captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: ten take the stage. ntat to look for, as the democratic presil hopefuls face off again in tonight's debate. then, on the front lines. the former leader of u.s. central command on the state of america's military conflicts overseas. plus, the pinch of the trade war. how the lobster industry is feeling the heat as chinese tariffs come to maine. >> our rural communities along the coast are dependent upon this fishery. that's what is potentially very scary for us, is thinking about this long-term. >> nawaz: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour.

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>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: democrats in the u.s. house of representatives vehave taken another tenta step toward impeaching president trump. they set out ground qles today, amstions about how ready they are to go further. orite house correspondent yamiche alcias our report. >> alcindor: today, democrats call the process, r what you possibility of impeaching president trump is still on their minds. >> some call this process an impehment inquiry. some call it an impeachment investigation. there is no legal difference

between these terms, and i no longer care to argue about the nomenclature. >> alcindor: in a party line vote, the house judiciary committee passed a resolution setting rules for fut re impeachmeninvestigion hearings. they allow committee staff to question witnesses for an hour. lsey also let the president's lawyers respond to testimony only in writing. committee chairman jerry nadler says the move was an important step to an effective impeachment investigation of president trump. >> let me clear up any remaining doubt: the conduct under investigation poses a threat to our democracy. we have an obligation to respond to this threat. and we are doing so. alcindor: but house republicans called the resolution a political scheme. >> so which is it? are you starting an impeachment proceeding, or not? is this just more smoke and far left?o you can appease the >> will the gentleman yield so we cannswer his qu? the answer is yes, we're engaged in an impeachment investigation. >> alcindor: california

republican tom mcclintock ded this: >> i dare you to do it. in fact, iouble-dog-dare you to do it. 18ve the house vote on thoseha ords, and then go att. why won't you do that? it's because you want to give the illusion of impeachment without the reality impeachment. hearing, chairman sounded confident that impeaching the 45th president could be a reality. afterwards, nadler said the panel would be calling former trump campaign manager, corey lewandowski, to testify next week. the white house has blocked some testimony from other trump s sociates. for the wshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> nawaz: the trump administration began enforcing new asylum policy today, after u.e u.s. supreme court allowed it to take effect nationwide. the change effectively bars most central american migrants at the southern border. they first have to seek asylum in a country they passed through. immigration activists denouncedh court order as a "death sentence" for thousands, and mexico's foreign secretary also deplored the ruling.

>> ( translated ): the court's decision is astonishing in the a pact that it is going to have, urt of the united states. so what do we have to do? create alternatives so people do t have to take on those risks. we are concerned about that. >> nawaz: president trump n.eeted that the high court's order was a big but, it is also temporary, egnding the ultimate outcome of the battle over the policy. age environmental protection cy announced plans today to tevoke an obama-era regulation on ping wetlands and small streams. the agency said extending federal authority beyond large bodies of water amounta "power grab." move could threatekingaid the water for millions of people. in the bahamas, officials cut the number of missing in the aftermath of hurricane dorian to 1,300. that's roughly half the number given a day earlier. meanwhile, u.s. officials in washington announced $4 million in additional humanitarian aid for the islands, for a total of $10 million so far.

>> there's a long road ahead. i think it's very clear thathe u.s., both private sector, charitable, for-profit and the public sector, stands with the people of the bahamas, and we're there to help out. we will be there for some time. >> nawaz: the hurricane did an estimated $7 billion in damage across the bahamas. forecasters are tracking another tropical system in the caribbean. it could bring heavy new rain to thbahamas by tomorrow. back in this country, the u.s. departme of education blasted chicago's public schools for mishandling sexual abuse claims. a department investigation found what it called "tragic and inexcusable" problemhe nation's third-largest school district. the district has been to overhaul its system for handling student complaints, to comply virginia's lieutenant governor, justin fairfax, sued cbs today for defamation, asking for $400 million in damages. with two women who accusedrviews fairfax of sexual assault.

ahe denied the allegation says cbs failed to properly investigate and fact-check their sties. the network says it stands by tis reporting. an initial invtion of a scuba boat fire off southern california shows all six crew members re asleep at the time. the national tnsportation safety board says it found no mechanical or electric problems that started the fire. coast guard video captured the boat burning, before dawn on september 2. the fire killed 34 people below deck. the governing body of college sports is sounding the alarm over a move in california to let student athletes hire agents and sign endorsements. state lawmakers gave approval last night to a bill allowing exactly that. the n.c.a.a. sayit would give california schools an unfair recruitingdvantage, and it warns they could be banned from some competitions. the group is urgg governor gavin newsom to veto the measure. and, on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained

