geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the "newshour" tonight, democratic vice presidential nominee tim walz hits the campaign trail solo to rally

union members, while former president donald trump sits for an interview with his billionaire backer elon musk. geoff: venezuela's opposition leader on her country's disputed elections and her call for global protests against the government of nicolas maduro sot . >> this is not sustainable. we will not surrender and we will not give up amna: and, the impact of a supreme court ruling making it easier to carry guns in new york city. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george

smith. >> john s. and james l. knight foundation. more at kf.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. the 2024 campaign is in full swing, with vice president kamala harris's running mate,

tim walz, hitting the trail on his own for the first time. geoff: it comes a day after former president donald trump's two hour livestream with elon musk, on x formerly twitter. but what was billed as a triumphant return to the social media platform, was fraught with tech troubles. laura barron lopez starts our coverage. laura: minnesota governor tim walz, in los angeles, california today. stop number one of a five state dash that has the vp pick flying solo for the first time. >> we can't hope that we defeat donald trump. we can't hope that we can collectively bargain. we can't hope we protect social security. we can't hope that we address climate change. you don't hope to win. you plan, prepare, and work to win. laura: he addressed the "american federation of state, county and municipal employees," at its annual convention. the largest trade union representing the public sector in the u.s., and it already

endorsed the harris-walz ticket. >> we know exactly who built this country. it was nurses. it was teachers, and it was state and local government employees that built this nation. people in this room built the middle class. laura: walz will spend the coming days fundraising across the country, a level of campaigning relatively new for the former teacher and coach. meanwhile, for trump. >> biden actually did something impossible, both sides hate him" -- tim. laura: a return to "x", the social media platform previously known as twitter that banned him after the january 6 insurrection because of the risk of "further incitement of violence." the site's current owner, elon musk, who endorsed trump last

month, hosting the former president last night for a high-profile interview. but it was plagued with glitches. musk, without evidence, blamed a nearly 40-minute delay on a "distributed denial of service" attack. he again praised modern dictators. >> elon, i know every one of them and i know them well. i know putin, i know president xi. i know kim jong-un of north korea, i know every one of them. they're at the top of their game. they're tough, they're smart, they're vicious, and they're gonna protect their country. laura: in stark contrast to walz's appeal to workers, trump applauded musk, who is also the ceo of tesla for firing his employees who went on strike. >> well, you, you're the greatest cutter. i mean, look at what you do. you walk in and you just say, you want to quit? they go on strike. i won't mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, that's okay. you're all gone. laura: after the comments, united auto workers filed federal labor charges against both trump and musk. as for the independent candidate in the race, robert f. kennedy junior will not be on the ballot in new york. a judge ruled he falsely claimed residency in the state despite living in california. >> voting for reproductive

freedom for all. laura: and a major change to the ballot in arizona and missouri. voters will decide whether to enshrine a right to abortion in their state constitutions, two of eight states so far presenting the issue to voters, in november. all this, as connecticut, minnesota, vermont, and wisconsin held their primaries today. voters heading to the polls, for a say in key congressional races including minnesota representative ilhan omar, the latest progressive "squad" member fighting a challenge to her seat. for the pbs newshour, im laura -- i am laura barron lopez. amna: we start the day's other headlines in the middle east. iran has rejected a call from european leaders to refrain from

retaliatory strikes on israel, calling it an "excessive request." the region is bracing for such an attack, following the death last month of hamas political leader ismail haniyeh in tehran, which iran blames on israel. in washington today, a state department spokesperson said that quote 'no one benefits from any kind of retaliation', adding that all parties should exercise restraint. >> everyone in the region should understand that further attacks only perpetuate conflict, instability and insecurity for everyone. and so what we're focused on is intensively on de-escalation through diplomacy. amna: meantime, the u.s. has approved the sale of 20 billion dollars worth of arms to israel, including fighter jets and advanced air-to-air missiles. but the weapons are not expeced to get to israel any time soon, as they are tied up in contracts that can take years to fulfill. ukraine's army chief says his troops have won control of another 15 square miles of russian territory in just the past day. ukraine now claims to control 74 communities in the kursk region, following last week's surprise

incursion. but russia says it's fighting back, releasing this unverified video of an alleged counter-offensive to stop ukraine's advances. ukraine's largest cross-border raid since the war began has forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate the area. in kyiv, a foreign ministry official stressed the goal of the operation is not occupation. >> unlike russia, ukraine does not need other people's property. ukraine is not interested in taking the territory of the kursk region. amna: he goes on to say that ukraine's offensive is instead aimed at preventing russia from carrying out long-range strikes launched from the kursk region, back into ukraine. tropical storm "ernesto" lashed the northeast caribbean today with heavy rain and wind. its now expected to head north of puerto rico, where officials have closed schools and activated the national guard. forecasters are warning of up to eight inches of rain there, with possible flooding and landslides.

