captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, breakdown-- a chaotic first presidential debate punctuatesan lready contentious election and raises questions about the road ahead.th then, fannine flames-- the dangers posed by the president's response to questions about white supremacy. plus, justice in art-- we travel to philadelphia to witness how an unexpected partnership is changing lives. >> to be out here today and to be walking in the sunshine is an amazing experience. 's almost surreal. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us.

>> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> the lemelson foundation. committed to imph ving lives thvention, in the u.s. and developing countries. on the web at melson.org. an supported by the john d catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful more infmation at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing supporte of tnstitutions: >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting.io and by contrib to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: it was anything but politics ausual. the country is still talking

tonight out what happened last night in cleveland it was billed as a presidential debate, but had all thcivility of a childn's food fight. amna nawaz begins our extensive coverage. >> nawaz: after a bruising first debate, the candidates were back on the campaign trail today, and back to trading barbs... >> trump has no plans, no ideas, didn't express a single plan about how he was gonna move forward. it was just a smtional embarrt. >> we're hitting what people want, law and order. biden was unable to talk about it because he'd lose thes adical left, dical left followers. i don't think there's too many of them left. >> nawaz: the night before begao with a civilally-distanced greeting, but quickly devolved into chaos. moderator chris wallace's very first question on the supreme court vacancy set off the first back and forth... >> we won the election.

elections have consequences. we have the senate, we have the white house, and we have a phenomenal nominee. people should speae american you should go out and vote. >> are you going to pack the court? and who is on your list joe?" >> i'm not going to answer the question. >> nawaz: the president repeedly sought to paint bid as a far-left candidate... >> if you say those words you're going to lose all of your radical-left supporters.. >> my party is me. right now i am the democratic party. i am the democratic party right now. >> nawaz: and mr. trump defended his pandemic resnse, as the u.s. death toll crossed 206,000 american lives... >> when he was presented with that number, he said it is'.hat well, it is what it is because you are who you are. that's why it is. the president has no plan. >> if we would've listened to you, the country would have been left wide open. millions of people would have died, not 200,000. and one person is too much. >>eawaz: on the racial just

protests against police brutality, the president returned to his message of law and orr... >> he has no law enforcement support. name one group that supports you. >> i'm totally opposed to defunding the poce officers. they need more assistance. >> nawaz: as biden argued the president's rhoric is fueling racial tension... >> this is a president who has used everything as a dog whistly too generate racist hatred, racist division. >> nawaz: in one stunning a moment, whed by the moderator to explicitly condemn .hite supremacists, the president dodged but i will tell you what, i will tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a >> nawaz: mr. trump spent much interrupting the former vice president, at times sparking frustration... >> nawaz: the moderator! struggled to maintain control... >> i think that the country would be better served if we allow both people to speak with fewer interruptions. i am appealing to yosir to do

that. >> well, and him too. >> well, frankly, you have been has.g morenterrupting than he >> nawaz: and personal attacks >> you're e worst president america has ever had! than you've done iears! months >> nawaz: buding to a heated exchange, after biden cited reports of the president disparaging military members a"" losers"... and the president attacked one his sons... >> my son was in iraq and spent a year there. he got the-- he got the bronze he got the conspicuous service medal. he was not a loser. he was a patriot. >> are you talking about hunter? are you talkg about hunter? i'm talking of my son, beau biden. you're talking about-- >> i don't know beau. i know hunter. >> yeah, you know beau. te>> hunter got thrown-- h got thrown out of the military. he was thrown out, dishonorably discharged for-- >> that's not true.sh he wasn't orably-- >> cocaine use. and he didn't have a job until you became vice president. and what you became vice >> none of that is true.

>> i was not impressed with the lack of decorum. >> nawaz: six voters, from both parties and across the country, joined me to watch the debate. they a came away feeling more frustrated than informed. >> to see the kind of behavior that was exhibited, it was very disappointing. >> i was very disappointed that they were fighting with each other. they were very persona of their discussions, just bringing family into it. >> i don't thi either e was able to express any substance and point in it. and it was all a rehash of the things that i had heard earlier. >> nawaz: raise your hand if you feel like you learned something. nobody learned anything new? the commission on presidential debates issued a statement today saying, "last night's debate made clear that addition structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ense a more orderly discussion of the issues." vice president mike pencand senator kamala harris will debate on october 7th.

