forbidden in federal elections.

But now several states are considering ballot measures to prohibit what is already illegal?

REID WILSON: So, not necessarily.

So, there are ballot initiatives on the ballot in eight states controlled by Republican state legislatures, who effectively want people to be thinking about illegal immigration when they walk into the polling place.

So federal voting by noncitizens is already illegal, but these states would make state and local elections off-limits to noncitizens as well.

There are a very small number of places in California, Vermont, Maryland that allow noncitizens to vote on things like school board races or city council races.

These would preempt all of those in those particular states.

But, then again, as you point out, in those states, there are no cities that allow noncitizens to vote.

GEOFF BENNETT: Another major issue in this election is reproductive rights.

And this year continues a trend we have seen since the fall of Roe, where states are voting on abortion access.

What are you watching for?

REID WILSON: So, there are 10 states across the country where abortion rights are on the ballot.

And they range from pretty red states like Missouri and Nebraska to swing presidential states, like Arizona and Nevada, and maybe even Florida is on that swing list.

And in every election since Roe v. Wade fell, when an abortion rights measure has been on the ballot, the pro-abortion rights position has passed, not just in blue states like California and Vermont, but in formerly swing states like Ohio and even in very conservative states like Kentucky and Kansas.

So I expect most of these abortion measures to pass.

The one big wrinkle comes in Florida, where state law requires a constitutional amendment to get 60 percent of the vote.

All the polls are showing that amendment right at 60, maybe just under.

It's a really high hurdle.

But those -- the pro-abortion right side has raised more than $90 million to advance their cause there.

That's about nine times what opponents have raised.

So they have got the money.

Let's see if they can find the votes.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

And Democrats are hoping that having abortion rights on the ballot will boost turnout in some of these states.

Is that expectation justified, based on your reporting?

REID WILSON: So, yes and no.

There are very few examples in which a ballot initiative brings enough people to the polls in a presidential election, which is already going to be a high turnout election, to swing it to make a difference.

The one real time when academics got to study this was back in 2004, when so many anti-same-sex marriage bans were on the ballot.

Those measures might have pulled out 10,000, 15,000 votes in some of the real swing states.

Remember, George W. Bush beat John Kerry in Ohio by just a few tens of thousands of votes.

Now, in this election, in which Vice President Harris and former President Trump are running so close, hey, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 votes, that could be the difference between a President Harris or a second Trump term.

GEOFF BENNETT: Reid Wilson of Pluribus News, great to have you here.

REID WILSON: Thanks so much.

GEOFF BENNETT: The Israeli military today said it killed the man set to succeed Hezbollah's longtime leader, who was also assassinated by Israel in late September.

The IDF confirmed Hashem Safieddine was killed, along with other top leaders of the militant group, in an early October Beirut airstrike.

Meantime, Hezbollah fired at least 80 rockets on Northern Israel today.

Some were intercepted.

Others left Israelis wounded.

As the war between Israel and Hezbollah expands, its toll on civilians in Lebanon is only worsening.

As Leila Molana-Allen reports, Israeli airstrikes around Beirut have increasingly targeted health care facilities and health care workers.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: An 11-story apartment block leveled in less than a second, dozens of homes and lives demolished.

This missile strike came with a warning, so residents grabbed what they could and fled.

Each night, the streets of Beirut fill with panic as residents run from their homes under threat, but often there's no warning at all.

And now hospitals, as well as homes, are under attack.

Yesterday, Israel's authorities said they believed a Hezbollah cash trove sat under Beirut's Al Sahel Hospital, but said they wouldn't strike it.

Instead, they hit a different one.

Just before midnight, an airstrike was launched at the entrance of Beirut's Rafik Hariri Hospital, flattening four buildings in front of it.

This is the capital's main specialist public hospital, where children injured in the bombing are receiving surgery.

Rescuers dug for hours through the mangled carcass of concrete and iron, searching for survivors.

By morning, 18 were dead and 60 injured.

MOHAMMAD IBRAHIM, Beirut Resident (through translator): I have a brother who's still under the rubble.

His mobile phone is ringing.

We're trying to search for him, but there is no way for a machine to get here.