"ernesto" is the fifth named storm of this year's atlantic hurricane season. it's predicted to gain hurricane strength early tomorrow, but is not currently on track to hit the southeastern u.s. a grand jury in ohio indicted today on charges including murder, in the death of a 21-year-old pregnant black woman. grubb and another officer approached ta'kiya young's car in a store parking lot last august, after she was suspected of shoplifting. the other officer ordered her to exit the car. instead young rolled her vehicle forward and grubb fired one bullet through the windshield, hitting her in the chest, and killing her. young's unborn daughter also died. grubb is due to be arraigned in court tomorrow. a former kansas police chief who led a raid last year on a weekly newspaper has been charged with felony obstruction of justice. the single charge against gideon

cody relates to accusations that he asked a business owner who was a potential witness to delete texts between them. cody justified the raid on the marion county record by saying police were investigating whether the paper committed identity theft, and illegally accessed information in reporting a story. it sparked national outrage as an assault on press freedom. prosecutors later concluded no crime was ever committed by the paper's publisher or staff. on wall street today, stocks jumped after a report on producer prices fueled hopes for a rate cut next month. the dow jones industrial average added more than 400 points on the day. the nasdaq rose more than 400 points as well, or nearly 2.5%. the s&p 500 also saw strong gains. still to come on the "newshour", former president trump raises the idea of taking a heavier hand with the traditionally independent federal reserve a -- federal reserve. a bipartisan effort identifies how lawyers can help preserve american democracy.

and a former military fort turned arts center celebrates 50 years of bringing people together through captivity. -- through creativity. >> this is the pbs news hour, from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: the top united nations human rights official today criticized venezuelan authorities for what he called "arbitrary detentions" and "disproportionate use of force," more than two weeks after elections that the opposition says it won. in a moment, nick schifrin speaks with the main opposition leader who was blocked before the vote from running. but first, he has a look at president nicolas maduro's crackdown, and the opposition's resistance. >> libertad! libertad! libertad! libertad!

nick: in downtown caracas, they lit candles to demand democracy. but also memorialize what they called their lost freedom and the regime's opponents, who've been disappeared. since they demanded president nicolas maduro step down for allegedly stealing last month's election. the government calls the crackdown on its critics operation knock knock. police officers armed with guns and videos of protesters have arrested more than 2000. and launched a social media campaign with music. even christmas jingles, showing off police detaining what the government calls criminal terrorists. >> i tell you, people of venezuela, they tried to rob electoral centers. i've asked the attorney general to have an iron fist with terrorists, with opposition protesters, with violent people. we will not allow them to create a spiral of violence. nick: opposition leader edmundo gonzales is in hiding, posting videos online.

but last month with his political patron maria corina machado, showed proof he more than doubled maduro's votes. >> we have in our hands the tallies that demonstrate our categorical and mathematically irreversible victory. nick: maduro and his allies on the electoral council say he won with 51%, but have refused to publish the vote breakdown. over 11 years, maduro's authoritarian rule has led to economic collapse, diplomatic isolation and the exodus of , nearly eight million venezuelans. the u.s. is hoping diplomacy can force a democratic transition. >> the u.s. along with other , international partners, including countries like brazil, colombia, mexico, have called for transparency and called for the release of a detailed vote tallies and we urge venezuelan parties to begin discussions to a peaceful transition back to democratic norms. geoff: and to discuss this pivotal political crisis in

venezuela, i am joined by opposition leader maria corina machado. she joins us from an undisclosed location. thank you very much. welcome to the news hour. let's talk about this crackdown that we just highlighted that maduro and his regime launched. 2400 have been arrested. right's groups say two dozen killed. how brutal has it been and are those numbers actually even higher? maria: it is brutal. it is happening as we speak. we have hundreds of members in hiding. the regime even got to their homes and marked their doors. they have taken monitors that worked as volunteers. they have even taken their family or members of their family so that they will go out to the regime. we are now very concerned because we are preparing for a huge mobilization this next saturday around the world and in

