amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight, donald trump and kamala harris campaign in critical swing states as the vice president also sits down for her first major interview as the democratic nominee. amna: israel agrees to pause fighting in gaza to deliver

polio vaccines while its operation targeting militants in the west bank turns even more deadly. geoff: and, health officials warn of a deadly mosquito-born disease that's spreading in the northeast united states. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy, and peace. 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. geoff: welcome to the news hour. vice president kamala harris and running mate tim walz are campaigning for a second day in the south, holding a rally tonight in savannah, georgia. amna: harris and walz also sat down for a highly anticipated interview on cnn this afternoon that will air in primetime tonight. all as former president donald trump continues to face criticism for his visit to arlington national cemetery earlier this week. laura barron-lopez has the latest.

>> vice president kamala harris and tim walz barnstorming in battleground georgia for a second day. they also sat down with cnn for a joint interview. for harris, it is her first major intesiemocrac ticket, something her republican rivals have criticized, accusing here of shielding herself from scrutiny. >> how should voters look at some of the changes that you have made, that you explained some of here in your policy? should they feel comfortable and confident that what you are saying now is going to be your policy moving forward? vp. harris: the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed. my value around what we need to do to secure our border has not changed. i spent two terms as the attorney general of california prosecuting transnational criminal organizations, violations of american laws,

regarding the passage -- a legal passage of guns, drugs, and human beings across our border. my values have not changed. >> the interview and rally putting a cap on what the harris campaign sees as an opportunity to win a state that president biden narrowly carried in 2020. a new poll shows harris changing the race in several tossup states, taking a lead over donald trump in georgia, arizona, and nevada, while narrowly trailing trump in north carolina, all within the margin of error. as harris wraps up in the sunbelt, donald trump campaigned at a steel supplier outside of lansing, michigan. trump railed against recent polling. >> you know, they say donald trump is tied, tied. we were up massively. >> trump's campaign is still dealing with fallout for taking video of the campaign use of the

former president's visit to arlington national cemetery on monday. largely reserved for veterans of the iraq and afghanistan wars where photos for political purposes are not allowed. the filming lead to a physical altercation with the cemetery staffer. today, the u.s. army responded in a rare statement saying trump's campaign had been told that federal laws, army regulations, and dod policies clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. an employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside. that cemetery staffer decided not to press charges and the army defended that employee who the trump campaign accused of having a mental health episode. the army saying this incident was unfortunate and it is unfortunate that the employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. on the trail yesterday, trump's running mate, senator jd vance,

blasted harris for the blowback trump received although harris has made no statements on the incident. >> she wants to yell at donald trump because he showed up? she can go to -- it sounds like we have got some fans and some haters. >> today, he headlined a boston fire fighters convention just one day after tim walz addressed the gathering and he was booed when trying to defend the trump administrations record for workers. >> i want to talk about why we are going to fight for unions and nonunion alike. amna: laura joins me now. so the full interview there that the vice president harris and governor walz gave has not yet aired and we have only seen excerpts. what dan's out to you so far? laura: in addition to what she said, the vice president was asked whether or not she would appoint a republican to her cabin and she said that, yes, she would. she values diversity of opinion.

she wants different perspectives. in the room, she did not say which republican she is may be considering but i was talking to an arizona republican voter today, a two-time trump voter, a woman in the suburbs who said that she liked that harris is considering a republican for the cabinet. she also likes that harris is talking more and more about border security. she still is not convinced by harris and a big piece of that is she does want more of those policy specifics so we will see if she gets into it a bit more in the remainder of the interview. amna: we saw some pretty lewd sexual posts that mr. trump shared online about kamala harris and the campaign has not really responded to those. do you think they will? laura: i don't think they will because the campaign has clearly said they have no plans to respond to any of these attacks. so far, the vice president herself has not responded to the arlington cemetery incident. she has not responded to any of these attacks and neither has

the campaign. they have not put out statements on it. the vice president was asked in the interview with cnn about trump questioning her black identity and she said, same old playbook. next question. amna: she continues to campaign in georgia. they are going beyond atlanta tomorrow voters what is your strategy? laura: kamala harris wants to drive up urban and suburban voters. they appear to be coming home but they also say they want to cut into trump's margins in red counties so they went to a red county in georgia as well as in pennsylvania in the bus tour they did prior to the convention. amna: you reported about that race tightening into battleground states like arizona and north carolina. what are you hearing from your sources on the ground? laura: longtime strategists say that polling is real, that the race has completely shifted. i also spoke to a two-time trump voter in north carolina today. a woman as well who is a lifelong republican and she

