captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: a tale of two town halls. a combative president trump declines to disavow fringe conspiracy theorists, while joe biden criticizes the administration's pandemic response. then, disinformation. intelligence agencies warned the white house that russian intelligence used rudy giuliani as a vessel to undermine the biden campaign. pl, the virus on the rise. many countries in europe see a surge in covid cases, prompting a re-imposition of travel restrictions and concern over healthcare resources. >> health officials here have warned that if the

current rate of hospital admissions continues, the 2,000 inteive care beds in belgian hospitals could be full by mid-november. >> woodruff: and, it's friday, mark shieldsnd david brooks weigh in on the barrett confirmation hearings, the dueling town halls, and the approaching election. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪

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station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the presidential candidates were back out on the campaign trail today, just hours after their primetime town halls. they set their sights on battleground states, hoping to drum up more support in the final weeks of the race. lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> desjardins: 18 days until the election, and the presidential candidates are both on the road in pivotal swing states today. president trump in florida... >> i will protect you, i will defend you, and i will fight for you with every ounce of energy and conviction that i have. >> desjardins: ...and former vice president biden in michigan. >> he doesn't have any plan! i'm going to rebuild a resilient infrastructure, creating good paying jobs. >> desjardins: this, after a night originally scheduled for a face-to-face debate. instead, americans saw competing tv town halls.

mr. trump got an hour of primetime at his event in miami, hosted by nbc news. he had refused to debate biden in a virtual format, following his covid-19 diagnosis. but, it's unclear just how much better this was for him-- he spent much of the night on the defense. >> oh, you always do this. no, you always do this. >> my question to you is-- >> desjardins: nbc's savannah guthrie confronted him with questions about his health. >> when was your last negative test? did you test the day of the debate? >> i don't know, i don't even remember. >> desjardins: even after his own bout with the coronavirus, mr. trump wavered on his position on masks-- falsely claiming that 85% of people who wear them catch the virus. >> i was okay with the masks. i was good with it. but i've heard many different stories on masks. >> desjardins: and, when pressed, he refused to disavow the far-right conspiracy group, "q-anon." >> i just don't know about q- anon. >> you do know. >> i don't know. no, i don't know. i don't know. >> desjardins: a remote control click away, quite a contrast... >> the words of a president matter.

>> desjardins: instead of combative exchanges, longer answers, and more time for voter questions. >> besides you ain't black, what do you have to say to young black voters who see voting for you as further participation in a system that continually fails to protect them? >> well, i'd said, first of all, as my buddy john lewis said, it's a sacred opportunity, the right to vote. you can make a difference. >> desjardins: early ratings indicated the biden town hall, moderated by abc news' george stephanopolous in philadelphia, brought in more viewers than did the president's. biden eagerly dived into policy, substance, and his opponent's track record... >> you have iran closer to having enough nuclear material to build a bomb. north korea has more bombs and missiles available to it. we find ourselves where our nato allies are publicly saying they can't count on us. >> desjardins: ...with no interruptions, compared to last time the two candidates shared the stage. biden addressed voters' concerns directly.

>> well, there's a lot more if you want to-- if you're going to hang out afterwards, i'll tell you more. >> desjardins: the issues making the biggest headlines this week marked moments in both events. >> i would not have appointed her. >> desjardins: biden declined to answer whether he's open to expanding the supreme court, following republicans' push to confirm judge amy coney barrett to the bench. >> it depends on how much they rush this. >> desjardins: but he promised voters a definitive stance by the election. meanwhile, mr. trump also dodged other matters potentially hinging on that confirmation. he said he never told barrett how to vote if the landmark abortion rights case "roe versus wade" ever got challenged on the court. he refused to commit to whether he'd like to see roe v. wade overturned. >> i don't want to do anything to influence anything right now. >> desjardins: a stark contrast from his stance in 2016. >> if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that's really what's going to-- that will happen, and that'll happen automatically, in my opinion, because i am putting pro-life justices on the court. >> desjardins: the two candidates are nexset to

appear together thursday for their final debate. for the pbs newshour, i'm lisa desjardins. >> woodruff: while the candidates continue to make their cases, more than 22 million americans have already voted, including 2.5 million ballots in texas, where early voting began this week. our daniel bush has been reporting in the state, and joins me from houston. so, dan, hello. we know earlier this week you re in georgia reporting on early voting there during the pandemic. you've spent now, what, a couple of days in the houston area, harris county. what are you seeing in terms of voting there? >> judy, texas is one of only five states whe the pandemic itself is not an excuse to cast a mail-in ballot so the only people who can vote through mail-in absentee are 65 and older or disabled or meet other criteria. a lot of voters are handing in the ballots, they don't trust the mailxd system. but governor abbott has made it

