captioponsored by newshour productions, llc >> nawaz: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: ten take the stage. what to look for, as the delscratic presidential hope 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 tariffs come to mas chinese >> our rural communities along the coast are dependent upon this fishe. 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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ti these institutions: and individuals. >> this program wamade possible by the corporatn for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> nawaz: democrats in the s. house of representatives have taken another tentative trump.oward impeaching president they set out ground rules today, amid questions about how ready they are to go further. white house correspondent epyamiche alcindor has ourt. >> alcindor: today, democrats insisted: no matter what you he process, the possibility of impeaching president trump is still on their mis. >> some call this process an impeachment inquy. some call it an impeachment investigation. there is no legal differce

between these terms, and i no longer care to argue about the nomenclature. >> alcindor: in a party line vote, the house judiciary comme tee passed a resolution setting rules for future impeachment investig hearings. they allow committee staff to question witnesses for an hour. they 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 amo threat to our acy. we have an obligation to respond to this threat. d we are doing so. >> alcindor: but house republicans called the resolution a political scheme. are you starting an impeachment proceeding, or not?pr is this just more smoke and r rrors so you can appease the ft? >> will the gentleman yield so the answer is yes, we're engaged al an impeachment investigation. >> alcindor:ornia

republican tom mcclintock added this: >> i dare you to do in fact, i double-dog-dare you to do it. d ve the house vote on those 18 words, en go at it. why won't you do that?t it's because you want to give the illusion of impeachment withouthe reality of impeachment. >> alcindor: but after the hearg, chairman nadler sound confident that impeaching the 45th president could be a reality. woterwards, nadler said the panel uld be calling former lewandowski, to testify nexty week. the white house has blocked some testimony from other trump associates. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> nawaz: the trump administration began enforcing a new asylum policy today, after the u.s.upreme court allowed it to take effect nationwide. the change effectively bars most central american migrants athe southern border. they first have to seek asylum in a country they passed through. immigration activists denounced the court order as a "death sentence" for thousands, and mexico's foreign secretary also deplored the ruling.

>> ( translated ): the court's on is astonishing in the papact that it is going to have, a court of the united states. so what do we have to do? o eate alternatives so people do not haveke on those risks. we are concerned about that. tweeted that the high court's order was a big win. but, it is also temporary, pending the ultimate outcome of the legal battle over the the environmental protection agency announced plans today to revoke an obama-era regulation on protecting wetlands and small streams. the agency said extending federal authority beyond large bodies of water amounted to a "power grab." evironmental groups said move could threaten drinking water for millions of peopma. in the ba officials cut the nuer of missing in the aftermh of hurricane dorian to 1,300. that's roughly half the number ven a day earlier. meanwhile, u.s. officials in washington announced $4 miion in additional humanitarian aid alfor the islands, for a tf t0 million so far.

re's a long road ahead. i think it's very clear that the u.s., both private sector, charitable, for-profit and the public secto stands with the people of the bahamas, and we're there to help out. tiwe will be there for som. >> nawaz: the hurricane did an estimated $7 billion in damage across the bahamas. forecasters are tracking another tropical system in the caribbean.in it could bring heavy new rain to n e bahamas by tomorrow. backis country, the u.s. department of education blasted chicago's public schools for a department investigation found what it called "tragic and inexcusable" problems in the nation's third-largest school strict. the district has been ordered to overhaul its system for handling student complaints, to comply 'sth federal law. virginieutenant governor, justin fairfax, sued cbs today for defamation, asking for $400 million in damages. we network had aired interviews with ten who aused fairfax of sexual assault.

he denied thallegations, and says cbs failed to properly investigate and fact-check their stories. the network says it stands by its rerting. an initial investigation of a scuba boat fire f southern california shows all six crew members were asleep athe time. the national transportation safety board says it found no obchanical or electrical ms 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 signetndorsements. state laakers gave final approval last night to a bill allowing exactly that. the n.c.a.a. says it would giv california schools an unfair recruiting advantage, anit warns they could be banned from some competitions. the group is urging governor gavin newsom to veto the measure. and, on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained

45 points to close at 27,182. s&e nasdaq rose 24 points, and the 500 added eight. still to come on the newshour: what to watch for, as the demoatic presidential candidates go head to head in tonight's debate. lawmakers act to sm gun that violence. the former head of u.s. central command on america's military conflicts abroad. and, much more. >> nawaz: tonight mabe the third debate for this 2020 field of democratic presidential hopefuls, but it's the fst time that the ten leing candidates in public opinion polls are all on the stage, all at once. on the ground in houston, the site of tonighs debate, is our own lisa desjardins, with more on how the debate is shaping up.

lisa, talk to me when it comes to the lineup, to 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 as youn that lineup, there eebate. are five senators, three women, and two texans in the debate, but i think the focus will be oh e center of the stage. this will be first time that former vice president joe biden will be on stage with elizabeth warren, the senator fromhu masstts, and amna, she clearly has been gaining the most in polls in the last months. i can tell you from talking to ters here in houon, there is a sense of excitement about her that you don't hear about joe ebiden. the b campaign told us today they are going to try and make the case that while elizabeth has many policy ideas, the key is to try to implent them. they will say he's the man to carry out those ideas. now, one other president here, at least above me right now,

president trump. there is an airplane, you might hear it circling around this sbate thatays "vote trump 2020." so he is still present here. 's something as the democrats battle each her that i think you will also hear a lot about in this debate. >> nawaz: that explains what at buzzing sound i you talked about the candidates closer to the middle of the tage. what abo candidates further out. sometimes these debates are the best chance for them to punch up at the other candidates, get a moment where they get known, gain some momentum. who needs to have a big night tonight? >> historically we've seen in september and octob before a presidential election year, that is the last chance for some candidate to breakut from the bottom of the pack. i think two to watch will be new jersey senator cory booker and also julian castro, the fmer h.u.d. secretary and texan. it's interesting, castro's team tolde he did a lotf precipitation specifically about changes to this debate, including longer answer there's candidates will be ae to give. they will be given a full minute and 15 seconds, which is sti very short, but that does change

their calculations. i also think it's important for the middle of the pack, for iamala harris and pete buttigieg to show they weren't just fad, that they can regain their momentum from the pastmo of all, this is joe biden's chance to t to electrify democrats and elizabeth warren's chance to show how she matches up against him. and bernie sanders needs to regain some momentum he's lost. >>awaz: lisa, n candidates on the stage tonight. there are many more people still running for presdnent. if they qualify for the debate stage tonight, does that mean thado's the end of the road for their campaign? >> no. in fact, we already know that tom steyer, the billionaire philanthropist has quafied for next month's debate.oi i want tot out, tulsi gabbard, a new poll out today by harris x places her in fourth place in new hampshire. very signficant. anecdotally, i do hear about her from voters. i think there arn people not o the stage tonight worth watching. >> nawaz: that's lisa desjardins on the ound for us in houston, the site of

tonight's democratic presidential primary debate. thanks, lisa. >> you're welcome. >> nawaz: as congress heads back to work following a string of deadly mass shootings this summer, pressure is building on lawmake to pass meaningful legislation that could reduce cn violence in this country.ce today, a number porate 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 ten died there in the past. william brangham has a closer look now at this new campaign. >> brangham: that's right, amna. the c.e.o.s of 145 u.s. ercompanies just sent a leo senators, urging them to pass legiation to expand backgrou checks on anyone seeking to buy a gun, ando implement a national "red flag" law, which would allow law forcement to temporarily take guns from anyone judged to be a danger to themselves or to others.

