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. >> good evening. i'm jeff in it. >> i'm amna nawaz. israel launches a large-scale operation in the occupied west bank targeting what it says our palestinian militants. >> kamala harris begins a bus tour through georgia while the

trump campaign comes under scrutiny for clashing with the arlington national cemetery staff at the sacred burial site. amna: foreign national security advisor h.r. mcmaster recounts his time in a to mulch with trump white house. >> it was chaotic. it was less than harmonious. but we worked through a lot of that tension. ♪ >> 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. somebodies pocket thought i would let you know with consumer cellular, you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. >> a successful business owner sells his company and restores

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this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. jeff: welcome to the news hour. israel launched what it calls a counterterrorism operation in the west bank with hundreds of troops raiding the flashpoint city of jenin and other areas of the occupied territory. amna: at least 10 palestinians have been killed in the raids, by air or in gun battles on the ground. israel has carried out near daily raids in the west bank since hamas's october 7 attack. this latest operation marks a significant escalation. >> in the dark hours of the night, israeli bulldozers moved into the west bank by land, tearing up roads in the city followed by an armored convoy. across the occupied territory,

israeli forces attacked by air. israel says targeting suspected militant strongholds. by the morning, hundreds of israeli troops entered on foot. patrolling now crumbled streets and the largest raid on the west bank in months. among the dead, two of -- three children from his hospital stretcher, he's had an airstrike it his family pause home in the refugee camp. >> in seconds, very fast, we felt like something came down on us from the sky and there was an explosion. i was unaware of what was going on. i put my hand to my chest, it was shrapnel and in blood. >> the israeli military said its forces had begun the first stages of a counterstrike operation in three areas. the refugee camp and the city of jenin. they confiscated large quantities of weapon, arrested five suspected militants, and killed at least 10 more. israel's foreign minister said the goal was to dismantle

islamic iranian terror infrastructure established there. hamas meanwhile called for his followers to "escalate all forms of resistance and confront the occupation and its settlers everywhere in our occupied land. all this against the backdrop of surging israeli settler attacks on palestinians in the west bank in recent months. this afternoon, the u.s. government announced new sanctions against one israeli ngo for its support of the extremist settler violence. since the attacks when more than 1100 israelis were killed, more than 600 palestinians in the west bank have been killed. according to the u.n. humanitarian affairs office. that is in addition to the more than 40,000 palestinians killed in gaza so far. israel's campaign against hamas continued there today. with strikes killing 20, including three children, according to palestinian

officials. and to the north, a third israeli front. the idf released footage claiming to hit hezbollah targets in lebanon, where border tensions have persisted for months. palestinians in beirut reacted to today's west bank raid and what it means for the greater region. >> we see what is happening in the west bank as an attack on the palestinian people and their national rights. considering that is really are trying to displace the population and making the palestinians live in a state of permanent tension. >> for perspective on all of this, turning to daniel by minute, a professor at georgetown university and the author of "a high price: the triumphs and failures of israeli counterterrorism." you heard that the goal is to dismantle the islamic iranian infrastructures in the west bank. who is he talking about? what are the groups we know are operating from there that threaten israel? >> the west bank is home to a

number of different palestinian groups. islam, jihad, hamas both have a presence there. the biggest problem for israel in recent years have been smaller groups that are really not affiliated with any of the major organizations often composed of local individuals in places like jenin that have been hotbeds. >> what do we know about those groups? have they launched strikes into israel? >> for the most part, they have not attacked within israel. their efforts have been concentrated at times on israeli troops, but especially going after israeli settlements on the west bank. >> what about the way in which israel has gone in? the combination of airstrikes and ground battles and bulldozing roads and communities. why those tactics? >> israel in the past has relied primarily on the palestinian authority. the defective government in the

west bank that has wanted in conjunction with israel. their security forces have become weaker, israel has ignored them over time. israeli officials are deciding to take action on their own because they feel the palestinian security forces will not do so. to do that, these groups are often deep in the west bank, in neighborhoods that are certainly hostile to israel. it israeli forces are afraid of improvised explosive devices, snipers. they often go in with these massive armored bulldozers that detonate ied's before they can hurt people. they are basically sniper proof. at the same time, they are incredibly destructive. they shield israeli forces. but they destroy palestinian neighborhoods. the larger israeli efforts to go after the arms caches, to have a better chance of arresting or killing individuals. it is a farmer destructive, intrusive approach. amna: the ongoing violence in