still is kind of undecided and she said the recent events at arlington national cemetery, trump's actions, she did not like it. she said she felt as though he was not respectful. she said she understands why he went there and the attention he drew to afghanistan's withdrawal but she doesn't like his behavior thus far but feels as though he is spiraling. she did not like trump's behavior at the arlington national cemetery incident. geoff: let's turn to lisa desjardins for an update on the trump campaign. as we heard, the u.s. army issued the stark rebuke of the trump campaign, saying campaign staff were made aware of federal laws regarding political activity at arlington national cemetery and they are confirming the reports that trump campaign lawyer's abruptly pushed aside a cemetery official. how is the trump campaign responding?

lisa: contended there was not a physical altercation as reported. they are not backing down from that but at the same time, they are not supplying the video that they claim that they have to prove their case and i will tell you, i have asked them a dozen times for that video. now, here is the policy at the cemetery to look at. it is very clear. this is from the u.s. military. filming or photographing will not be permitted if it conveys the impression that cemetery officials or any visitor is endorsing any product, service, or organization. additionally, arlington will not authorize any filming for partisan, political, or fundraising purposes. it really was not an issue necessarily about families being able to do this. it was the fact that the trump campaign had an official photographer there for campaign purposes. in response to that, the campaign spokesperson put always post yesterday with an email that they say supports their case. it does indicate that -- it says

only trump may have an official photographer. it is an excerpt. it could be talking about the visit to the tomb of the unknowns and not section 60. there's different sensitivities there. section 60 is a place of real-time grief. it is alive. it is a very sensitive area. it is something those officials protect particularly stringently. geoff: i know you have been talking to republican operatives and voters as well. what are they saying about this? lisa: campaign staff told us the afghan withdrawal is one of their strongest pieces of evidence against the biden-harris administration and they also know that they feel like they have strength with military causes so there is some concern among them in the trump universe that this that case on afghanistan. the question is, what do voters think about this? i also spoke to some voters today. i talked to some of our deciders, the undecided voters they have been keeping track of. those who were in the military,

i spoke to a retired colonel from michigan who told me he did not understand exactly what happened, who was wrong or right, but he had one larger takeaway. >> the bottom line for me is why was he there now? how is he using it? it can only be political and that is not acceptable. arlington cemetery is hallowed ground. it should not be used for anything personal or political. lisa: dave says he is still not all the way on board the harris campaign but this pushes him farther away from the trump campaign. a different retired officer, undecided, i spoke to in rris because of what happenedhas in afghanistan. he did not mind the photo op for his problem is way -- with the way the gold star families have been treated by the biden administration. geoff: as they were discussing, donald trump is drawing fresh

scrutiny for a series of rude posts on his social media account. in some ways, that is not new but what sets this apart? >> trump is exchangeable, purposefully offensive when he wants to be, and what is important now is the timing of this and the key voter groups that could be affected, particularly this talk about women. on the posts they were talking about, it involves a picture of kamala harris and hillary clinton together and it raised bill clinton's affair with a white house intern when he was president and it implied that harris came into power by giving sexual favors. that of course is made up. it is unfounded. and it is highly offensive to many women in general. now, those are not new things for trump these are critical weeks and we know suburban women are a group that both campaigns believe are important everywhere but especially in swing states so while it is not clear how many voters are persuadable right now, this is the kind of thing that people who would like

trump to win but maybe are uncomfortable with him have really grown about this unfiltered idea. we know trumpcare's because today, he also announced he would like government or insurance companies to pay for ivf services, something else that is a concern for suburban women. they know there is an issue and they are trying to figure out how to get back on their feet. geoff: lisa desjardins, thank you so much. ♪ we start the day's other headlines with the war in ukraine. russian missiles and drones rained down on the country for a third time this week, causing minor damage to civilian infrastructure in kyiv. it comes as ukraine's top commander described fighting on the eastern front as "exceptionally tough." russia has ramped up itsssault there since ukraine's surprise offensive in kursk earlier this month. video, released yesterday by ukraine's military, showed