the letter said, in part, "doing nothing about america's gun violence crisis is simply unacceptable," and it's signed by the heads of compies like levi strauss, twitter, the gap, 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. mr. edelman, thank you very much for being here. why now? why did ths letter... whyo so many c.e.o.s feel the need to say this today? g >> we're at a tippint. we had dayton and el paso. we have continuing gun violence in major urban centers, and c.e.o.s feel that they are empowered to step forward into the void left by government. three-quarters of people, according to the edelman trust barometer, now want c.e .o.s to stand up and speak up on behalf issues of the day. and that's a new kind of moment

in corporate world. so c.e.o are dng so with the backing of theiemployees and the backing of their customers. >> brangham: the reforms that 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 fg laws. why do you favor those particular reforms? >> well, edelman went out into the field the last week of august and surveyed 1,000 americansen we found that morean 0% of americans 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 brandsphere comanies spoke out. so the private sector has every reason to speak up and urge the senate to act onehalf of all

americans. >> brangham: the letter thatne you all siis adressed to the senate, but we know that senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has said he's not going to bring any billo the senate floor that the president doesn't back. so shouldn't the president be getting this lett as well as the senate? >> again, oury studwas clear. the two preeminent goals of the gun safety alliance ar background checks and safe storage of guns. we are in favor of second amendment right to bear arm, but we want that gune ownrs conduct their business safely. and gun owners wan that, too. % of gun owners told us that they actually want these things. republicans, a majority of them, big majority of democrats, so everybody is in favor, and weid think prt trump should be the number-one endorser of this >> brangham: what u and other c.e.o.s going to do to

keep up the pressureng it's one to sign a sternly worded letter to the senate. it's another thing to say keep up lobbying 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 to keep uphe pressure >> there's no doubt that we're acting in a new way. talking to congressmen, also to senators, but we're also using the power of our employees who are going to be our motive force. employees want us to speak onr thehalf. and it's an urgent time for c.e.o.s to mobilize in the sense their entire supply chain of those who contribute to their businesses and get them to writ. letters, as we these 145 colleagues of mine are just part of the effort to get this leglation through.

>> brangham: you mentioned that this is in essence good for business to taks stance. so your customers have expressed to you thathis is something they believe in, too. so is this a business decision that's being made, or is this being a decision that based on principle? >> this is a business decision. and it a buness decision because the entire focus of business now has to be employee based. the number-one trusteto institutioay is my employer, and there's newio expect of c.e.o.s to stand upnd speak up, whether it's abouguns, lgbt, immigration, or other issues. so in effect in a vuumpeople are relying on brands and on corporations to answer the call. >> brangham: canou help me derstand why it took so long for the business community en masse to come forward on this? i mean, why after we failed to take any action after sandy hook, after las vegas, after

parknd, why did it take so long? >> i think the real question for one.o.s was, well, if i take a stanuns, i'm going to be asked to take stands on all sorts of issu ies, andhink there's a new crop of c.e.o.s, younger, morsocially oriented. chip berg f of levi strauss is leading the campaign. he called dozens of campaigns. now you see storesollowing wal-mart's lead and kroger and their guns out e stores.to leave it's now a movement. pingave reached the t point. and change is only going to happen if bids exerts its muscle in the polcal process. we need to c.t.e. owes come to s washingtoak the their representatives, and urge them american people, which is to get background checks and safe

storage. >> brangham: all right, richard edel vman, thank yy much for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> nawaz: stay with us. coming up on t newshour: how secure are american elections, ahead of the 2020 presidential race? the trade war comes to maine, as the lobster industry hitste rough . and on the "newshour bookshelf," "the only plane in the sky: an oral history of 9/11."s the united stas 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 generals joseph votel o those conflicts and others as head of operations. middle east stephanie sy speaks with him. but first, she has an update on the conflict in syria. ( explosion ) >> reporr: from the air, and on the ground, up to thr million people living in northern syria are being boxed

in, with nowhere to go. president bashar al-assad's forces are continuing thei onslaught in northwest idlib province, the last rebel stronghold. ye cease-fire announced b assad and his russian backers at the end of august has been all but broken, according to idlib resident and civilian activist jomah lqasem. >> the airstrikes in the recent offensive are more concentrated towards the rebel frontlines. this is the "burned by land," or what they call the "burned land" strategy, that the syrian regime, syrian army and thed 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 desperately displaced are fertile ground for