thsnext presidential debate scheduled for october 15th. for the pbs newshour, i'm amna nawa >> woodruff: to give us a closer ok at what's next for both campaigns after last night's debate, i'm joined by our own yamiche alcindor and lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: so hello to both of you. yamiche, to you first. you've been looking at some of the moments from thisebate that give a sense of where this race stands for both of these >> reporter: the key moment that stands out is the one that both the biden campaign and the trump campaign are focused on today, and that is the president's refusal on the debate stage condemn quite supremacists outright. defending himself and says he is seeking to clarify statements.clean up his he says he didn't know who the proud boys were. and he says what he meant by stand back and stand by is for those white supremacist groups to stand back and stand away

from the issues at hand so do their jobs.ment can of course, that is not what he said on the debate stage yesterday, but the trump capaign has been messaging that today. the president is saying he doesn't no who theoud boys are. in 2016, when he was asked to condemn david dc he said he didn't know who david he was, and he didn't know anything about white sprem is sist groups. and the biden campaigns seizing on the president's. commen joe biden came out saying that the president should not have been saying the things he was saing. and he said to white, supremacisase and desist. we can see that the trump campaign will continue to haveoo talk ab this issue, which means they're not talking about what they want to be talking about, including the president's response to the coronavirus, the economy, the president's possible plans on health care. this is really putting the trump campaign in a ugh

positiin. they're trto message that joe biden is bad for black cmuomties, but joe siden continues to a lead among blacks ano the trump campaign is struggling inheir messaging.uf >> woo lisa, as we're hearing, so much of the focus toy on what happened last night is on the insults back and forth, the angry language. but you keyed in on some important policy points that emerged between the two of them. >> lisa: let's do something completely crazybo and talk policy and the problems in this cotry. judy, embedded in the mud of that debate, you could find se important policy differences. and i want to start, first of all, wi the coronavirus itself. there is an important but very fast exchange that i think summed up one of the main differences between these two men. they have very large differences over how much credence they give toh whperts, how much

they talk about the death toll, and when. what is the reality ofhe situation? those are all big differences. the question now is an f approach goiward, and there was an exchange, judy, where you heard president trump say people want their schos op, people want things to be open, and then former vice president biden responded people want to be safe. that's an important policy difference that sort of got lost in of the heat last night. what is the priority of afe two men? is it the sety of american people or is it the econbiy? difference. and the other one, of course, is health care. a huge issue for the biden campaign. it is somethinthey tal about especially a lot. therfirst of all, when youic look at what president biden talked about, his pan is to expand obamacare and to add that public option, which would be a i government-rurance plan that people could choose if they wanted. what you heard from

president trump is tt obamacare is too expensive, too unwielding. aut when asked specifically fo replacement, the president talked more aboutcr prtion drug prices coming down. again, he didn't get tooif much into sps on how that would happen.ot r issue, preexisting conditions. vice presint biden naed 100 million americans, which we know experts are thought to be the group who have prendexisting ions that could affect their insurance. president trump, how did he see that? he said there is, instead, too much concern for government, too much government entering theal care arena, and he said biden's plan would be in the direction of socialism. there you see again, judy, the difference in their priorities.le is it pe with pre-existing conditions or a concern that govwinment go too far as president trump was expressing. >> woodruff: so, lisa,g stayth you and beyond the debate, some news today, new talks

between thparties about a coronavirus covid relief bill. tell us where that has ended up. >> lisa: this will be quick. all we can say is talks have restarted. there are some signs of hope. but also senate republican leader mitch mcconnell says they're still very far apart. we'll keep watching. >> woodruff: final back to you, yamiche. tell us where things go from here. >> reporter: where things go is tat both compaigns are going to be messaging and trying to convce voters that even with the foot fight and the brawl they saw yesterday, that candidate, either joe biden or president trump are the people -- or is the person at should be elected to move forward and to see pandemic.try through this lisa hit on a point that is really important, the covid-19 talks are continuing, and the white house and the president is contuing to work on this issue. biden says president

trump is doing a lot of things to distract from corolavirus. he say night should be a wakeup call to americans to show what is at stake. he believes that president trump is focused more onha himself on the american people. i also want to put up a cht, because as all of this is going on, the pandemic continues to kill and infect americans. so if we can put up that chart. the daily coronavirus in developed nations, this is united states compared to modernized, industrialized nations. in march and april, thee, two lines ththe purm pepurple one being the united states, they were in line. but pril to june to august and september, the united asstates higher deaths per million. this chart shows just how bad the united states is doing when you compare it to other modern industrialized nations. health experts saye hat is ory that people should be focused on, the fact that the united states is continuing to

