Transcripts For KQED PBS 20240703

Israel marks a somber memorial day as 300,000 gazans flee the fighting in rafah. And, change title . we report from michigan on how democrats plan to keep abortion rights front and center in the 2024 election campaign. Were not going to let it just be a state issue. Were actually going to organize and mobilize to do the thing we didnt do for 50 years, which is pass a piece of federal legislation to codify roe. Major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. And friends of the newshour. Certified Financial Planner professionals are proud to support pbs newshour. Cfp professionals are committed to acting in their clients best interest. Two retiring executives turn their focus to greyhounds. A Raymond James Financial Advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you give back. Life well planned. The william and flora hewlett foundation. For more than 50 years, advancing ideas and promoting institutions to promote a better hewlett. Org. 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. On the stand today for the fourth week of testimony in Donald Trumps hush money trial was the prosecutions star witness, Michael Cohen. Trumps former attorney and fixer implicated trump, testifying that trump directed cohen to pay adult film actress Stormy Daniels to bury her story on the eve of the 2016 election, and was then involved in the coverup of those payments after he won. William brangham was in court today in new york, and he joins us now. It is fair to say mr. Cohen is arguably the most important witness for the Manhattan District Attorney in this case. This is a man allegedly at the center of the hushmoney payments and reimbursements. What did he testify to today . William that is right. Prosecutors needed Michael Cohen to do basically two things today. First, as you were describing, establish that donald trump directed Michael Cohen went to pay Stormy Daniels to be quiet so that she would not spill her story and hurt trumps chances to win the 2016 election. Second, to clearly implicate trump in the scheme, the prosecutors alleged that they cooked up to testify to falsify Business Records and then coverup the repayment of that money that cohen paid to Stormy Daniels. On those fronts, cohen delivered dry but compelling testimony. Amna mr. Cohen has always said all along that mr. Trump told him to pay Stormy Daniels to bury that story. What else did he testify to today that added to that story . William cohen today really detailed the elaborate attempts that trump and his associates spent trying to keep stories of Extramarital Affairs from coming out during 2016 and the runup to that election. First off, he told more detail about the payments that trump and Michael Cohen and david packer, the head of the national enquirer, paid to Karen Mcdougal , 100 50,000 to get her not to tell her story of having an alleged extramarital affair with the former president. Trump was heard again on audiotape today saying that he knew how that payment was meant to go and that he would pay the money and how they would work out the checks. Jurors heard that again from the president s mouth. Then during the Campaign Came that infamous access hollywood tape. And cohen thus far has explained to the jury just how terrified the campaign was and the chaos that dissent gone on them that descended on them when that tape came out, and how they tried to brush it off as locker room talk. Then, in the midst of that chaos, Stormy Daniels story emerges, and cohen testified about talking with donald trump at the time about this Stormy Daniels story brewing in the background, what do you know about it . Trump said it would be a disaster if this got out, how it would hurt him severely with women voters. Cohen said trump told him that men would think it is cool, but women are going to hate me. Weve got a lot more detail on that front, about how trump directed cohen to pay Stormy Daniels to bury that story. Amna we all know what happens afterwards. Mr. Trump goes on to win the election. Michael cohen is still owed that 130,000 for the payment to Stormy Daniels. The core of the prosecutions case is how Michael Cohen was repaid and how the Business Records were falsified to hide their true intent. But what did Michael Cohen testify to about that . William this is the core of the case. 34 charges trump is facing a falsify Business Records is how they repaid Michael Cohen when that money and how they allegedly falsified those records. Cohen was worried and told in great detail about how he was never going to get repaid this money. Trump had won the election. Cohen was not being given a job in washington as he says he wanted. He was worried he would get left holding the bag for this. He described this one meeting where he blew up at trumps chief Financial Officer and said look, none of you guys stepped up to pay this money to protect the now president. I am the one that did, and i need to be repaid. He and trumps chief Financial Officer cooked up that scheme. The jurors saw this striking document. I want to pull it up. It is a little confusing to understand what is going on, but this paper is a copy of the Wire Transfer that Michael Cohen sent to daniels lawyer. Then we see all that handwriting at the bottom. Theres a lot of different terms. The details are a little bit byzantine. But in this document, in Michael Cohens handwriting and Allen Weisselbergs handwriting, is exactly how they figured out in that meeting how Michael Cohen would get repaid. This document so far is the clearest piece of evidence yet of the whole alleged scheme that prosecutors say is going on here. Amna if mr. Cohen and mr. Weisselberg came up with that scheme, does that say that donald trump approved or knew of that scheme . William cohen says right after the meeting with weisselberg that he and weisselberg went into Trumps Office with that document, and cohen said it seemed to him like the two had already discussed the plan because trump seemed familiar with the details. But they went over