grenades dropping onto russian targets. the eu's top diplomat today supported efforts to take the fight to russia, including the use of western arms. >> the weaponry that we are providing to ukraine has to have full use, and the restrictions has to be lifted in order for the ukrainians to be able to target the places where russia is bombing them. otherwise, the weaponry is useless. geoff: also today, ukraine's military confirmed that one of the f-16 warplanes that western nations provided to kyiv has crashed. it's the first reported loss of an f-16 since a handful of them arrived in ukraine, last month. in hong kong, two editors of a now-defunct news outlet were convicted of sedition today. former chief editor of "stand news" -- chung pui kuen -- was seen leaving court after the ruling. he was arrested in 2021 along

with his colleague patrick lam. their outlet openly criticized the government during a crackdown that followed pro-democracy protests in 2019. both had pleaded not guilty to the charges. they face up to two years in prison each. the trial was seen as a test case for the future of press freedoms in the city. a listeria outbreak conneced to boar's head deli meats has now claimed the lives of nine people across the country. that's according to the cdc. six new fatalites have been confirmed, including two in south carolina, and one each in florida, tennessee, new mexico , and new york. three deaths had already been reported in illinois, new jersey, and virginia. 57 others have been sickened, and boar's head has recalled seven million pounds of its products, in what is now the largest listeria outbreak since 2011. the fbi is failing to report all suspected child sexual abuse cases to law enforcement agencies. that's according to a report out

today from a justice department watchdog. a review of more than 300 cases between 2021 and 2023 found the agency did not appear to comply with mandatory reporting requirements about 50% of the time. and when the fbi did file a report, it only did so in a timely manner in 43% of cases. the inquiry stems from the fbi's failure to properly investigate former usa gymnastics team doctor larry nassar. a senior fbi official acknowledged some mistakes, but said the quote "vast majority of work" has been handled appropriately nassar fbi exterior the pentagon said today that defense secretary lloyd austin has agreed to provide the secret service with military support for presidential and vice presidential candidates. that comes after the assassination attempt last month on former president donald trump at a rally in pennsylvania. at a briefing today, spokesperson sabrina singh said that u.s. northern command would

provide support at various locations during the election, and a bit beyond. >> the department of defense will provide protective support and will continue and that will continue through the election on november 5, 2024 with anticipated continued support to the president-elect and vice president-elect through the inauguration of january 20, 2025. geoff: the secret service has come under heavy criticism for its failure to prevent the july 13th shooting that also resulted in a fatality. its director stepped down last month and a number of officials have reportedly been placed on administrative leave. fewer americans filed for unemployment benefits. it is a sign that the labor market remains strong despite high interest rates. the number of jobless claims slipped by 2000 from the week before to 231,000. that's a bit below expectations, and still low by historical standards. a separate report out today showed the overall economy grew at a solid 3% rate last quarter. that was revised up from an initial reading of 2.8% thanks , to strong consumer spending and investments by businesses.

that economic data failed to lift spirits on wall street, with stocks ending mixed. the dow jones industrial average gained more than 240-points to close at a new record. but the nasdaq dropped nearly 40 points, as major tech companies took a breather from recent gains. the s&p 500 ended the day virtually flat. and in paris, dozens of athletes competing in the paralympics officially became medalists today in the first full day of the games. the first gold of the games went to caroline groot of the netherlands, in her classification of the women's 500-meter track cycling time trial. but china dominated the day, winning multiple golds in track, cycling and para-swimming. and a taekwondo bronze went to zakia, earning the first ever paralympics medal for the refugee team, which represents more than 120 million displaced people worldwide. still to come on the "news hour", criminal charges against the founder of the messaging app telegram raise questions about

free speech. nebraska's highest court weighs whether some felons can vote this november. and a guitar virtuoso from the sahara gets political after a coup in his home country. >> 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. amna: israel and hamas have agreed to pause fighting in gaza to allow hundreds of thousands of children to receive polio vaccinations. those pauses will occur in specific locations, for 8 to 9 hours a day over three days, beginning on sunday. the world health organization aims to vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10. meanwhile in the west bank, at least 16 people have been killed in what the israeli military calls counter-terrorism raids that began wednesday, in the

cities of jenin, tulkarm, and the al fa-ra'a refugee camp. among five militants, israeli forces say they killed today in the city, mohammed, a local commander they had long pursued. the palestinian islamic jihad, the militant force backed by iran, confirmed his death. israeli officials say he was linked to numerous terror attacks including the june death of an israeli man. he was killed in an overnight gun battle near a mosque which left residents caught in the crossfire. he says he and his wife barely escaped their home alive. >> the house went up in flames as they shot three of four rockets. we got out. the shoulder and arm were burned. >> meanwhile, families and the refugee camp buried their dead.