the west bank has not gotten as much attention as israel's war against hamas in gaza. when you pull back, it is worth reminding folks the west bank has been under israeli military occupation for decades. it is home to some 500,000 israeli settlers and settlements deemed illegal or illegitimate by the international community. how does it factor into the increase in violence we have seen recently? >> the west bank is far more sensitive politically for israel than gaza. when israel left gaza in 2005, it was something only a few small is really settlements, it was controversial. it was nothing like the controversy and the west bank. the israeli settlement numbers have grown, their political power has grown. you have members of the current government that are actively arming the settlers, or otherwise supporting them. the settlers themselves have

been responsible for a lot of violence on palestinian communities. at times pushing them out of their land, at times harassing them. the dynamics are quite different than they are in gaza. amna: this is now essentially a third front for israel. the war in gaza continues. we know they are trading fire with has below forces across the northern border. can israeli forces sustain a fight on all three fronts. >> the violence in the west bank is far less in terms of the requirements for israeli forces than what was needed in gaza in the past. since the israeli operation in gaza are not comparable to the peak six month ago, israel has some spare capacity. also a lot of what has been used in the west bank has been police forces, paramilitary forces. west bank requirements are real but not overwhelming. if there were a conflict with

hezbollah and lebanon, that would be far more demanding than any of these conflict. it would be very difficult for israel to sustain conflict in the west bank, especially gaza at the same time. >> that is professor daniel by men joining us tonight. thank you very much for your time. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. ♪ stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with news hour west. in ukraine, a russian missile struck president volodymyr zelenskyy's hometown. eight people were injured as the city held a day of mourning for four people the day before. russia stepped up aerial attacks this week. coming as ukrainian battalions push further across the russian border into kursk. they are installing bomb shelters to protect against ukrainian strikes. residents say they cannot believe the war has come so

close. >> life has changed unexpectedly. like in a dream. sometimes you catch yourself thinking is it really true? could it really have happened. it turns out it did. >> the cia deputy director said russian president vladimir putin will try and take back territory in kursk from ukraine. speaking at a national security industry conference, he called it a difficult fight. in the u.s., the supreme court has left on hold a biden administration plan to cut billions of dollars in student debt. some republican-led states are also working to block the loan forgiveness efforts. last year, the supreme court rejected a proposal that would have canceled more than $400 billion in loans. 8 million people have applied for the new plan. it's fate is now uncertain. sarah palin has won her bid for a new trial against the new york

times. a federal appeals court ruled a judge in her 2022 trial was wrong to dismiss the case while the jury was still deliberating. the former alaska governor accused the paper of defamation after it incorrectly linked her to a mass shooting in a 2017 editorial. the times later corrected the mistake. in the new york times versus sullivan case, which set a high bar for public figures to prove defamation. a jury in nevada has found a former las vegas politician guilty of murder in the investigative journalist death who wrote critical articles about him. >> guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon. victim 60 years of age or older. >> robert tellis shook his head as the verdict was read in court. he's been jailed without bail since his arrest in 2022. shortly after reporter geoff garin was found stabbed to death

near his home. tellis denied killing him, saying he had been framed. he was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility at 20 years. the nation's green energy sector added jobs at more than twice the rate of the rest of the economy in 2023. the energy department said employment in the clean energy sector, including wind, solar, and nuclear power, rose by 142,000. up 4.2 percent from the year before. that is more than double the broader u.s. job growth rate of 2%. overall, the energy sector added 250,000 total jobs last year. more than half came from green energy. french prosecutors issued deliver new charges against the ceo of the messaging app telegram. russian born pavel durof was detained near paris over allegations telegram is being used for organized crime.