extremists looking for recruits. mps across the border are alsoac at their breaking point. turkey is already host to 3.6 million refugees, having made a deal with europe to keep them from migrating r. turkish president reccep tayyip erdogan is now teatening tfu release the es unless europe provides more aid. >> ( ertranslated ): this ei happens or we will have to open the gates. eith you will provide suppor or, excuse us, but we can only tolerate this so m th. are we goicarry this weight alone? poised for its own conflict in northeast syria, against theve forces that have helped the u.s. beat back isis. the syrian kurds are viewed byurkey as terrorists, threatening to carve out their own nation. caught in a crosscurrent of dueling interests, the u.s. agreed to lp clear the northeastern border of syrian kurdish outposts, and begin patrolling the border along wh 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 tbe taken, are cosmetic steps. states want to enter anotherd stalling process.re they a trying to get turkey accustomed to this stalling process.an but our on this matter is very clear. >> reporter: the multi-front war in syria has divided allies and diffused atttion. u.n. human rights commissioner michele bachelet urged the worlf tous. >> these figuresshre appalling, ameful, and deeply tragic. bid to take control of territories, there appearso be litt concern about taking civilian lives. any further escalation will only result in further lossf life and displacement of civilians, who have already been forced to repeatly flee situation of dire humanitarian conditions. so i aeal to all parties in the conflict, and to those manye

ul states with influence, to put aside political differences and halt the carnage. >> reporte meanwhile, back in idlib, jomah alqasem says his fellow counthimen, 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 chronically occurring. but unfortunately, ts is the weakest response. >> reporter: according to theep sew york times," the u.s. boosting its military response in northeast syria. it's sending 150 additionalr forces to monie border with turkey. joining me now to discuss this thconflict in syria and on

fronts is retired general joseph vote until april, he led u.s. central licommand, which oversees ry operations in the middle east. he is now a fellow at the middle east institute. general votel, it's a pleasure to have you with us here at the newshour. e there a solution in syria? >> certainly th. the solution is we have to get to a political settlement of the situation here.mi tary operations can only do so much, but ultimately the international community will ha to come together, hopefully under the united nations to move forward with a polisotical tion here in syria. >> reporter: what role does the u.s. play? the u.s. really isn't involved in a place like idlib. itthally isn't involved i syrian civil war. beyond it waning to contain isis, what rol should theti administ be playing in

syria right now? >> well, i think the role the united states should be playinge ainly is we ve let a ressember coalition to a the reat of isis. we've done that very effectively. we used our partners on thet. ground to do t now in places like north and east syria, we're working with our partners to help stabilize these areas so we can create platform tt would allow for the international communities to move forward.ou >> reporter:versaw the withdrawal most 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 coulted, what would you have said? >> congressional testimony, i don't think that would have been my recommendation at t time. i thk it's important to remember that in december, at the time when that announcement was made, we were still very engaged in a military campaign down in the euphrates valley. we had not yompleted the

defeat of the caliphate. and so we needed to finish that. sot would not have bee my advice to make that decision at that particular juncture. >> reporter: defense secretary jim mattis aually resigned ov that decision. sick months since you have retired from central command, are you eing ramifications of that troop withdrawal, and doi you isis is potentially resurgent still in the area?h >> yi think that's an excellent question. i think we've always been ncerned about the resurgence of isis. it's important to recognize that what we accomplished was thehy defeat of theical caliphate, the state-like entiti that tried to impose. they actually did impose for a listening period of time, which i think weompletely dismantled, but that doesn't mean all the fighters have gone away.ne what we've leover time with these types of organizations is we have to keep pressure on them.go they hav to ground. they have gone to small cells. so we have to stay after them.

we have known that's going to be a requirematt. a key aspect of what we're doing now with our partners on the grou. >> reporter: let's talk about afghanistan. troops there also under your coand. troops there also promised a withdrawal. president trump called off secret talks he had planned with rnantaliban and the afgh gont last week over the death of an american soldier. some 2,000 americans soldrs have been kild therin afghanistan. when lawmakers and othersg criticize tiations with the taliban because they consider them terrorts, mind you yesterday was the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, what would you say? >> the strategy of the administration has put in place that was announced in august 2017 was to move toward an end state of reconciliaon between the taliban and the government of afghanistan. ll that's what the object of of our military activity and a lot of our diplomatic activityhe has been since, create the conditions that would bring the nttaliban and the govern of