45 points to close at 27,182. the nasdaq rose 24 points, and the s&p 500 added eight. still to come on the newshour: what to watch for, as the democratic presidential candidates go head to heni in t's debate. over 100 c.e.o.s demand that lawmakers act to stem gun violence. the former head of u.s. central command on america's military confcts abroad. and, much more. >> nawaz: tonight may the third debate for this 20 field of democratic presidential hopefuls, but it's the first time that the ten leading candidates in publ opinion polls are all on the stage, all at once. on the ground in houston, the siur of tonight's debate, is own lisa desjardins, with more ta how the debate is shaping up.

lisa to me. when it comes to the lineup, to t the format, what should we expect to see tonight? >> well, this campus of texas southern university is going to see a unique debate. first of all, let's look at those ten candidates leading the poll. our first time with a single te. as you see in that lineup, there mee five senators, three , and two texans in the debate, but i think the focus will be on the center of the stage. this will be first time that former vice president joe biden will be on stage with elabeth warren, the senator from massachusetts, and amna, she clearly has been gaining the most in polls in the last months i can tell you from talking to voters here in houston, there is a sense of excitement about r that you don't hear about joe biden. the biden campaign told us todae theyoing to try and make the case that while elizabeth has many policy s, the key is to try to implement them. they will say he's the man to carry out those ideas. now, one other presidente h, at least above me right now,

president trump. there is an airplane, you might hear it circling around thisha debate says "vote trump 2020." so he is still present here. it's something as the democrats battle each other that i think you will alsat hear a lot about in this debate. >> nawaz: that explains what u at buzzing sound is. lked about the candidates closer to the middle of the stage. what about the candidates derther out. sometimes thestes are the best chance for them to punch up at the other candidates, get ant mohere they get known, gain some momentum. who needs to have a big night tonight? ee historically we'ven in september and october before a presidential election year, tt the last chance for some candidate to break out from the bottom of the pack. i think two to watch will be new jersey senator cory booker and also julian castro, the former h.u.d. secretary and texan. it's interesting, castro's team told me he did a lot of prouipitation specifically changes to this debate, including longer answer there's candidates will be able to give. they will be given a full minute and 15 seconds, which is still very short, but that does change

their calculations. i alsohink it's important for the middle of the pack, for kamala harris and pete buttigieg to show theyst weren't fads, that they can regain their momentumrom the past. most of all, this is joe biden's chance to try to elecrify democrats and elizabeth warren's chance to show how she match up againstim. and bernie sanders needs to gain some momentum he's lost. >> nawaz: lisa, ten candidates on the stage tonight. there are many more people still ruing for president. if they didn't qualify for the debate stage tonight, does that mean that's the end of the road for theirampaign? >> no. in fact, we already know that tom steyer, the billionaire philanthropist has qualified for next month's debai e. nt to point out, tulsi gabbard, a new poll out today by harris x places her in fourth place in new hampshire. very significant. uanecdotally, i do hear a her from voters. i think there ar v people not on the stage tonight worth watching. >> nawaz: that's lisa desjardins on the ground for us in houston, the site ofni

tot's democratic presidential primary debate. thanks, lisa. >> you're welco. >> nawaz: as congress heads back to work following a string of deadly mass shootings this summer, pressure is building ngon lawmakers to pass meal legislation that could reduce gun violence in this country. a todaumber of corporate leaders and c.e.o.s added their voices to the debate with a new campaign that's directed at the senate. previous gun legislation has often died there in the past.ia willbrangham has a closer look now at this new campaign.m: >> branghat's right, amna. the c.e.o.s of 145 u.s. companies just sent a letter toa rs, urging them to pass legislation to expand backgrounh ks on anyone seeking to buy a gun, and to implement ad national "ag" law, which would allow law enforcement to anyone judged to bnger tom themselves or to others.

the letter said, in part, "doing nothing about america's gun violence crisis is simply unacceptable," and is signed by the heads of companies like levi strauss, twitter, theap,le and uber. another of the signatories is richard edelman. he's the c.e.o. of edelman, the global public relations and communications firm. he joins me from new york city. elman, thank you very mu for being here. why now? s y did this letter... why do so many c.e.el the need to say this today? >> we're at a tipping point. had dayton and el paso. u have continuing gun violence in majan centers, and c.e.o.s feel that they are empowered to step forward into rnment.d left by gove three-quarters of people, according to the edelman trust barometer, now want c.e.o.s to stand up and speak up on behalf of issues of the day. and that's a new kind of mome

in corporate world. so c.e.o.s are doing so with the backing ofir employees and >> brangham: the r thatstoms. you spelled out are things as you well know that are currently encased in bills that are already in the house. background checks and red flag laws. whdo you favor those particular reforms? >> well, edelman went out into the field the last week of august and surveyed00 americansen we found that more than 70% ofmericans actually are going to be more trusting in companies where c.e.o.s speak up on behalf of gun safety and further that four in five said they would be more inclined to buy brands where companies spoke out. so the private sor has every reason to speak up a urge the senate to act on behalf of all

