captioning sponsored by newshour productions, ll >> woodruff:ood evening, i'm dy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, lvindicted-- an officer in in the police killing of breonna taylor is charged with endangering others with gunfire but no one has beecharged with causing her death. then, high stakes-- justice ruth bader ginsburg lies in repose at the supreme cot as the senate prepares for hearings for her replacement. we talk with democratic senator dick durbin about the contentious fight ahead. and, one on one-- former trump national security adviser h.r. mcmaster discusses america's place in the world and the security of the upcoming election. >> we need leaders across the political spectrum to make sure that we are not, that they are

not part of the problem, that they're not creating opportunities for our adversaries. >> woodruff: all that re on tonht's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provid by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

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thank you. >> woodruff: two big stories dominate the news tonight: the high stakes battle builds over the future of the u.s. supreme court... and, criminal charges are filed in the shooting death of breonna taylor, in louisville, kentucky, but not for the actual killing. the announcement has angered many in louisville and sewhere, in a case that's become a new rallying cry for awcial justice. amna begins our coverage. >> nawaz: a moment more than six months in the making. i know many iaclouisville and ss commonwealth in the country have been anxiouslypl awaiting the cion of our investigation into the death of breonna taylor >> nawaz: kentucky attorney general daniel cameron announcing that one of the three

officers involved in the fatal crooting of 26-year-old breonna taylor would facinal charges, not for her death, but for recklessly shooting into a neighboring apartment. t >> after heari evidence from our team of prosecutors the grand jury voted to rern an indictment against detective hankison for three counts wanton endangerment, for wantonly placinghe three individuals in apartment 3 in danger or serious physical injury or death. if found guilty the accused can serve up to five years. >> nawaz: hankison had already been firedrom the force this summer. officers miles cosgrove and jonathan mattingly were not charged. >> the decision before my office as special prosecutor was not to decide whether loss of breonna taylor's life was a tragedy. the answer to that question is unequivocally yes. my jobs special prosecutor was to put emotion aside and

investigate the facts. >> nawaz: those facts, according to cameron, show that officers announced their presence when executing a search warrant overnight at breonna taylor'st apartm march 13th. her boyfriend kenneth walker, who's said he never heardif officers idethemselves, feared a bren, and fired his licensed weapon when officers broke down the door. one officer was shot in the leg. the investigation found officer hankison fired his gun 10 times, endangering taylor's neighbors;n mattinglcosgrove fired 20 times between them, hitting taylor six times. it remains unclear which officer fired the fatal shot. >> mattingly and cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by kenneth walker. >> i mean she's in her i apartment, shesanctity of her home. >> nawaz: taylor family attorney beamin crump spoke to reporters in tempe, arizona today. >> we have been dealing with systematic racism with police

killing us outside the courtroom and the system killing us inside the courtroom. >> nawaz: on tuesday, mayor greg fischer announced a state of emergency in louisville, citing the potential for unrest. city police cancelled any days off, federal buildgs were boarded up. fischer addressed the public earlier today. >> i urge everybody to choose peaceful and lawful protest this is obviously a really important time for our city, i want us to >> nawaz: earlier this month, the city announced a $12 million dollar civil settlement with tamika palmer, taylor's mother.u that id a slate of police reforms. speaking then, palmer called for justice in her daughter's name...t >> as signific today is, it's only the beginning of getting full justice for breonna. it's time to move forward with ane criminal charges because she deserves thamuch more. >> nawaz: this evening, protesters continued to march through downtown louisville,

tonight.curfew goes into effect meanwhile other cities are also preparing for marches in breonna taylor's name. this evening, the mayor of breonna taylor's sister, meanwhile, posted a picture of inrself on instagram with breonna sag, sister, i breonna, saying, "sister, i am so sorry." reaction and perspective now from an author and law professor, paul butler ofto geor law school. he's the author of "chokehold: policing black men." professor, thanks fondbeing with uselcome back to the "newshour". the fact that the only criminal charges to come out to have the investigation andgr the d juror are not related to green again's death at all. what is your reaction to that?ho >> i thinkicide charges against all three officers would have been app imagine if three gang members had broken into a house in the middle of the night and were met