lose more peopn than may of people in the same position as the united states. >> way: so important for us -- >> woodruff: so important for us all to remember that and keep track of it and report it every day yamiche alcindor and lisa desjardins, we thank you. >> woodruff: it has happened before with present trump-- failing to clearly denounce far- right extremist and racist groups, and sentiments, wh prompted. william brangham has our deeper dive into that exchange from last night's debate. >> okay, and to end this-- >> brangham: this is the moment where the president, again, was unwilling to criticize racister groups in a: >> but are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacist and militia groups-- >> sure. >> and to say that mayeed to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of thes

cities as we saw in kenosha and as we have seen in portland? >> se, i am willing-- >> are you prepared to specifically-- >> do it. >> well, go ahead, sir. >> i would say-- i would say almost everything i see is from the left wing, notwirom the righ. >> so what do you-- what do you-- what are you saying? >> i-- i'm willing to do anything. i want to see peace-- >> well then do it, sir-- >> say it, do it. >> do you want to hem-- what you want to call them? give me a name. give me a name. >> white supremacist and-- >> go ahead. who would you like me condemn? >> white supremacist. >> proud boys. >> and right wing militia. >> proud boys: stand back and stand by! but i will tell you, what i wilm tell you, whatody's goto do something about antifa and right wing problem.his is no >> brangham: the "proud boys" are part of a loose network of far-right, extremist, and racist groups in the u.s.-- many of whom have aligned themselves closely with the president and his policies. and last night, "new york time"" reporter mike baker tweeted that some "proud boys" had modified their logo to include the president's words: "stand back, stand by," seemingly taking them as their new motto. leaving the white house today, president trump said he didn't

know who the proud boys were, but he urged restraint: >> they have to stand down and let law enforcement do their work. >> brangham: but last night was just the latest example of the president's rectance to clearly rebuke extremist, far right groups. lashes inafter charlottesville, virginia at a white supremacist protest, wherr a woman was mu, he said this: >> you had some very b people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides. >> brangham: just two weeks ago, prident trump's f.b.i. director christopher wray warned congress of the threat posed by white supremacists. he so they're-- the white supremacists areargest chunk of their racially s.tivated domestic terrori >> yes. let-- but let me also say that-- and i would also add to that that racially motivad olent extremists over recent years have been responsible for the most lethaactivity in the u.s. >> brangham: also this month, brian murphy, an official in the department of homeland security,

filed a whistleblower complaint, claiming that other senior officials directed him to downplay the threat of white supremacy "in a manner that madh threat appear less severe." >> brangham: the trumpign pushed back, noting the president's new "platinum pla"" for black communities, whichco touches onmic and health care issues, but also calls for the d.o.j. to treat the ku klux klan as a domestic terror organization. biden addressed the president's remarks about the "proud boys" at an ohio train stop today. >> my message to the proud boys and every other white suact group is cease anddesiat' this is not who we are aser ans. >> brangham: biden has said the prident's words about charlottesville spurred him to launch his 20 bid. he said mr. trump's remarks last night were "a wakeup call forl ericans." w did the president's words last night empower white supremacists, roups in the d what should we expect as the election draws closer?

to discuss that, we're joined by kathleen belew, a professor at the university of chicago and an expert on the history of white supremacists. she's author of "bring the war home: the white power mivement and patary america." and janai nelson. gal defense and educational fund. >> thank you both for being here. kathleen belew, to yo first, for those who have never heard of the proud bo until last night, can you just tell us a bit who are they and where do they fit and the constellation of white power groups? >> sure. the proud boys ae familiar to most of us from theunite the rally in 2017. that is where the researches o the white power movement caught the public attention, and re-entered our public consciousness for the first time in this cycle. it is a movement tha incles a wide variety ofan activists,ging from the proud boys, interested in public safety and activism, and get the vote out activity, to groups with a more nefd ious

undergroase, and ople who have been described as lone-wolf actors. >> staying with you for a second, kathleen, the president last night is asked to dennce them and other groups like them, and instead he says, stand back and stand by. what do you hear in those words? >> the problem here is even in the most generous interpretation of the ump comment in the debate, and some people argued he mentor to say stand down. he didn't say stand down. so the white power movement heard this as stand back and stand by. theyill take it to mean stand by for further action. furthermore, we know they heard it that way because this phrase has already been incorporated no proud boy logo design andeople have tweeted about it, and there has been a lot of ac words.round these this is also a paramilitary movement that habeen amassing in