americans. >> brangham: the letter that you all signed is adressed to the senate, but we know thatit senate majleader mitch mcconnell has said he's not going to btng any bill to the senate floor tha pt thsident doesn't back. the senate?s letter as well as >> again, our stud oy was clear. the two preeminent goals of the background checksafeare storage of guns. we are in favor of second amendment right to bear arm, but we want that gun owners conduct their business safel and gun owners want that, too. 70% of gun owners told us that they actually want these things. republicans, a majorithem, big majority of democrats, so i everybody favor, and we think president trump should be the numer-one endorser of this legislation. >> brangham: what are you and other c.e.o.s going to do to

keep up the pressure. worded letter to the senate.rnly it's another thing to say keepup obbying members of congress, it's another thing to change the way or how you donate money. do you have a sense that c.e.o.s will find other ways to try keep up the pressure? >> there's no doubt that we're acting in a new way. talking to congressmen, al to senators, but we're also using the power of our employees who are going to be our moti force. employees want us to speak on their behalf. a and it urgent time for c.e.o.s to mobi ili the sense their entire supply chain of businesses and get them to write letters, as well.s, se 145 colleagues of mine are just part of thfort to get this legislation through.

>> brangham: you mentioned that this is in essence good for business to take this stance. so your ctomers have expressed to you that this is something they believe in, too. so is this a business decision that's being made, or is this being a decision that's based on principl >> this is a business decision. and it's a business deci because the entire focus of based.ss now has to be emplo the number-one trusted institution today is my employer, and there's new expectations of c.e.o.s to stand up and speak up, whether it' about guns, lgbt, immigration, or other issues. so in effect in a vacuum, people are relying onrands and on corporations to answer the call. >> brangham: can you help me understand why it took so long for the busness community en masse to come forward on this? i mean, why after we failed to take any action after sandy ok, after las vegas, after

parkland, why did it take so long? c.e.o.s was, well, if i take aor stand on guns, i'm going to be llked to take stands on s sorts of issues, and i think there's a new crop of c.e.o.s, younger, more social oriented. chip berg f of levi strauss is c leading thpaign. he called dozens of campaigns. now you see stes following wal-mart's lead and kroger and others asking customers to leavm their guns out of the stores. it's now a movement. we have reached the tipping point. and change is only going to happen if bids exerts its musclp in theitical process. we need to c.t. n owes come towa hington, speak the their representatives, and urge them to do the right thing for the american people, which is to get background ccks and safe

storage. >> brangham: all right, rin,ard edelhank you very much for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> nawaz: stay with us. cong up on the newshour: how secure are american elections, ahead of the 2020 presidential race? the trade war comes to maine, as the lobster industry hits rough waters. and on the "newshour bookshelf," "the only plane in the sky: an oral history of 9/11."un thed states has been at war in afghanistan for 18 years, and the american role in syria continues to evolve, with no clear end in sight. until recently, retired generalh jootel oversaw those conflicts and others as head of the u.s. military's middle east operations.sy stephanipeaks with him. but first, she has an update on the conflict in syria. ( explosion >> reporter: from the and on the gund, up to three bllion people living in northern syria ang boxed

in, with nowhere to go. president bashar al-assad's forces are connuing their a onslaught inorthwest idlib province, the last rebel stronghold. the cease-fire announced by assad and his russian backers at the end of august has been all but broken, according to iib resident and civilian activist jomah lqasem. >> the airstrikes in the recent offensive are more concentrad towards the rebel frontlines. this is the "burned by land," or what they call the "burned lan strategy, that the syrian regime, syrian army and the russian backup of the air is demolishing all these provided area and architecture. >> reporter: while idlib burns, hundreds of thousands of residents are fleeing toward turkey, joining a bottleneck of refugees from other parts of syria, packed into overcrowded camps like al-hol. the camps for the sperately displaced are fertile ground for

extremists looking for recruits. camps across the border are alst atir breaking point. turkey is already host to 3.6 million refugees, having map a deal with europe to k reem from migrating further. turkish presidenep tayyip erdogan is now threatening to release the refugees unless >> (ptranslated this either happens or we will have to open ove gates. either you will e support, or, excuse us, but we can only tolete this so much. e we going to carry this weight alone? >> reporte turkey is also poised for its own conflict in northeast syria, against the very forces that have helped the u.s. beat back isis. the syrian kurds are viewed by turkey as terrorists, threatening to carve out their own nation. caught in a crosscurrent of dueling interests, the u.s. agreed to help clear t northeastern border of syrian kurdish outposts, and begin patrolling the border along with turkish forces. but, turkey's foreign minister says the u.s. isn't doing