all the details again, how cohen would get repaid in Monthly Payments plus a bonus, plus some money he owed to a Technical Services firm, and that in that process, cohen says trump clearly knew what was going on here at approved of the entire planet. This is the essence of the argument, that prosecutors alleged that they falsified these documents to pretend this was all legal fees to Michael Cohen, because they were trying to cover up that they were hushmoney payments. Amna what about tomorrow . What should we expect . William we are supposed to hear more from Michael Cohen. There is a more direct examination of him by the prosecutors, and did the crossexamination begins. You and i have discussed this is where Michael Cohen will get truly attacked. Her member, he is a convicted felon. He has remember, he is a convicted felon. He has been accused of lying to congress. He has been accused of election fraud. He has changed his story about trumps role in this alleged scheme multiple times. He has also displayed a clear animus to donald trump and says he relishes the idea that donald trump will end up in prison. All of this is likely to come out as the defense team tries to poke holes in this star witness. We will see that all tomorrow, maybe thursday as well. Amna that is William Brangham reporting live from new york. William, thank you. In the days other headlines, the u. S. State Department Says that Vladmir Putins appointment of a new defense minister shows his desperation to sustain his invasion of ukraine. On sunday, putin tapped a civilian economist to replace longtime ally Sergei Shoigu in the post. On the ground, ukrainian Officials Say some russian soldiers have advanced across the kharkiv region. Farther south, donetsk is also locked in combat. Meanwhile, across the russian border in belgorod, the death toll from a Building Collapse rose to 15 today. Russian officials blamed ukrainian shelling. The death toll from ongoing flooding in brazil has risen to 147, with more than 100 people still missing, and over 600,000 in the Southern State of rio grande do sul displaced. The downpours have made rescues difficult and left many homes and businesses abandoned. Police patrol the flooded streets to prevent looting and robberies. [speaking portuguese] translator since the first days of the floods, weve been patrolling and policing areas that are difficult to access. Only with boats and jet skis is it possible to provide a response in the fight against looting to the population here. Amna the heavy rains began in late april, and have impacted over 2 Million People across more than 400 cities. In indonesia, Officials Say 44 people are confirmed dead after flash floods and landslides over the weekend. Monsoon rains on sumatra island sent torrents of mud and cold lava from a local volcano into a river, causing it to overflow. Rescuers combed through piles of mud and debris today to search for victims. 15 people are still missing. Smoke from wildfires in canada prompted Health Warnings in parts of the upper midwest. Authorities in minnesota issued an air quality alert for the entire state, and warned people to remain indoors until midday on monday. A similar alert was issued for northwestern wisconsin. Meanwhile, more than 3000 people have evacuated fort nelson, british columbia, as a fire nears the town. Fires are also burning in alberta and manitoba provinces. Activists are concerned over the whereabouts of a citizen journalist in china who was due to be released from prison today. Zhang zhan was serving a fouryear sentence after documenting the first covid lockdowns in the city of wuhan in 2020. Monday marked the end of that sentence, but one of her lawyers told reporters that he hasnt heard from zhang or her family. In baltimore, crews have carried out a controlled demolition of the largest remaining section of the Francis Scott key bridge. Its part of a process they call precision cutting. This allows the steel trusses resting on the dolly container to fall into the water. Theyll then be loaded onto barges and carried away. Maryland governor wes moore said during a press conference this morning that safety is his top priority. Weve gotten to this point without a single injury. We plan on continuing this mission without a single injury. That is the standard that we have going forward. The use of precision cuts will help us to preserve our strong Safety Record on this mission, and i want to remind everybody just how complicated this mission is. Amna the operation was set to begin on sunday, but was pushed to today because of bad weather. A group of major u. S. Airlines is suing the department of transportation over a rule requiring them to clearly disclose added fees. Officials say the regulations will help consumers avoid unexpected charges for baggage, flight changes, and other services. But in a statement, the airlines said the biden administrations attempt to regulate private Business Operations in a thriving marketplace is beyond its authority. Melinda french gates is stepping down from the Charitable Foundation she created with her former husband, microsoft cofounder bill gates. French gates said that leaving would give her an additional 12. 