♪ amna: good evening. i am none of us -- amna nawaz. geoff: i am geoff bennett. vice president kamala harris and --

amna: israel agrees to pause fighting in gaza to deliver polio vaccines. amna: health officials warned of a deadly mosquito born disease spreading in the northeast united states. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic will support for democracy and peace. more information carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public added by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "newshour." 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 that 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. correspondent: vice president kamala harris and minnesota governor tim walz barnstorming in battleground georgia for a second day. while in georgia, harris and walz also sat down with cnn for a joint interview. for harris, it's her first major interview since taking over the democratic ticket. something her republican rivals have criticized. accusing harris of shielding herself from scrutiny. >> how should voters look at some of the changes that you've made, that you've explained some of here, in your policy. should they feel comfortable and confident that what you're saying now is going to be your policy moving forward? vp harris: dana, i think 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. that value has not changed. i spent 2 terms as the attorney general of california, prosecuting transnational criminal organizations. violations of american laws regarding the passage, illegal passage of guns, drugs and human

beings across our border. my values have not changed. correspondent: that 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 fox news poll shows harris changing the race in several toss-up states, taking a lead over donald trump in georgia, arizona, and nevada, while narrowly trailing trump in north carolina. all of the polling within the margin of error. as vice president harris wraps up in the sun belt, donald trump campaigned today at a steel supplier outside of lansing, michigan. in an event billed as one about the economy, trump railed against recent polling. >> the polls are rigged too. they say donald trump is tied. tied. you know we were up massively by biden. correspondent: but trump's campaign is still dealing with fallout for taking video for campaign use of the former president's visit to arlington national cemetery on monday.

it includes moments in section 60 of the cemetery -- largely reserved for veterans of the iraq and afghanistan wars -- where photos for political purposes aren't allowed. the filming at section 60 led to a physical altercation with a cemetery staffer. today, the 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 also 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.

though harris has made no statements on the incident. >> she wants to yell at donald trump because he showed up. she can go to hell. it sounds like we have some fans and some haters. correspondent: and today, vance headlined a boston firefighters convention just a day after tim walz addressed the same gathering. vance was booed when trying to defend the trump administration's record for workers. >> i want to talk about why we're fighting for working people, why we're going to fight for unions and non-union alike. correspondent: and laura barron-lopez joins me now. the full interview that vice president harris and governor walz gave has not air to but what stands out to you so far. correspondent: in addition to what she said about her policy positions the vice president was asked whether she would appoint a republican to a cabinet, and she said that she would come out that she values diversity of opinion when important decisions are being made she wants

different perspectives. she did not say which republican she is considering, but i was talking to an arizona republican voter today, a woman in the suburbs who said that she liked harris is considering a republican for the cabinet. she also likes that harris is talking more about border security. she still was not convinced by harris, and a big piece of that is she does one to more -- 12 more policy -- want more policy specifics. amna: we saw some lewd sexual post mr. trump shared online about kamala harris. do you think the campaign will respond? correspondent: mainly the campaign they said they have no plans to respond to any of these attacks. so far the vice president herself is not responded to the arlington cemetery incident. she has not responded to any of these attacks and neither has of

the campaign. she was asked in that interview with cnn about trump questioning her black identity, and she said same old playbook, next question. amna: she continued to campaign in georgia and she is going beyond atlanta to more rural voters. correspondent: kamala harris wants to drive out more urban, suburban voters but also wants to cut into trump's margins in red counties. amna: you also reported about the race tightening in some battleground stakes. what are you hearing from your sources on the ground? correspondent: longtime republican strategists say that polling is real. this race has completely shifted, and i spoke to my two time trump voter in north carolina who is a lifelong