with a gunsed by the home owner, a legal gun in self-defense, and, in eresponse, the gangbangers shot up the ole complex. i think that those gangbangers would be prosecuted for murder i think when police officers do the same thing, it's still a crim >> nawaz: but let me ask you abthose charges, though, because we heard the attorney gelne say that the shooting by officers mattingly and cosgrove was justified because kenneth walker, breonna taylor's boyfriend, fired first and they were responding and therefore justified and h said that barred them from pursuing charges. the grand juror said it doesn't support that. you say it does. why the difference in interpretation? >> i think those are credible self-defense claims but one the jury should have decided and ifc the su had been anybody

other than police officers, it's a case that would have beenor prosecuted jury to decide. the evidence suggests that the officers cntinue to fire after they were no longer in danger. someone called 911 to report gunfire. 68 seconds into that call, you can still hear the gunfire. also, the lawin kentucky is you can't claim sel f-defense ifur actions put innocent people in danger, which is exactly what the police did here. breonna taor posed no threat to these officers. she was shot six times. the person who had the gun, who fired at the police, wanot harmed at all.: >> naw what do you think happened here today, professor tler? could have seen evidence that you don't know about? or do you think that they differently because we're talking aboupolice officers? >> the lure abgrand juries is that they do whatever the prosecutor wants.

as a former prosecutor, i think that there is some truth to that idea. intuck the prosecutor is the legal advisor, s's the only person who's in the room with the grand jury, and thean jury does no know what wanton endangerment or reckless homicide means. the prosecutor explains that to the grand jury. this isn't a process that's very is that the prosecutor seems tow have credited all of the polic ficers' statements -- for example, there's a dispute about whether the police knocked unannounced, that is told breonna and their boyfriend that they were police officers. one witness said that they did announce. according to the "new times," no other witness among the 12 that they interviewed heard that announcement, and that's important becausehe officers were in plain clothes.

as far as breonna and her boyfriend knew, they were the suect of a home invasion. in fact, when her boyfriend calls the police after they leave the house, hdials 911, and he says, there's been a home invasion. he has no idea thae people who just killed breonna taylor were police officers. >> nawaz:rofessor butler,fa th remains that a 26-year-old woman asleep in her own home was woken and t and killed by police, and there result.ariminal char and as we're already hearing from protesters and others reacting, that on the face of it just seems unphattable. so at the end of the day, as is this just a tragedy andd, that's that? re well, we know that there a important reforms that have come from this case. so amongef thems as a requirement to have the settlement agreement is there has to be m we supervisionn

police seek search warrants. there are incentives for police icficers to live in the city. most police ofs, in many big towns, live in the suburbs, en the people you patrol are your neighbors you tend to do a better job i anortantly, officers in lexington will be requiredo wear body cameras. i do think it's important tha when individual people cause harm, they be brought to justice, they be punished for t the hat they've caused. that's what the criminal process so while important reforms will come from the civil legal system, i don't think it's adequate and it certainly isn >> nawaz: professor butler, in the few secds we have left what would you say to the many people who say this is another example of black americans disproportionately affected by violence by police officers not getting justice? >> i would say they're right.

what the kentucky pros cure said today is that, when three police officers barge into your house in theiddle of the night and shoot your six times, that's not a crime. i think that that's a legal prosecutorial way of saying black lives don't matter. systemic. the problem is this isn't a systemic issue. this is a problem about bad apple cops. we don't need reform. it's against the law to do what they diy in m opinion, and, yet, these officers are nowe abe law. >> nawaz: that is professor paul butler grgetown university joining us tonight. thank you very much for your time. >> thank you for having me. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, ng lines of people passed by the u.s. supreme

court, where justice ruth bader ginsburg lay in repose, in afi flag-covered c the solemn procession was ine contrast to gh stakes fight over replacing ginsburg. president trump now says he will name his nominee, on saturday afternoon. the news summary. of this, after top u.s. health officials voiced careful confidence todut a coronavirus vaccine. at a u.s. senate hearing, dr. anthony fauci said he's hoping for a reliable vaccine by december. he also said, people will still neede masks and social distancing. >> we feel cautiously optimistic that we will be able to have a safe and effective vaccine, althgh there's never a guarantee of that. we feel strongly if we have a combination of adherence to public health measures together with a vaccine distributed to this country and worldwide, we many be abel to turn around this terrible pandemic.