enough. >> ( translated ): there are some joint patrols, but other than that, the steps that have been taken, or the steps that are said to be taken, are cosmetic steps. we are seeing that the united states want tonternother stalling process. they are trying to get turkey accustomed to this stalling ocess. but our stance on this matter is ry clear. >> reporter: the multi-front war in syria has divided allies and ffused attention. u.n. human rights coissioner michele bachelet urged the world to refocus. >> t,se figures are appalling cameful, and deeply tragic. in a bid to taketrol of territories, there appears to be little concern about taking civilian lives. any further escalation will only result in further loss of life who have already brced toians, repeatedly flee a situation of dire hanitarian conditions. so i appeal to all parties in the conflict, d to those many

powerful states with influence, to put aside politic differences and halt the carnage. >> reporter: meanwhick in idlib, jomah alqasem says his fellow countrymen, women and children are losing hope. >> we have seen actively involved are shrinking and decreasing the fund that is being allocated to the syrian response. what we are seeing is the worst humanitarian crisis-- let's say part of the syrian crisis that has been llchroni occurring. but unfortunately, this is the weakest response. >> reporter: according to thes, "new york tithe u.s. is boosting its military response in northeast syria. it's sending 1rc additional to monitor the border with turkey. joining me now to discuss syis conflict iusand on other

fronts is retired general joseph until april, he led u.s. central mimmand, which oversees military operations in thle east. he is now a fellow at ddle east institute. to have you with us here at the newshour. is there a solution in syria? >> certainly there is. the solution is we have to geton to a political settlement of the situation here. military operations can only do so much, but ultimately t international community will have to come together, hopefully under the united nations to move forward with a political solution here in syria. >> reporter: what roldoes the u.s. play? the u.s. really isn't involvedla in ae like idlib. it rally isn't involved in thetw syrian civilar. beyond it wanting to contait isis, whle should the administration be playing inri

right now? >> well, i think the role the united states should be playingh rtainly is we have let a 79-member coalition to address the threat of isis. we've done that very effectively. we used our partners on the ground to do that. east syria, we're working with our partners to help stabilize these areaso we can create the internationamunities toor move forward. >> reporter: you oversaw the m withdrawt of u.s. troops from syria last year after it was ordered by president trump via twitter. you were not informed or consulted before that move. had you been consulted, what avuld youe said? wo congressional testimony, i don't think thad have been my recommendation at the time. i think it's important to remember that in december, the time when that announcement was made, we were still very down in the euphrates valley.n c we had not yet completed the

defeat of the caliphate. and so we needed to finish that. so it would not have been my advice to makae that decisiot that particular juncture. nse secretaryde jim mattis actually resigned over that decision.e sick months siu have retired fr central command, are you seeing ramifitions of that troop withdrawal, and do you think isis is teially resurgent still in the area? >> yeah, i think that's anon excellent ques i think we've always been concerned about the resurgence of isis. itth important to iecognizt what we accomplished was the defeat of the physical caliphate,he state-like entity that isis tried to iose. they actually did impose for a listening period of time, which i think we completely dismantled, t that doesn't mean all the fighters have gone away. what we've learned over time with these types of organizations is we have to keep pressure on them. they have gone to ground. they have gone to small ells. so we have to stay after them.

we have known that's going to be a requirement. that's a key aspect of whatwe e doing now with our partners on the ground. >> reporter: let's talk about afghanistan. troops there also under your comman troops there also promised a withdrawal. president trump called offks secret te had planned with the taliban and the afghan government last week over the death of an american soldier. some 2,000 americans soldiers ha been killed there in afghanistan. when lawmakers and otherscr icize negotiations with the taliban because they consider themerrorists, mind yo yesterday was the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, what would you say? >> the strategy of the administration has pth in place was announced in august 2017 was to move toward an end state of rtwonciliation been the taliban and the government of afghanistan. so that's what the object of all of our mitary activity and a lot of our diplomatic activitybe ha since then, create the conditions that would bring thee taliban and overnment of

afghanistan together. and through our special envoy, that's what a bulk of his work has been ovr the last year plus to try to do that. this will t be resolved militarily. >> reporter: what do we stand to lose as nation if we pull out now? >> i thinwe have to remember the reason why we went tota afghan we went to afghanistan because afghanistan turned into a land of instability that allowed an organization like al qaeda to plot an attack that killed 3,000 our citizens. >> reporter: is it not still comp ily unstable? on't know that it's completely unstable. there certainly is an element of instability caused by the taliban and other terrorist groups that operate in that particular area, but i our interest. it's in our national interest to ensure that we try to get afghanistan as stable as we can and that the instability that remains in afghanistan does not impact our otheterests. >> reporter: you rece ntly wrote a lett along with many