republican, and she still is kind of undecided and said the recent events at arlington national cemetery, she did not like it. she felt as though he was not respect will. she said she understands why he went there, but she does not like his behaviors so far it feels as though he is spiraling, so that could be something that shifts. i heard also from the arizona voter that she did not like trump's behavior as well as the -- at the arlington national cemetery. geoff: and now let's turn to our lisa desjardins for an update on the trump campaign. the u.s. army issued this stark rebuke of the trump campaign saying campaign staff were made aware of federal laws regarding political activity at arlington national cemetery and confirming reports that trump campaign workers abruptly pushed aside a cemetery official. correspondent: the the trump

campaign contend that 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 they have to prove their case. i have asked of them a dozen times for that video. it is the policy at the cemetery. it is very clear. filming or photographing will not be permitted if it conveys the impression that cemetery officials or any visitor or endorsing any product, service, or organization. arlington national cemetery will not authorize any filming for partisan fundraising purposes. it was not an issue necessarily about the families being able to do this. it was the fact that the trump campaign had an official photographer for campaign purposes. a campaign spokesperson put out a post yesterday with an emailed that they say supports their case. it does indicate that says only

trump may have an official photographer, but it is an excerpt. it could be talking about the visit to the tomb of the unknown. section 60 is a place of real-time grief, a very sensitive area, and it is something those officials protected stringently. geoff: they have been talking to republican operatives and voters as well. what are they saying about this? correspondent: campaign staff and said afghanistan withdrawal is one of their stronger pieces of evidence about the bite administration, and they have strength with military and military causes, so there is concern that this dilutes the case on afghanistan. the question is what do voters think about this? i also spoke to voters today and talk to undecided voters i have been keeping track of. those who are in the military, i

spoke to a retired colonel from michigan who told me he did not understand what happened, but he had one larger takeaway. >> the bottom line for me is, why was he there now? and how is he using it? it can only be political, and that's unacceptable. arlington cemetery is hallowed ground. it shouldn't be used for anything personal or political. correspondent: david says he is still not all the way on board the harris campaign, this pushes them farther away from the trump campaign. i different retired officer pointed out he actually has more problems with the biden and harris because of what happened in afghanistan. he did not bind the photo op for trump. his problem is the way the gold star families have been treated by the biden administration. geoff: donald trump is drawing

fresh scrutiny for a series of lewd and rude post on his social media account. correspondent: it is not new. trump is instinctual and purposefully offensive, and what is important now is the timing of this and the key voter groups that could be effective. let's talk about women. the post involved a picture of kamala harris and hillary clinton together, and it is raised to bill clinton's affair with a white house intern when he was president and implied harris came into power by giving sexual favors. that is made up, unfounded, and highly offensive to many women in general. those are not new things, but these are critical weeks in amino suburban women we know both campaigns believe are important. while it is not clear how many voters are persuadeable.

many people still going about this unfiltered idea. we know that trumpcare's because he also announced that he would like government or insurance companies to pay for ivf services. they know there is an issue there. they are trying to figure out how to get back on their feet. geoff: thank you so much. ♪ amna: -- correspondent: i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. here are the latest headlines. 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. that comes as ukraine's top commander described fighting on the eastern front as exceptionally tough. russia has ramped up its assault there since ukraine's surprise offensive in kursk earlier this month. meanwhile, video -- released yesterday by ukraine's military -- showed grenades dropping onto russian targets. the e.u.'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. stephanie: also today, ukraine's military confirmed that one of the f-16 warplanes that western nations provided to kyiv has crashed, killing the pilot. 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 connected 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 fatalities 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. at least 57 others have been sickened. 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.

a watchdog review of more than 300 cases between 2021 and 2023 found the agency did not appear to comply with mandatory reporting requirements about 50 percent 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. 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, a spokesperson said that us northern command would provide support at various locations during the election, and until

the new president is sworn-in. >> the department of defense will provide protective support and that will continue through the election on november 5th, 2024 with anticipated continued support to the president-elect and vice president-elect through the inauguration of january 20, 2025. stephanie: fewer americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. it's the latest sign that the labor market remains strong despite high interest rates. the number of jobless claims slipped by 2,000 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. the biden administration of the restored to their program today that allows migrants from cuba,

haiti, nicaragua, and venezuela to legally enter the u.s. with a sponsor. the program was temporarily suspended after internal reviews found sponsors profiting from applications and supplying fake addresses. the department of homeland security says that as opposed to projects. up to 30,000 people are expected into the program each month. 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 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 khudadadi-- earning the first ever paralympics medal for the refugee team, which represents more than 120 million displaced people worldwide. still to come on the "newshour" --