including the distribution of child sexual abuse material and drug trafficking. critics in russia say the arrest is evidence of a double standard on freedom of speech in the west. telegram said it abides by eu law and he's not responsible for abuse posted on the platform. the main pipeline that supplies drinking water to grand canyon national park has experienced several significant breaks. prompting the shutdown of overnight hotel stays on the popular south rim. the restrictions will last through the busy labor day weekend. the park will remain open for daytime use and services on the north rim will stay open. construction on a newer waterline is underway and is expected to be completed by 2027. for the first time in more than a century, salmon are swimming freely through a major watershed near the california-oregon border. crews breached the final dams on a key section of the klamath river as part of the largest dam

removal project in u.s. history. salmon are considered culturally and spiritually important for area native american tribes, which celebrated the demolition. still to come on the news hour. chicagoans work to counter the narrative their city is a hotbed of violence. the u.s. surgeon general warns of the increased stress parents are under today. and the paralympic games kickoff with a celebration in paris and robust ticket sales. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour, from w eta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. jeff: vice president harris launched a two day swing through georgia. her seventh trip to the state this year. it ends with a rally in savannah. amna: former president trump spent the last 24 hours posting across social media platforms.

including various grievances and conspiracy theories. lorber owned lopez reports. >> in their first joint visit to georgia, vice president harris and her running mate, governor tim walz, embarked on a bus tour through the peach state. the goal, hold onto the battleground state biden narrowly won in 2020. before joining harris in georgia, tim walz spoke to the international association of firefighters in boston. >> when republicans used to talk about freedom, they meant it. they meant it. not anymore. these guys over there, they want government to have the freedom to invade every corner of your life. from our union halls to our kids schools, even our doctors offices. >> they have blasted donald trump for the 2025 agenda crafted by the former president's allies. >> donald trump trying to hide from the project 20 25 plan. they are going to use it. >> in a new campaign add

targeting battleground states and trump's home market in palm beach, harris doubled down. >> donald trump may try to deny it, but those are donald trump's plans. >> revenge does take time, i will say that. and sometimes revenge can be justified. >> meanwhile, trump's running mate, ohio senator jd vance hit the trail in pennsylvania. >> this is a good idea to give kamala harris a promotion -- no. we will do what donald trump loves to do to people who don't do their jobs. you are fired, kamala harris. >> trump himself has largely limited his campaigning to family interviews. in a conversation with tv personality dr. phil mcgraw, he again lied about the 2020 election results. >> i look at california, i gave a speech, i had a crowd so big, i said there is no way i could lose california. automatically, they market down if you are a republican as a loss. losing by 5 million votes. i said i guarantee if jesus came down and was the vote counter, i

would win california, okay? >> tuesday evening, trump rented on truth social his own justice department appointees rigged the 2020 election against him. on monday, trump attempted a wreath-laying ceremony at arlington national cemetery. an event which spiraled into controversy after npr reported trump's campaign staff had an altercation with cemetery officials over photographer access. npr reporter quil lawrence broke the news of the incident. >> well in advance of the visit, they had been told they would not be allowed to bring an outside photographer to section 60, which is where most of the iraq and afghanistan casualties are buried. when they arrived, an official from arlington national ceremony approached them to say you can't bring a videographer, photographer into section 60.

that person was verbally abused and pushed aside. >> in a statement, arlington national ceremony said there was an incident. a report was filed. federal law prohibits campaign or election related activities with an army national military cemetery. trump team denied the characterization of the incident. lauren said the rules are in place for a reason. >> one of the photos being circulated by the trump campaign is him with family members with a fallen soldier. the left and right of his great, two other tombstones, and you can see neither of those families has given consent for the trump campaign to use the photographs. that is incredibly painful for these families. >> for the pbs news hour, laura perrone lopez.

♪ >> as the presidential campaign heats up, a new book looks back at donald trump's first administration with a focus on foreign policy and national security. it is written by lieutenant general h.r. mcmaster. a three-star general who served with distinction in the 1991 gulf war and the iraq war, and who also served for 13 months as mr. trump's national security advisor. his book is at war with ourselves, my tour of duty in the trump white house. i spoke with him earlier today. h.r. mcmaster, welcome to the news hour. what was your intention in joining the trump administration in 2017? what were you hoping to achieve? >> to serve the elected president. this is my sixth commander-in-chief, i had taken those of service when i was a 17-year-old on the plane at west point.