>> woodruff: republican senator rand paul argued that herd immunity is working, and that's new york.tions have fallen in uci shot back, "if you believe thatyou are alone." anwhile, "johnson and johnson" announced final stage testing for a single-dose vacc other u.s. candidates call for two doats. demoin the u.s. house offered a sweeping refm bill top.y, aimed at president tr they say it's aimed at his repeated abuse the bill would limit the pardoning power, strengthen the ban on foreign gifts to presidents and better protect whistleblowers, amonother things two senate committees have issued a report on hunter biden's work for a gas company in ukraine. posed a conflict orest forement his father, then-vice president joe biden. the biden presidential campaign dismissed it as an obvious

effort by senate republicans to influence the novemberlection. the acting secretary of homeland security faced his senate confirmation hearing today, to become the permanent secretary. chad wolf flatly denied shaping intelligence assessments to favor president trump's agenda. he also said officials are investigating claims of unwanted hysterectomies on migrant women a georgia detention center. ground and the fachaven the seen do not back up those allegations. buif there is a kernel ofny truth tof that, you can guarantee that i will hold those accountable and we'll take very desive action. >> woodruff: wolf noso said he haole in awarding government contracts to his wife'sirm. in belarus, president alexander r kashenko was sworn in for his sixth term, afeks of protests that s reeltion was rigged. top officials applauded as lukashen took his oath of

office again in minsk. the ceremonyas not announced beforehand. later, police used water cannon on protesters in several cities. navalny has been dgedader alexei from a hospital in berlin, germany. he'd been treated for poisoning, with what german experts say a soviet-era nerve agent. now, doctors say he could have a complete recovery. back in this country, california may become the first state to ban sales of new passenger cars and trucks that use gasoline. the proposed rule, announced today, would take effect by 2035. it's designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35%. used vehicles powered by gasoline could still be sold. wall street's ongoing whiplash struck again today. stocks plunged, a day after a major rally. the dow jones industrial average lost 525 points, nearly 2%, to

the nasdaq fell 330 points, or 3%, and the s&p 500, slipped 78, also, 2%. and, chicago bears g dat gale sayed today after battling dementia. starting in 65, he became one of the most electrifng runners in n.f.l. history, and ler, the youngest inductee ever, in the league's hall of fame at st 34. sayers' bond with brian piccolo, a dying teammate, also gained renown, as depicted in the movie rian's song." gale sayers was 77 years old. still to come on the newshour: democratic senator dick durbin discusses the contentious fight to replaceustice ginsburg. former national security advise. cmaster speaks to us about his time in the trump white house.th the latest o2020 campaign from oside the washington beltway, and more.

>> woodruff: at the supreme court, the justices gathered alongside family and friends of ruth bader ginsburg to remembert her life a many years she spent on the bench. yamiche alcindor has our report. >> alcindor: a somber day at the supreme court. dozens of former law clerks for justice ruthliader ginsburg d the steps toeceive her remains in the building where she served for 27 years. hundreds of others stood below to mourn her passing last friday, of pancreac cancer. inside the court's "great hall"" a gathering of family and ose friends. >> alcindor: the flag-draped

casket was laid on the funeral bier first used after president abraham lincoln's assasination. a rabbi opened with remarks honoring ginsburg as a trailblazer and champion for women's rights. >> to be born into a world that does not see you. that does not believe in your potential, that do not give you path for opportunity or a clear path for education. and despite this to be able to see beyond the world you are in to imagine that something can be different-- that is the job of a prophet. >> alcindor: to the side, the court's remaining eight justices, together for the first time since march, paid their hispects. in simple terms, justice john roberts eulogized ginsburg. >> tough. a fighter. a winner. careful.: thoughtful. compassionate. honest. >> alcindor: ...reflecting on her ability to break through ideological barriers.

>> many of you have seen the famous picture of justice scalia and justice ginsburg riding atop an ephant in india. in the photograph she is riding with friend, a friend with totally divergent views.at nondication ither was poised to push the otherff. >> alcindor: it's a spirit of collegiality that has largely vanished from the halls of congress. democrats today blasted republicans for rushing to fill ginsburg's seat before the vember election. senate minority leader chuck schumer: >> no, no precedent for any supreme court nominee confirmed between july and election day. >> alcindor: majority leader mitch mcconnell rejected acsations of hypocrisy. he already has the votes to push through the confirmation. >> theres one right path before us. it does right by the judiciary, the senate, the yet unnamed nominee and the american people.