harder butñrxd limiting the drop boxes by one per county. here in harris county, the single location sot side a football stadium. you can see the stadium. it's not accessible for people without a car or on foot. democrats argue this is blatant suppression in a county that's 40% african-american and latino. there are other ways voting has been expanded through a larger early voting window and new, for the first time in texas, drive-through voting. >> woodruff: so interesting because harris countyñi 2.4 million residents, only one dropoff voting blatt place. what are voters telling you about how they sense what their options are for voting? do they know how much -- how concerned are they? >> well, tre are a range of view certainly a lot of concern. other people who said it was a fairly easy process, let's take

a look at two voters and what they had to say about how they voted. >> i feel like he's trying to suppress the voters by only having one drop boxes special for harris county, for the fourth largest city in the u.s., he's trying to suppress the voters especially because he's republican, he's trying to suppress the poor people by making it harder for them to vote. >> i have some underlying health issues and with the covid virus, i thought, you know, might be a little less crowded or just being in my car, being around less people in thisñi setting, d being in texas it gets warm, and being out in the sun for maybe an hour or hour and a half iting in line, it just wasn't going to work for me. so with the drive-through, it just lets people versus e more traditional polling place. >> and there you saw that drive-through voter, judy. that was a part of an effort by the harris county clerk, the official in charge of voting in

hillary clinton, a democrat to expand voting. he gave me a tour of the processing ballots and preparing for the election in november. >.>> woodruff: so dan with the issues swirling and how people will vote, what are the expectations there for turnout ultimately? >> judy you noted the numbers in the beginning, the first three days of early voting in texas saw record hearnout, they expect it to continue. hundreds of thousands of increased early voters from 2016, double the number of additional or extra absentee ballots requested and expect to be cast,ñi so turnout right nowp in texas. >> woodruff: dan bush, reporting for us from houston, harris county, texas. thank you, dan.

>> woodruff: over the last few days, president trump has highlighted a report by the "new york post" about hunter biden, joe biden's son. there are major questions about the origins and the accuracy of that story. and today, we learned more about concerns expressed by the president's most senior advisors that the president's personal attorney was peddling russian disinformation. to talk about all of this, we turn to nick schifrin. take us back to last year, and concerns expressed about rudy giuliani. >> schifrin: judy, we all remember h impeachment began. the crux of the democrats' accusation was that president trump sought favors from the ukrainian president, volodymyr zelensky, to get dirt on joe biden. at the time, the source of the president's information about biden was rudy giuliani, the president's personal attorney, who was looking into joe and hunter biden.

joe biden at the time ran the obama administration's ukraine policy, and hunter was on the board of a ukrainian energy company called burisma, widely considered corrupt. we'll talk about those details in a second. but the intelligence community was monitoring ukrainians it believed to be russian spies, and realized giuliani was talking to at least one of them. in fact, one of giuliani's main sources had been dubbed by the treasury department an "active russian agent for the last decade." a former senior intelligence offial tells me that president trump was warned that giuliani's information was actually russian disinformation by his entire national security team: national security advisor o'brien, c.i.a. director gina haspel, then-director of national intelligence joe maguire, white house counsel pat cipollone, attorney general bill barr. all told president trump not to trust what giuliani was telling him. this was first reported last night by the "washington post." >> woodruff: how did the

president respond? >> schifrin: the former senior intelligence official tells me the president shrugged it off, and that whenever intelligence officials warned the president russia might be helping him, he would push back, because he thought that called into question his 2016 victory. a statement, the president always streets such briefings with utmost seriousness. the characterization of the meeting is not accurate. >> woodruff: let's switch to the "new york post" story. what's the context for a story about the bidens and ukraine in 2016? >> schifrin: so at the end of the obama administration, vice president biden and the international community were pushing ukraine to crack down on corruption. and part of that effort was to oust the chief prosecutor, considered particularly ineffective. and when it came to burisma, u.s. diplomats considered the prosecutor ineffective, in part