5 billion to commit to my work on behalf of women and families. The pair divorced in 2021, but continued their philantrhopic work together. And we should note, the Gates Foundation is a funder of the newshour. On wall street today, stocks closed with little change, as investors wait for wednesdays reading on inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 81 points to close at 39,431. The nasdaq rose 47 points. The s p 500 ended the day virtually flat. Still to come on the newshour, jury selection begins in the federal corruption trial of senator bob menendez. Amy walter and tamara keith break down the latest political headlines. Advice for families on preventing online sextortion. And much more. This is the pbs newshour. From weta studios in washington, and in the west from the Walter Cronkite school of journalism at Arizona State university. Amna the United Nations says more than 360,000 gazans who have fled to rafah have now been forced to flee again, as israeli troops attack sectors of the city in a bid to rout hamas. Also in rafah today, the first foreign u. N. Staffer was killed by israeli troops. More than 100 palestinian u. N. Staff have been killed since october 7. Nick schifrin has our report. Nick a city teeming with the displaced has now been deserted. Gazans are now packing everything their cars or bikes can carry and fleeing again. This woman is among the last to leave. I dont have a choice, like everyone else. Everyone left, so i am doing the same. What should i do, stay alone . I am scared to. Nick many have been nick many have been displaced at the beach. Meet this family. This is their third home since the war began. Their children have kept their smile, but their mother has vanished. I cant find a tent to set up for me and my children. They are suffering underneath the sun. The heat has burned them and they are ill. Nick israel is ordering rafah evacuated because the idf says hamass final four battalions fight from there, including last weekend which killed four Israeli Soldiers and blocked humanitarian aid. Lets make it clear, if we dont destroy the last four battalions of hamas in rafah, we will have lost the war. Nick now israel has launched new raids on what he calls hamas terrorist infrastructure in central and northern gaza, areas israel long ago cleared. We are seeing a sorcerers apprentice type dynamic. They have devolved into smaller guerrilla teams and do not require any command control. Centralized command control. Nick this general is now with commanders for israels security. He says in command centers, hamas is able to reconstitute because there was no one there to stop them. Israel has not created an alternative, so there is no alternative there, and hamas is exploiting the vacuum. Nick National Security advisor Jake Sullivan said israel must look beyond individual military victories to find a political strategy. There needs to be more attention on peace lest we end up in a circumstance where israel conducts a military operation, kills a bunch of hamas guys, also its hard to listen also creates harm to innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, and terrorists, back, as we have seen in other places. We want to avoid that outcome. The idf has said for months now, tell us what it is you want to achieve in gaza. What is the political outcome you envision is that we know what to pursue. So as the cheshire cat said, if you dont tell me where you want to go, i cant tell you how to get there. Nick but the strategic debates feel detached from the trauma. Today is israels memorial day, more raw than ever, especially at the sight of the worst single attack of the worst terrorist attack in the countrys history, the nova music festival. Sad. The sky is crying with us. The rain was all around. I feel very sick. What happened here in this place, in this area. Nick today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the soldiers who died fighting died for an existential cause. It is us or them. Israel or the monsters of hamas. Its existence, freedom, security, and prosperity, or rayban enslavement. We are determined to win this fight, but the price we are paying is happy. Nick the war is heavy for everyone looking for light to pierce the darkness. For the pbs newshour, im nick schifrin. Amna jury selection began today as democratic senator bob menendez is set to become the first sitting senator ever tried for conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. The case is expected to last several weeks. Lisa desjardins previews whats to come. In manhattan today, a powerful new jersey senator arrived to face everyday new yorkers who will decide his fate. The start of jury selection is the start of democrat Bob Menendezs Second Bribery trial in seven years. The senior senator was accustomed to calling the shots from his perch atop the Senate Foreign relations committee. He stepped down as chair when charges came last fall. But menendez refuses to resign from office. I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but as i have stated throughout this whole process, i firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will i be exonerated, but i still will be new jerseys senior senator. Lisa the lawmaker is charged with becoming a lawbreaker accused of taking bribes to help individual businessmen as well as egypt and cotter qatar, and then greasing billions in weapons and other deals, passing along information, and pressuring officials. My Office Remains firmly committed to rooting out public corruption without fear or favor and without any regard to partisan politics. Lisa prosecutors say they found what menendez and his wife got in exchange a mercedes convertible, and inside their house, gold bars worth 100,000 and wads totaling more than 480,000 dollars in cash. Sen. Menendez for 30 years, i have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which i have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in cuba. Lisa prosecutors paint menendezs wife nadine as as a critical gobetween. But menedez Court Filings have hinted he may try to pin all the blame on her. Her trial is set for july. Two businessman charged will be tried alongside the senator. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty. They may have been friends, but menendez is expected to stress they were also constituents. You cannot prosecute a lawnmower care prosecute a lawmaker for talking on the floor and for acting as a lawmaker, including helping constituents. Lisa Jonathan Salant covered menendez as the washington correspondent for a group of new jersey papers for nearly a decade, including the senators last trial. Sen. Menendez to those who are digging my political grave so that they could jump into my seat, i know who you are and i wont forget you. Lisa menendez survived another bribery case in 2017. Prosecutors alleged that he took nearly a Million Dollars worth of gift in exchange for helping a friends business. The doj did not retry the case i just did not see the smoking gun. Lisa salant says in this case, there is a change in jersey political circles. It was outrageous enough that the delegation called his resignation. The governor called for his resignation. So this goes, in the opinion of those folks, goes beyond normal, rough and tough new jersey politics. Lisa congressman andy kim is the prohibitive favorite to win new jerseys democratic primary this june. Menendez is sitting out that race, but could run as an independent in november. Democrats face longer odds to keep the senate if new jersey becomes a battleground, but for menendez, much more than his political future is on the line. If convicted, he could face a sentence of over 200 years. For the pbs newshour, im lisa desjardins. Amna since the fall of roe v. Wade, republicans have banned abortion in 14 states, and restricted it in more. But when given the chance, voters have overwhelmingly supported Ballot Initiatives to protect access to the procedure. This election year, abortion will again be a defining issue. Laura barronlopez reports from the battleground of michigan, where democrats plan to keep Reproductive Health care front and center. Got it . Great job. Laura it raised in a deeply religious and conservative household, Annie Sharkus stayed out of politics, until, the Supreme Court overturned roe v. Wade. Annie i gathered signatures, we, you know, organized like a rally. I gave a speech at one. I started going to like coffee hours and things like that with our local politicians and just getting more involved. I didnt want my kids to look back at this point in time and say like, okay, well, what did you do . And i couldnt tell them that i did nothing. Laura now Abortion Access is protected in michigan, but voters are still thinking about it. Even though its not on the ballot in michigan this time around, do you still think that it is a top issue for a lot of voters . Annie even if were not worried about it in our state in particular, yeah, its definitely something that people are using to gauge how theyre voting. Laura the stayathome mom of two, who lives in the suburbs of detroit, isnt excited to vote for joe biden. But annie thinks he will ultimately make access to abortion safer. Annie so with voting for joe biden, it is hard. Because im not a single issue voter. I dont specifically identify as democrat or republican. While i will vote for him, i wish that there was another option. Laura do you think that you could ever vote republican again . Annie i dont think that i would with the current direction that the Republican Party is going. I am so far from identifying with what they want to happen, that i dont see it ever happening. Laura congresswoman Elissa Slotkin wants to keep women like annie squarely in the democratic column. Her message to voters, abortion will always be on the ballot. Rep. Slotkin the other side has made this a central issue for them for 50 years. Their actions speak louder than words, their actions are currently like, as we speak, trying to threaten a womans right to choose, and people see that. Laura when voters turned out for abortion rights in michigan in 2022, it was a victory for democrats. In 2024, theyre trying to replicate that success here and in states across the country. Slotkin, now running for the u. S. Senate, is one of many downballot Democratic Candidates trying to maintain urgency. Rep. Slotkin i think also we have to understand that most people see this as a Kitchen Table issue. A decision about whether to have a child or not is the most profound Kitchen Table issue that we have. Its not separate from inflation. Its not separate from the economy. Its like your whole family trajectory. Laura what happened in michigan became a blueprint for how to organize around abortion effectively. Ohio followed suit in 2023. Now the right to an abortion will be on the ballot this november in three states including florida, which currently bans any kind of termination after six weeks of pregnancy. And similar initiatives could end up on the ballot in up to nine other states this year, including the battlegrounds of arizona and nevada. Back in michigan, state activists like shanay watsonwhittaker who works for the nonprofit reproductive freedom for all were instrumental in mobilizing voters in 2022. Two years later, shes sharing that strategy. Shanay michigan, for a lot of folks, has been like a north star. We specifically and intentionally had conversations with black clergy, with clergy from other denominations, sat them down and talked about reproductive freedom. What people forget are that clergy are humans. Theyve experienced loss, miscarriage, theyve had abortions. We believe in in god and we believe in jesus. And at the same time, we believe that government should not interfere with a womans right to choose. Laura meanwhile, republicans, who cheered the Supreme Courts reversal of roe, are struggling to find their footing. In march, the presumptive gop nominee, donald trump, spoke favorably of a 15week abortion ban nationwide. Pres. Trump but people are really, even hardliners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at. Laura then, last month, he flipflopped, saying states could decide for themselves. Pres. Trump from a legal standpoint, the states will determined by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land, in this case, the law of the state. Laura still, some Top Republicans in congress support the national 15week ban, and measures that would make it a crime to transport minors across state lines for an abortion without parental consent. Pres. Trump thank you, wisconsin. Laura more recently, trump told time magazine, hed allow states to both monitor pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. Republicans keep handing democrats this issue every election cycle. It never seems to be out of the political picture. Laura nolan finley is the conservative opinion editor at the detroit