militia, but that has been for quite a long time.e when they hear "stand by," many will hear a call to arm and further action. >> janai nelson, the same question, this is the first time that the president has been called upon to denounce groups like this. what did you think and hear last night? >> what i heard was a blatent attack on our democracy. what we witnessed last night was the president of the united states, w all of the country and all of the world watching, stand inolidarity with white supremacy. and unlikeis previous comments, this time he spoke directly to them. he told them to stand back laand stand by. night i believe we reached a tipping point in our country. we wtnessed an alliance between an elected head of state ann violent extremist organization o full display. this is precisely howun

democracieavel. and the failure to condemn th heinous behavior, as horrific as it is, creates a very clearoice for voters about the america they want to live in. he simply revealed himself and revealed his plan for this country and those statements. >> kathleen belew, can you help us understand, when the president talks like this, how does this tye of language matter? does it actually chan minds? does it swell t numbers in these types of groups? >> absk utely. i that the danger here is that a call t arms statement like this is like a bell you canot unring. it is -- this movement has organized across decades, if not generations, and many of these activists are intent not only on things like poll-watching and voter suppression,en although has in the playbook for decades, too, but also they'rett interested inacks on

civilians and masssu ty events as a way of provoking civil unrest.ie these are sestakes. this is not something we can ignore and casually gesture to and think there not be consequences.ru if trumply did not know who the proud boys are, that is a massivepr failure of hiesidency. this is something that his intelligence agencies havbee very concerned about. we have seen several whistle-s leaving the f.b.i. and the d.h.s. saying that the white power is the largest of domestic terror, saying we're seeing these huge up surges and rising waves of activity. the trump administrationt aking action is, in many ways, as good as complacency and as good as alliance. >> janai nelson, of onurse of the concerns in all of this is what happens on the election and what groups like this ight do to interact with the election. we know the president is calling for an army --

those are his o words f people to show up and watch what happens on election day. is tha something you're particularly worried , out? >> we course, it raises very significant concerns. itke ha back to the intimidation and violence against black verot and a lot depends on what else president trump does before this eleio and, more importantly, whether other leadersnt ue to remain silent. defense fundemanded,eg that the department ofin justicstigate the rise in white nationalist violence. and that fell on deaf ears. the department of justice is not doing its job to oinvestigate these typ crimes. and we have to appreciate how very extreme the president's conduct is. this is the firstin presiden0 years to

publicly stand on the side of white supremacy and to hfuse to denounce racism. as opposed to any prior president may have felt privately, thisre publicusal to denounce it is absolutely stunning and disturbing, to say the least. but we have to be vocal about the fact that voter iintimidation is illegally, illegally under the vong rights act of 1965, under the ku klux klan act, and under myriad state and local laws. so people who want to follow the perilous call toisrupt or election by intimidating voters, should be forewarned that there armany laws, an array of laws, that can be used to prevent them from rming our election and to prosecute them. >> kathleen, i want to pick uth on sog that about with regardsei department of justice, and the role that local and federal law enforcement has to play in thans.

we knohave seen some porting that certain of these malitia group the oath-keepers and the three percenters have in some cases coordinated with local law enforcement. the d.fh.s. aware this and the f.b.i. is aware of this. how serious a threat is this? >> it is an enormous problem. ntd sometimes they pre themselves as a neutral party, and they say they're there to keep order and enforce the law. but they can't enforce the law. they're not emboldened to enforce the law undery kind of governance. we see tings like malitia holding protestors so police can arrest them. in charlottesville, the governor of virginia said police couldn't enter to keep demonstrators safe because the malitias that

were there were more heavily armed. the presence of people who are heavi armed has real impact in intimidating and in the potential for further violence. >> all right. kathleen belew and janai nelson, thank you both veg for being here. >> thank you. >> be thank you for having us. >> woodruff: for more on last night's presidential debate that was unlikeny other debate we've witnessed or read about, i'm joined by dan balz, chief correspondent at the "washington post," and sewell chan, theit ial page editor at the "los angeles times." >> woodruff: we welcome both you of tothe "news n hour." lz, to you first. you and i have been covering politics forou the same length of time. i've never seen anything like this. what about you? >> i agree, ju. and i don't think anybody