because he had not pursued corruption allegations against burisma. so by pushing to get the prosecutor fired, vice president biden was actually making it more likely the ukrainian government would investigate the company where his son was on the board. so the "new york post" alleges that hunter biden introduced his father to a burisma executive in 2015. this would go against joe and hunter bidens' claims that they never discussed hunter's overseas work. the president brought it up again this morning, in florida: >> he's like a vacuum cleaner. he follows his father along, collecting-- what a disgrace. it's a crime family. >> schifrin: the biden campaign releed a statement saying the meeting never took place, and pointing outhat two republican-led senate committees concluded that biden "carried out official u.s. policy in ukraine, and engaged in no wrongdoing." >> woodruff: so, nick, what was the origin of the "new york post" story? >> a computer shop owner in

delaware says the proof of the meeting was an email on a computer that hunter biden dropped off at the store, but never retrieved. the owner has changed his story, but suggested to reporters he gave a copy of the hard drive to rudy giuliani. on the hard drive, there are photos of hunter biden that are apparently legitimate. but there is also this email, which was published in such a way that it's impossible to prove its legitimacy. bottom line? we can't confirm the story. but to go back to where we started, judy, disinformation experts tell me pro-russian actors have already packaged disinformation next to apparently-legitimate information, and they fear that russian and other actors will do so even more in these final weeks before the election. >> woodruff: thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other

news, twitter has now changed its policy on hacked content amid the uproar over its handling of an unverified story about hunter biden. now it will no longer remove hacked material unless it's been shared by hackers and their associates. it will also label tweets that might contain hacked content, instead of blocking links from being shared. the pharmaceutical company pfizer says that it will likely have a coronavirus vaccine ready for emergency approval by mid-november. that comes as u.s. infections topped eight million, and global cases surpassed 39 million. we will take a closer look at the surge of covid-19 infections in eure after the news summary. the pandemic has also inflicted a devastating toll on the u.s. government budget deficit. the treasury department reported that the deficit hit a record $3.1 trillion during the 2020 fiscal year that ended september

30, amid massive coronavirus relief funding. that is three times the size of last year's deficit. firefighters in colorado are battling the largest fire in the state's history. it has already scorched some 167,000 acres over the last two months. cell phone video showed the cameron peak fire's smoke bellowing over northern colorado's suburbs. mandatory evacuations were in place for much of the arapaho and roosevelt tional forest areas. the trump administration reversed course today and approved california's request for wildfire disaster aid, after initially rejecting it. the state is recovering from six recent wildfires, the latest in a string of devastating fires that have burned a record four million acres across the state this year. a sweeping new "reuters" investigation has found an alarming increase in inmate deaths across more than 500 of america's largest jails.

it found that 7,571 inmates died between 2008 and 2019. the mortality rate in those jails climbed 8% in the last three years, and 35% in the last decade. at least two-thirds of the dead were awaiting trial, and never convicted the charges on which they were being held. the supreme court agreedoday to take up a trump administration policy that excludes from the census count people living illegally in the u.s. if permitted, the policy would mark the first time in american history that immigrants would be left out of the population count that determines seats in the u.s. house of representatives. arments are set for next month. u.s. authorities have accused a former mexican defse minister of smuggling thousands of kilograms of illegal drugs across the border, in exchange for bribes. salvador cienfuegos zepeda was taken into custody yesterday in

los angeles. he was a senior leader in mexico's war on drugs under former president enrique pena neito. today, mexico's current president vowed to root out corruption. >> ( translated ): all those involved in this matter, and who are acting in the government, in the ministry of defense, will be suspended, withdrawn. and if it is the case, they will be put before the relevant authorities. we won't cover up for anyone. >> woodruff: zepeda is the first top mexican military official to be taken into u.s. custody in connection with drug-related corruption. and on wall street today, stocks were mostly higher due to strong u.s. retail sales data. the dow jones industrial average gained 112 points to close at 28,606. the nasdaq fell 42 points, and the s&p 500 added half a point. still to come on the newshour: europe sees a major surge in covid cases, prompting travel restrictions.

mark shields and david brooks break down a major week in political news. we remember some of the many lives lost to the coronavirus. plus, much more. >> woodruff: worldwide coronavirus cases have climbed to an all-time high of more than 330,000 per day. europe is facing unprecedented cases, with spikes in germany, the czech republic, italy, and poland. we look at conditions on the continent, in the united kingdom, as well as latin america. nick schifrin begins our worldwide wrap. >> reporter: for months, europe had covid in check today the continent faces a reckoning.