it is a fair hearing, a fair process and a fair vote. >> alcindor: republican aides say hearings could start as soon as october 12th, for a potential floor vote by halloween. all this, even without president trump having yet named a nominee. still, at the white house today, would move quicklyhe process he noted that his re-election could hinge on having nine justices on the bench. this scam that the democrats are pulling will be before u.s. supreme court and think having a 9-nothing just in case it's more political that it should be, i think it's very ant to have 9th justice. >> alcindor: tomorro he plans to pay his respects to ginsburg. then on saturday, he plans to unveil his pick. meanwhile today, his democratic opponent, former vice president joe biden, said again he will not be releasing his own list of potential nominees. back at the court, ginsburg's casket was on public view for st of the day.

all day, hundreds, including lawmakers, stood in line to say the late justice will lie in repose through tomorrow, beforee being moto lie in state at the capitol on friday. a private burial is planned next week at arlington national cemetery. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> woodruff: while theemorials for justice ginsburg continue, the political fight over when to confirm her replacement is already in full swing. lisa desjardins is here with the view from capitol hill. >> desjardins: senator dick durbin of illinois is the second highest ranking democrat in the senate and a member of the judiciary committee. hill.e joins us now from capitol senator, thank you. let's get right into this story, first of all. senate republicans say they were elected, and that's why they control the senate and the white house. why shouldn't they be able to vote an hold a confirmation ofsu eme court justice now? >> lisa, if you have a little bit of a memory youw knour years ago they argued just the opent sit.

when there was a vacancy in the n osing year of the obama presidency, antoalia's passing, it was mcconnell and all his republican senators who were just pleading to the heavens saying you can't ask us to fill this vacancy in the last year of the presidency, let the people speak in the election and let the new precsident dide. well, it's a different script this year. and you ask youelf what's the hurry? tsy do they have to do this now? some may have dobout the reelection of donald trump. some others may think this isy finae chance to kill the affordable care act in the supreme court by putting another friendly stice on the court. some of them may have other plans, but they are setting everything aside -- corusonav relief, economic relief -- everything aside to get this done. >> reporter: i have a memory, our viewers have great memories, and i have to raise up in 2016, senator, you were urging a diurerent course, you were ago vote on the nomination of me>>ick garland. onstitution is very clear.

vacancy on t supreme court, the president is obligated to send a nomination to fill the vacancy. nstitution goes on to say that the senate has a responsibility to advise and consent to that nomination, and that's where the process is stopped and fallen apart. >> reporter: i hear you talking aboua new precedent perhaps set by republicans, but in all this time about predent, both sides pointing at each her, why noust say you don't want a nominee from the other party?el >> it isn't that, lisa. to be honest with you, i would like the other party to be consistent. what they're basically dng is saying this is situational.sn if it do help us, then we're not going to fill the vacancy. if it he fs us, we'ill the vacancy. you can't build a senate, you cat build mutual respect on that kind of a premise, but the bottom line question most americans are asking, why are you taki this uinstead the obvious things facing our country, like the panindemic, ad dewith the economy, where so many people are suffering?

why is it this has priority over all those things? that to me is a legimate question from voters across america. >> reporter: speaking of the voters, i ve been talking to some senate democrats who will tell me they are interested, perhaps, in expanding the supreme court if thims noination goes through and if you are senate.ful in winning the i eknow you've said it's too soon to talk about that, but could you address it?v shouldn'ers know if democrats are considering someing like that thison eleceason? >> i'm not considering it, and there are some ideas out there. it's speculation, mainly from political theorists, very few from fellow senators. we have a job to do, and that job over the next five or six weeks is to prepare the american people for a new pesident. think they're ready. i think they understand that when it comes to protecting their healthcare to make sure that they're not discriminated against because someone in your family tested positive for covid 19 or some other pre-existing condition, those are the issues that people really care about. gsthese other thspeculation on the future of the court, for

example, important but not now. >> reporter: president trump has put on his list of people he's considering for nominating for the supre court. should former vice president biden do the same thing? >> i'd recommd against it and i think he's announced he's not going to do it. trp is the first president to put out the list of approved people. the so-called federalist societt has to giem a stamp of approval. there are a handful of things they look forand then they make the trump list, which continues to grow by the day. but i don't think joe biden should do that. i trustis judent. i served on the judiciary committee with him. i know the kind of peoe he's backed for key spots in the judiciary. i think when he gets opportunity to fill a supreme court vaguey, it will be a quality person. >> reporter: this is a process question -- hearings we expect to happen in the judiciary a committed i spotted you today on the floor chatting with dianne feinstein. can you help us with strategy here for democrats? who will be the top democrat handling hearings on this scotus