who is alive today has ever seen anything like we saw last night. you know, this is a presidency that has beenot unlike everr presidency, so i guess weld shouave assumed that this debate would be unlike a we had seen. the president set the tone.he decided that he wanted to make this a chaotic ening. joe biden was caught up in his wake. and i think that in the end, there were probably many, many people who turned this debatoff rather than sticking with it to the end. >> woodruff:ewell chan, i saw you were commenting on this debate last night. how was it different from what you expected? >> in a way, i did expect trump to come out swinging, and he rnlivered. the biggest conthat i had was really the format of the debate. i felt ar little sory for the moderllor, chris e. i think he tried his best. one of the most dramatic moments was when he asked the president dirheectly whhe was going to abide by rules to which

his caaign had agreed. it seetd a tle out of control at times. and my fears are for the they think the w thinger is so disgusting they feel tuned out of politics all together. he woodruff: no question that that is oninds of many of us. president set the tone. does he bear the main responsibility, do y think, for what happened last night? >> i do, judy. he was the aggressor. sewell said we expected thato be the case. but he was conrrstantly inting. he was constantly talking over vice president biden. he was not willing toid by the rules that chris wallace was trying cedesperately to enf i think you have to say that he was responsible for the overall tone ad tenure of it. people will judge s performance versus biden's performance partly thrangh partenses and through other ways. i think you have to lay

this on the president of the united states f having decid, for whatever his reasons, heis isay he was going to conduct the debate. and everybody else on the stage kind of had to live with that. >> woodruff: andl sew chan, how do you see the cause of it going it off the rails? i know some of the voters nawaz talked with amna overnight, were saying itn was both cadidates. they felt the entire atmosphere was extrely pleasant. how do you see the cause here? >> i believe trump has the majority of the blame. he did more interrupting, as chris wallace poin pointed out. that said, biden was not completely innocent.le he ctrump a clown, a president america has ever had. and at one point he teld told him to shut up, and that

was troubling from a leader who was trying to come across as a statesman. avertheless, the level of discourse reach new low yesterday. >> wayne >> woodruff: dan, you called it an insult to the american people, a sad e of democracy. expand on that. what are you saying? >> judy, we're five weeksaw from what many people regard as the most important election in ome life and maybe longer than that. and this was the first opportunitfor all of the country to see these two candidates on the stage together. and, frankly, for the rest of the world to look at these two ndidates. and if yo look at sme of the commentary that has come from overseas, some of the newspaper reportage on the debate and pundi punditry, is ople looking at america through a different len looking at a country that is

totally inward-looking,di incrediblyided, unable, in a sense, to make its democracy work in an even mildly harmon harmonious way. that was the view of a lot of americans who were also watching. so these presidential commissioned deates that are run by the commission of presidential debates, have served the country reasonablyell. i know there are people who criticize this and that, but these are events evy four years, in which the format is designed to let people make some judgments both about where these candidates stand and who these caidates are. on where these candidates stand, we did not learn that muc on who these candidates are, i think we did learn a lot lat night. >> woodruff: so, well chan, should the debates continued?

is there more the american people can learn?is the co is saying it is going to change the rules in some way. what do you think? >> welhil, i as yesterday, it is unlikelyd that vice president biden would choose not to particitate. ill remain, of course, an important opportunity mmunicateo c directly with the american people and the voters, and he is unlikely to pass up that air te. but the commission on presidential debates have a monumental task. i think short of adopting an automatic kill switch to cut off the mic, or the moderator raising his or her voice, it seems vey difficult. so i think the biggest question going forward is: what will the commission do? is the format adequate? can it sustain this level deviation from tradition? >> woodruff: and, dan, what about the basic toquestion: is there mor

be learned through theses? debate i mean for the erican people, should there be >> judy, there is more to be learned. segments that christhe wallace laid out last night, there was never a real discussion about the issues hwas trying to get the candidates to talk about. i don't think either candidate fully gave people an understanding of where they want to take the country. the debate was too chaotic pen.that to ha there is a lot that people can learn, but i think only if both participants, and particarly the president, frankly, agree to tone it down some and to have if not a civil debate, a debate in whichte each candias an opportunity to speak uninterruptee i believe tmmission is looking hard about what do you do about somebody who interrupts all of the time? can you cut off the microphone, and o's