No one can help us pull him out.

I don't know if he's dead or still alive.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: It's not the first time health care has come under attack in this increasingly brutal war.

More than 100 medics have been killed while working in the past month.

At least 50 health facilities have been targeted.

In spite of the risks, Lebanon's medics and rescue workers, who are all volunteers, in donation-funded ambulances, continue to respond to distress calls.

Ali and his team are based in Saida, one of the south's main coastal cities, and inside the zone Israel says it will target.

He and his team have worked nonstop for weeks.

Hours before we joined Ali's crew, five of his friends were killed when the church they were sleeping in while running rescue operations was bombed.

ALI DAHER, Saida Civil Defense Volunteer (through translator): It's heartbreaking what happened yesterday.

We have repeatedly appealed to international organizations that targeting ambulances and paramedics is internationally unlawful, but no one has helped.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: These volunteers have full-time jobs too, but they have put everything on hold to respond to the crisis.

MAMDOUH AL KURDI, Saida Civil Defense Volunteer (through translator): Even if there's danger, we rush to help.

Our only goal is to save a life and assist someone in need.

Yes, there's risk, but, honestly, sometimes, we don't even think about the danger when we see an injured child or anyone else in distress.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: When Mamdouh and his team responded to a strike on an apartment complex in a town nearby, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

MAMDOUH AL KURDI (through translator): The scene was terrifying and utterly heartbreaking.

There were children, just pieces of children.

I will never forget one child.

I was able to recover the head and arm, but the rest of the body was never found, just small fragments less than an inch in size.

We were picking up the pieces.

It was a massacre in every sense of the word.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Mamdouh says the sheer scale of the destruction was overwhelming.

They worked for 72 hours pulling bodies from the rubble.

MAMDOUH AL KURDI (through translator): We try to hold ourselves together as much as possible, but it's tough.

One experience really stayed with me.

While we were clearing the rubble and retrieving the dead, we found an older man and a woman wrapped together, trying to protect each other, both dead, both scared, together in their final moments beneath the rubble.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Mamdouh knows what he's risking.

MAMDOUH AL KURDI (through translator): We receive many threats and are constantly exposed to airstrikes.

They don't differentiate at all between military personnel, civilians or paramedics.

Anyone trying to do their duty is at risk.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Ghassan Suheim, who runs the civil defense unit in Beirut's Dahiyeh suburbs, has lost 18 of his volunteers in a month.

Ghassan (ph) was the first to die four weeks ago.

He wasn't just a colleague, but a friend.

GHASSAN SUHEIM, Dahiyeh Civil Defense Unit (through translator): He rescued two children who were still alive.

The rubble fell on him as the building was collapsing, and he got injured, but he never took time to rest.

He insisted on staying.

He worked through the whole night.

I left him at 8:00 a.m. At 8:30, they called me from the site telling me he had suffocated.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Ghassan died under the rubble, having saved dozens of lives.

Ghassan says each member of his team would do the same.

GHASSAN SUHEIM (through translator): It's normal to be afraid.

We wouldn't be human if we weren't.

But determination, strength and believing in this humanitarian work makes us fearless.

We won't abandon our people, no matter how intense the bombings and destruction gets.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Attacking medical workers and striking health care facilities are war crimes.

But as the red lines of international law have blurred in this conflict, so too has accountability from the international community.

The U.N. and NGOs are crying out for tighter restrictions to stall the use of U.S.-supplied weapons on civilian infrastructure.

Few here believe Israel's American allies will take action.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Leila Molana-Allen in Saida, Lebanon.

GEOFF BENNETT: The newly proposed rule from the Federal Trade Commission aims to let consumers easily cancel unwanted subscriptions.

But many businesses argue the move is unnecessary meddling that will harm consumers.

William Brangham joins us now with more -- William.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That's right, Geoff.

We have all had this experience.

You sign up for a subscription or an ongoing membership.

But then, when you're done with it, undoing that subscription is a complex, difficult, multistep process.

The FTC's new rule would require that getting out of those plans would be as easy as it was getting in.

Erin Witte is director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America and a supporter of this rule.