nominee and will you attend hearings or will democrats boycott it? >> diannfeinstein is the ranking democrat and she and i are close friends. we've workedogether over the years and we met several times today on the phone and for talking about how to approach this and the message we want to make sure isiv deled. she reached out to other members of the senate judiciary committee for their input doing exactly what we wanted her t do. terms of where this is headed and in terms of the hearing, wee still waiting forinal announcement on the actual hearing date, i'm told it might be theiddle of october, but we hope there's going to be information given to us as there s in years gone by. we're talking about a lifetime apoem to the highest court in the land. we used to take the time to really analyze and investigate the people seeking those positions. i hope we don't short-circuit it this time. >> reporter: you men the coronavirus earlier. i know i'm talking to businessed that are worthey might not make it another month, but any talk of relief isfrozen in

congress. what needs to happen, what ould democrats be doingto get the talks started? >> a little over a week ago, the president in one shining moment said we've got to come up with a bigger covid relief pachakage, biggerwhat the republican senate mcconnell has offered.ho iught, finally the phone call from president trump givin marching ordo mcconnell let's get something done. but there was no folw-up. that's what it's going to taifnlgt nancy pelosi passed the hees act, covid relief, four months ago and nothing f gnificant has come oute republican side since. it's about time for us to sit down and get serious. at lot of people are waiting for this congress to act. >> reporter: senator dick durbin of illinois, thanks for joining us. >> thanks, lisa. >> woodruff: now, to retired army general h.r. mcmaster,

president trump's former national security adviser. he was still an active-duty three-star general when tapped to replace michael flynn after he quit the position shortly after the inguration amid controversy over his dealings with russian officials. mcmaster served through a turbulent 2017and resigned the position early in 2018. he also retired then from the army after a 38-year career. he's now written a book, "battlegrounds: the fight to defend the free world": it is plus in the white house, and more strategic analysis of the world in wch america lives now. general mcmaster, welome back to the newshour. it's so good to have you join us. let's talk about a few of america' adversaries. russia. we have reported thatis president trum resisting intelligence that the russians under president putin are trying to interfere with u.s. elections. how did you deal with that resistance when you were in the

white house? >> well, i think what was important is to give theiv president, any president, but give president trump or any president the best analysis from across all departments and agencies. as you recall, it was a difficult year with russia when i was in the job as national security advisor and russia russia had acted out in a nuber of ways, disrupting our elections in 2016, and reay waging a sustained campaign of disinformaon and propaganda, really political subversion agai russia wants to pull us apart from each other, divide us on issues like race, gun controlio and immigrand pit us against each other and they want to dimifish or conce in who we are as a people in our democratic principles and stitutions and processes. all the way they're doing this,n they deny it,that's why it's important tore president trump and our leaders acknowledge this disruptive activity. just today we have the news main opposition navalny may have

poisoned himself somehow. >> reporter: going back to your year in the white house, what did you see the president doing th regard to russian interference? >> he did quite a bit. i think we should much more confident in our electoral process because weit h in place new organizations to secure our election infrastructure but also to counter russian disinfmation and propaganda. we kind of took the gloves off our cyber force and our ability to connect a itod offense a good defense in cyberpace, and i think, very importantly, wed impost on russia i think beyond what putin may factor in when he takse decision. >> reporter: yet we continue to see incidents like the navay poisoning. ere hasn't been a direct connection, but he was poisoned by the soviet-created poison.

so iesn't seem to be working, does it? >> you never know what you're deterring, right? but it doesn't seem to be working. i think putin is determined to drag everybody else down. russia has real problems. their economy is only the size of texas' economy. covid was rough on russia, they the's the colpse of oilre. prices. that suddenly putin is going to be -- is going to be more juresponsible. don't think it's going to >> reporter: >> woodruff: as we said earlier, you were a three-star general when yoserved in the white house. there have been numerous reports, general mcmaster, that president trump hassp military officers, he's been killed in action losers.rs did you ever hear him say anything like any of t >> no, i didn't, judy, and, obvisly, i can't comment on these reports. i saw them. i mean, i can't imagine anybody saying that,ut, obviously, i

wasn't there. >> woodruff: china, yesterdayth u.n. secretary general said it's very dangerous for the u.s. and china to have what he called a greatct frae. what do you think are the consequences if the u.s. and china continue on this clear split that they are engaged in right now? >> i think it's really important toniec that the onus for this is on the chinese communist sounds like a free world china problem to me, and i think it's time for all of us to working t to convi jinping and the chinese communist party leadership, hey, you can have enough of what you aspire to be withrsuing these really expense.ve policies at our we're recognizing now is we have to compete, we have t reenter arenas of competition that we vacated based on t flawed assumption that china was going to play by the rules, that as they prospered they wou