venezuela and we expect the regime once again to try to crackdown on peaceful protesters. geoff: what do you believe is the threat to you personally? the attorney general has announced a criminal probe against you instead you should spend 30 years behind bars. what is this threat to you? >> maduro said i am a terrorist. the regime knows that the defeat they suffered was huge. the world knows that venezuelan people voted for change and we have the proof and at this point, the only thing maduro has done is use violence and be surrounded by the top ranks of the military but this is not sustainable. we will not surrender. we will not give up. we asked for the democratic world to accompany the venezuelan people on this struggle for freedom. geoff: we talked about that call on saturday that you just made

for a large protest. what are you hoping to achieve and why do you think the protests so far have not been bigger? maria: the protests have been huge but the thing is that repression has been cruel and we need to administer people power in moments in which a lot of people can come together and they are safe. that is how we are designing the saturday event. we are calling people to come with their children, with grandchildren, their parents. it will take place in 120 cities around the world and tens of cities inside venezuela. it is a moment in which we all will get together. not only the venezuelan people and the latin community but also americans, europeans, people that understand how important and critical it is to solve the conflict in venezuela. we have never had so much strength as we have right now and in 25 years, the regime has never been so weak as it is right now.

geoff: do you believe that large protest is the best way to pressure maduro? what role is gonzales playing? i have been told that the opposition in general is not unified, is it? maria: it is absolutely unified. not only the politicians, our country. -- it is a polarized country? that is not true. 70% of our people wanted edmundo to be president and voted for him even though large millions of venezuelans were allowed to do it inside and abroad, and now, we are all coming together not only to support gonzales but to defend the values that have brought venezuelan society in this huge and profound social movement that goes beyond ideological ideas. it is a spiritual struggle that has brought the base of the

society together at this point. we need internal pressure but also the international community support in us to make maduro understand that his best option is negotiation with us. geoff: let me ask about u.s. policy therefore. the u.s. has echoed what you just talked about, negotiated transition. it is working with allies and partners in the region, and it is not, so far, imposing penalties on maduro or his deputies including three imposing sanctions, introducing new sanctions perhaps. do you support the u.s. approach so far? maria: i am very grateful for the support we have received from the biden administration and from both parties in congress. fortunately, venezuela has been -- the venezuelan because

for democracy is bipartisan because it is well understood that it is a main issue in terms of national security. venezuela right now is the biggest migration crisis in the world and if maduro stays by force, you will see in a very short period of time 3, 4, 5 million venezuelans fleeing our country, many at the u.s. border. that is not what we want. we want those who hav left to come back. it is a moment in which we have to understand that maduro has to be pushed. it not only offering him benefits for leaving power but it's also making it costlier for him to stay in power. geoff: should the u.s. be re-imposing some oil sanctions as should the u.s. impose new sanctions on the people that you have identified have stolen this election? maria: there are a wide variety of factions. the different countries, not only the u.s., can put in place. some of them have been directed

to those who have committed crimes against humanity. just yesterday, the u.n. fact-finding mission said that there is a pattern for crimes against humanity in the actions that have taken place in the last two weeks. this is brutal. so it has to be stopped. and the real incentives have to be put on the table for maduro to understand that he cannot keep on doing what he is doing right now. we are doing our part and we will. our movement is a peaceful, civic movement, but it is not weak. on the contrary, it is gaining strength because people will not surrender. geoff: you mentioned incentives. should the u.s. explicitly offer majuro and some of his allies, many of whom have been indicted by the department of justice in the u.s., relief from those indictments or safe passage for their leaving venezuela? maria: there are different

options and all of those should be addressed at a negotiation process that has to be done seriously and with a clear objective which is democracy. in the past, the regime has participated in several dialogues and they have never complied with their commitments. this time is going to be different. maduro has lost completely its legitimacy. everybody knows that -- inside and abroad -- this is the biggest fraud in the history of this hemisphere. geoff: thank you very much. maria: thank you. ♪ amna: in greece, authorities say lighter winds today helped crews tame a wildfire that came within miles of the center of athens.