other general, more than two dozen, about the trump administration's policy toward refugees, and your argument is that drawing down the number of refugees this nation accepts could actually destabize our allies as well as threaten our own national security. can you explain that? >> sure. one of the provisions i think that we addressed in the letter was a provion for e special immigrant visa. this is a program that was putb in place a ner of years ago to offer an opportunity for those whoassisted us in our military operations to come to the united states. i think we have to remember, many ofny these afghan citizens that served with us as interpreters, not only put themselves but putheir families at risk in support of our national securi objective. >> reporter: ira, as well. >> iraqi, as well. it's important for us to follow safety and the opportunity to come to our country, and special

immigrant visa, a p2 and visa program that's in place for iraq, these are extraordinarily important programs. and they send a very strong message to our partnersand people that put it on the line for us that we are with you anda e going the stay with you. we have talked about the number of refugees in countries likrke but also lebanon, jordan, all of these countries, afghanistan, pakistan, have refugees.huge numbers of is is a challenge for the international community that we have to address. and i think the united states has to play a role in being a leader on this.so hat's what motivated me to support this lettter. >> reporter: general joseph votel, former head of central command, thank you so much. >> thank you. great to be with you. >> nawaz: the 2020 elections are not far away, but right now, the

agency in charge of enforcing campaign finance laws, thera feelection commission is largely unable to function. the departure of the republican vice chair last month leaves the commission with just threey- members toa republican, an independent, and a democrat-- when it needs four members to have a quorum. yesterday, judy woodruff sre down witudthining democrat on the panel, the chair of the f.c., ellen weintraub. >> woodruff: chairman ellen s.intraub, thank you very much for talking with son a nutshell, what should the american people know aerut what the f electioner commission does? >> judy, the federal election commission is the origin "follow the money" agency. we were set up in the aftermath of watergate, to make sure tt the american people know who is funding the political campaignse thatare seeing every day. >> woodruff: so normally, you're supposed to have, by law, six commissioners. you are down to three right now: a democrat, a republican, and an independent. what does that mean, in terms of

t at you were able to do and what you're le to do? >> well, the good news is that we have a terrific staff, and they are continuing to come to work and do their jobs every day, and most of the work does get done by the staff. t the decisions that the agency has to make, those have to be made by a minimum of four commissioners. and right now, as you pointed out, we only have three. we have roughly 250 enforcement matters that are in the-- somewhere in the hopper, and we need commissioners present in der to conclude those matters and make decisions so that these things aren't hanging over politicians' heads. and the american peo understand who has violated the law anwho hasn't. >> woodruff: well, what's anhi example of som that's not getting done? >> well, we have over 30 complaints that are g in thhouse right now that allege reign national money bei spent in our eleions. that iflatly illegal, and they are important allegations that the commission has previously but we can't addrem righte. now. and we don't know if some of

em may be completely unsubstantiate but some of them may be serious allegations that require investigationr sanction. >> woodruff: syou can't decide on whether to instigate until you have your complement of commissioners? >> that's right. >> woodruff: and in connectionco with that, the president said in june that he would be willing to accept information about his political opponents even if it was given to him by a foreign government. you quickly warned, you put out a statement, that this would be illegal. expand on that. what were you ying? >> well. not talking about any individual, but the rule of law is that it is absolutely illegal or solicit assistance from aive foreign government, for an foreign national to assist in our elections. we have a flat ban on foreign spending in our elections. 's important for america citizens to know that we are in charge of our own elections. we are the ones making the desion we are the ones funding the politicians.wh we are the oneultimately

take responsibility for our own government.nd >> woodruff:nother point that president trump has been making, really, for a very long time, and that is clcl continued-- repeated claims of there was a recent "usa today" poll that found four in ten ters have little or no confidence that next year's bection in 2020 is going conducted in a fair way. should the american people trust that it wille conducted in a ir way? >> well, i think election administrations being conducted throughout the country by a lot of dedicated public servantsorking at the stat and local level, and they are, i'm sure, going to do their darnedest to make sure that the election is carried out properly. but there are a lot of risks that we know about right now. we knothat foreign governments are trying to attack our elections. we know that people have difficulty voting sometimes. there is one scholar who looked at every election between 2000 and 2014, over a billion votes, and found only 31 credible possibilities of voter fraud.ib

now, the problem with talking about voter fraud when it is unsubstantiated is that there is a risk that measures will be harder, that will imposet citizens exercising their right to vote.no righ if we get over 60% participation in any election,on that'sdered good turnout, and we need to have more peopl participating, civically engaged and making their choices so than the gont represents them. >> woodruff: coming back to the fedel election commission again-- you only have three commissioners. you need six. u need four to have a quorum. you don't-- u don't have that. i assume you've made the case to the white house. s."we need these appointme what's the response you get? >> well, i dot want to talk about any communications that i've had, but i have publiclyat , and i will take this opportunity to state again, that we need to get new commissioners on board. it needn't take very long. it could hapn very quickly, if the president and the senate are motivated.