Erin, thank you so much for being here.

They call this new rule click to cancel.

Can you just tell us, in practicality, how would it roll out?

ERIN WITTE, Director of Consumer Protection, Consumer Federation of America: So the purpose of this rule is to really align the interests of consumers and businesses by making businesses rely on affirmative consumer choice, rather than trapping them in a subscription.

The click to cancel part of the rule simply says that, if a consumer is in a subscription, it should be as easy to get out of the subscription as it was to get in.

And by making it easier to cancel subscriptions, the Federal Trade Commission is making sure that consumers are able to get and keep the products that they really want and break up with the ones that they don't.

It also gives businesses a very clear standard for what it means to have a simple cancellation process.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: What is the rationale for this?

I mean, I mentioned how it's -- it can be very complex and burdensome to do it, but what is the actual harm that is being addressed here?

ERIN WITTE: Well, we have seen a number of complaints to federal and state government agencies.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that they receive about 70 complaints per day about illegal and deceptive subscription traps.

We have also seen federal class actions that talk about this.

And I think that what it really removes from the process is the affirmative consumer choice.

So consumers end up paying for things that they might not want anymore.

And that might just be a product of inertia.

They may have forgotten about it or they may have just relented because they weren't actually able to get out of that subscription because the company designed it to be that way.

The company designed the subscription to be really difficult to cancel in order to trap somebody in it and keep billing them over and over and over for this product.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You mentioned that this is streamlining the process for businesses as well.

But a lot of businesses, as you know, don't like this rule.

They argue that it is just governmental meddling.

Neil Bradley of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was one of those critics.

He said this: "Not only will this rule deter businesses from providing sensible consumer-friendly subscriptions, but will leave Americans with fewer options, higher prices and more headaches."

I mean, as a proponent of this rule, what would you say to that critique?

ERIN WITTE: Well, I'm not surprised to see critiques because businesses can make a lot of money off of consumers that just forget to cancel a subscription.

They can really rely on this phenomenon called inertia.

And a group of researchers from Stanford University actually studied this and said -- they looked at debit in credit card activity and evaluated when consumers had their card canceled, right, and they had to actually actively opt back into that subscription.

They were about four times more likely to cancel and not continue that subscription.

So when consumers are making affirmative choices, we can see that they don't want these subscriptions quite as often.

And, frankly, this rule doesn't make subscription practices illegal.

It makes them fair and it makes sure that consumers have the freedom to break up with a product that they no longer want, instead of being trapped by a business' dark pattern of design that keeps filling them over and over for something that they might not really want.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, as you know, we are in the middle of an election season.

Could be a brand-new administration coming in.

Is this the kind of thing that a potential Trump administration, as opposed to the Biden administration, could undo when they get into office?

ERIN WITTE: Well, I won't be surprised at all to see a legal challenge to the rule, trying to strike it or render it ineffective.

A new administration could certainly slow down that process.

But this shouldn't be a partisan issue.

We have seen Republicans support legislation that actually goes further than what the FTC's final rule did in making subscriptions easier to cancel.

And, frankly, a survey of voters said that many of those voters supported the FTC's efforts to rein in deceptive subscription practices, including 80 percent of the Republican voters that responded.

So this should not be a partisan issue.

Republicans should get on board and consider this a win, because it's clear that consumers want and desperately need this very commonsense change.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, this is just one of several of what people would argue is an activist move by the FTC.

How does this fit into the broader mission as elucidated by Chairman Lina Khan?

ERIN WITTE: Well, I think Chair Khan is paying attention to what is really harming consumers and what consumers are really complaining about and where they are having money siphoned out of their pockets, not necessarily with their consent.

And so I think this is a very commonsense solution to an extremely pervasive problem that everyone can relate to.

The chair has had a phenomenal record of responding to everyday problems that hurt the pocketbooks of Americans.

And what she's trying to do is what she's done with her other consumer protection rulemakings, enforcement efforts, and public statements like policy statements and guidance, which is to give consumers freedom, freedom to make the choices that they want to engage with the product that they choose.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, Erin Witte of the Consumer Federation of America, thank you so much for being here.