what i wanted to do is help in president trump's case, being a disruptive president, disrupt what needed to be disrupted in the area of national security and in foreign policy. i have been on the receiving end of a lot of policies and strategies developed in washington. they made little sense to meet in places like afghanistan, iraq. it was an opportunity to help advance american interests and promote american security. >> you right in the book about navigating the competing interests with trump's inner circle in the early days to include then white house advisor , steve bannon, who is serving a federal prison term of contempt charges, as well as to madison rex tillerson. they view trump as dangerous and construe their roles as if he was an emergency and anyone abetting him was an adversary. [indiscernible] when i read that, the word dangerous stood out. in what ways? >> i thing they were afraid the

president would be overly disruptive and put into place policies that cut against u.s. interests. my experience was when you give the president notable options, best analysis and information, but multiple options is a comparison of those options that you can look at the long-term costs and consequences and make decisions that cut against his predilections, other members of the cabinet and other white house officials, they want to either control the president, or in the case of some who came in with their own agendas, they want to manipulate decisions consistent with their agenda. as a historian who has written about the vietnam war and how decisions were made in the lyndon johnson administration, i realize it was not unprecedented. this infighting is not something new. i did my best to transcend it. i succeeded to some extent and failed to a certain extent. jeff: the manipulation, you described meeting in the oval office as. how do you undermine the

functioning of the white house and presidency? >> that was early in my time. i looked around and said this and that went to work. i began to limit who is in the meeting based on the purpose of the meeting and to provide the president with information he likes to receive information and the venue. on one occasion we went to camp david to get away from distractions and help the president focus on an important decision. jeff: on that front, you write that you had key differences with mr. trump on major foreign-policy issues, which you enumerate as the allies, authoritarians, and afghanistan. trump thought some u.s. allies were freeloaders, he embraced some leaders you despised and distrusted. and you pushed for a more significant commitment in afghanistan. and you said donald trump bears some responsibility for the u.s. withdrawal, the same withdrawal he attacks the biden administration four. >> on afghanistan, this is an

example of one of the themes of the president being very capable of evolving his understanding of a situation. and coming to a completely different conclusion. a he putnd -- and he put into place, in august 2017, going back to read that speech he gave -- the first sustainable recent approach to the war in afghanistan and more broadly to south asia. but sadly, he abandoned that approach. i think he re-created a lot of the deficiencies of the obama administration with a timeline for withdrawal and talking to the taliban without the afghan government present. that was kind of a set of for the biden administration's failures. the biden administration not have to adhere to that. they said we had to adhere to trump's policies. that might be the only area where they felt so obligated. jeff: another theme in the book, you write about your perception trust often sought the praise and approval of strong, foreign leaders like vladimir putin, the philistines former president, so

he could be seen similarly as a strong person. jeff: in the first year of the trumpet ministration, really imposing more sentience on russian entities and individuals than the previous eight years of the obama administration, assistance ukrainians. president trump had faith in his ability to make a big deal. i think he fell into the same trap withputin george w. bush did, president obama did with the reset strategy. even president biden when he went to geneva and thought they could have a meeting of the minds. my message, i relate this in the book, remind the president this guy is the best liar, the best deceiver in the world. >> when you observe in the book you wish trump could separate the issue of russian election meddling from the legitimacy of his presidency, why has he been so unable to make that kind of distinction?

>> you have to think when he came to this office, there was a cloud of collusion, which proved to be false on the part of the campaign. he had the robert muller investigation. that created a sense of beleaguered men for him. he would conflate three distinct but related questions of did they attack the election and try to undermine the democratic process? they did. that is what the russians do. there is a great book by thomas reed called active measures. they have done this kind of thing, the soviets, going back to the 1930's. but the related question is do they care who wins? i don't think the russians care who wins our elections. jeff: chaos is the point -- >> chaos is the point they want americans to doubt the legitimacy of the results. i think the president conflated those questions. i wish he had said this, yes they did. we will impose costs on them and defend our democratic principles and institutions and processes. but at the same time, acknowledge it did not affect the legitimacy of his presidency