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's duties in washington and in the west from the walter ron kind 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 of tulkarm - mohammed jaber - a local commander they'd long pursued, the palestinian islamic jihad. a militant force backed by iran confirmed jaber's death. israeli officials say jabber was linked to numerous terror attacks, including the june death of an israeli man, amnon muchtar. jaber was killed in an overnight gun battle near a mosque, which left residents caught in the crossfire. khaled abu al-ghiyab says he and his wife barely escaped their home alive. >> the house went up in flames as they shot three, four rockets. we broke down the bathroom window and got out. my wife's shoulder and arm was burned. thank god it only came to that. amna: meanwhile families at the al-far'aa refugee camp buried

their dead. four killed in an israeli raid yesterday. masoud naaja 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. their forces have now withdrawn from al-far'aa. also today, defense minister yoav gallant said returning israeli citizens to their homes along the lebanese border, where fighting with hezbollah continues just yesterday, rescued hostage qaid farhan alkadi returned to his village home near rahat. >> i feel 100 percent, and next to you another 200 percent do everything you can, if it's demonstrations, 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.

israel has said his bedouin arab village was built without permits and has plans to demolish 70 percent of homes there. alkadi's home has not received a demolition notice. for perspective on israel's operation in the west bank returned to stephen erlanger. he previously met with the islamic jihad leader israeli forces killed today. these forces have been trying to kill mohammed jabber for a long time. they thought they got done so back in april and emerged alive three days later to cult status among people there for surviving . who was mohammed jabber, and why was he one of his's most wanted men? >> he was a leader of a group of militants in a refugee camp, and

he organized them very well. there was a collective of militants from all of the other factions, and after the october 7 invasion by hamas, they started to recruit more people, and encouraged by that invasion, many of them like this kid turned to islamic jihad or hamas , because they felt hamas had actually broken through a complete stagnation in the prospect of palestinian nationhood, so for a lot of people he was a hero because he cap 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 out of the west bank. amna: just to clarify that is the name of mohammed jabber. when you met with him in person on the reporting trip in the west bank earlier this year and told you he switch allegiances to the more extremist islamic jihad, what was the reason for that? was that just because of october 7? >> he switch to islamic jihad partly because everyone among his peers had lost faith in the palestinian authority. they regard them as collaborating with israel and 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 has also been growing dissatisfaction with the leader of the palestinian authority mahmoud abbas and actually feeling the palestinian state was 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 the united nation secretary-general antonio guterres saying these israeli raids are feeling an explosive situation in the west bank and could further undermine the palestinian authority. >> i think the palestinian authority is undermined in many

ways partly through its own faults but also through e israeli government's decision to withhold taxes from them and also after october 7 when they close the west bank. palestinians with legal work permits to work in israel could no longer going to work in palestinians living in israel could no longer go to places to eat and shop, so the economy crashed, and the palestinian authority was already weakened. now you have far-right ministers inside talking about annexing the west bank, so all of this does feel more militancy and creates anxiety amongst the israeli military that there will be a new wave of bombings and explosives use against israelis in israel proper, let alone among the settlers. amna: israel says the goal of

this operation is to root out this militancy that as he reported on his taken hold among many refugee camps. knowing what you know about that force, is that goal attainable? >> well, it is impossible to defeat an idea. whether it is expressed by hamas or fatah or by these kids, they have a dream of an independent alice stein. they have a dream of their land taken back, of israeli settlers and occupiers gone, and there will be little that israel can do to destroy that. the idea of a two state solution 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 front war going on indefinitely. amna: that is stephen erlanger, chief diplomatic correspondent for the new york times. thank you. ♪ geoff: parts of new england on high alert after health officials in confirmed the first death from the rare mosquito-borne virus known as eastern equine encephalitis. it brings the total number of confirmed human infections this year to six including cases in wisconsin, new jersey, vermont, and massachusetts. hundreds of cases of another disease carried by mosquitoes