>> it's a huge wave. dr. karl lauterbach is one of germany's leading epidemiologists and said the continent is especially july necial because it has an older population. >> that is the reason why i think that the second wave is a big problem for us, big citizens europe. >> this is lucy hough in brussels. tough new measures in belgium where a curfew similar posed from midnight to 5:00 a.m. and people must work from home. bars and restaurants have been now been closed nationwide for a month. it comes as the number of people being admied to intensive are is doubling every twelve days. health officials are warning that if the current race of hospital admission continues, bull judge's 2,000 intensive care beds could be full by november. taking stock of new restrictions now a reality, is brewery in

brussels was hit hard by weeks of closure in the spring but so far capped afloat with belgium consumed b a second wave of the virus, uncertainty and anxiety have returned. >> ee%re not looking with a lot of excitement, as you can imagine, to a second fuller lockdown. >> france has once again declaredçó a state of emergency with añi strict curfew posed in nine cities between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. in paris, total saturation of the region's hospital beds could come by the end of next week. the curfew is stricter than some anticipated. >> it's a good solution to end group meetings in close contact, if it avoids stopping the economy and life in general, why not? >> it means we just go to work and go home, so we have less of a social life, and it feels complicated. >> reporter: in the spanish capital, madrid, millions are under partial lockdown as cases surge. nonessential travel is banned, restaurants are under curfew and

limited to 50% capacity. there has been local opposition to the measures but the spanish government is standing firm. in germany, case numbers are higher than ever and hit 6,500 today, but varying local restrictions in its 16 states, causing confusion. the german government has warned citizens if they don't follow the rules, theè increase. >> if you do not see markedly different behavior, we wil ultimately have to crack down on the restaurants, the bars, the pubs. >> reporter: malcolm brabant in england where covid exposed the country's north-south divide. the northwest has the highest rate of infections. theovernment wanted to reply the top tier of new restrictions limiting socializing, and forcing hundreds of pubs to shut. andy burnham, mayor, refuses to comply.

>> they are asking us to gamble our residents' jobs, homes and businesses and large chunk of our economy on a strategy that their own experts tell them might not work. >> reporter: that puts him on collision course th prime minister boris johnson which believes regional lockdowns are britain's best medicine. >> if an agreement cannot reach, i will need to intervene to protect manchester's hospitals and save the lives of manchester's residents. >> reporter: breaking covid laws can have dire consequences. worried about going bust, owner nick whitcombe refused to close his gym and tasted draconian punishment. >> they faced a fine 1,000, two hours 3,000, after that 4,000. >> with infections reaching 23,000 a day, the labor part demanded a new national lockdown lasting two to three weeks.

>> the government has not got a credible plan to slow infection. >> from my night tonight london will be subject to a second level blockdown that will bar different families from socializing and a 10:00 p.m. curfew. 60 miles south of te safety hotel in brighton, steve patel fears another lockdown. the last one cost him thousands in lost revenue and had to lay off half his staff. >> i don't have any comments. we're waiting to see when the next disaster is. it doesn't seem to be getting better. >> reporter: opinion polls show the british public is losing fith inoris johnson and today the biggest selling soviets newspaper turned on him in an editorial saying his incoherent polic[eq turned a crisis into an epidemic of madness. >> halfway across the world, latin americans face a covid

crisis. this is mary triny mena in caracas. this 60-year-old alejandro risquez should be at home because of venezuela's quarantine but says if he doesn't work, he will starve. >> i need to work. i always try to earn something so i can pay for my food. >> reporter: for millions of latin americans, lockdo orders mean no mc. many of them depend on community kitchens that provide one meal, sometimes the only meal a day. governments throughout latin america face a double hallenge, limiting the spread of the virus and its economic devastation. five of the ten countries in the world with the highest rates of covid 19 infection and the most death from it are located in latin america. epidemiologist alejandro risquez. >> the measures taken in each country have had completely

different repercussions. there are countries where the measures are really strict, but in others they are much more relaxed. >> reporter: this town with the worst infection and death rates has had no lockdown and its president throughout made light of the virus even when he got sick. mexico's government played town the pandemic early on. peru implemented a stict lockdown but many people did not comply. like the rest of the world, latin america is waiting for a vaccine. meanwhile, covid survivors in caracas are donating plasma for experimental treatment. >> i was lucky to have mild symptoms, and now i'm lucky to help others to fight the disease. >> but it will take more than luck to get us through this global crisis. scientists warn cases could increase five-fold as the weather gets colder and people