or his election. that is what russia wants. that is what the president's election denial was terrible in 2020. that is why others on the others of the political spectrum who denied the legitimacy of the election in 2016, it is a gift to putin. jeff: this book arrives at a timely moment as many americans consider whether donald trump or vice president harris would make a better commander-in-chief. would a second trump term in your estimation be poised to properly address the range of foreign-policy challenges we face as we stand so close, potentially to regional wars in the middle east and the south china sea? >> that is for readers to decide. you have the information in the book. in some of the areas where president trump has been consistent, he would have asked american interest. a great example is the area of election security. we have potential in our country to really loosen the grip of authoritarians on energy supplies internationally. i think where else he's been

consistent is burden sharing. reciprocity in trades. i go through that in the book, those are all positive. >> you would not serve a second trump administration? >> i would serve in any administration i think i can make a difference. i think now with president trump, i cannot make a difference. we got kind of used up in that process. i was at peace with. the main theme is we got a lot done in the first year everyone was describing. i think the word chaos was used. it was chaotic. and it was less than harmonious, i should say. but i think we worked through a lot of that tension and put in place some really important and long overdue correctives to previous unwise policies. jeff: h.r. mcmaster, the book is open go at war with myself: my tour of duty in the trump white house." >> thank you for the opportunity to be with you. ♪ amna: chicago has one of the

highest rates of gun deaths in any major city in the country. some on the frontline say it is rooted in the history of racism, violence, and inequality. judy woodruff reports from chicago as part of her ongoing series "america at a crossroads." >> this is where martin luther king lived and stayed in chicago. >> he's giving a tour of north lawndale. the west chicago neighborhood where he grew up. >> while he stayed here in chicago, martin luther king was struck by a rock from a white mob and he stated that he never experienced so much hatred as he did in chicago. >> it is a different story from what is typically told of this area, where the life expectancy is roughly 12 years shorter than the wealthy downtown loop neighborhood, where unemployment

is nearly twice as high as the rest of the city. and the crime rate is nearly three times higher than the citywide average. >> starting in pre-k, we've all heard the narrative of the violence that happens in north lawndale. once you get to explore and see the community, you understand the rich history of the community. chicago is looked at as violent. that is not fear to the students and the adults who are working against that narrative and pushing for positive things. >> do you feel as someone who's grown up in this city that your concerns are heard by the politicians? >> a national point of view, i don't think students from our community get heard at all. >> what is going on in chicago? >> indeed, conservative media and former president trump focus on the ongoing violence in

chicago. an example they argue of the failure of cities led by democrats. >> chicago turning into a war zone, at least 53 people shot, 11 killed. >> it is time to demonize them and send them to jail. >> they only broadcast the bad. north lawndale is more than what they portray on the news. >> lady sanders helped organize the youth led tours of north lawndale for a nonprofit called my block, my hood, my city. she said the tours introduced outsiders to this misunderstood neighborhood and give youth a productive outlet. >> they become more confident. because it is their neighborhood and people are coming to see them talk about where they are from and what they see every day. >> with 77 so-called community areas in all, neighborhood identity is a fundamental aspect of life in chicago. the country's most segregated big city. north lawndale, like many south and west side chicago

neighborhoods, is majority black. much of the segregation can be traced to the great migration of a century ago. black americans from the jim crow south move north, seeking greater opportunities, but what they found was not the segregation imposed by jim crow, but new and different barriers. >> ida b wells, a noted activist, journalist, said chicago was beginning to rival the jim crow south in its treatment of the negro. >> frankly cozy gay directs the university of chicago medicine's violence recovery program. he researches the economic, social, and historic causes of gun violence in the city. he points to over a century of racist violence against black chicagoans and housing discrimination that has helped create the situation today. >> we are talking about a $3 billion to $4 billion wealth gap

between what chicagoans and black chicagoans directly tied to the inability to develop equity from housing. >> he recalls in 1919, during the red summer, when black americans across the country were terrorized, 23 black chicagoans were killed and hundreds more were injured in the city. 15 white chicagoans were also killed in the violence. in between 1917 and 1921, 58 black chicagoans were firebombed in their homes. >> not one person was arrested for those house bombings. we began to see physical violence was being used to constrain the movement of african-americans. >> in the coming decades, the physical violence would morph into discriminatory housing policies. restrictive housing covenants kept black renters out. so-called redlining by financial institutions in concert with the federal government limited black