west nile virus has been confirmed across 33 states. it paralyzed someone and hospitalized dr. anthony fauci. he told hospital staff i have never been as sick in my life. to help us understand more about these viruses we are joined by the dean of the national school of tropical medicine at baylor college of medicine. welcome back to the news hour. >> thanks for having me. geoff: we have now seen the first death from the eastern equine encephalitis virus. tell us more about this disease and why new england seems to be affected by it. >> 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 in its name. it circulates among words, and there is a specific mosquito for the birds. different mosquitoes can bite

and transmitted to humans. we do not usually see a lot of cases. my big concern is we are starting to see not only the eastern equine cases, but also the west nile cases, and there was a bigger problem going on in the western hemisphere where there is this big uptick in dengue cases, another virus, any expansion to the fringes of the amazon, so the big picture is i think we are seeing a general search in vectorborne diseases across the hemisphere. as lm parts of the caribbean or ground zero, but i is starting to filter and particularly in texas and the gulf coast, and is good to be a new normal for us during this time of climate change together with urbanization and other factors. geoff: in parts of massachusetts health officials are telling people to avoid outdoor activity between dusk and dawn.

how concerned should evokes in that region to be, and what more can they do to protect themselves? >> the problem is there is not much more room for error. this has high mortality, perhaps as high as 30%, so this is not when you want to get. i think the most important thing is if you do go outside especially early in the morning or the evening, you want to be fully covered with long pants are sweat pants and sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt if you are out in the morning. on the exposed parts to make sure you use a good insect repellent, a high percentage of deet that you put around your hands and next. i get my steps in and do walks early in the morning and in the evening, which is a maximal time when mosquitoes are biting. sometimes my neighbors are out in shorts and t-shirts and look

at me like i am nuts. i use that as a teachable moment. i tell them you have to be careful because west nile virus is accelerating as well as other vectorborne diseases, and there are risks for one transmitted by another mosquito. this is the p time of year for vectorborne diseases and will probably become the new normal. geoff: you mentioned west nile. we have seen 300 cases across the country. what should we know about the spread and severity of the west nile virus? >> texas is getting hit hard. it would be see in the united states is a peak in texas and the adjoining states in the southeast, mississippi and louisiana, then going up into the great plains. there is north dakota, nebraska, and you also sometimes see others in new york and new jersey where the virus was first discovered.

you have good years and bad years. this one is looking like it could be a bad year as well, and i am worried that it is going to become more and more like this, and 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. west nile is transmitted by one mosquito. the other is more difficult to control and requires going house to house, and we tend not to do that much in the united states. geoff: if this is the new normal, this ghetto borne illness made worse by climate change, what more should we be doing to protect ourselves? >> i think we need to up our game in terms of doing active surveillance for these diseases. right now our surveillance system is extremely fragmented. for instance, if a patient comes into an emergency room or clinic

and has what kind of looks like it could be a mosquito virus infection, they will present with fever, rash, headache, photophobia, and to petition -- and the physician shrugs his shoulders and by the time you get the test beckett's days later because you have to send it to specialty labs, so we do not have the point-of-care diagnostics we need, and what we need to do is have a detailed map at a county by county level of what is in our particular county. one of the things we are doing at baylor college of medicine, we are undertaking a sophisticated project where we are doing full 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 expect could

have one of these diseases they already expect to look for the flora and fauna in that area. geoff: thank you for your insights. ♪ amna: the arrest of telegram's ceo and founder this week has reignited concerns about the balance of free speech and 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 telegram founder pavel durov 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.