four killed in an israeli raid yesterday. but she survived that raid. today, he buried his two children who did not. the idf released this drone footage today, they say showing a militant base inside a mosque in the camp. there forces have now withdrawn. also today, defense minister jorg gallant said returning israeli citizens to their homes along the lebanese border where fighting with hezbollah continues must be a goal of the war. just yesterday, rescued hostage -- returns to his village home. >> i feel 100% and next to you, another 200%. do everything you can. everything to bring the people home from this side to the other and from the other side to bring them back as well. for me, they are all human beings no matter what. amna: his return is bittersweet.

his arab village was built without permits and has plans to demolish 70% of homes there. his home has not received a demolition notice. for perspective on israel's operation in the west bank, we turn to steven erlanger, chief diplomatic correspondent for the new york times. he previously met with the islamic jihad leader who israeli forces killed today. welcome and thanks for joining us. these israeli forces have been trying to kill mohammed. very long time. they thought they had done so back in april and then he emerged alive three days later to kind of cult status among people for surviving. telus, who was he and why was he one of israel's most wanted men? steven: he was the leader of a group of militants in the refugee camp and he had organized them very well so

there was a collective of militants from all the other factions and after the october 7 invasion by how mass -- hamas, they started to recruit more people, and spirited by that, encouraged by that invasion, many of them, like this kid, turned to islamic jihad or to hamas, away from thought to -- fatah, because i felt hamas had broken through a complete stagnation in the prospect of palestinian nationhood, and so, for a lot of people, he was a hero because he kept surviving israeli efforts to kill him, but he represented a new generation of young palestinian militants willing to fight and die for their dream of a free and independent palestine and to

drive israeli occupiers, as they see them come out of the west bank. amna: just to clarify, the person you referenced was the nom de guerre of mohammed which translates to father of the brave, but when you met with him in person on a reporting trip in the west bank earlier this year, and he told you he had switched allegiances from the more moderate fatah to the more extremist islamic jihad, what was the reason for that? was it just because of october 7 or had it been building for a while? steven: he switched partly because everyone among his peers have lost faith in the palestinian authority. they regard them as collaborating with israel and they have been very offended that the palestinian security forces, whenever israel would come to attack people, did not fight the israelis but either collaborated with them or

actually stayed at home. so there's also been a growing satisfaction with the leader of the palestinian authority, mahmoud abbas, and the feeling that the palestinian state was really going nowhere, that there was a stagnation, that life looked hopeless, and as ugly as the hamas invasion was for many young palestinians, it expressed a degree of hope that their own situation was not hopeless forever. amna: we just saw today antonio guterres say that these israeli raids are fueling what he called an already explosive situation in the west bank. he said they could further undermine the palestinian authority. what do you make of that? steven: the palestinian authority is pretty well undermined in many ways partly through its own faults but also through the israeli government's

decision to withhold taxes from them and also after october 7, they had closed the west bank so palestinians who had legal permits to working israel could no longer go to israel to work and palestinians living in israel could no longer go to places like janine -- jenin so the economy crashed and the palestinian authority was already weakened. now you have these far-right ministers who talk about annexing the west bank, who are encouraging settlers to take more ground so all of this goes fuel more militancy and creates anxiety among the israeli military that there will be a new wave of suicide bombings and explosives against israelis in israel proper, let alone among the settlers. amna: as you know, israel says the goal of this operation in the west bank is to root out

this militancy that as you have reported on has taken hold in many of the refugee camps in the west bank. knowing what you know about that force, is that goal attainable? steven: it is impossible to defeat an idea. this we understand, whether it is expressed by hamas or by fatah or by these kids. they have a dream of an independent palestine. they have a dream of their land taken back, of israeli settlers in occupiers gone, and there's going to be very little that israel can do to destroy that. the idea of a two state solution, i have to say, seems farther away than ever, and it would require giving palestinians authority and sovereignty and control over their own lives that israel, for its stated security reasons, is