chicagoans' ability to access loans for homes and businesses. and unable to get mortgages, they were forced into predatory contracts to buy houses at exorbitant prices with high interest rates and harsh eviction causes that made it nearly impossible for many to build equity or actually own their home. later, highways were built through black neighborhoods. then came the construction, and later the demolition of tens of thousands of units of public housing. >> some of the fundamental things to help keep us safe are the ability to provide social support for each other, their ability to have beliefs on what they think their community should look like and their ability to use their collective power to enforce those beliefs. what you are doing is disrupting the very things, in terms of how people can support each other,

which creates conditions for violence. >> instead of addressing these root causes of gun violence within communities like north lawndale, he says the city of chicago has tried to manage it mainly through more policing. and that has not worked. >> it is basically a process that keeps repeating itself and has a new face. the u.s. government in itself is complicit and we need to address that. >> span worries about police interactions in north lawndale, where 70% of men aged 17 to 45 have criminal records. and you had encounters yourself with the police? >> i had an encounter with an officer. it wasn't a good encounter. yelling in your face, pushing you around, threatening to arrest you if you don't listen to their orders. the police say to serve and protect, but i really don't agree with that motto. >> you have the history of politicians for years who have downplayed or ignored these

impoverished areas. >> pastor phil jackson runs a firehouse community art center in north lawndale. an organization trying to reduce gun violence in the community and help residents process trauma. >> a lot of companies and factories have left. it takes a politician to take a chance, which might seem like a black hole to others to invest in a neighborhood. it seems like pulling teeth sometimes with different powers that be to make that happen. a lot of people who try to make things happen, there's a lot of systems in place that seemed to pull back. >> people look at what is going on in inner-city chicago and say -- they almost throw their hands up. they have written off this part of the country. >> folks who have been in this neighborhood 50, 60 years, they have weathered the storm, hurt in their own life. even though things look so repetitive, notorious,

heartbreaking, there are people on the ground making a difference. >> i don't want to be killed, all of my heroes doing the work i do have been killed. martin luther king jr., malcolm x, robert kennedy. >> in 2015, jamaal cole founded the nonprofit my block, my hood, my city, to try and deal with the epidemic of gun violence between young people here. he says he loves connecting with the community, including on his occasional runs. >> a lot of our students have been to 15 funerals by ninth grade. >> cole was out running two years ago when he heard gunshots. >> i thought a tire popped, because you don't feel getting shot. i was bleeding bad. you think you are going to die. you are going to see your kids, your wife, your family. it is traumatizing. >> his organization takes a holistic approach to dealing with gun violence. trying to build community through block cleanup events. expose young people to

opportunities through field trips, parts of the city they have never seen. give scholarships to local students and pay toward guides like span. >> the purpose really is to lead with love and build relationships with the youth and keep them alive. how can we wrap around you and make sure we get you to college? if it is health care, how can we help you with that? if it is mental health, there are barely counselors in schools. >> what do you say to the folks that look at what is going on in inner-city chicago and say it is really bad, they need to stop using so many guns -- a lot of this is their own fault -- >> i would challenge them to put themselves in a position of hearing gunshots every day, the position of having parents abused drugs, the position of being afraid. -- i'm getting emotional thinking about it. it is not fair that people say that, because they don't know what it is like to be in these

kids' shoes. >> do the young people have a sense the country cares about them? >> no. the judge doesn't care about them. that is what they tell me all the time. the judge doesn't want to hear my story. how am i going to listen to a teacher when i don't have health insurance and i'm sleeping on the train. >> this neighborhood needs help. more government funding, economic investment, and social services. but after generations of neglect, disinvestment, and discrimination, he acknowledges change also has to come from within the community. >> there needs to be a thousand things done to reduce gun violence in chicago. one third might be legislative. the best thing for people to do is ask themselves what is something simple i can do to make a difference in my block? >> he's trying to do that, but wants to do more to change the whole system. >> i want to go to college and received my degree in political science. eventually come back and run for

altar person for the north lawndale community. star on more of a local level, then go to a federal level. presidential. >> you might want to run for president one day? >> yes. >> that takes a lot of self-confidence. >> blackboard coming from the north lawndale community expected to do the very least. so i want to do the very most and prove to everyone who doubted those black boys. coming from the community and showing it is possible. >> for the pbs news hour, judy woodruff in chicago, illinois. ♪ jeff: as most parents can attest, raising children can be challenging. today, the surgeon general issued an advisory it is more difficult now and is time to recognize the stress and metal health toll associated with