we could get new nominees nominated and confirmed in short order. the vice chairman, who recently resigned, when he was originally nominated, he was confirmed 12 days later. so we could get back up to speed very quickly, and we should. >> wdruff: ellen weintraub, chair of the federal election commission, thank you very m h. >> thank you, judy >> nawaz: even with trade negotiations set to resume next month, the trade and tariff ware een president trump and the chinese government are not you may not know it, but those tariffs are clawing ay at profits in the lobster business, and putting some folks in a real pinch. economics correspondent paulor solman r from new england on the unusual twists of this nsory, part of our regular series, "making " >> see the claw growing back right here? >> reporter: oh that's a little

new claw. aww, it's soft, and... >> yeah, it kind of feels like a mmy bear. >> reporter: out on casco bay, off portland, maine,ibith dave la lte, hauling lobster traps-- that's the smallest lobster i've ever seen. --snaring mostly throwbacks. >> in order for us tkeep a lobster, it's got to be three and a quarter inches across the back.'s thalled the carapace. so, there we go. we've got a keeper.or >> rr: lobstering is a $1.5 billion fishery helping keep the state of maine's economy afloat. but, last july-- >> china in fact did retalia with its own tariffs immediately after the u.s.'s move. >> reporter: --the profit-trusty crustaceans became target of the trade war. >> described as the largest trade war in economic history. >> reporter: a 25% retaliatory chinese tariff on the auspiciously red and dragon-like foodstuff that, over the past decade, has become a sino-

sensation. >> ( translated ): lobster is a top-quality food product that we are using as the main selling point in our buffet, because our guests are used to thinking that eating lobster should beth someg that they should pay a lot of money for. >> reporter: but not, it seems,% an extra 2 so, lobstermen like daveco liberte are beng desperate, no? no. >> right now, the boat price is around $4 a pound. that was the price in 2018, as well as 2017. >> reporter: but thef was put in a year ago, no effect?ve >> we t seen an effect on the boat price yet. >> reporter: but how can this be? china had been taking an ever-ak bigger chunk of the local lobster catch, snappin nearly half of maine's exports. and that's the economic puzzle that brought me to casco bay: how can the price of lobsters not have dropped, given suddenly, drastically lower demand? >> lobstermen aren't really being affected by this, because

canada is buying our u.s. lobsters, tagging them as canadian, and shipping them. >> reporter: and that, says r stepnie nadeau, a wholesaler elwho buys at the dock andls to the world, is the answer to the puzzle. china's still getting its lobsters, even those from maine. but not from american wholesalers. so, you mean that canada gets the business that the united states used to get? >> yes. >> reporter: period? >> period.er >> hs a canadian lobster, and here is the american lobster, each costing $4.av >> reporter: de kaselauskas once taught chemistry, felt trapped in the classroom, t switchedo lobstering 52 years w ago-- but asfound out, he's still a teacher the core. >> this one goes over, still $4. this one now has a 25% tariff imposed by the chinese government. and so, that is going to cost an extra dollar. which one are you going to buy? they're identical.

both are homarus americanus. both are from the gulf of r:ine. >> repornd why can us lobsters get into china via canada tariff-free? because canadas not in a trade war, and happens to have its own quite liberal trade rules. >> the position of c.f.i.a., the canadian food inspection agency, and the way they write their certificates, is, it only has to come from the north atlantic fishing region. it doesn't distinguish between country of origin. >> reporter: but othe flip side, any lobster shipped by an american wholesar from the u.s. to china-- even one caught in canadian waters-- is stampe"" product of the u.s.a.," thereby triggering the tariff. >> there's no way out for a u.s. lobster dealer. and you've given every advantage to canadian lobster dealers. it's insurmountable. >> reporter: so, china's retaliatory tariffs benefit the canadian industry-- already growing as the gulf of maine warms, pushing lobsters north. but... so what? >> in the lobster industry,

everythings connected. >> reporter: annie tselikis runs the maine lobster dealers' association.u present wholesalers, the middlemen. historically, neither customers nor suppliers have liked the middlemen, right? >> our fishermen go oudafishing ever they come back and they bring in their lobsters. the're not the ones that ar marketing and promoting their lobste. so, we really need this industry to work at its greatest potential, and for us, that also means having our valuable export markets accessib for this product that is so important to the state of maine. >> in this particular t, you have to have a middleman, because someone has to be responsible for the life suprt system to get them to where they're going. you can't just take them out of the ocean and ship them. they'll die. they have to be sorted. they have to be kept in is very cold room and packed undero temperature control. we've developed packaging methods, how we keep our lobster tanks, how we handle ourrs