liberalize their economy and eventually their form of government. they're doing the pposite, judy, and we see how they're edling human freedom. they're engn a campaign of cultal genocide in >> woodruff: you said you did not want to write a book of tll all, yet we are seeing a cascade of chris sivment coming from an array of former trump officia, particular former defense; james mattis, calling the president unfit, saying he has no moralss com do you agree with that? >> judy, as you mentioned at the outset, you know, i joined our military at age 17, and i think what is mosngerous is if military officers, maybe even retired military officers, get drug down into the morass of partisan po iitics. whm trying to do, judy, with this book is to say, whil we are at each other's throats, these crucial challenges are not

going aaway. what i hope the book would do and i would like to do in the discourse the book generates is to transcend this vitriolic partisan environment and let's begin discussions with what can we agree on an cd hown we work together across the political spectrum. >> woodruff: so when some people look at the fact that you are not criticah witthem, they are coming away with the with his b reelected.mfortable are they write? >> i write about this in the preface. i say, this isn't the book most w,ople wanted me to write, including, you kamily and friends and agents and publishers ande everylse, and i think it would be a disservice, i don't think america needs another tell-all book, another palace entry book. besides that, judy, i was a position of privilege there. as national security advisor, it's anique poition in government. i mean, you're the only person in the foreign policy stablishment who has the president as his or her only

client. and if you're going to give thee president benefit of best across the government, you have to be trusted in that posioitio. tote that trust, i think, would be inappropriate for any national security visor but certainly for one who is serving on active duty. what i worry about, judy, is will any president in the future ever again tust that national security advisor? and i think if you don't have access as a president to that wide range of analysis and perspective across the government, it's a disseice to the country. >> woodruff: what about just answering this simplesquon whether you are comfortable with president trump being elected? will you vote for him for reelection? >> well, you know, judy, i meant this is goingo be surprising people. you knowi took the example of george marshall across my whole career, i never voted. i encourage people t vote. i think that military officers,

soldiers shou vote, but i was very studious about really keeping the military completely separate from partisan politics. and even washed-up generals like me, i think you ought toteer clear of partisan politics. >> woodruff: let me just finally ask you this -- president trump has been saying that he believes the election will be unfair and rigged if he loses. what does that say to you abhis belief in our docracy? >> well, i think that's a mistake, right, because i think what the russianswant to do and others want to do, as i mentione they want to dimish our confidence in our democtic principles and institutions and processes. so we ought to be strengthening our confidence. >> woodruff:ino you're say it's not helpful what he's >> that's right.right? that's right. >> woodruff: we're going to leave it there. general h.r. mcmaster. the book, as we said a moment

ago, is "battlegrounds: the fight to defend the free world." thank you very much. >> thank you, judy. s >> woodruff: treme court nomination fight has already upended the election that is underway in many states. john yang is here an update onre how voterseacting to the vacancy at the court and other key issues. >> yang: judy, let's check in with gary abernathy, a columnist for the washington post based iu hillsboro inwestern ohio. and sarah smarsh, a journalist and author of the book, "heartland." kansas.es in northeastern welcome to you both, thanks for joining us. sarah, i want to start with you. as judy said, the expected nomination for a successor to justice ginsburg is already

consuming washingn, but, as we know, what consumes washington doesn't necessarily consume the i want to start with you because kansas has got a senate race to be deced in this election, an open seat, picking a replacement for retiring republican pat roberts. is this moving voters or is this likely to have this suprt e coomination likely to have an effect on voters, ei intensity or maybe how they vote, do you think? >> well, i think if there's anywhere that the current event could move the outcome of art senate election, it would be kansas. it's an extmely close race, as you cited, which is sort of reharkable and historic intt kansas hasn't sent a democrat to the united states senate since 1932. rrently the democratic and republican candidates are in a statistical tie as of at least

polling done in august. the democratic candidate has outraised the republican candidate at least as of scond quarter numbers. so that is all to say that this is a very tight race and very much in the mold of joe biden'sm campaign, theocratic candidate, barbara boyier is running as a centrist. she's hoping to appeal to folks who are not far right. they might be moderate republicans and certainly democrats of all st, and therein lie a lot of voters, i think, who would be concerned about this current vcy and the sena's power in relationship to the bench as we approach the election. >> reporter:y, how about you? do you think this is going to make a difference among voters in ohio? >> yes, i do, john. thanks for having me. sarah, good to see you., first of a let me say that even in southwestern ohio where i'm at anwhich is very conservative trump country, there was a sense of sadness over justice birgz's death.