parenting is a serious mental health concern for the country. the surgeon general joins us talk about his concerns. welcome back to the news hour. there is a baseline level of stress and worry that comes alongside the many joys of parenting. what is different about the stress you are warning about now? >> parenting has always been challenging. to be clear, i say this as a parent myself, parenting is full of joy, meaning, and purpose. it can also be quite stressful. i experienced that myself a lot as a parent. what struck me was doing work on youth mental health and talking to families around the country. i was recognizing how many parents were struggling as well. as i dug into the data, i found 48%, nearly half of parents are saying most days they feel completely overwhelmed by stress. that is an extra ordinary number that should raise alarms for all of us. the other thing that is important to recognize his parents are also struggling with disproportionate levels of

loneliness and isolation. about 65% of parents say they are lonely, that includes actually over 75% of single parents. stress is tough on its own when you compound it with loneliness. it can take a toll on the mental health and well-being of parents. jeff: what are the specific stressors, the challenges this generation of parents are facing in particular? >> some traditional was, worrying about safety, teenagers, and financial worries. but there are some new ones this generation is contending with. how you manage social media and phones. how you manage the mental health crisis kids are facing. in terms of depression and anxiety. as well as the loneliness epidemic that has kids hard. also the emerge of gun violence is affecting kids and parents. more than half of children are worried about a school shooting taking place.

you compound all of this with the fact we are living in a time where the culture of comparison has become intensified. particularly by social media. parents are looking online, seeing parents who to their eyes, have perfect lives, are not struggling with challenges they are dealing with, and feeling more inadequate about their life. jeff: you mentioned the mental health of parents and caregivers is inextricably linked to the mental health of children. what are the implications? >> if>> we want to address the youth mental health crisis, part of it has to involve supporting parents. that has negative applications on the mental health of kids. all of us have a vested interest ensuring kids are well. they are the future of society. the work of parenting is directly linked to the future of society. it is an interest in investing. >> how does it tie with a work

life and home life? >> the pandemic created an increase in stress in many parents lives. i remember what it was like to homeschool our kids during that time on top of work and how challenging all of that was. we are still living with the after effects of stress. the pandemic also changed how we live our life. in some ways, doing hybrid work was helpful for some parents as it gave them the flexibility to be there for mealtimes, for example at dinner. also to pick up their kids or be there during the day when the child needed something. i think being available all the time. in video or whatever remote means, that also creates additional stresses for parents because it can create this expectation you are available all the time. one of the things that is important in the workplace is to have a culture where leaders

understand what the stresses are that parents are managing, where they have policies that support parents with predictable schedules. there is also some degree of flexibility where issues come up like a sick child, a parent has the ability to respond in that scenario and care for their family without worrying they are going to suffer at work. >> what are some other big picture recommendations to address this crippling level of stress so many parents face? >> we need a culture shift in how we value parenting. we need to see parenting for what it is. which is essential for the well-being of society. we have to use that shift and empower change in three areas and policies. we talked about programs. these are things that workplaces can do differently. health care systems can also focus more on screening parents in particular for mental health struggles. at a policy level, we have to do a lot. we have to invest in paid leave

so parents can be with the child who is sick. we have to make childcare more affordable, mental health care more accessible, and address the harms of social media, which is a major worry for parents. now they are getting much of that on their own. i don't want people to lose sight of what we can do as individuals. the truth is all of us have parents in our life. when we reach out to those parents, we help them with basic errands when we offered to babysit their kids for 15 or 20 minutes so they can sit down and take a breath or take a shower or get a meal. those are incredibly important moments where we provide not only assistance, but remind parents they are not alone. truth is parenting is and has always been a team sport. it is only in relatively recent years we have come to put the pressure on parents where they feel they have to do all of it by themselves, otherwise they are failing as parents. we need each other, fellow parents, friends, family,