lobs, over 15 years. >> reporter: and it's that unique skill that's now, at least for the moment, obsolete. >> worthless. worthless. that's tough to take. >> reporter: so what's an american lobster seller do? the president recently tweeted an edict: "our great american companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to china." and by the way, this is just what maine coast lobster inrk yo, one of the state's largest ngolesalers, has been tryio do. >> we did find growth in taiwan, and korea, and malay we're starting to see some growth in the middle east. sheila adams.ce president >> we had two choices when the tariffs came out. we could retract, knowing that that business is goi to go away, or we could say "let's go for it." so we had to look to other countries, as well as continuing to expand r domestic business. >> reporte so how do you whet the appetite of american nsumers for more lobster?re >> so, a promotion that you'll

see done is, "loters are great for tailgating." grilling a lobster, or steamin up a lobster in a big parking lot, before a game, you're going to have a lot of frioming to see your tailgate party. >> reporter: and that's a double entendre: tailgate, lobster tail?at no? >> ( laughs ) o i didn't thithat, but i'll use it. >> reporter: but smaller players like stephanie nadeau cannot. >> there's no untapped market we're missing. >> reporter: so what a doing? >> selling less lobsters. making less money. because there used to be a game >> reporter: as a result, she's laid off half of the 14 people in her wholesale operation. >> our rural communities along the coast are dependent upon this fishery, and that's what is potentially very scary for us, t isnking about this long- term. >> reporter: and by the way, says lobsterman kaselauskas: >> my bait bill last year was $32,000. this year, it's going to exceed $50,000. r orter: because the price of herring has gone up. so shellfishermen too are now t startingo feel a substantial pinch. a >> we're nieving anywhere

near our profit margin this year, as we dithlast year, and year before. >> reporter: you mean your costs correct. up. >> reporter: so the fact that the pricis the same at the wharf is misleading, because you need to be charging more just to stay even. >> absutely. my dealer is trying to supplement our income by givin us a higher price, bute e can't becaof the tariffs. >> reporter: and hey, even 18- ar lobster vet dave liberte is trying to escape the vagariet ofhe now-volatile lobster trade.us >> our primaryess is tourism. >> reporter: really? >> yeah. taking the passengers out.as i don't think we're necessarily making a lot more money than a commercial lobstermen. we're just diversifying a little bit.r: >> reporteust in case canada takes the opportunity to further build up its lobster industry, and ta the chinese market away permanently from the united states. this is business and economicsco

espondent paul solman, reporting from maine. >> nawaz: everyone alive at the me remembers where they were on september 11th, 2001. while the events of the day are seared ir nation's collective memory, details of, what the victirvivors and emergency responders experienced have faded over time but a powerful new book, "the only planen the sky: an oral history of 9/11," seeks to serve as a reminder to future generaons of that moment in time that forever changed america. and the author garrett fraff joins me here now. i call you the author. yu work withr colleague gathering many of these stories, but it's an oral history. a itompilation of people's

meries of that day. a lot of them have been told before. n in putting this together now, did you discover new details? >> yeah, it was a day that was so dramatic it was so harfor us to wrap our minds around that day. the book totad 480 americans coast to coast. i wasmazed at some of the stories that i had sort of heard about over the years but largely overlooked. it was a day that was is hard for us to understand in realn time that ev with 18 years it is hard to capture in a single volume. >> nawaz: 18 years later, why do you think this nd of storytelling matters, going back into all the details of the events that day? >> this is the 18th anniversary now. i think it's the most important way to tell the story. you have american service menan women born after 9/11 being deployed to iraq and afghanistan to fight the wars spawned by

9/11, even though they actually have no emotional connection or understanding of that day. and so my goal with this book was to tell 9/11 not the facts of the day, which are all famiar to us, but what we lose as time goes on is the fear and the chaos and the confusion of what it ls like toe that day. we now know when we tell the 9/11 story when the attacks bgan and when they ended. and that's -- for those of us who sort of lived thatay, none of us knew that at the time. we didn't know when the attackse gan, we didn't know when the attacks were overandhe fear and the confusion of that day was siilar for everyone in america, whether you were a school child or the president of the united states. >> and the details that people remember from that day, it's just -- it's so powerful. i want to pull out a couple of examples because there are voices of several first

responders in particular woven throughout the entirey. we know the bravery they showed that day, but what you revealede is what they hinking in that moment of chaos. there is one quote from ctai jay jonas of the fire department of new york as he's awaiting i ordethe north tower's ground floor lobby. and he says this, he says, "onee of the fmen looked up and said, we may not live through today. we looked at him and we looked at each other and we said, "you're right." we took the time to shake each other's hand andrish each othe good luck. this idea of the fear and the uncertaiy, that's woven throughout the entire story, throughout all the voices you talk to. >> absolutely. d one of the things that really i worked to capture that day, because thts were paf the stories that jumped out at me looking back, was the sensory experience of 9/11. i mean, we all rember theem sights of that day, you know, we all watched that day unfold in real-time on television.e i mean, sof us for much of the day. what we never knew, what we have