news. What exactly would you like to see either the president ial nominee, donald trump, lay out or other republicans across the board in terms of the specific policy . Nolan i would like him to stay away from the federal policy. I think thats whats the point of the dobbs ruling. But i think the nikki haley, solution of lets all sit down and find out where we can agree in terms of a point in the pregnancy where were going to say youve had time to make your choice. Laura whether its six, 15 weeks . Nolan 15, maybe 20, somewhere in that range where people can settle and say this is fair. This allows people time to make their decision. This allows you to deal with rape and incest, etc. , but it also prevents, you know, something i think most people would be opposed to, and that is abortion in the last month or so of pregnancy. Laura for voters we spoke to in lansing, theyre heeding calls that abortion is an issue to turn out for in november. Matt michigan voters, they recognize that this is an issue that goes beyond the borders of the state of michigan. I think we have all found out that we cannot rest on our laurels, that we must come out and vote for the right people. Laura ultimately, roe was a wake up call for democrats like congresswoman slotkin, one that she says exposed her partys complacency. Rep. Slotkin i think we let ourselves get comfortable that we didnt believe the other side when they said, were coming for roe v. Wade and we want to overturn it. We saw all that happening, but we just had a failure of imagination. But what i want to do is say publicly to the whole country that we have a ten year plan to get back to a federal right to an abortion. Were not going to let it just be a state issue. Were actually going to organize and mobilize to do the thing we didnt do for 50 years, which is pass a piece of federal legislation to codify roe. Laura the results in november could determine if slotkins plans takes 10 years or another 50. For the pbs newshour, im laura barronlopez in michigan. Amna war roils on in the middle east, challenging President Biden back home. And a criminal trial rolls on in new york, with former President Donald Trump at its center. Here to analyze the events through a political lens, im joined by our politics monday duo, amy walter of the Cook Political Report with amy walter, and tamera keith of npr. Great to see you both as always. Lets pick up where lauras piece left off. We know democrats are leaning heavily into abortion rights in michigan. She can is just one of a few battleground states we are keeping a close michigan is just one of a few battleground states we are keeping a close eye on. In october of last year, the New York Times poll showed that mr. Trump led in six battleground states. These are numbers from may of this year that shows that the race is largely unchanged when it comes to those six states arizona, georgia, michigan, nevada, pennsylvania. Wisconsin is the only one that leans toward President Biden at this time. How does the biden team look at that trend, and how are they going to tackle that . I was talking to people today from the biden universe, and they say things are stuck. The poles have not moved. They are not freaking out about it. They believe they have an entire campaign to run. I think if we are looking at holes that look like that in october, they should be freaking out. But right now, we are six months out. Based on conversations ive had with voters, this is backed up, that we feel like a lot has happened and there has been so much politics happening. People who dont want to think about politics also happen to be undecided voters and swing voters and, like people who may not be likely voters, but who i get picked up in pauls. In polls. Those people are not following every twist and turn, every economic indicator, othis trial President Trump is facing. They are just not tuned in. The Biden Campaign has spent a lot of money on ads. It seems like a lot. But compared to what they are going to spend, it is minuscule. Amna how do you look at that trend over the last six months . Amy it is a race that we feel like this race has been going on forever. Most regular voters are not going to start really tuning in until we get to the fall. One thing notable in these polls , the reason people are talking about these, its specifically because they are not national polls. These are the polls of the states. This is how you can get elected president. You can win the popular vote, youve got to win but to 70 electoral votes the 200 70 electoral votes to win the presidency. This is the thing we are going to be watching when we talk about trends, the real erosion of support from biden among voters of color. This is the reason that he is doing worse, biden is doing worse in places like arizona, nevada, and georgia, where voters of color, especially hispanic and africanamerican, make up such a significant share of the vote. In a state like wisconsin, overwhelmingly white, there has not been Much Movement as Much Movement against biden. That is the question, can trump really hit these what would be in some cases a historic high for a republican among some of these groups . Are we seeing a real realignment, or is this a moment in time where you have a lot of people who are kind of checked out, disappointed in both candidates, especially disappointed as the woman who, in lisas peace pointed out is voting for joe biden but not enthusiastically. Amna with young voters and their move away from President Biden, however, many of them are driving the protest votes we saw during the primary season. How do you see that playing out, especially given the fact that mr. Biden has turned toward tough language, saying he could withhold some weapons from israel . Does that matter to those voters . Amy it is unclear, because tam brought up a good point about what the Biden Campaign is doing. In this New York Times poll, when they asked voters who would is doing a better job or would do a better job on the conflict, donald trump was leading by almost 15 