responsibility should that be? this these are allti difficult qus when you're dealing with a former vice president who wants to be president and an incumbent president. there is much to bare d only if the candidates agree to make it happen. >> woodruff: sewell chan, what do you believe the likelihood of that is? >> the non-profit organization has been doing its work sinrace 1980. gey, they have produced very high-quality events. i personally think they should bopen to a more radical change of rt, with longer intervals of speaking time, and have moderators with a policy expertise. chris wallace was trying s best, but it is hard you're also tryingo be a baby-sitter. >> dan balz and sewell chan, thank yol very much. wee what happens. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> woodruff: in the day's other news, a federal appeals court in wisconsin refused to suspend a ruling that lets absente ballots be counted up to six days after the election. meanwhile, a federal judge in indiana struck down a state law that said mail-in ballots must be received by noon on election day. and the elections chief in pennsylvania reported the discarding of nine military ballots was a mistake, not intentional fraud. esident trump has repeatedly mentioned the incident. rmer f.b.i. director james comey faced a new grilling republicans pointeajortigation. problems with applications to eavesdrop on carter a former trump campaign aide. comey said he bls not responfor every detail in the applications, and he defended the broader investigation. republican lindsey g

shary disagreed. >> to my democratic friends, if it happened to us, it can happen to you. every american should be worried about this. its not just an abuse ofower against mr. page and the trump campaign, its a system failure, and you could be next. >> woodruff: a justice department inspector general has found no evidence of partisan bias in the investigation. in india, a court today acquitted all 32 people accused in a 1992 attack thadestroyed a 16th-century mosque. the demolition sparked a wave of hindu-muslim violence that left some 2,000 people dead. hindu nationalist leaders were i accused iting the violence. will challenge the verdict.hey back in this country, a federal judge in california has blocked

e increases for citizenship, asylum and related procedures.un the judge in part, that the hikes cannot be enforced ancause they were issued b acting secretary of homeland security who was illegally promoted. that officia chad wolf, won a senate committee's endorsement today as permanent secretary. his nomination now goes to the full senate. boeing's 737 max jetliner is a big step closer to gettingack in the air. hundreds of the planes have been grounded worldwide since march of 2019, after two crashes that killed nearly 350 people. today, sve dickson, head of the federal aviation administration, took a two-hour evaluation flight near seattle, and reported pgress. >> we're going to make sure that the process is completed correctly. that's in everyone's best interest. we're going to be demanding on those that we regulate, but we will be fair. i completed a number of test

profiles today to examine theon funcity of the aircraft, and i liked what i saw. >> woodruff: the f.a.a. itself has come under criticism for oversight failures. today, a u.s. house committee unanimously approved reforms to the agency's certifications. proc the senate, this evening, has given final approval to a bill funding federal government operations into december. that averts a government shutdown at midnight. it also means congress mustme return in a uck session after the election to pass a new funding bill. wall street finished out a tough month with a rally today. the dow jones industrial average gained 329 points to close at 27,7. the nasdaq rose 82 points, and, the s&p 500 ded 27. but, for the month, the dow was down 2%, the s&pell 4%, and the nasdaq lost 5%.

and, australian-born singer helen reddy has died in los angeles. she gaed global fame in the 1970's with the feminist anthem "i am woman," and she scored a string of other top 40 hits as well. helen reddy was 78 years old. still to come on the newshour: california burning-- how the saga of wildfires is devastating lives. searching for justice: why art might behe answer to help fight crime in philadelphia and much more. >> woodruff: in northernia califowildfires are again devastating wine country,

destroying dozens of homes, burning thousands of and killing at least three people this week more than 8,000 wildhave already killed at least 29 thople in the state overal season. and the fires have destroyed more than 7,000 buildings, burning nearly 5,800 square miles. stephanie sy has the latest. >> reporter: in napa and sonoma counties, the nights are lit up wi huge flames. firefighters in some cases, battle blazes house by house and are confroing a fire that quadrupled in size in less than two days. there's been little relief for more than 2,000 firefighters involved in the effort and not much progress yet against the glass fire. it broke out sunday and quickly merged with two other fires. the zogg fire to the north in shasta county has consumed another 50,000 acres. tens of thousands of people have evacuated and at least 80 homes have been destroyed in the glass fire. >> it's a very sobering thing to

find out that all you've worked for and all of that your parents have worked for in a moment is gone. >> we lose r me. hemean, home-- where we go and where we get tog >> reporter: some residents have stayed to try and save their ames. todahorities warned evacuees not to return too quickly.t >> i jnt to remind people that evacuated zones are g ngerous. still trees fallthout warning. power poles falling. fires on the ground. >> reporter: some like lauraat coand her husband have been fortunate. their home survived, but their neighbors have not been so lucky. >> when we came back on yesterday morng, it was so surreal and we had no idea the house was still there. so when we drove up and saw the house, we were kind of like, ih, my god, tha miracle. and then but just looking at everything else. so then we walked up the street. none of the neighborlawere left. th across the road here. gone. all these people's things were