i think that even thugh most of the people here didn't agree with most of her rul on the court, they had a great respect for her as a person and her long fight with cancer and there was a real sadness that greeted her passing. the politics side, people are motivated, maybe early notions maybe trump shouldn't fill the seat and the senate shouldn't ge ahead with nomination process and the hearings and the confirmationeally were angering people. they feel like trump was elected for all fo years and until the end, despite what happened in 2016 and that whole argumen he's got a job to do, and they see it, obviously, as a chae to add another conservative to the court, anded if they n any extra motivation, and most trump voterrhs don't need m extra motivation, you know, they're very devoted, but this gives it to them. r thlly reinforces the importance of whether a donald trump or a joe bhden hold te

oval office. >> reporter: sarah, going back to you in kansas. the other issue that has been dominating washington has been the covid pandemic, and we just passed a threshold 200,000 u.s. covid deaths. friends in kansas viewing this? arthey still worried about this? are they worried about the financial effectof the previous shutdowns? how are they viewing this now? >> well, i think, to some extent, the response to the pandemic is, of coursti pozed and can be sort of prekicked along party lines, but, by an large, the majority of kansans are very aware thatth e's a health crisis afoot and it dovetails with an economic crisis. nsas is a state, whereas in some otherid -- midwest placess care on the rise.

we're in aoment right now here in kansas where we suffered a hit. governor kelly and her weekly briefing kind of lamented whad passed a make or break moment in terms of an ability to containas the virua state, and she pointed to rublican legislators, basically curbing her attempts at a statewide maso mandat ago, many months ago. meanwhile, we're a non-medicaid expansion state, and that coupled with the aca coming up to the supreme court in perfect storm that is quite perilous for citizens of the state, residen of this state. >> reporter: gary, your governor in ohio republican mike dene was one of the mor aggressive ones early on in thea emic, even moving away from in-person voting for the primary in your stat how is the pandemic being viewed among your neighbors in

hillsboro? >> yeah, in hibles, of course, is different -- in hillsboro is different than other places in ohio. what dewine did was popular, aaroncally more among democrats, not popular with a lot of republicans, especially conservative in southern ohio. it was interesting whenen prestrump was in ohio yesterday, when he introduced governor dewine, there were alo of boos at the trump rally for dewine, which caught trump offguard. he said, don't worry, dewine is opening things up again and things are getting better. so the idea of closing things back up is not popular in this part of the state.a t of folks here didn't feel like it needed to be a one size fits all applied here as it was across the whole state. in some of thean urbreas and the harder hit areas, people understand that. but in some rural reas and where people were always able to social distance morand itust didn't spread that badly, being

ordered to shut down did not go to work hurt a lot of small bunesses and they're st not very happy about that. >> reporter: gary abernathy in ohio, sarah smarsh in kansas, thank you both very much. >> thank you, john. >> woodruff: finally tonight, ruth bader ginsburg had made legal history in academia starting in her twenties, then worked her way through the legal ranks and became a supreme court justice at age 60.t her 80s, something new happened: she became a pop culture icon. jeffrey brown has our look for our arts and culture series, "canvas." >> brown: appropriate fothe age of social media, the cultural stardom of ruth bader ginsburg began in 2013 with a tumblr account: "the notorious

r.b.g," a take-off on the well- known rapper "the notorious b.i.g." n.y.u. law student shanahen- knuzhnik, inspired by a powerful ginsburg dissent defending voting rights. >> justice ginsburg's words were sort of this beacon of hopand a call to action to those of us who cared about those issues. >> brown: knuzhnik would co- author a "notorious r.b.g." book, and get to know the justice herself, who even presided at knuzhnik's marriage. the power of the cultural symbol, she says, spoke especially to young people. >> particularly young women don't have that many examples of the sort of status that she had achieved, but more so who had experienced discrimination herself and then turned around and actually fought that discrimination. i so i think tergenerational aspect of the notorious r.b.g. phenomenon, somethinat i

alf.ys was extremely proud o >> brown: once unleashed, the legend of r.b.g. only grew. >> here now to comment is ruth bader ginsrg. >> brown: ...solidified in the larger cultural landscape by kate mckinnon on saturday night live. her ginsburg singed opponents with the "gins-burn." >> that's a gins-burn! >> brown: the phenomenon was captured in the 2018 documentary, "r.b.g.," co- directed by betsy west. >> i think that it was so incongruous in some ways. here is this tiny, shy, elderly woman, very retiring, seous person. and that joke, if you will, and yet there was something true with the core of norious r.b.g. i mean, she was standing up.ng she was st she was powerful, speaking truth to power. >> brown: e joke doesn't work unle there's a real kernel o truth there., right?