points. What the Biden Campaign would say is, did these voters know what trumps position on this issue is, especially if you are more supportive of the palestinian side and the fact that donald trump has and neighborly close ally of netanyahus . Probably not something they know at this point. Tamera just to add to that, on tiktok and various other media platforms, there is a lot of talk that under donald trump there were no wars, everything is fine, but under joe biden there are wars. We can factcheck the but jesus out of that, but we will not. But because that perception is out there, particularly among young voters, that and also feed into this. More broadly, i would say that there was this Harvard Youth poll that over samples young people, a poll of people under 30 years old. It asked what their top issues are in this election and pitted different issues against each other and rank them based on which issues come up at the top. It is the economy. It is the cost of living. It is Student Loans and guns. And then you go down to number 14, you go way, way, way down on the list and that is where you get gaza as a voting issue. The reality is that people are complicated. They have a lot of things they care about. There are some people who care very passionately about what is happening in gaza. There are a lot of people who care a bit but care more about other things. I am not saying that President Biden is doing particularly well among young will who care a lot about the economy or cost of living either. You mentioned the criminal trial of donald trump that continues to unfold in new york. Liam reported on that earlier. We have seen mr. Trump continue to attack those involved in it and especially undermining the judicial system. It feeds his narrative. It feels like preparing voters for a possible guilty verdict here. He has been preparing his voters, his base to distressed anything that he says to distressed. Stressed this process, dontr to trust that jury, they are liberals, dont trust the judge. There is a lot of bad there is a lot of that out there. The bigger question is how much this is going to register. The trial has not changed anything. Will a verdict change things . Lacks or has been nothing really new that has come out of this trial that, at least people who have been following it closely would say this is new don know. N we are getting. I think voters, if there is a conviction, it may take a while for it to actually seep into the way they think about voting in this election. Right now, it is a data point. Right now especially it is a hypothetical, but lets say there is a conviction. As we get closer to the election, the question becomes how much does the Biden Campaign lean into that issue. Right now they have been very quiet about this, and who gets to set the narrative about what this is . Now, donald trump is setting the narrative about this trial. It is corrupt, unfair, political. There has not been a whole lot of narrative from the other side, certainly not from the Biden Campaign, but not from democrats either. Amna it is notable that this may be the last trial President Trump faces before people start voting. Amna it is good to see you both. Thank you. Amna fbi field offices across the country have reported an increase in youth sextortion cases, where sexually explicit content is used as blackmail. Stephanie sy reports on the concerning trend and preventive efforts to protect minors. Stephanie social media has become Fertile Ground for scammers to target young people, and in some cases the consequences have been deadly. In a two year period between october 2021 to march 2023, the fbi received over 13,000 reports of online financial sextortion of minors. It impacted 12,600 victims and led to at least 20 suicides. [gfx] fbi special agent emily steele from the Phoenix Field Office with more on what the dangers of sextortion are and what parents can do to prevent it. Thank you for joining us. First of all, give me a sense of how prevalent this crime has become, and why the fbi is especially concerned about young people. Emily this crime has become significantly more prevalent especially with younger childrens access to technology. So whether it be receiving an ipad or a chromebook from school that has internet connection, or even just availability of getting on a parents phone and using social media, kids are learning younger and younger how to navigate through the internet and online social media world. And thats creating more victims for predators. Okay, so this is happening, i understand, through social media. How exactly are these people luring children in through these platforms . How does it work . It can be described in a long or short process, but the short process is children are vulnerable, and children are everywhere online and not using proper security techniques on their social media. So, say, for instance, they have an instagram, its not set to private and anyone can follow them and see what theyre doing on their daytoday activity. So if a child posts on their instagram story, for instance, that theyre in school and theyre taking pictures with their friends, well, then a predator instantly knows that this is a minor because they are in school. From there, it can be as easy as sending a direct message and complimenting the minor or pretending to be a minor from the opposite sex and asking for nude photos. And unfortunately, it happens very quickly. Its not a long process or a long drawn out relationship. It can happen in a matter of minutes that they are convincing these children to send nude or explicit photos and videos of themselves. So its an adult thats often pretending to be a child and theres no way for the kid to know that. And then they get the kid to send some sort of nude compromising photo to them. And then what do they do . There are two situations that can happen. I like to kind of separate two different sextorters. The first one is going to be the money hungry sextorter. Typically thats going to be an individual from overseas. We