durov, who operates telegram from dubai, was apprehended over the weekend and was ordered to pay 500 million for bail. the arrest of the russian-born tech billionaire has sparked a free speech rallying cry in. 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 pranhu verma technology reporter for the washington post. thank you so much for joining the newshour. before we get into the ramifications of this arrest, tell us why telegram is in law enforcement's bull's eye, and what brought about this unprecedented arrest of the company's founder? >> so 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's 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. and now this kind of app is pretty good in some ways, for example, if you're a dissident and you want to organize a protest against an authoritarian government, but it's 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 and so that's kind of what's made telegram into the bull's eyes of the french authorities now is that they are basically saying that the owner of telegram, pavel durov, 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 activity and so as you saw this weekend, this all culminated into a head when

pavel durov landed in france outside of a paris airport and was arrested and has now been issued charges around these types of activities. stephanie: but 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 durov differ from his peers when it comes to that, do the other platforms, for example, cooperate much more with governments and law enforcement? >> there's no doubt that platforms like meta and twitter do host similar types of content, but what telegram is very specifically known for, it actually boasts about is 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 0 bytes of data with government today.

and that's what makes it really different from all the other tech companies is that kind of strong noncompliance. stephanie: elon musk and other tech giants have posted their support of mr. pavel on x, musk did, and a lot of people are asking what his arrest means for the heads of other similar platforms. should folks like mark zuckerberg, for example, be concerned about facing similar accusations and could you see him being arrested if he travels to europe, and do you see these charges being levied against a tech executive in the united states? >> yeah, you know, this is the big question here. it's opened up a can of worms , are the people who own the tech companies liable for the content that is on their platforms? now in the united states, there's a rule in law that shields companies from being held liable for the content that they've put on their sites, but

in the europe there is a little bit more of a strength around holding tech companies accountable and you've seen now in this case kind of the most muscular act to date of a government holding a private official of a company to account and it is unlikely that we would see it in the united states where somebody like a mark zuckerberg or an elon musk is, you know, detained for what is on facebook or on twitter, but now the question becomes what happens if that activity happens in europe or elsewhere and will governments kind of respond in kind and we don't know the answer yet. stephanie: that is the washington post's pranch verma joining us. thank you so much. >> thank you. ♪ geoff: the nebraska supreme court heard arguments this week on the weather recently passed law that allows former felons to violates the state's constitution. john yang is here with more. correspondent: last month just

before this law was to take effect at the nebraska attorney general said an written opinion that lawmakers do not have to the authority to restore the voting rights of felons who have completed their sentences. he said only the state board and board can do that. in response the secretary of state told local election officials to stop registering voters who had been convicted of felonies but not pardon. the state's highest court will have this final say. nebraska is one of 26 states to restore the right to vote for felons. cassie, we have oral arguments for the supreme court on wednesday. where do things stand now? >> that is a question people are asking. there is a lot of up in the air right now. as of right now, the secretary of state has told the 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 nebraskans convicted of felonies? it is up in the air on whether they will be able to register to vote and vote in this election. correspondent: any indication on when the supreme court will hand down there decision? >> the secretary of state's office has some deadlines that has to comply with, and those are coming up in october, so that is the only thing the secretary of state's office needs to know in order to meet those voter registration deadlines. other than that more of a waiting game. correspondent: you mentioned voters that registered in 2005. there was a lot that passed that allowed her felons to vote after a two year waiting period.

the legislature also addresses that, so you have this two decades of people registering to vote. what will happen to them? >> to outline that, there are two laws upper question right now. the one that is 19 years old basically said if you have completed your felony sentence, you have completed it entirely and you wait two years you could register to vote. lb20 came in, which is the big one that cause the conversation, that eliminate the two year waiting. . -- waiting period. the secretary of state's office of the individuals are not going to go back and roll out on all of tse people who registered to vote, so all of the people who registered to vote under that law should still be able to vote in this election.