afghanistan together. and through our special envoaty, what a bulk of his work to try to do that.last year this will not be resolved militarily. >> reporter: what do we stand to lose as natiulon if wel out now? >> i think we have to remember afghanistan.hy we went to we went to afghanistan because afghanistan turned into a land of instability that allowed a organization like al qaeda to plot an attack that killed 3,000 of our citizens. >> reporter: is it not still completely unstable?th >> i don't knot it's completely unstable. there certainly is an element of instability caused by the taliban and other terrorist groups that operate in that particularrea, but it's in r interest. it's in our national interest to ensure that we try to g afghanistan as stable as we can and that the instability that remains in afghanistan does not impact our other interests. >> reporter: you recently wrota letter alonwith many other general, more than two

dozen, about the trumadp nistration's policy toward refugees, and your argument is that drawing down the number of refugees this nation accepts could actually destabilize our allies as well as urreaten own national security. ain that?xpl one of therovisions i think that we addressed in the letter was a provision efor the cial immigrant visa. this is a program that was put place a number of years ago to offer an opportunity for those who assisted us in our military operations to come to the united states. i think we have to remember, many of these afghan citizens that served with us as interpreters, not only put themselves but put their families at risk in support of our national securi objective. >> reporter: iraqi as well. >> iraqi, as well. it's important for uollow through and provide them the safety and the opportunity to come to our country, and specia

immigrsa, 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 partners and people that put it on the line for us that we are with you and we are goe stay with you. es in countries like the numb turkey but also lebanon, jordan, e l of thesuntries, afghanistan, pakistan, have absorbed huge numbers of refuches. this is lenge for the international community that we have to address. and i think the united states has to plaaole in bng a leader on this. so that's what motivated me to support this letter. >> reporter: general jo votel, former head of central command, thank you so much. >> thank you. great to be with yo. >> nawaz: the 2020 elections are not far away, but right now, the

agency in charge of enforcing campaign finance laws, the c federal electimission is largely unable to function. the departure of the republican vice chair last month leaves the commission with just three members today-- a repu, an independent, and a democrat-- when it needs four members to have a qrum. yesterday, judy woodruff sat down with the remaining democrat on the panel, the chair of the f.e.c., ellen weintraub. >> woodruff: chairman ellen weintraub, thank you very much fotalking with us. so in a nutshell, what should the american people know about what the federal elect commission does? >> judy, the federal election commissions the originalal "follow the money" agency. we were set up in the aftermath of watergate, to make sure that the american people know who is funding the political campaigns that they are 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 what you were able to do and

?wh you're not able to >> well, the good news is that we have a terrific staff, andti they are cing to come to work and do their jobs every day, and most of the work doese get done by aff. but the decisions that the agency has tmake, those have 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 inon order toude those matters and make decisions so that these things aren't hanging over liticians' heads. and the american people understand who has violated the law d who hasn't. >> woodruff: well, what's an example of something that's not getting done? welin we have over 30 complats that are sitting in the house right now that allege foreign natial money being spent in our elections. that is flatly illal, and they are important allegations that the commission has previouslyis said they would prioriti. but we can't address them right now. and we don't know if some of

them may be completely unsubstantiated, but some of them may be serious allegations that require investigation or sanction. >> woodruff:o you can't decide on whether to investigate unl you have your complement of commissioners? >> that's right. >> woodruff: and in connection with that, the president said in june that he would be willing to accept information about hisac was given to him by a foreignt government. you quickly warned, you put out a statement, that th would be illegal. expand on that. what were you saying? >> well. not talking about any individual, but the rule of law is that it is absolutely illegal for anyone to accept or receivec or s assistance from a foreign government, for any foreign national to assist in our elections. we have a flat ban on foreign spending in our elections. it's important for american citizens to know that we are in arge of our own election we are the ones making the decisions. we are the ones funding the politicians. ly are the onewho ultima

take responsibility for our own government. oi>> woodruff: and another that president trump has been making, really, for a very long time, d that is claimed continued-- repeated claims of voter fraud this country.y. there was a recent "usa today" poll that found ur in ten voters have little or no confidence that next year's election in 2020 is going to be conducted in a fair way. should the american people trust that it will be conductein a fair way >> well, i think election administration is being conducted throughout the country by a lot of dedicated public servants working at e state and local level, and they are, i'm sure, going to do their darnedest to make sure that thea election iied out properly. but there are a lot of risks that we know about right now. we know that 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.