not prepared to give. so i see this third from war going on -- front war going on indefinitely. amna: that is our chief diplomatic correspondent for the new york times. good to speak with you. steven: thank you. ♪ ♪ geoff: parts of new england are on high alert after health officials in new hampshire this week to confirm to the first death from the rare virus known as eastern equine encephalitis which brings the total number of confirmed human infections in the u.s. this year to six including cases in wisconsin, new jersey, and the neighboring states of vermont and massachusetts. hundreds of cases of another illness transmitted by mosquitoes, west nile virus, have been confirmed across 33 states. it paralyzed a teenager in

missouri and hospitalized dr. anthony fauci, the country's former top infectious disease expert who told the outlet, i have never been as sick in my life. to help us understand more about these viruses, the risks they pose, and how they spread, we are joined by the dean of the national school of tropical medicine at baylor college. welcome back to the news hour. >> thanks for having me. geoff: we have seen the first death from the virus. tell us more about this disease, how it spreads, and why new england seems to be affected by it. >> it is called an alpha virus and we do see cases periodically, including human cases and deaths, and it tends to disproportionately affect horses and that is where the equine part comes into the name. it circulates among birds and there is a specific mosquito for the birds, and then once it gets hold of the birds from a different mosquitoes can bite and transmit to humans. we don't usually see a lot of cases. i think my big concern is we are

starting to see, you know, not only the eastern equine cases but also the west nile cases and there is a big problem going on in the western hemisphere where there has been this big uptick in thank you -- dengue cases. we are seeing an expansion of yellow fever in brazil to the fringes of the amazon, so the big picture, i think, is that we are seeing a general surge in vectorborne diseases across the hemisphere. brazil and parts of the caribbean are ground zero, but it is starting to filter in particularly in texas in the gulf coast and this could be a new normal for us during this time of climate change together with urbanization and other factors. amna: in parts of massachusetts, health officials are telling people to avoid outdoor activity between dusk and dawn. they are conducting pesticide sprays. how concerned should folks in that region be and what more can

they do to protect themselves? >> there's not much room for error. this has a high percentage of encephalitis and fatalities, perhaps as high as 30% of the cases, so this is definitely not one you want to get. the most important thing is if you do go outside and especially early in the morning or in the evening, you want to be fully covered with long pants or sweat pants and socks, sneakers, you know, a hooded sweatshirt if you are out in the morning, and a hat. on the exposed parts, makes sure you use a good insect repellent, one that has a high percentage of deet. i like to get my 10,000 steps in and i do walks early in the morning, sometimes before sunrise, and in the evening, which is a maximal time when mosquitoes are fighting, sometimes, my neighbors who are out in shorts and t-shirts look at me like i am a bit nuts and i use that as a teachable moment and i will explain to them, look, you have to be really

careful because west nile is accelerating right now as well as other vectorborne diseases and there is risk now for onc transmitted by the mosquito including dengue and ones that are arising from brazil so this is the peak time of year for vectorborne disease and is probably going to become our new normal. geoff: let's talk more about it because we have seen nearly 300 cases of west nile across the country. what should we know about the spread and severity of the west nile virus? >> texas is getting hit hard. what we usually see in the united states is a big peak in texas and the adjoining states in the southeast, mississippi, and the louisiana, and then going up into the great plains and there's north dakota, nebraska, and then you also sometimes see them in new york and new jersey where the virus was first discovered. you have bad years in good years for reasons we don't entirely understand. 2012 was a terrible year, for

instance. this one is looking like it could be a pretty bad here as well and i am worried it's going to become more and more like this, that every year will become a bad west nile year just like we could see dengue coming into the u.s. gulf coast and other diseases transmitted by these mosquitoes so the west nile is transmitted by the -- mosquitoes which is why we do insecticidal spraying in the evening and morning. hades is a little more difficult to control, going house to house, and we tend not to do that much in the united states. geoff: if this is the new normal, mosquito borne illness made worse by climate change come out what more could the federal government do? >> i think we need to up our game in terms of doing active surveillance for these diseases. right now, our surveillance system in the u.s. is extremely fragmented so for instance, if a patient comes into an emergency room or clinic and has what kind of looks like it could be a

mosquito transmitted virus infection, present with fever and rash and headache and photophobia, being afraid of the light, and the physician kind of shrugged his shoulders to say, maybe it is something else and by the time you get the test back, it is days later and sometimes, even longer than that because you have to send it to specialty labs so we don't have the point-of-care diagnostics that we need and what we really need to do is have a detailed map, a county by county level, what is in our particular county. one of the things we are doing at baylor college and medicine, international school of tropical medicine, we are taking a facet -- sophisticated sequencing of mosquitoes, the full genome together with their viruses and also pairing it with wastewater testing so we can get that very detailed map of what is there so when a physician sees a patient that they suspect could have one of these infections, they will