neighborhoods, and communities that support parenting. if they do, the kids, parents, and all of us will be better off. >> parenting is a team sport. >> absolutely. >> thank you for being here, surgeon general. ♪ amna: the 2024 paris paralympic games kicked off today with an opening ceremony in the heart of paris that featured aerial displays, dancers, and a major spectacle attended by more than 60,000 people. thousands of athletes with disabilities are preparing for what promises to be a stunning display of athleticism over 11 days. stephanie sy has more. >> more than 4400 athletes from around the world will take center stage in the french capital to compete for 549 medals in 22 sports, including

wheelchair, fencing, blind soccer, and more. a testament to human ability and the capacity to thrive despite impairments. we will see athletes push their bodies and minds to the limits and the quest for gold. joining us to talk about the games is rudy garcia tolson, a four-time paralympian, five-time medalist and program manager. it is a pleasure to have you on the news hour. the opening ceremonies have concluded and now the games begin. it seems there has been an effort in the messaging around these games to say let's stop focusing on disability and focus on winning and competition like any other athletes. are you seeing that shift? >> absolutely. over the past 20 years, the paralympic movement has grown tremendously.

understanding that although we may have a physical disability, we want you to pay attention to the athletic achievements we are all here to watch. being part of the paralympic team, obviously the paralympic athletes from around the world have overcome a lot. especially with their physical challenge. when you are watching the games this week, we want you to put aside the disability and focus on the achievements of sport. i think that is what we are here to do. >> how is team usa looking going into these games? i know they have not been historically high at the medal count and the chinese are always a rival for the count. >> the chinese paralympic committee has done a tremendous job with having one of the best paralympic teams every summer. for the past four or five paralympic games, the chinese have been number one in the middle counts by a lot.

we are not going to count out the usa. united states have a very young team. also a few veterans who have been around for five or six paralympic games. we are looking good to being top three in the medal count. it still just shows you the amount of support we received as paralympic athletes in the united states. one of the most popular stories is the olympic committee changed their name to the u.s. olympic and paralympic committee, which us paralympic athletes have been fighting for for over 20 years. i really do believe the support and attention for paralympic athletes have tremendously increased. i think the benchmark will be here when the paralympics and olympics come to los angeles in four short years. >> when it comes to the resources that go into training paralympic athletes, the

coaching and facilities, it sounds like you still feel that falls short compared to the support given to able-bodied olympians. >> i would say it is a movement where we are always striving for better. although the united states paralympic team has one of the best support systems in the world, we are always looking to improve. and the support us athletes receive to train and have facilities has increased tremendously across the country. they are a number of paralympic training sites where individuals can focus on their training. i think one of the most important changes we have seen over the last few years is the bonuses athletes will receive. now paralympic athletes will receive the same amount financially that our olympic teammates receive, which really speaks volume two how the public

and organizations are coming around to understand paralympic athletes train just as hard as any of our limbic teammates. i think we will see that in the next two weeks in paris. >> that certainly shows in the ticket sales. more than 2 million tickets to paralympic events have sold in paris will make it among the largest air olympic audiences in history. speaking of which, i understand you have competed in four different olympics, in swimming, and running. without legs. i have to ask you this. what impact did it have on your life to train, compete, and win. >> being in the pursuit of the paralympics has been a dream of mine. since i had my legs amputated through the knee. when i got my legs happy to did, got my first pair of prosthetics, the first sport i

got into was swimming. i love swimming because i could take my legs off. i was known as the boy with no legs on my swim team. i wanted to prove them wrong. my first goal was to beat kids with legs. and from that one goal, it sent me on a path of competition and really getting to the paralympic elite level. i think a lot of paralympians in paris today have overcome similar challenges where they looked at the difference. on the playing field or in the pool or on the track, they really show they have amazing talent. and sometimes in life, we go through challenges. whether you can see them or not. and i think the message we want to get across to the general public is whether you have a good day, or a bad day, it is

always important to remain positive and have that attitude of yes i can. when you have a support team, individuals around you, encouraging you. >> a lot of us needed to hear that. thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. amna: we will have more coverage of the paralympic online on our youtube page right now, three things you need to know about this year's paralympic games. including how they first began in the mid-1900s. jeff: that is the news hour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. amna: i am on the end. thank you for joining us. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the news hour. including jim and nancy build there, and the robert and

virginia schiller foundation. the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. funding for america at a crossroads was provided by. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program by the verb public broadcasting and contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

>> this is pbs news hour west from w eta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

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