however, it is on pause for anybody who did not get in during that loophole time. so the people that already registered should be good to go. correspondent: despite this court fight this lob pass of the legislature by a large margin. was there much debate over it? >> there was some debate. obviously it passed with the big majority. it seemed to many lawmakers thought that two year waiting period was fine to begin with, but then with some spearheading from other lawmakers they decided to eliminate that. the big thing here is as i am sure you all have done your research on this as well, the bill actually passed and became law, because nebraska allows a bill to become law without the signature of the governor, and that was where the questions

started to spread from. correspondent: you mentioned the uncertainty over what is happening with these former felons. what effect does this have been on them do you think? >> there have been estimates that around 7000 formerly incarcerated people convicted of felonies are up in the air. they really do not know if they can vote in this election, and we are getting really close to the election at this point, so it is probably disconcerting to be like, do i get to vote in this election coming up soon, or can i not? it has been disheartening for some people this lb20 eliminating that waiting period, it was exciting for them to know that they can vote and now they do not know if the excitement was warranted. correspondent: is anyone saying the outcome of this case could have a political effect?

>> it is hard to say. district two, it is hard to tell what that district will go. it can kind of go back and forth. it is typically known as of the blue dot in red nebraska. i believe if i didn't want to bank district two by over 10,000, so it is hard to tell what effect it will have this election year. correspondent: this is important because alaska -- nebraska splits its electoral votes. thank you very much. ♪ 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 us for our arts and culture series, canvas. correspondent: the reviews of mdou moctar's new album are filled with incendiary adjectives. words like fiery, blazing, and all appropriate descriptions of an album which, to western ears, offers an entirely new demonstration of what's possible with an electric guitar. ♪ 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 whaver 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 you do. and then i love eddie van halen to 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. ♪ correspondent: 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 say, oh, he is like this or westernize your sound? >> no, the music, it's feel

like, the music is like ocean. correspondent: 3 years later after a near constant tour through the us and europe, moctar now stands as a singular player comparisons are no longer necessary. >> the most important for me that these people are happy, that it's the most important because we, we do the same when we have 30 person we, we use the same energy with like 30,000 person. correspondent: 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. correspondent: this album was written and recorded before the recent upheaval in moctar's native niger. on july 26th, 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. >> 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 go back home. correspondent: mikey coulton plays bass in the band. raised in washington d.c., he he grew up loving music from the sahara.

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. correspondent: moctar and rhythm guitar player ahmoudou madassaner and drummer souleymane ibrahim spent nearly 6 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 u.s. and europe began. 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? and it's there's never that sign of relief until you see them walking through the airport gates. correspondent: they did make it through this time and the first stop was a single giver rehearsal in brooklyn, a warm-up before 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. 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, our, track in the album, and then they're going to see it and, and understand what, what we're talking about it. on the opening track, moctar asks african leaders why does your ear only he'd friends in

america? they misled you into giving up your lands. the albums i did before, because the problem is going on like a bigger and bigger. we have like to be honest and like punch in the face for the colonialism and tell them the truth. correspondent: what would justice look like for you? >> the first thing 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. correspondent: while personally and artistically moctar wrestles with the complicated geopolitics of the world, the spirit of the music at its core is still pure rock 'n' roll. you are touring rock star laying all over the world. you're playing coachella. people see you, your life is on the road and then it's home do -- home. do you feel like you live in two worlds?

>> it's not i feel. i do. correspondent: this certainly may be true for moctar the man, but with his guitar in hand, the condors between these two worlds are becoming just a bit more difficult to see. i am 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 is on our instagram page. amna: and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i am geoff bennett. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. >> major funding for the pbs "newshour" has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions, and friends of the newshour,

including leonard and norma glorifying and that judy and peter bloom foundation. >> a partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymondjames financial advisor gets to know you, your passions, and the way you enrich your community. life well planned. >> the ford foundation to working with visionaries on the front lines of change worldwide. and with the ongoing support of these institutions. ♪ and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting into by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

♪ this is pbs newshour west from weta studios in washington, d.c. and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪

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