the blaze killed at least one person and forced multiple evacuations across the city's suburbs. residents returned today to find their homes reduced to ash. and as winds picked back up this afternoon, the region is again on high alert. a reporter reports. >> the roots are still burning beneath the soil here. even though the inferno has passed, there is a constant threat this earth could ignite again. and cause even more damage. there's little to salvage for families who returned today, and little comfort for thanasis who used to work in this factory. he came back to pay tribute to his friend, 62-year-old nadia, who was trapped inside as the wildfires engulfed the building. had known her for 25 years. >> the last time i spoke to her was yesterday at 3:00, he tells me. she told me we were burning, we

are on fire. he says there was a fire. i don't know if she came out or not. at night, i had learned she died. the owner of this house only bought it last year but nothing in this suburb could escape the flames, not even the metal in this car can stand the heat. >> we don't have the forest anymore. >> angelos has lived here for more than 40 years. he says the smoke was so thick he couldn't see the flames were so close. >> that traveled so fast. every second, 20 meters. new fire here, to fire their. -- new fire there. it took his distance mike -- a distance mike 100 meters. the north part is totally burned again. >> is this what you are worried about? >> now, it starts again and the whole thing here, i don't know what will happen. >> 40 mile an hour gusts are forecast over the next few days. firefighters are racing to extinguish terrain that's become

a tinderbox after prolonged drought and greeces hottest june and july on record . crews have just arrived here to soak smoldering land and going back over houses that were safe from the fires yesterday, we've heard them on the radio asking for more fire engines to turn up because they need more water. the reason they're here is because of the high winds later. if they don't soak these houses if they don't soak the land, , they could catch fire again. the skies over athens have cleared. but the risk remains. in a country used to tackling wildfires but never so close to , the centre of greece's capital, with concerns now this could become the new reality here. amna: that report from sangita lal of independent television news.

♪ amna: more than two years ago, the supreme court struck down a century-old law in new york state restricting who uld carry a concealed gun. the landmark ruling was seen by second amendment supporters as a huge victory, and by some gun control advocates as opening the door to violent chaos on the streets of new york. special correspondent chirstopher booker reports on what has and notably what hasn't changed since then. chirstopher: for 25 years, john deloca has owned seneca sporting range and gun store in new york city. a city with some of the strictest gun laws in the entire country. how hard would you say it is to own a gun in new york city? >> very hard. chirstopher: for almost all of deloca's four plus decades in the gun business, to carry a concealed firearm in the city you either had to be a cop or show, quote, "proper cause", a

provision of a gun control law from 1913. >> proper cause was all about money. you had to have a check cashing business. could be a gun dealer, be a diamond dealer, a 24 hour gas station. chirstopher: but in june of 2022, all that changed. in a 6-3 decision, the supreme court struck down new york's law, ruling the restriction violated the second amendment's right to keep and bear arms. >> shocking. absolutely shocking. chirstopher: the reaction from officials like new york governor kathy hochul was immediate. >> the supreme court is sending us backwards in our effort to protect families, prevent gun violence this could place millions of new yorkers in harm's way. chirstopher: but for deloca, who goes by the nickname johnny guns, the supreme court's decision in bruen, as the case is known, has meant a huge shift in who can get a concealed carry permit in new york. >> it was every floodgates opened up. chirstopher: including for new

yorkers like michael schiavone. >> i applied for it recently due to the change in the law, and honestly, to to take advantage of my constitutional right. chirstopher: but even after the supreme court's decision, getting a concealed carry permit remains a complex and lengthy process. just 8 days after bruen , new york state passed the concealed carry improvement act, maintaining the state's extensive background check, asking for character references to determine "good moral character" while requiring applicants attend 18 hours of fire-arm training. deloca, who offers these classes, thinks it's important safeguard. >> i just feel also that there's a correlation between stupid people and guns. even though we put 20 people in a class only in our classes, and we have a lawyer and we have the penal law and safety. safety, safety, safety. you can't secure enough with these people. you can't. chirstopher: -- christopher:

christopher: it sounds like you are in favor of the heavy restrictions that are in place that allow or don't allow someone to to get a permit. >> definitely. christopher: in response to the bruen decision, new york state also restricted where you could carry a gun even if you have a permit. so-called sensitive locations like bars and the subway. and public spaces like here in times square remain gun free. >> they said, you know what? if we're going to be required to let people carry guns, we're going to make it so that there's no place they can carry them. peter tilem is an attorney leading one of the many legal challenges against gun restrictions in new york. >> until this is acknowledged as a constitutional right, i mean acknowledged in their gut, then they're going to keep trying to interfere with people's ability to possess guns. is there another right that you can think of that you can't exercise until you get permission from the government? christopher: tilem argues that the restrictions imposed by new york state in the wake of bruen misses the bigger issue, curbing illegal guns. >> the concealed carry improvement act. the target is licensed gun owners, people who go through the trouble go through the 18 month period, pay the fee and are clearly law abiding citizens because they don't even have

speeding tickets to be able to get this license. and now we're going to target them with with felony convictions if they carried into the wrong place. so clearly, new york is missing the point. >> these efforts to get these guns out of homes are going to save lives. they're going to prevent crimes. christopher: brooklyn district attorney eric gonzalez says the city has long been battling a steady flow of illegal weapons coming from states with more relaxed gun laws. as evident at a voluntary buyback that collected nearly 100 illegal guns. >> 70% of the guns recovered in brooklyn after crime basically come from 3 or 4 southern states. 70%. and so these buybacks allow us also to kind of understand how guns are moving in our city. christopher: after the bruen ruling, gonzalez was one of many city leaders who argued the decision would make new york city less safe, calling it quote "a nightmare for public safety." do you still feel that way? >> i'm still concerned. you know, the density of the city. you know, we're not spread out.

we're vertical. you know, you don't want people, pulling out a firearm to, you know, start shooting it out because they see a crime in progress. christopher: but the two years since bruen has also coincided with decreases in violent crime, including a 19 percent decline in murder and a 31 percent decline in shooting incidents. >> i really hope that the supreme court understands that, you know, states have to be able to regulate this in their own jurisdictions, if we continue to just say, yeah, anyone can carry, we're going to see an uptick. >> stupid just gets stupider. christopher: back in queens, concealed permit holder michael schiavone says despite the drop in crime, he's still concerned. >> there's tons of guns on the street. we are faced with people having illegal firearms and they are all over the place so that puts the citizens in a very bad situation. especially in the subway system

in those areas where someone might want to take a firearm. we now cannot do that. christopher: in june, the supreme court did rule in another gun case affirming that an individual who poses a threat can be disarmed. but attorney peter tilem, who's lawsuit is one of more than 450 filed since bruen, believes the supreme court will have to weigh in again. >> i don't think we have an understanding today of the full import of bruen yet. it's going to affect every aspect of daily life. and so i think that the contours of the second amendment are going to be written, more completely in the next 5 to 10 years. in the meantime, cities like new -- christopher: in the meantime, cities like new york are left to navigate the ambiguity that exists between efforts to keep their streets safe and the 2nd amendment. for the pbs news hour, i'm christopher booker in new york city. ♪

geoff: former president donald trump says he wants a more direct role in how the federal reserve sets interest rates and suggested he could break with traditional policies when it comes to the fed's independence. trump has been critical of fed chair jerome powell, dating back to his own presidency, because of powell's approach to interest rates. and during his press event at mar-a-lago last week, mr. trump made it clear he wants a change. >> i feel the president should have at least say in there, yeah. i feel that strongly. i think that, in my case, i made a lot of money. i was very successful. and i think i have a better instinct than, in many cases, people that would be on the federal reserve or the chairman. geoff: meantime vice president , kamala harris told reporters this weekend she "couldn't disagree more strongly." vp. harris: the fed is an independent entity and, as president, i would never interfere in the decisions that the fed makes. christopher: powell's tenure as chair does not end until may 2026.