gone. mean, it's just like pure devastation. >> reporter: sonoma and napa communities already have been irgrappling with major wil this summer. >> this is a slow mong creeping fire, if you will, at this point. but it is literally on our doorstep. >> reporter: that's chris canning, the mayor of calistoga. his entire city of 5,000 residents is under mandatory evacuation. he says the winds have died down. >> no wind is good, but no wind is also bad because it doesn't allow the smoke to clear, whic doesn't allow air tanker support to come in at this point. >> reporter: talk about the fire behavior you're seeing. is there anything any more ncerning about this year's season than last year or 2017s? i mean, the last four years havl been bad. >> they have. and every year, unfortunately,to seemet worse and worse. and we're setting new records this year. our fire season started very early. first week of september, we had our first significant fire out here. here we are again. it's not even october, wch is traditionally the fire season,

our peak fire season, if you will. and these fires are faster, large. >> reporter: this part ofif northern cnia suffered devastating personal losses and property damage back in 2017 f from the tubbsire. 22 people were killed in one of the most destructive fires in california history. >> when our house burned down in 2017, it seemed like the kind of firestorm disaster that might happen every 50 or 100 yrs. >> reporter: brian fies is an artist and writer whose home in santa rosa burned down in that fire. he wrote a graph novel about that experience, a had just rebuilt his house when john yang visited him in 2019. despite anxious moments in this past week, he does feel safer in his current house which was built with new codes in place. >> i still think rebuilding was worth the risk for us. and our new house is sort of a testament to that. it's not going to say it's fireproof. nothing is. but i think a repeat of 2017 in

my neighborhood is unlikely, although i wasn't that confident last sunday night when i was packing in case we needed to evacuate. >> reporter: scientists say climate change is makingns condit ripe for larger and w more intenildfires. forest management practices have also left too much fuel for the fire. but people continue to build in areas that abut wildlands. jufies says the events of st the past yea are leading some people to rethink their >>sumptions. lot of our neighbors and friends are talking about trying to finsomewhere safe. but, you know, with climate change, safe and risk are moving targets. where is safe? >> you can have the de about climate change. we are experiencing it firsthand. this is not normal, but it's becoming repeated year after year after year. we have to make changes. >> reporter:irefighters have their work cut out for them as the forecast calls for winds toi back up along with hotter temperatures over the next several days. for the pbs newshour, i'm

stephanie sy. lo >> woodruff: w now at the culmination of an unusual project exploring the criminal justice system, through art. jeffrey brown traveled to philadelphia, where this unexpected partnership has played out. a note: parts of this story were shot before the pandemic. it's part of our "searching for justice" series, and ooing canvas arts and culture coverage. >> brown: portraits of people oe all sides ofriminal justice system: prosecutors, victims' advocates, formerlynd incarceratediduals. does it still feelal toes hough. just be taking a walk like this? >> yes, it does. to be out here today and to be walking in the sunshine is anri amazing exce.

it's almost surreal. >> brown: in 1993 hough, then just 17, was nvicted of murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. in 2012 the supreme coled such terms unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. hough was re-sentenced and, last year, after 27 yearsison, released. in january, alg the city's rail park, he showed us a large mural he'd helped desi create while in prison, a work he never thought he'd see in thu ide world. >> when we began to work on projects like these, they changed our lives. you know, they showed us a different way. >> brown: art helped change hough's life, and brought him to a very different side of the justice system. last november, he was named" artist-in-residence" for the philadelphia district attorney's office. it was a project believed to be the first of its kind. and d.a. larry krasner wasn't sure what to make of it when he originally heard the idea. a

first a little confused because it's a new notion. >> brown: confused¡ like, 'at is that'? >> what is it? what is that? i mean, i have heard of the arts, but this is also the prosecutor's office. so it seemed like an interesting notion. i the mohought about it and the more i spoke to people about it, it seemed like a really good >> brown: krasner is no stranger to controversial ideas and approaches.lo a li defense attorney and activist for criminal justice reform, he was elected in 2017 as the city's top prosecutor, vowing to change a system he sees as wasteful of human lives and public resources. >> what i and we are all trying to do is get away from this very, very ineffective, entirely retributive system that does not make us safe but gives us things like mass incarceration, does not fund our schools but funds a whole lot of prisons. you know, you cannot solve all of our problems by locking pele up, by putting them i cuffs. it does not work.