already know what is in the flora and fauna of our local area. we don't do that currently. geoff: thanks as always for your insights. we appreciate it. >> thank you. ♪ amna: the arrest of telegrams ceo and founder this week has reignited concerns about the balance of free speech and the responsibility that comes with running social platforms. telegram, founded in 2013, now has more than 900 million users, making it among the most popular messaging services in the world. stephanie sy has the latest. stephanie: french authorities have charged the telegram found her with several offenses related to his messaging app. the charges include complicity in the distribution of child abuse images, drug trafficking, and failure to comply with law enforcement requests. he operates telegram from dubai

and was apprehended over the weekend and was ordered to pay 5 million euros for bail. the arrest of the russian born tech billionaire has sparked a free-speech rallying cry in some circles and has raised questions about how other social media executives may be held accountable for their platforms. joining me to discuss the implications of this arrest is a technology reporter for the washington post. thank you so much for joining the news hour. before we get into the ramifications of this arrest, tell us why telegram is in law-enforcement's bullseye and what brought about this unprecedented arrest of the company's founder? >> telegram is a wildly popular messaging app mostly in places like russia, the middle east, and south asia. about 950 million people use it. and it is a way to send private chats or public broadcasting messages to large hundreds of thousands of people and it's

also a way to send individual kind of encrypted chats as well so it melds two types of messaging into one app. this kind of app is pretty good in some ways to read for example, if you are a dissident, and you want to organize a protest against an authoritarian government, but it has also become an app where some of the worst activity online kind of has become a haven for it such as the sharing of child sexual abuse imagery, so that it is kind of what has made telegram into the bull's-eyes of the french authorities now is that they are basically saying that the owner of telegram is complicit in making telegram spread child sex abuse imagery, kind of spread organized crime, and also not complying with law enforcement when law enforcement wants user data about criminal activities so as you saw this weekend, this all culminated into a head when he landed in france outside of the paris airport and was arrested and has

now been issued charges around these types of activities. >> the other platforms, as you know, including platforms like facebook and instagram, have also been accused of having nefarious activities including sexual abuse imagery of children, extremism, scammers. how is this different? how does he differ from his peers when it comes to that? do the other platforms, for example, cooperate much more with governments and law enforcement? >> there is no doubt that platforms like meta and twitter host similar types of content but what telegram is specifically known for, it actually boasts about its reluctance and often complete noncompliance with law enforcement in sharing user data so even if a law enforcement official comes to telegram, it is their policy as they boast about even on their own site to not share zero bytes of data with government. that is what makes it really

different from all the other tech companies is that kind of strong noncompliance. cross elon musk and other tech giants have posted their support of him on x and a lot of people asking what his arrest means for the heads of other similar platforms. should folks like mark zuckerberg be concerned about facing similar accusations and code you see him being arrested if he travels to europe? do you see these charges being levied against a tech executive in the united states? >> yes. this is the big question here. it has opened up a can of worms. are the people who own the tech companies liable for the content that is on their platforms? in the united states, there ruls companies from being held liable for the content that they have put on their site but in europe, there is a little bit more of a strength around holding tech companies accountable and you

have seen now in this case kind of the most muscular act to date of a government holding a private official of the company to account, and it is unlikely that we would see it in the united states were somebody like mark zuckerberg or elon musk is detained for what is on facebook or twitter but now, the question becomes what happens if that activity happens in europe or elsewhere and will governments kind of respond in kind? we don't know the answer yet. stephanie: that is the washington post joining us. thank you so much. >> thank you. ♪ ♪ geoff: the nebraska supreme court heard arguments this week on whether a recently passed law which allows former felons to vote violates the state plush constitution. john yang is here with more. john: last month just before this law was to take effect, the

nebraska attorney general said in a written opinion that lawmakers do not have the authority to restore the voting rights of felons who have completed their sentences. he said only the state pardon board can do that. in response, the nebraska secretary of state told a local election officials to stop registering voters who have been convicted of felonies but not pardoned. now, the state's highest court will have the final say. nebraska is one of 26 states in the district of columbia that have stored former felons right to vote to some extent or another over the past three decades. cassidy is a senior reporter at nebraska public media. we have the oral arguments for the supreme court on wednesday. where do things stand now? cassidy: that is probably a question a lot of people are asking. there is a lot up in the air right now especially as we wait for the supreme court decision. as of right now, the secretary of state has told registration offices to stop registering