that begs the question, what could president trump try to do if elected? and what impact might that have? we get some insight from krishna guha, vice chairman of evercore isi and former executive vice president at the new york fed. thanks for being with us. krishna: i time. geoff: -- anytime. geoff: how feasible is it for donald trump to fundamentally change the autonomy of the fed and change the relationship between the federal reserve and the president if he is reelected? krishna: it is complicated. first off, former president trump, if you elected, could suddenly let his views on monetary policy be known loudly and including through social media and other nonconventional channels pa he could try to do what is called leaving on the fed in public to take some actions on interest rates. actually changing the institutional independence of the fed is more challenging. the fed's independence is

enshrined in the federal reserve act and the -- that makes the chairman removable as generally understood only for cause which would mean something pretty extreme to make him unfit for office. the president can't simply appoint additional members to the federal reserve board. he would have to wait until vacancies became available and those only become available very slowly, so it would be tough. now, there is one complication and that is that it is somewhat unsettled as to what the exact legal status of the fed chair is and whether the president might have some legal grounds for being able to dismiss a fed chair. that is not something that i think any mainstream lawyer or central banker believes is right, but it hasn't been fully tested in the courts and so,

there's some, you know, some outside possibility that the president could attempt to assert an authority over the fed chair that has not been understood to be there. geoff: if we look to other countries or look back in this country's own history, what does it tell us? does the central bank that remains independent from political influence to my does that yield better monetary policy and better macroeconomic decision-making? krishna: there's just very, very strong evidence from the u.s. itself and from countries around the world that independent central banks tend to achieve better economic outcomes. and that ultimately does not just benefit society, doesn't just benefit the economy. in the end, it tends to benefit the president as well. so i think there's actually a lot of good reason why it would be sensible not to try to assault the independence of the

central bank. geoff: critics have blasted the fed for being too slow to respond to inflation and there will certainly be folks who say why is it such a bad thing to have the fed accountable to someone, accountable to the executive branch? krishna: you raise a really important issue there. full accountability. fed officials, past and present, will say, absolutely. the fed must be accountable. but under our system of government, the fed is accountable to congress, not the executive branch. the fed is a creature of congress. the fed chair goes to congress to testify. he is grilled by members of the senate, by members of the house. that is the way our system of accountability is set up and it is the way it has worked very well in recent decades. that doesn't mean the fed is always going to get everything right. of course not. the issue is simply what you have more confidence that the fed would get things about right most of the time if it was more

insulated from short-term political pressures or do you think the political pressures are going to make them do a better job? i think most people have a pretty intuitive grasp of what the answer to that question would be. geoff: i will put that question to you. with the fed do a better job if it was more susceptible to political pressure? krishna: absolutely not. if i may, i would like to explain why. so the public knows that politicians in general, most of the time, like low interest rates. they want the interest rates to below to support growth, jobs, make them popular because people's borrowing costs are low and they probably would be happy with that even if it meant a bit more inflation, particularly if they got a lot of debt because you can inflate some of that debt away so if you have a central bank that looks like it is losing its independence, people start to wonder, will we get more inflation over time? when they start to think that way, they start to think, maybe i should put up my own prices a

bit more. maybe i should ask for a bigger raise on my wages. and those type of pressures actually make inflation itself tend to go upwards so to deal with that, the central bank, if it is able to take action, can just say, ok, we will move rates up further to try to keep things under control. but you end up with a worse combination of inflation and interest rates than if you just leave the central bank alone and people can trust it to do its best effort at getting the job right without venting to political pressure. geoff: thanks so much for adding some much-needed context to this issue. we appreciate it. krishna: anytime. thank you. ♪ amna: a task force from the american bar association is

urging attorneys to defend democracy against authoritarianism in the country. in a statement, members of the task force urged attorneys to, quote, "answer the clarion call to defend america's constitutional democracy and the rule of law by getting involved in election efforts." joining me now to discuss the task force's work are its co-chairs, jeh johnson, former secretary of homeland security under president obama and j. michael luttig, a former appeals court judge and one of the nation's leading conservative legal voices. we should note that our own judy woodruff is a member of the task force. gentlemen, welcome to you both. secretary johnson, you like in this effort to doctors on the front lines responding to the deadly covid-19 pandemic. why the urgency behind this call to lawyers? sec. johnson: democracy is at stake. we saw in 2016 2017, how fragile our constitutional norms can be if there are those who are determined to try to push the

envelope to the breaking point. that environment continues. there is nothing to suggest that the threat stream from the challenges to our democracies have an all dissipated. lawyers are uniquely situated because of our legal training, the oath we take to support and defend the constitution, and our ability to resolve conflict and mediate conflict. we are in a unique situation to help voters, to help americans participate in the democracy, encourage participation in the democracy, and try most importantly, in my judgment, to turn down the rhetoric, the overheated rhetoric. we are concerned about the rise of political violence in this country which is strictly bipartisan, and the two are related. the rhetoric and the rising political violence. we are issuing this call to lawyers. we believe the urgency is the same as it was for the medical