ERIN WITTE: Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: From John F. Kennedy's assassination to the Son of Sam murders, Jimmy Breslin famously covered the major events of the 20th century as a columnist for The New York Daily News.

Whether working as a copy boy or later winning the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, Breslin's plainspoken approach captured the country's attention, offering readers a poetic and blunt perspective on the issues that mattered most.

"Jimmy Breslin: The Man Who Told the Truth" is the first biography of the legendary writer and a revealing portrait of a complex newsman.

I spoke recently to author Richard Esposito.

Welcome to the "News Hour."

RICHARD ESPOSITO, Author, "Jimmy Breslin: The Man Who Told the Truth": Thank you.

It's great to be here.

GEOFF BENNETT: Jimmy Breslin had such a unique way of telling stories, from the perspective of ordinary people, as some might remember when he covered the funeral services of John F. Kennedy.

He tracked down the man who dug JFK's grave and wrote a column about him.

What influenced his approach?

RICHARD ESPOSITO: Anybody can stand next to everybody else and tell that part of a story.

And, in fact, when he went down there, he said, I'm not standing with 10,000 people scribbling down notes and taking pictures.

I will find the story.

So he went to Mr. Pollard's house and watched him eat his breakfast, put on his coveralls, and go to Arlington Cemetery to dig the grave.

So what does that approach do?

It puts you in a story.

And now you're with someone who's you're capturing pain and loss through the eyes of the man who's digging the grave.

And, as you're reading it, you realize you're learning everything you need to know about Jackie O.

's pain, about the children without a father.

And, most importantly, he captures America's hope essentially going into that hole.

That's his approach.

GEOFF BENNETT: What drew you to him?

Why write a biography of Jimmy Breslin?

RICHARD ESPOSITO: I got asked that question a few times.

I felt a voice that big, his story needed to be told.

For 50 years, he told stories about America.

Selma, Alabama, he was there.

The death of Martin Luther King, he was there.

RFK, he traveled with him to California and was there as he got shot.

When New York City was in the throes of violence he wrote about young people getting killed for their coats.

When Jimmy Carter promised to revive Charlotte Street in the South Bronx, which had been burnt down, he followed that story.

I felt someone who stood for people for 50 years was worth telling the story, because he also stood for you and me, because we got to learn from that, how to tell stories.

And that's why I did it.

GEOFF BENNETT: His writing was equal parts profane and profound at times.

RICHARD ESPOSITO: That's a great way to put it.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

Yes.

What set him apart from his peers?

RICHARD ESPOSITO: Plain English turned into poetry.

Somebody described him once as like a cab driver who wrote like Yeats.

So he had short and simple sentences that people could read on the subway went back when people turned the pages of newspapers, 1,000-word short story that when you get off the train you felt something of beauty in it.

And even when he told the story with pain, he remembered to give you a little humor in there.

And that humor is something that you can walk out of the train and on your way to work and have a little smile as well.

So that was his gift.

GEOFF BENNETT: One of the most notable moments - - and you capture this in the book -- was when Jimmy Breslin received letters from the Son of Sam during those murders.

How did he handle that morally and professionally?

RICHARD ESPOSITO: Those are two of the best questions, because that was the mix of selling newspapers.

They sold millions of copies.

And Son of Sam -- his boss said, if we could have put the postage stamp in the paper to sell another 20, we would have put the postage stamp.

And this is guy who went to Cornell and was a gifted reporter himself.

Jimmy normally had hours to write.

With Son of Sam, he had days to think about that letter.

And what he wrote, he wrote to Son of Sam.

He was responding to the letter.

That was professional and profound.

And then there was, turn yourself into me.

That was the buffoon and the comedian.

And you read that and you go, this is why people say tabloids are bad.

What he was saying was, this is why tabloids are good.

We're telling stories to working people.

So he was a mix, the professional, the profane, and sometimes the buffoon.

He was larger than life.

Someone once said, Jimmy Breslin was in a movie produced by Jimmy Breslin, starring Jimmy Breslin, and the rest of us were just characters in the movie.

That's how he viewed the world.

(LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNETT: What do you think he'd make of today's media landscape and the ways in which journalism is practiced today?

RICHARD ESPOSITO: You know, it's a question you and I probably ask ourselves every day.

What do we make of this landscape?

There were two parts to that.

He felt -- when the Internet started, he called me one day and he said: "This is a gale coming and I'm going with it and the rest of you guys are stuck here."

He saw that he could write for this new media him.

What he made of it was its distribution and how do you get your stories out.

I think what he'd make of it now is, we're in a lot of silos right now and we're all sort of reading what we already believe.

A little tricky that, you know?

And I'm hoping some voices emerge -- and I think they will -- that transcend the silos, so we all have some common things to talk about.

Whether we agree with each other or not, it's not the point.

It's that we could disagree about something we have all learned.

So I think he would do fine.

How someone who grew up in his era would do in a newsroom, the mores of newsrooms have changed.

And people don't go around screaming, yelling at the top of their lungs and drinking and smoking.

So I often wonder, would he have changed and fit in with the newsroom too?

GEOFF BENNETT: I doubt it.

(LAUGHTER) RICHARD ESPOSITO: Probably not, right?

You have read the book.

So, you know.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes, that's right.

That's right.

The book is "Jimmy Breslin: The Man Who Told the Truth" by Richard Esposito, with reporting by Ted Gerstein.

Great to speak with you.

Thanks so much.

RICHARD ESPOSITO: Such a pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: Detroit has been in the headlines during this campaign season with former President Donald Trump recently comparing the city to a developing nation.

But Detroit is increasingly known for its creativity.

And one couple is using the arts to turn around an entire neighborhood.

Special correspondent Megan Thompson visited Little Village to see its big plans.

It's part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

DELORES ORR, East Village Association: We have McClellan and Kercheval, famous intersection.

There was a bank right here.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Dolores Orr has lived for more than 70 years in the East Village neighborhood of Detroit.

DELORES ORR: We had the drugstore on the corner, then right here, the bakery, Blue Bird Bakery.

They baked all the best bread in the world.

I can't even tell you how much of a change I have seen.

I have seen it rise and I have seen it fall.

MEGAN THOMPSON: So, Orr, who helps lead the local neighborhood association, was thrilled when she was approached about a big idea, the creation of a new arts district here called Little Village.

It would start with converting an empty church into an art gallery.

DELORES ORR: I was excited that it's going to be up and running again.

And it's something new to me because I haven't visited a lot of art galleries.

ANTHONY CURIS, Co-Founder, The Shepherd: We wanted to include exhibitions, projects, performance.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Anthony Curis, a real estate developer, first became a gallery owner in 2012 when he co-founded The Library Street Collective with his wife, J.J., a downtown Detroit art gallery with a organization of supporting social causes, local artists, and the revival of the city center.

ANTHONY CURIS: Our programming has always had a major focus on creating change, trying to impact the community in different ways.

MEGAN THOMPSON: For their next big project, the Curises wanted to impact a neighborhood.

After meeting with East Village leaders like Delores Orr, they bought the 113-year-old Good Shepherd Church and three more buildings on the lot and launched the new cultural space earlier this year.

ANTHONY CURIS: It was really important for us to try to keep as much of the church intact as we could.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Now called The Shepherd, it's a meeting place, performance space, and art gallery all in one.

There's an emphasis on local artists and in particular artists of color, reflecting the community that surrounds it.

ANTHONY CURIS: Intention is huge for us.

We want this to feel like a place you can come and feel not only welcome, but you feel like you have a connection to the work that's here.

ASMAA WALTON, Black Art Library: So this book is called Art in the Stations: The Detroit People Mover.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Visitors will find more than just paintings and sculpture.

There's a small library by the old confessionals curated by arts educator Asmaa Walton, the founder of a traveling collection of books called Black Art Library.

For this collection, Walton chose books on a wide range of topics.

ASMAA WALTON: "Artists of Early Michigan," "Detroit Graffiti."

This book is called "The Ultimate Art Museum."

So I really wanted the space to feel like you can find something if you're interested in art, no matter what that actually means.