>> exactly, exactly. and that's what made it funny.i anink that's what, you know, gave it the power to just launch her as a superstar. >> brown: shirts, tattoos, and bobble-head dolls... real-life babies and an eight- year old dssed as her superhero. the documentary was followed by a film dramatization of her life, "on the basis of sex," with felicity jones asurg. >> brown: ginsburg herself emed to enjoy the ride, in her by-then famrkoutt to join routine, which, by the way, the >> i'm cramping and i'm working out with an 85 year old won. routine,hich, by the way, the¡ r.b.g.' documentary revealed was done while she watched the newshour. and she had fun with the pop culture tie to rap music, though it was not her genre. in 2016 she talked with our late >> you ever consider being a

rapper? >> i don't think i have at talent. >> brown: ginsburg, says betsy west, saw the r.g.b. character as a way to reach more people. >> she embraced this, i think, because she saw it as an aportunity to spread her message, her ideut our constitution, about equal rights, about the 14th amendment. here was a way to spread that message to a lot of people who really don't pay much attention to what's going on in the preme court. >> brown: ginsburg was not only loved by the culture, she d it back. theater-goer, ofteting constant st and crew backstage. he,greatest passion was ope shared with her close friend and fierce ideological opponent on the court, antonin scalia. >> she was in that sense, i say really our greatest fan. >> brown: francesca zaello is artistic director of the longtime friend of ginsburg's. a

>> r.b.g. was notorious for her love of oper i think that it was the thing that gave her relief from her incredible pursuit of so many important issues. but also, she was very outspoken about the arts in general and particularly opera. there is just no way that opera would reach the amount of people that it tries to reachithout having a spokesperson like her explaining why the stories and the music and the characters were so important today, just as they were at the time that things were composed. >> brown: she became a subject of opera, in composer derrick wang's 2015 work, "scalia/ ginsburg," inspired by the opinions of the two justices. and then a participant, when the in donizetti's "e daughter of the regiment". a >> theremall speaking role in the second act where it was basically a marriage contract being brokered.he

and i askeif she would like to do it. but she asked me, could i rewrite the text?s, and i said, f that's your dotted line!on sign on the and so she rewrote the text and it was very, very funny. >> brown: in recent days homages and reflections have poured inul om otherral figures. natalie maines, lead singer of the band, "the chicks", told us ror thoughts about a woman she saw as a fellow chick. >> i just love how she just never stopped. you know, she just, i think, lived a great life and lived a genuine life and made a huge impact on democracy. i've got her sticker on my oven. i do. yeah. so she is an icon for sure. >> brown: an icon and role model for many, and it's continued w

since her death new signs of her impact touching the cultural life in the america of 2020: the lace collar, or" jabot," she loved to wear, now added to the "fearless girl" statue in new york. masks in a time of pandemic, and a large mural painted on a washington, d.c. wall, now a gathering spot to remember r.b.g. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: tomorrow nighta we'll presenimetime pbs newshour special, "r.b.g.: her legacy and the court's future." here's a glimpse of what we'll be bringing you tomorr following the newshour. ruth marcus change hthe law. >> s compiled a truly histor >> she changed the court.e we are ho stay. she changed america. was the world beacon. >> woodruff: we look back at her life and ahead at the battle to replace her. >> fill that seat.gh this has just begun.

>> woodruff: r.b.g., her legacy and the court's future, a "pbs newshour" special thursday at 8:00, 7:00 central. that's tomorrow night. and on the pbs newshour online, the latest esode of our podcast, "america interrupted," a conversation wh three coronavirus survivors. they talk to correspondent stephanie sy about their own experience battling covid-19, what got tm through their hardest moments, and what they hope others learn from their ories. find it on our website, that's pbs.org/newshour, or wherever shu get your podcasts. and that's the nr for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe, and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbsho ne has been provided by:

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