community during covid. amna: judge, what is your take on this? why lawyers in particular and what role do you think they can play in defending democracy here? sec. johnson: for reasons -- judge luttig: for reasons that we know all too well, america's democracy has been teetering on knife edge since january 6, 2021. for the past 3.5 years, the former president and now the republican party itself have continued to deny january 6, to attempt to justify it, and even to glorify january 6. as a consequence of the former president's succession over january 6 that continues to this day, american democracy has been corrupted. that is why i believe that this election coming up was a test of

america's commitment to its own democracy and to the rule of law. the one point 3 million lawyers in america are uniquely qualified and they are uniquely obligated by their professional oath to support and defend america's democracy in this time of need. the primary task between now and election day are to ensure the integrity of america's elections in november of 2024. and part of that, if not the biggest part, is to protect the safety of the election workers across america as we all know. in 2016, many of those election workers were threatened, threatened even with their lives, and regrettably, those threats continue to this day.

and it is all a consequence of the former president's effort in 26 -- in 2021 to overturn the presidential election. amna: the judge mentions him here by name, donald trump. but he is not mentioned in your report or in this statement accompanying it nor are any of the attorneys who helped to push that election lie in to push cases through the court that were based on no evidence of any kind of election fraud that includes people like rudy giuliani and sidney powell and john eastman, kenneth chesbro. why not name them if they are behind what you identify as the specific threats here? sec. johnson: first of all, i give the judge a lot of credit. he does call it like he sees it by name. the aba is of course a nonpartisan organization and i know the judge and i both

consider this to be a strictly nonpartisan effort. there are republicans and democrats on our task force and the point keep stressing is that democracy on the rule of law is not a politically partisan issue nor should it be regarded as such. so we want to be able to talk to both republicans and democrats in this appeal to stand up for the rule of law into stand up democratic principles. amna: we have already heard from former president trump, also from his running mate, senator vance, and several republicans as well, a refusal to commit to respecting the results of the 2024 election, saying they will do so only if it is fair and many people believe laying groundwork to challenge the results if they lose. if they once again move forward with allegations of election fraud that are based on no kind of evidence, what can you end this task force do if anything?

what are you calling upon lawyers to do in that case? judge luttig: as you rightly point out, the peaceful transfer of power in the united states of america and even the commitment of presidential candidates and the two parties are fundamental tenants of this republic. it is unbelievable that the former president and now the republican party refuses to commit to accept the will and the vote of the american people. that is exactly what led to january 6, 2021. and as you just pointed out, that is what the former president and republican supporters are promising to do again in november of 2024. amna: in k's that does happen, what can the task force do? is

there anything to be done at that point? judge luttig: the task force is leveraging the 1.3 million lawyers across the country in the 50 states. and those lawyers, within each individual state, are preparing for just that kind of effort. prepared this year, whereas we were not prepared in 2021. amna: if a similar effort is undertaken by former president trump, how confident are you that the legal system will hold this time around? sec. johnson: we are smarter now. we know there is gray in our constitution, in our constitutional framework. we know that because of the electoral, national elections do dance on the head of a pin. we have learned that at the state level, election officials,

state legislatures might try to overturn the will of the voters in their respective states and with that learning, with that experience, we are calling on lawyers to focus on that, that fragile, critical point in our process and be smart, be ready, be educated, be on the alert, be in a position to advise election officials of what the authority is that they have and they don't have. amna: judge, what about you? what is your confidence level that the system will hold? judge luttig: i don't believe that the system actually held in the last election. i am more encouraged that it will hold in this election, but i don't believe that we are ready for this election yet. that is why i believe the next several months are absolutely

critical if america is going to avoid another january 6. amna: that is retired judge and former dhs secretary. thank you so much for your time. we really appreciate it. judge luttig: thank you. ♪ pgeoff: a former military base n the shores of puget sound is home to artists, from amateur to professional, who have come together for the past 50 years to celebrate their craft and learn together. special correspondent cat wise paid a visit for our arts and culture series, canvas. >> lines began to form on the grounds of forward and state park. at 4:00 p.m. sharp, check in