now, the problem with talking about voter fraud when it is unsubstantiated is that there is a risk that meases will be adopted that will make it harder, that will impose obstacles on legitimate americas citixercising their right et vote. right now, iwever 60% that's considered urnout,tion, and we need to have more people particip and making their choices so that the government represents them. >> woodruff: coming back to the federal electi commission again-- you only have three commissioners. you need six.r you need f have a quorum. you don't-- you don't have that. i assume you've made the case to the white house. "we need the appointments." what's the response you get? >> well, i don't want to talk about any communications that i've had, but i have publiy stated, 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 happen very quick, 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. >> woodruff: ell weintraub, chair of the federal election commission, thank you very much. >> thank you, judy. >> nawaz: even with trade negotiations set to resume nexto month, the trade and tariff warn between prestrump and the chinese government are not expected to end any time soon.ma yonot know it, but those tariffs are clawing away at prs,its in the lobster busin and putting some folks in a real pinch. economics correspondent paul solman reports from new england on the unual twists of this story, part of our regular series, "making sense." >> see the claw growing back right here? >> reporter: oh that'scl little new aw.

aww, it's soft, and... >> yeah, it kind of feels like a gummy bear. >> reporter: out on casco bay, g f portland, maine, with dave la liberte, haulbster traps-- that's the smallest lobster i've ever seen. --snaring mostly throwbacks. >> in order for us to keep a lobster, it's got to be three and a quarter inches across the back. that's called e carapace. so, there we go. we've got a keeper. >> reporter: lobsting is a $1.5 billion fishery helping keep the state of maine's economy afloat. but, last july-- >> china in fact did retaliate with its own tariffs immediately after the u.s.'s move. >> reporter: --the profit-trusty crustaceans became a target of the trade war. >> described as the largest ade 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 w ing as the main selling point in our buffet, because our guests are used to thinking that eating lobster should be something that they should pay a >> reporter: but not, it seems, so, lobstermen likve literte are becoming despera no? no. >> right now, the boat p4 ce is aroundpound. that was the price in 2018, as well as 2017. >> repter: but the tariff was >> we haven't seenfect onect? the boat price yet. >> reporter: but how can this be? china had been taking an ever- bigger chunk of the local lobster cah, snapping up 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 stephanie nadeau, a wholesaler who buys at the dock and sells to the world, is the answer to the puzzle. chins still getting its lobsters, even those from maine. wholesalers. american so, you mean that canada gets the business that the united states used to get? >> reporter: perio >> here's a canadiobster, and here is the american lobster, each costing $4. s reporter: dave kaselaus onte taught chemistry, felt trapped in the classroom, switched to lobsteri2 years ago-- but as we found out, he's still a teacher to the core. >> this one goes over, still $4. this oneow 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 amecanus. both are from the gulf of maine. >> reporter: and why can us lobsters get into china via canada tariff-free? because canada is not in a trade war, and happens to have its own quite liberal ade rules. >> the position of c.f.i.a., the canadian food inspecti agency, and the way they write their certificates, is, it only has to come from the north atlantic fishing region. it dsn't distinguish between country of origin. >> reporter: but on the flip side, any lobster shipped by an american wholesaler 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.yo anu've given every advantage to canadian lobster dealers. >> reporter: so, china's retaliatory tariffs benefit the canadian industry-- already owing as the gulf of maine warms, pushing lobsters north. but... so what? >> in the lobster industry,