MEGAN THOMPSON: This exploration of art continues outside, where giant sculptures designed by the late Detroit artist Charles McGee are meant to be played on.

And there's a skate park created by artist McArthur Binion and the renowned skateboarder Tony Hawk.

ANTHONY CURIS: You know you might be skating on the park and not even know that it's really a sculpture.

The idea was to really turn this idea of public sculpture being this very exclusive thing that's meant to not be touched.

They really wanted this to be accessible.

MEGAN THOMPSON: When other arts groups saw this transformation, they wanted to be in the neighborhood too.

So Curis bought that old Blue Bird Bakery building down the street and opened a new space earlier this year called Lantern.

It's now home to two nonprofits, one preserving traditional leather press printing, the other for artists with developmental disabilities.

Upstairs, there are artists studios.

PAUL VERDELL, Artist: Most of these are referenced from bouquets.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Paul Verdell was living in Toledo, Ohio, when Anthony Curis offered to represent him at his downtown Detroit gallery.

PAUL VERDELL: He sold me on Detroit.

I was trying to figure out a city to be my next move.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Since moving here three years ago, Verdell has pivoted from figurative drawings to more abstract work.

He says the affordable rent and gallery support gave him the freedom to do it.

PAUL VERDELL: I can really just think about my creativity.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Verdell also lives close by.

The Curises has have rehabbed more than 20 residential properties in the area and rent them at below-market rates, several to artists like Verdell, who says he's seen a big change in the neighborhood since moving in.

PAUL VERDELL: People.

There's a lot of people.

MEGAN THOMPSON: And there will likely be even more.

The Shepherd's old rectory is now an art-filled bed and breakfast.

Coming soon nearby, a cocktail bar, pastry shop and more art spaces and galleries.

And the Curises are transforming a large property on the Detroit River into Stanton Yards, a waterfront park, offices and restaurant to open in 2027, in total, more than 16 acres of green space and 17 cultural and commercial buildings across 10 city blocks.

ROCHELLE RILEY, Director of Arts and Culture, City of Detroit: And if you build it, they will come.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Rochelle Riley is the director of arts and culture for the city of Detroit.

She says Little Village is one of the largest projects of its kind the city has seen in recent years.

ROCHELLE RILEY: We are on a mission to revitalize the city using arts as catalysts.

I want people from around the country to come and see, oh, look at what they did in Detroit.

We should do something like that here.

But more than that, I want people here to say, oh, look what we have got here and enjoy it.

DELORES ORR: We have so many people in the building here, 99 percent African Americans.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Delores Orr says the Curises have made it clear everyone is welcome to enjoy the new modern art spaces, but she believes some of the longtime lower-income residents are hesitant.

DELORES ORR: To me, the art is for, I wouldn't say the people in the neighborhood, because they don't think that it's for them.

If it were myself and I didn't know anything, how would I feel coming over here to see what's going on?

I don't know if I would because I'm not in the same class, I would say.

MEGAN THOMPSON: Orr wants to help change that mind-set because she believes projects like this are making the East Village rise again.

DELORES ORR: It's as if East Village has been forgotten.

And then you have Anthony and other developers that came in and said, hey, we haven't forgot.

We're here to help.

AY'DEN CURTIS, Detroit: That one right there is my favorite statue.

MEGAN THOMPSON: The neighborhood kids have not hesitated to come explore; 9-year-old Ay'den Curtis and his 5-year-old sister, Demia (ph), live in that building next door.

Ay'den says he likes to come over here to play and enjoy the art.

Had you ever seen art like this before?

AY'DEN CURTIS: No, never in my life, but now I do.

I say it's beautiful, beautiful.

MEGAN THOMPSON: When Ay'den looks up at these giant sculptures, he imagines butterflies.

AY'DEN CURTIS: It's basically like when you have a butterfly and you're just letting it go like this.

That's one thing I love about nature, butterflies.

It just brings me joy.

That's what it does.

It brings me joy.

MEGAN THOMPSON: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Megan Thompson in Detroit.

GEOFF BENNETT: That's a great story.

And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

For all of us here at the "PBS News Hour," thanks for spending part of your evening with us.