forgotten arehe tastes of the the, the sounds of the day, smells of the day. i mean, every one of the volunteer firefighters who nksville, sha pennsylvania, and flight 93 talks about what the smell of that crash sticks with them, you know, the firefighters and the first responders in lower manhattan talk about what the taste of the dust fromus the collapse felt like heir mouth. one of the firefighters wool sock in your mouth.ing a and then, of course, the thing that we sort of all remember from across the country is the pronounced quiet that settles over the country in the course of that afternoon, the schools let out early, businesses closed, and all of the planes are grounded. and suddenly you walk outside and you realize that you don't hear any planes. >> nawaz: andome of those moment, too, people were real in their retelling incredibly intimate moments, their last moments withhe loved ones in

some cases. there's one story from a woman named beverly who is on the phone with her husband, sean rooney, who is trapped in the south tower above the 98th nfoor, and she's sharing this story in such p detail. she writes, "i could tell it was breath. harder for him to i asked if it hurt. he paused for a moment and then he loved me enough to lie. as the motor vehicle got thicker, he kept whispering i love you over and overe . ares the moment then, too, mhen she hears him gasp as the floor fell out f underneath him. i called his name in the phone over and or. did it surprise you that people were willing to share these incredibly painful, intimate moments in this way. >> it's actually remarkable. the book is a mix of my ownal orignterviews and some incredible archiving work done by places like the 9/11 memorial, story core, which is where beverly eckert's stors y coom, the fligfrht 93

national memorial, the pentagon's historian's office, that had the good sense that these were stories that needed to beve presfor history and went out in the months and years after 9/11 to capture ese stories. and, you know, the experience that i had interview ain couple hundred people for my book is every single person wanted to ta. every single person that i approached as a stranger asking them to tell abo tt the worst dy of their lives was excited to share their story, as painful as it was, they wanted tosu make it was remembered. and the way that people -- the perspective that people sort of brought to their experience, i tell the story, one of the main characters in the book, will jimeno, the poutthority police officer who is actually trapped under thcollapse of both towers, he's one of only rescued from underneath the towers, but, you know, when he es out and speaks to groups

today, you know, he talks about, twin towers fall on me.rs of the we all have our ntworld trade s in our heist. we all have the challenges that we think arensurmountable, an it's about sort of how you react as a human that determines the path of your fe. >> nawaz: there is this idea of luck, that whether or not you lived died that day was almost arbitrary. was that something people shared with you over an over? >> it was the theme programs rere than anything that stood out to me as ias working on this book was the way that the random life decisions, the types of things that we make a thousand times day without thinking, ended up literally determining life or death that day. michael lomanoco's a chef at windows on the world in the north tower would have been normally at his kitchen by 8:30 that tuesday e morninept that day of all days he decided to stop and get a new pair of glasses at lenscrafters in the basement of the world trade center. and he missed the las evator up to the top, and 72 of his

colleagues died and he didn't. joseph lott, another story i tell, was supposed to be attending a conference at windows on theorld at that day. at breakfast in the lobby of thl marriott hn the basement of the world trade center that day, one of his colleagues who was headed to the conference, gave him a new tie that she hado boug vacation and thought he would like, and he is like th, is a really nice gift, i'm going to go back to my hotel wear this tie to the conference that day. and he goes back to his ro, changes his shirt, his colleagues go on to the conference and he lived and they didn't. nawaz: garrt graff, the book is a stunning compilation of some incredibly powerful stories. the book is "the only plane insk th." garrett graff, thank you so mur. >> thanks haring these stories.

>> nawaz right now, we have a guide for what to watch for in the ondemocratic debate in hou plus, we'll have more analysis after the debate tonight. u n find that on ourha website, www.pbs.org/n'sshour. and thhe newshour for tonight. i'm amna nawaz. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you and we'll see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >>nsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> and with the ongoing suppt of these institutions

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♪ o, he everyone and welcome to "ayman four & co." here's what's coming up. the room as we are having our to final confrontation with harveyn ein. >> the journalists who brought down harvey weinstein jn us with theesew book. "she said" takes us behind the scenes that sparked a global revolution against sexual assault. > we feel dismay, just rage, guilt, confusion, self-doubt. >> another journalist'se bat for social change and justice. the bbs carrie gracie and her braveeight for equal pay for women. plus -- >>dy dad over the phone s to me, please, please, justrv e. >>8 years since 9/11, how the children near grouero.he