see a lot of african countries, specifically coming out of nigeria, that there are these huge schemes to target children because theyre vulnerable and scared. So once an individual receives the nude photo, they then tell the child that, hey, im not who you thought i was, you better send me 50 or im gonna send this photo to everyone on your followers. And what this individual has done is they have already screenshotted who this kid is following. So it doesnt even matter if the kid blocks them, they still have access to all that. So thats kind of the first type of predator who, if they can do this to 10 kids and five of those 10 kids send them 50, its a pretty easy payday for them. The other side of it is an individual who is asking for this type of content simply because its a child. They are attracted to children, they are attracted to that type of content, and its not just a get rich quick scheme. So its two very different mindsets, but both of those categories fall under sextortion. Stephanie is it boys and girls, agents still being equally targeted . Are there certain age groups theyre targeting . Emily so it is both boys and girls. We have seen a rise in the amount of male or boy victims in the last few years, but it is still largely female. Typically what were seeing is boys, the ages are between 14 and 17 and girls are a little younger. The female victims are were seeing anywhere from 12 to 17. And ive had a victim as young as seven be targeted for sex extortion. It can really be any minor that has access to the internet, but it is both boys and girls. Stephanie and you mentioned instagram. What are the other platforms that people need to be aware of . And is it also true that sometimes the predators can get to kids via games such as roblox . Emily yes, so roblox is one of the major platforms that we see victims come from. Actually, my sevenyearold victim that i just talked about, that started on roblox and the individual was paying this seven yearold in robux to send him stuff on snapchat. So you have roblox, you have snapchat, you have instagram, and then discord. Discord is also a big one. Discord is an application on the phone, or you can access it from just a regular computer and it is big in the gaming world. A lot of them like to get on discord get in these gaming rooms to talk about the game. These predators know that these kids do this and they will jump into these rooms and catch them that way as well. Stephanie i know that you yourself as an fbi special agent have been going out to schools to try to educate parents and students. What is the one most tangible thing that a parent or educator can do to protect their kids from this . Emily specifically on the parent side, i always say the parent pays for the phone. You should know what is on that phone. And that includes knowing the pin to the phone as well as knowing the passwords for accounts. If the child is starting to act off or weird or extremely attached to their phone and they cant leave it for even a second, its not a bad idea to be able to go in and see whats going on, see what is on their phone that they are so scared to leave behind. So i think if i had to pick one, just one measure to take, it would be having access to your childrens social media and knowing what applications do they have. Do they have snapchat . Do they have instagram . Just checking that every once in a while. Stephanie agent emily steele with the Phoenix Field Office of the fbi. Thank you so much for joining us. Emily thank you. Amna an unfinished love story. A story of the love of two people for one another, and for their country. The new book is by an author wellknown to newshour audiences, doris kearns goodwin. She spoke recently to Jeffrey Brown for our arts and culture series, canvas. In the past, region, ideology Jeffrey Doris kearns goodwin, president ial historian and commentator extraordinaire for years bringing the past into the present on the newshour and other programs. A delightful and delighted presence late night. And that mark of true celebrity, on the simpsons. Most of all, pulitzer prizewinning author of bestselling biographies of lyndon johnson, teddy and franklin roosevelt, abraham lincoln, president s shes thought of as my guys, alive research and writing. Doris my kids remember when i was in the room once, they heard me talking to franklin and eleanor and wanting them to get closer to each other. They wondered, what is going on in that room . But i couldnt get any answers from those guys. But now this was my guy. Jeffrey this was your guy. Doris this was my guy, 42 years. Jeffrey her latest subject, her real guy, richard goodwin, who as a young man was near the center of political triumphs and tragedies in the 1960s. A speechwriter and advisor to john f kennedy, with his promise of a new frontier, and a call on young people to help change the world. To lyndon johnson, helping name and shape the Great Society social programs to fight poverty and discrimination. And to robert f. Kennedy, before he was gunned down while campaigning for the presidency in 1968. When dick goodwin turned 80, he decided it was finally time to look at the hundreds of boxes of documents and memorabilia hed saved from that time, and write of those years. And he and doris took on their final project together. Part way in, in 2018, goodwin died after a brief bout with cancer. Doris i was helping him in those first years to write a book in his voice. And then when he died, i had to figure out what to do. And we had gone through many of the boxes, but there was much more left to be done. And i realized finally, when i came to the decision that i needed to keep the promise i made to him that id finish it, it had to be in my voice, not his. And i had to be an historian as well as a biographer of him. And it had to be about the 1960s as well as our personal life. Jeffrey the result, an unfinished love story, part history of a political era, part story of a long and loving marriage. A key figure they shared, though a key figure they shared, though