we know this. >> brown: his actions to date, including seeking little or no prison time for some offenses, have garnered wide attention, praise and plenty of opposition. but how does an ¡artist in residence' program fit in? krasner cites culture-- movies, tv series, music-- taking on serious issues of criminal justice and, perhaps, changing hearts and minds. and he sees the arts project as a new way to reach the public. he's quick to insist there is no public funding involved-- the money comes from an outside foundation. and he vetted james hough-- his crime, his experience in prison and, of course, his art work. >> this is not propagaa. there's not necessarily an obvious message, something at's something that tells you what to do. but to me, there is a kind of a

really deep talent that was bend this, and it was supported by 20 years of developing his artisc abilities. >> brown: james hough began drawing and painting as a child. but it was in prison that he came a serious artist-- part of turning his life around. older inmates advised him: "make this your univerty, not your casket." >> i felt like whatever i cod do artistically would only matter in the larger sense, as a human being in a society, if i became a better person. >> brown: in 2006, at the state correctional institution at graterford, pennsylvaniahe joined a proam run by mural arts philadelphia, a group known for using public art to both beautify and address social issues in the city. hough and other inmates created works on fabric, that were later transferred toilalls around elphia, like the one by the rail park, which involved help from shominent artist ard fairey. it's called "the stamp of

incarceration." jane golden is the founder of" >> there's somethiut redemption. and i think that art has a ehtranscendent power and s it's lifted something for so manyf our stakeholders who and james will now become a contributing member of our society. >> brown: this year, hough spoke directly to many in and aroundti the criminal j system, some virtually, and used those interviews in creating the rtraits. i asked what message he wanted to get across. >> there's a human side to public trust, that harm otherthe individuals, there's a social price that must be paid for them. however, there is also a redemptive quality to human geings that we can never f exists. and if we foreclose on that, we foreclose on our society. >> brown: several of hough's portraits will be on display at the d.a.'s office, and other ousites around the city, t the end of october.

for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown in philadelphia. >> woodruff: our september pick club was steven greenhouse's "beaten down, worked up," whichr es the rise and fall of labor unions and the larger impact on american workers toda greenhouse, a longtime reportery for the "nk times," recently spoke with jeffrey brown about the decliningnc political inflof unions in the united states. here's a brief excerpt. t brown: here we are and midst of an election. d, you know, it's a mome i wonder when you look at all this through the lors of labor hiand where we are with labor and unions. what's your political analysis? what do you see? >> one of the big reasons donald trump won in 2016 was that he won wisconsin and michigan and

pennsylvania all by ker. and i explain in my book tt if union membership in those three states hadn't declined by so mu in the previous decade. he very likely would have lost all three states and thus the presidency. you know, a lot of union members suppord trump. trump promised them change. he said he had to turn things around.th k a lot of union members i've been speaking to have kind of been disappointed that, you know, wages still haven't gone up very much, inme inequality has continued to get worse. e pandemic has not been handled very well. unemployment has gone through the roof. so i think people are really a lot of people in wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, minnesota, you know, other states, you know, unions are really much mo jazzed and much more active. >> woodruff: that was author stephen greenhouse. u can find the full conversation on our website,or pbnewshour. and, our october section willot look at r subject on the top of many americans' mindsc: amid the pandehildhood education. journalist paul tough, who has done extensive research on this

topic, will join us to discuss his book, "helping children succeed," as thousands of studts adapt to a remote learning environment. we hope you'll read oong with otheour website and facebook page for "now read this," our book cl partnership with the "new york times." and that's theniewshour for t. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here tomorrow evening. for l of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> you can do the things you like to do wita wireless plan signed for you. with talk, text and data. consumer cellular. learn more at consumercellular.tv >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth managemento a dedicated adcan tailor advice and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth

management. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on thso frontlines oal change worldwide. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and inviduals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. pd by contributions to yo station from viewers like you. thank you.

captioning sponsor newshour productions, llc captioned by media accessroup at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. >> every vote in this country is going to be heard. they'll not be stopped. >> we're going to hav to see what happens. you know that. i've been complaining very strongly about the ballots. >> the first presidential debate amid fears for the election's integrity. is putin having a change of ou heart after years of trump? we get report from moscow. and what about made in the usa voter suppression? massachusetts attorney general maura healy joins me. then -- >> the mind-numbing ar. >> an agonizingmilestone, 1 million covid deaths around the world. can european democracies lead their people through a second wave? plus -- >> the president has not been af great example