everything is connecte >> reporter: annie tselikis runs the maine lobster dealers' association.wh you represenesalers, the middlemen. historically, neither customers nor suppliers have liked the middlemen, right? >> our fishermen go out fishing every day, they come back and theyring in their lobsters. areinre not the ones tha marketand promoting their lobsters. so, we really need this industry to work at its greatest potential, and for us, that also means having our valuable export markets accessible for this product that is so important to the state of maine. >> in this particular product, you have to have a middleman, because someone has to b responsible for the life support system to get them to where they're going. the ocean and ship them. they'll die. they have to be sorted. they have to be kept in this very cold room and packed under temperature control. we've developed packaging methods, how we keep our lobster tanks, how we handle our5

lobsters, overars. >> reporter: and it's that unique skill that's now, at >> worthless. moment, obsolete. worthless. that's tough to take. >> rep'ster: so what's an american lobster seller to do? the president recently tweeted an edict: "our great american lompanies are hereby ordered to immediately staring for an alternative to china." obd by the way, this is just sat maine coaster in york, one of thetate's largest do.lesaler has been trying to >> we did find growth in taiwan, and koa, and malaysia. 're starting to see some growth in the middle east. >> reporter: vice prdaident sheila. >> we had two choices when the tariffs came out. we could retct, knowing that that business is going to go away, or we could say "let's go for it." so we had to look to other untries, as well as continuing to expand our domestic business. >> reporter: so how do you whet the appetite of america consumers for more lobster? >> so, a promotion that you'll

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

near our profit margin this year, as we did last year,ornd the year b >> reporter: you mean your costs are going up. >> crect. c >> reporter: so e fact that the price is the same at t wharf is misleading, because you need to be charging re just to stay even. >> absolutely. my dealer is trying to ivsupplement our income byg us a higher price, but he can't because of the tariffs. >> reporter: and hey, even 18- year lobster vet de laliberte is trying to escape the vagariet of the now-vole lobster trade. >> our primary business is tourism. >> reporr: really? >> yeah. taking the passengers out. i don't think we're necessarily making a lot more money than a commercial lobstermen. we're just diversifying a little bit. >> reporter: just in case canada takes the opportunity to further build up its lobster industry, and take the chinese market away permanently from the united states. this is busine and economics

correspondent paul solman, reporting from maine. ev >> nawazyone alive at the 2me remembers where they were on september 11t1. while the events of the day are seared into our nation collective memory, details of whd the victims, survivors emergency responders experienced have fad over time. but a powerful new book, "the only plane in the sky: an oral history of 9/11," seeks to serve as a reminder to future generations of that moment in time that forever changed america. and the author garrett fraff joins me here now. i call you the author. you work wit your colleague gathering many of these stoies, but it's an oralistory. it's a compilation of people's

memories of that day. a lot of them have been told before so even in pg this together details? you discover new >> yeah, it was a day that was so dramatic it was so hard for us to wrap our mds around that day. the book taled 480 americans coast to coast. zwas amaed at some of the stories that i had sort of heard about over the years but larg overlooked. it was a day that waed is hard for us to understand in real itime that even 18 years it is hard to capture in single volume. >> nawaz: 18 years later, why do you think this kind ofn storytelling mattersgoing back into all the details of the events that day? >> this the 18th anniversary now. i think it's the most important way to telthe story. you have american service men and women born after 9/11bo bei deployedaq and afghanistan to fight the wars spawned by

9/11, even though they actually have no emotional connection or understanding of that ay. and so my with this book s to tell 9/11 not the facts arof the day, whic all familiar to us, but what we lose time goes on is the fear and the chaos and the confusion of what it was like to livwa that day. we now know when we tell the 9/11 story when attacks bgan and when they ended. who sort of lived that day, none of us knew that at the time. we didn't know when the attacks' began, we dit know when the attacks were over, and the fear and the confusion of that day was simir for eryone 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 ofam es because there are voices of several first

responders in particular woven throughouthe entire story. we know the bravery they showed that day, but what you revealed ishat they were thinkg in that moment of chaos. jay jonas of the fire department orders in the north tower'sg ground floor lobby. and he says this, he says, "one of the firemen 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'hand and wish each other good luck. this idea of the fear and the uncertainty, that's w ten througho entire story, throughout all the voices you talk to. >> absolutely. and one of tht things tha really i worked to capture that day, because they were parts of the stories that jumped out at me looking back, was the sensor experience of 9/11. i mean, we all remember the sights of that day, you know, we all watched that day unfold in real-time on television. mean, some of us for much of the day. what we never kne, what we have