people who have been convicted of felonies, whether or not they have completed the two year wait period, so the question really is where are we now for a lot of the folks that these laws apply to for people -- nebraskans who have been convicted of felonies. it is up in the air whether they will be able to register to vote and to vote in this election. >> any indication when the supreme court will hand down the decision? cassidy: it's hard to tell. the secretary of state's office obviously has some deadlines it has to comply with and those are coming up in october. though that is the only thing that the secretary of state's office really needs to know in order to meet those voter registration deadlines. other than that, it is more of just a waiting game. john: he mentions voters who registered in 2005. there was a law passed that allowed former felons to register to vote or to vote after a two-year waiting period and the attorney general's opinion also address that, saying the legislature did not have the right to do that so you

had this two decades almost of people registering to vote. what is going to happen to them? cassidy: there are two laws that are kind of up for question right now. the one that is 19 years old, they will be 53 and it basically said if you have completed your felony sentence, you have completed entirely if you wait two years, you can register to vote. and then the big one that really cost all of the conversation, that eliminated that two-year waiting period so we have two that that the attorney general did publish his opinion, saying both of them were unconstitutional. the secretary of state's office has said the individuals who registered to vote under that previous law, the two-year waiting period law, they are not going to go and roll out on all of those people who registered to vote so all of the people who registered to vote under that law, they should still be able to vote in this election could however, it is on pause for

anybody who did not get in during that kind of loophole time so the people that already registered, they should be good to go. >> despite all the court fight, this law actually passed the legislature by a large margin, 38-6. was there much debate over it there? >> there was some debate. obviously, it did ps with a big majority. it seemed that many lawmakers did think the two-year waiting period was fined to begin with. but then with some spearheading from some other lawmakers, they decided to eliminate that, that the big thing here is, and i am sure you all have already done your research on this as well as the bill actually passed and became law because nebraska allows a bill to become law sige governor and that is kind of -- that was where the questions started to sprout from. >> you mentioned the sort of

uncertainty over what is happening with these former felons. what effect is this having on them, do you think? >> there has been some estimates that around 7000 formerly incarcerated people who have been convicted of felonies are kind of just up in the air. they really don't know if they can vote in this election and we are getting really close to the election at this point so it is probably a little bit disconcerting to be like, hey, do i get to vote in this election that is coming up very soon? or can i not? it has been a little bit disheartening for some people who this will be 20 -- , and the mandatinglb20, it was exciting for them to know that they could vote and now, they just don't know if that excitement was warranted or not. john: the election is coming up. is anybody saying the outcome of this case could have a political effect? cassidy: really hard to say. district two, which is the area

of omaha, the biggest city in nebraska, it is hard to tell where that district will go. it can kind of go back and forth. occasionally, it is known as the blue dot in the typically red nebraska but sometimes, it can go read as well. i believe -- red as well. i believe biden won district two by over 2000 so it is hard to tell what effect it will have this election year. john: this is important because nebraska splits its electoral votes by congressional district. cassidy of nebraska public media, thank you very much. cassidy: thank you, john. ♪ amna: guitarist mdou moctar has been bringing a new kind of music to the world, steeped in his cultural heritage.

now, his latest album strikes a decidedly political chord, a response to upheaval in his home country of niger, including a military coup last year. special correspondent christopher booker caught up with him on tour through the u.s. for our arts and culture series, canvas. christopher: the reviews of mdou moctar's new album are filled with incendiary adjectives, words like fiery, blazing, and screaming all , appropriate descriptions of an album which, to western ears, offers an entirely new demonstration of what's possible with an electric guitar. ♪ christopher: when i first sat down with moctar three years ago, there was an effort underway among the press to find a proper description of this guitar prodigy from niger. was he the hendrix of the sahara or an african eddie van halen? >> for me, it doesn't matter, they call me whatever they need, but i am still mdou moctar and then i try all to be me.