not at the same time ,lyndon johnson. Dick goodwin had come to believe that lbjs continuation of the vietnam war derailed much of the good achieved in domestic programs and civil rights progress. He left the white house in 1965 and went on to work with johnsons political nemesis, robert kennedy. For her part, doris worked directly with lbj in his final period in office, and later assisted him with his memoirs. Husband and wife had argued for decades about this giant in American History and their own lives. Going through the boxes led to a kind of unexpected and, again, deeply personal resolution. Doris after we were going through the selma part of it, he went upstairs and he said, oh my god, im feeling affection for the old guy again. And it really healed him in those last years of his life. There was something about going through these boxes that, for me, i felt as long as we had more boxes to go through, that hed keep on living and wed have our story together. There were still hundreds of boxes left that had to do with the rest of his life. And i remember he one time said, who do you think will win, the boxes were made. The boxes or me . Especially as he got cancer in that last year. But it gave him a sense of purpose, a joy of waking up in the mornings. And more importantly, he began to remember that what he had one, what lbj had done, what the Great Society had done, was permanent, so that there had been achievements that he could be proud of. And he didnt have to feel that sadness about what might have been. What was was pretty amazing. Jeffrey anyone who has been in a longterm relationship, there is a point where you might wonder, how well do i actually know that person . Now you had the chance to kind of go back and excavate as a historian. Were you surprised . Doris i think what i really always wanted to know was, what was he like when he was a young man. Because i, i was 12 years younger than him, so i didnt know him. What i have fallen in love with you . He would say to me, i dont know. He wouldnt talk that much about it. But when i got these letters and diaries and journals, then i was able to understand it and, just as you say, excavate who he was. And i really did like the man that i found. I would have been smitten with him way back then. Jeffrey doris continues to weigh in on american politics, then and now. When she refers to an unfinished love story, she also means the one she and her husband had for their country. How worried are you now and how worried was dick and would he be now . Doris you know, the interesting thing is, one of the things he wrote shortly after we started going through the boxes, he went over to his study and he came back with a little thing he wrote in which he was talking about American History, and he talked about the fact that every change that has come in america has come from the ground up. And somehow those changes made our country better. And he ended up saying america is not as fragile as it seems. And i think that was his overwhelming feeling. And i believe its mine too. Jeffrey thats more hopeful than a lot of people feel right now. We are stronger than we think. Doris you know, one of the things about history is that it gives you a sense of perspective and solace and really, lessons. All the people ive studied lived through really hard times. They had the same anxiety we have. But somehow i take solace from thinking those were really, really tough times, maybe even tougher than the time were living through now. I think when put to the test, the American People will come through. Jeffrey i tried to outrun grief in the months after dicks death, doris writes in an epilogue. One solace, donating their vast collection of books to the local library in concord, massachusetts, which created the Goodwin Forum as a Community Space for reading and public lectures and talks. But the first couple of years, she says, were really hard. Doris after a while, i realized that by doing the book, i kept his memory alive rather than talking only about the grief. I heard his voice. He was back, he was back with me. If i have any kind of hope for the book itself, its that, dont wait until the person dies before you go through their memorabilia. Talk to your parents or grandparents about their memories and whatever their memorabilia they have, because thats the way people live on through the stories that somebody tells to the next generation. And those stories keep that person alive. So id like to believe that ive kept dick alive. Hes certainly kept alive for me, and maybe for a lot of people now who will read this, theyll know what a great character he was. Jeffrey the book is an unfinished love story. Doris kearns goodwin, nice to talk to you, thank you so much. Doris thank you so much. Amna and join us again here tomorrow night, for more on white house steps targeting chinese electric vehicles to protect american automakers. And thats the newshour for tonight. 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 cfp professionals are committed to acting in their clients best interest. More information at letsmakeaplan. Org. Cunard is a proud supporter of public television. On a voyage with cunard, the world awaits. A world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. A world of leisure, and british style. All with cunards white start service. White star service. Supported by the john d. And catherine t. Macarthur foundation. Committed to building a more just 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 from viewers like you. Thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. ] wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. Its to die for. Now you wont miss a thing. This is the way. Xfinity internet. Made for streaming. Hello everyone and welcome to amanpour company. Heres whats coming up. [children shouting] desperation in gaza, with more than half a Million People on the brink of famine. Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini joins me from jerusalem amid damning allegations over his agency