began for fiddle tunes, a weeklong program celebrating diverse styles of fiddle music. with workshops, band labs, dances, and more. ♪ cat: many of this year's 600 participants number from locals to those who traveled in from around the country and overseas, have been returning year after year since the program began in the late 1970's. on opening day, old friends reconnected and started to jam. fiddle tunes is one of more than 200 50 art events put on each year by the nonprofit centrum foundation. >> we are really about immersive experiences in the arts. cat: robert berman is the executive director. founded in 1973 by washington state and partner agencies, he

says the goal was to create a thriving center for the arts and lifelong learning. the world war i era former military fort at the entrance to puget sound, largely empty at the time, provided an ideal home. >> the students that come here range from 84 to 98 but it is a residential experien. they are in community for an entire weekend they live and they learn and they each together. it's about personal growth and learning and we try to share skills and pass culture and tradition from one generation to the next. cat: this year marked the 50th anniversary of year-round programs which include exhibits, concerts, artist residencies, and educational programs for migrant youth and others. >> what they learn when they come here is to take risk. they have discovered that they are capable of things they never would have tried otherwise. cat: over the years, acclaimed artists have served on the faculty including margaret atwood and a vocalist and

musician. others like diana krall got their start at centrum. ♪ cat: tuition costs about $600. optional meals and housing are another $600. last year, 224 scholarships were given out. >> there's a whole lot of writers now that i would really like to find scholarships for. cat: a poet is the artistic director of the writers conference. we spoke at one of the other nonprofits based at fort worden, copper canyon press, which is published -- has published over 400 books of poetry. this is one of your favorites? including one of his. he says what sets the writing workshop apart from other programs is a focus on craft and community. >> here, it's only about the writing. we just love what we do. and we love being around each other. i mean, it is the most

noncompetitive writers group i have ever been around. ♪ cat: there is a similar vibe during fiddle tunes week where love for the toetapping art form that has drawn people together for hundreds of years is spreading to younger generations. sammy bremen, riley, leo, and vivian are close friends who perform together in a band called the only's. ♪ cat: sammy, riley, and leo have been coming to fiddle tunes since they were kids. last year, the four were selected for a big role, artistic directors. i met up with sammy during a break in her busy schedule helping coordinate the week's events.

>> at first, i was in total shock. i was like, there is no way they would give us this job. cat: why? >> because we are young. we are in our 20's. we have never had a job like this before. we played a lot of music. we toured around a lot. so by virtue of that, we have met a lot of people. the artistic directors in the past and something where time to carry forward is bringing people to fiddle tunes who are tradition bearers and who have a lot of wisdom and life experience and music experience. ♪ cat: one of those soaking up the traditions of fiddle tunes, nine-year-old lydia brown. she came with her mother, sisters, and a neighbor who also loves to play. >> when i play fast fiddle music, i'm happy. it makes me feel kind of joyful. cat: lydia's mom agrees. >> i felt like i was going to camp and i have not had that

feeling since i was a kid so it is really fun as an adult to have like-minded people that are , even though you are from different sides of all kinds of issues, you can all get together and play some music together and have a good time. cat: those connections are a big reason why people keep coming back. >> the vesting of all is this multigenerational programming teaches young and old to respect and listen to one another in ways that in the normal world, you don't encounter very often. ♪ cat: it is closing out its 50th year, looking to the future. a fundraising campaign is underway to help refurbish the aging buildings. for the pbs news hour, i am cat wise in washington. ♪

geoff: as always, there is much more online. and join us again here tomorrow night as judy woodruff speaks with jpmorgan chase ceo jamie dimon about the state of the u.s. eoconomy and much more. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular. this is sam. how may i help you? this is a pocket dial. well, somebody's pocket, thought i'd let you know that with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that's kind of our thing. have a nice day. ♪ >> carnegie corporation of new york working to reduce political , polarization through philanthropic support.

more information at carnegie.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.] >> and historic new candidate. vp. harris: are you ready to get to work? >> can vice president harris convince voters to send her to the white house? vp. harris: we are in a fight. i say, bring it on. >> how will she take on the challenges facing america? a pbs news special, the democratic national convention. coverage begins on monday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. ♪

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wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. xfinity internet. made for streaming. welcome here's what's coming up. >> ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor. >> ukrainian forces press er