i support absolutely, i support jimi hendrix. i love what he do. and then i love eddie van halen , too. all the famous artists, very talented. i love them, but i love myself more, and then i try all the time to have my own style. christopher: sung in his native tamashek and french, moctar's music is a contemporary iteration of what's been nicknamed desert blues. guitar driven music performed by the tuareg people, a traditionally nomadic group from the sahara. do you worry that there's a rush to label you, to almost westernize your sound? >> no, the music, i feel the music is like ocean. christopher: three years later

after a near constant tour , through the u.s. and europe moctar now stands as a singular , player. comparisons are no longer necessary. >> he most important for me that these people are happy, that it's the most important because we do the same when we have 30 person. we use the same energy with like 30,000 person. ♪ christopher: despite growing recognition, moctar's musical ocean has grown more agitated, reflected both in the intensity of his playing and in the title of this new album surrounded by the incendiary descriptions. "funeral for justice" when you say funeral for justice, what justice is being lost or buried? >> for me, when i say the funeral for justice, i mean, like, justice doesn't exist anymore. every country, like, try to be stronger than his neighbor. just for what reason? just to hurt him.

to make him say, "i am stronger than you, i can say whatever i need to say. no one can stop me." it is what happen in this world and that is not justice, that is not fair. christopher: but this album was written and recorded before the recent upheaval in moctar's native niger. on july 26, the northern african country saw its democratically elected president, mohamed bazoum, a politician moctar publicly supported, overthrown in a military coup. this happened as moctar was on tour in the united states. >> it was like, okay, we're going to take this day by day, hour by hour. and finally when we finished the last shows, like, yeah, you guys can't go back home, the borders are closed indefinitely. christopher: mikey coulton plays bass in the band. he started playing with moctar in 2017. >> everyone was stuck in new york for a while and, you know, freaking out, calling their families like they just want to go home to their families. it was a very scary thing for these guys.

christopher: moctar and rhythm guitar player ahmoudou madassaner and drummer souleymane ibrahim spent nearly six weeks in a holding pattern in the united states. but in october, they were able to return home, staying home through the winter and early spring, before the summer tours of the us and europe resumed. were you worried they wouldn't be able to get back here? >> yeah. of course. always. there's always that fear. even pre-coup, there's always the visa fear. there's, yeah, we get the visa. but then what happens? can they get inside of the country? there's never that sign of relief until you see them walking through the airport gates. christopher: they did make it through this time, and the first stop was a single day rehearsal in brooklyn, a warm up before 2 shows at coachella california's , annual mega- festival in desert outside of palm springs/ . you sing about many things about what's going on at home.

do american audiences know what's happening back home? >> some of them they know today, they know what is going. here in the unites states, the people love the music like very loud and crazy. [laughter] and then, i am trying again to make them happy, by what i am playing, later some of them like, are curious and then they're going to say. i have to know what he talking about it. and then in the same time we we have the translator for our, -- for our track in the album, and then they're going to see it and understand what, what we're talking about it. christopher: on the opening track of funeral for justice, also called funeral for justice, moctar asks african leaders, "why does your ear only heed france and america? they misled you into giving up your lands." >> this album.

it's like more serious than all the albums i did before because the problem is going like bigger than bigger. we have like to be honest and like punch in the face for the colonialism and tell them the truth. christopher: what would justice look like for you? >> the first thing is is don't hurt someone because you're stronger than him. don't drink his water because you are thirsty, it is what i call justice. christopher: while personally and artistically moctar wrestles with the complicated geopolitics of the world, coulton says the spirit of the effort is, at its core, still pure rock n' roll. >> eure touring -- you're a touring rock star at this point. you're playing all over the world. you're playing coachella. people see you, your life is on the road and then it's home. do you feel like you live in two worlds? >> it's not i feel.

i do. christopher: this certainly may be true for moctar the man, but with his guitar in hand, the contours that may exist between those two worlds are becoming just a bit more difficult to see. for the pbs news hour i'm , christopher booker. in brooklyn, new york. ♪ geoff: there is a lot more online, including a look at financial advice on social media, when it can be helpful and when you should be skeptical. that's our instagram page. amna: and that is the news hour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i am geoff bennett. for all of us here at the news hour thanks for spending part of , your evening with 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 --

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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. (dramatielectronic and string music) - hello everyone, and welcome to amanpour & company. here's what's coming up. amid growing challenges from russia and concerns around a potential trump presidency. i'm joined by victorian nuland, who served as us ambassador to the alliance. then... - we can save ukraine if we step up and do it,