forgotten are the tastes of the day, the sounds of the day, the smells of the day. i mean, every one of the volunteer firefighters who responds to shannnksville, lvania, and flight 93 talks about what thsmell of that crash sticks with the, you know, the firefighters and the first responders in lower nhattan talk about what the taste of the dust from the collapseelt like in their mouth. one of the firefighters descri fs it as like having a wool sock in your mouth. hiand then, of course, theng that we sort of all remember from across the country is the pronounced quiet that settles over the country in the course let out early, businesseshools closed, and all of the planes ed. grou and suddenly you walk outside and you realize that you don't hear any pnes. >> nawaz: and some of those moment, too, people were real in their retelling incrediblyma in moments, their last moments with their loved ones in

some cases. the's one story from a woman named beverly who is on the phone wi her husband, sean rooney, who is trapped in the south tower above the 98th floor,nd she's sharing this storin such painful detail. she writes, "i could tell it was getting harder for him to breath. i asked if it hurt. he pntsed for a momend then he said no. ot loved me enough to lie. as the vehicle got thicr, he kept whispering i love you over and over. m she shares thent then, too, when she hears him gasp as the floofell out from uerneath him. i called his name in the phone over and over. did it surprise you that people were willing to share thesefu incredibly pai intimate moments in this way. >> it's actuay remaable. original inte and someorown incredible arching work done by places like the 9/11 memorial, story core, which is fere beverly eckert's story comes from, theght 93

national memorial, the pentagon's historian's offi , that had the good sense that these were stories that needed to be preserved for history and went out in the months and ya after 9/11 to capture these stories. ane you know, the experie that i had interviewing a couple hundred people for my book is every single person wanted to talk.ev y single person that i approached as a stranger asking them to tell about the worst day of their lives was excid to share their story, as painful as it was, they wanted to make sure and the way that people -- the perspectivthat people sort of brought to their experience, i tell the story, one of the main characters in the book, will jimeno, the port authority police officer who is actually trapped under the collapse of both towers, he's one of only two people that day to be rescued from underneath the towers, but, you knowhen he goes out and speaks to groups

today, y know, he tals about, look, i have 220 floors of the t twers fall on me. we all have our world trade centers in our heist. we all have thehallenges that we think are insurmntable, and it's about sort of how you react as a human that determines the path of your life. >> nawaz: there is this idea of luck, that whether or not you lived or died that day was almost arbatrary. was omething people shared with you over and over? >> it was the themeam pro more than anything that stood out to me as i was working on this book was the way that the random life decisions, the type, of things that we make a thousand times a day without thinking, ended up literally determining life or death that day. michael lomanoco's a chef at windows on the world in the rth tower would have been normally at his kitchen byno 8:0 that tuesday morning, except 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 last elevator up to the top, and 72 of his

lleagues died and he didn't. joseph lotnot, ther story i tell, was supposed to be attending a conference at windows on the world at that day. at breakfast in the lobby o bf e marriott hotel in the basement of the world trade center that day, one of his clleagues who was headed to the conferen, bought on vacation and thoughtd he would like, and he is like this, is a rea n, e gift, i'm going to go back to my hotel room and change shirts so i cant wes tie to the conference that day. and he goes back to his room, changes his shirt, his colleagues go on to the conference and he lived and thei 't. >> nawaz: garrett graff, the book is a stunning compilation of some incredibly powerful stories. the bookth ise only plane in the sky." garrt graff, thank youo much. >> thanks for sharing these stories.

>> nawaz: on the newshour online azright now, we have a guide for wh to watch for in the democratic debate in houston. plus, we'll have me analysis after the debate tonight. you can find that on our website, www.pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour forou 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: >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you.ie thank yo captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access gup at wgbh access.wgbh.org re

>> yoatching pbs. martha stewart: are you eager to learn how to update

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