gather inside. >> as the wintertime, we will have a major challenge and we are currently seeing the beginning of that. >> reporter: that means the world faces a difficult winter after what has already been a difficult, long year. with lucy hough, malcolm brabant and mary triny mena, i'm nick schifrin for the "pbs newshour." >> woodruff: and, it's friday. time for the analysis of shields and brooks. that is syndicated columnist mark shields, and "new york times" columnist david brooks. hello to both of y. david, i'm going to start with you on those two town halls. it was supposed to be a debate night. it did not happen. instead, each candidate was before a crowd, answering questions. what stands out for you? >> theçó annals of global rhetoc

are spared another day. what stood out to me were the ratings. joe biden got much higher ratings than donald trump and that's interesting to me because the biden event was bound to be more boring, it was more boring, and trump was a show, and vav na guthrie was a very good adversary or questioner for him, but it gives me the indication that people are not regarding the show the way they did in 2016. in 2016, a lot of people thought the show wasñi fascinating, riveting and funny. right now a lot of people are tired of the show. but the audience reaction was really what struck me. >> woodruff: mark, what about you? what stood out? joe biden boring, as david is saying? >> judy, i'll say this, being as old as dirt and the most senior person on the "newshour", i could quote robertçó mcneil who said we in the "newshour" never mention ratings unless they're very, very good.

be joe biden last night, they were very, very gd indeed, and i think david put his finger on it. i think it's even larger than that, though. i think people have moved on. they're looking at the next president. that's what they were doing last night, and the founder of "the apprentice" to be absolutely confounded by his interrogator. the most enindividual professional position today is to be in the agent of samantha gunt ri. she effectively confounded donald trump. she was relentless, she was smart, she was a one-woman fact check, and her line calling him to task for his retweeting that osambin laden had not been killed by the navy seals, that it was a body double, being the height of irresponsibily. sheñi said, you're not somebodys crazy uncle, you're the president of the united states.

i mean, i just thought she saved nbc's reputation, the scheduling at the same time. i thought it was a great night for joe biden. the statement to me about it all was the lights were down, the microphones were off, the cameras were shuttered and joe biden was still standing there answering questions from ordinary people. no payoff politically, but that's joe biden. >> woodruff: so, david, if people are starting to move on, if these forums aren't as effective for the president, where does that leave the race at this point? i mean, and was there anything last night that you think could move the needle one direction or another? >> well, donald trump's strongest argument is the argument he made at the end which is that the economy was really good pri pre-covid. but this argument is about covid and character. and donald trump's character is tough guy, rough guy.

some people like that and a lot of people are exhausted by it. i'm not sure there's anything they can do because that's fundamentally who he is. after the debate mercedes slapped one of trump's aides, texted joe biden that it felt like being on mr. rogers. that's a pretty good thing for a lot of people, mr. rogers is quite an admired character. so i do think that there's really not much way that donald trump can pivot at this point anything new. >> woodruff: we like mr. rogers here on pbs, don't we, mark? >> we sure do. >> woodruff: what about the the campaign overall? i mean, most of the polls, we're looking at national polls, have bideup 10, 11, 12 point we know that could tighten, but what does that say? >> judy, in an absolutely chaotic, dramatic, by czar year, it has been a remarkably stable race. if you go back to the first poll done in january of 2020 by the "wall street journal"-nbc poll,

joe biden was ahead of donald trump by high single digits. he has maintained that lead in every single poll throughout and now it's enlarged. while the race itself has not been a race of great drama, other than the drama the country's going through and the drama the country's going to through on the cam trail, great inteections with the candidat, one lousy debate, voters have taken this, as peter hart points out, as a very, very serious election.c i think the turnout ereflects that. i think we're going to see record turnout. it's an important election. it's america's role in the world. it's about science, it's about race. these are big issues. they may not be debated every day but they're on the voters' minds and this is a voters' election. >> woodruff: david, how do you read this election? what are we, two weeks and three or four days until election day, a lot of early voting already

taking place. >> it's different than 2016. 2016 was a volatile election, the polls moved up and down, and they haven't moved, as mark said. in 2016, a lot of late breakers went for donald trump. he was a new thing and change, and he's not a new thing anymore. now it's pretty solid. i have more confidence in polls than i should but it's worth reminding they weren't all that wrong in 2016. now it's about a 9-point lead. the thing that worries me is a lot of people who i know who are trump supporters are absolutely trump is going to win. they say the polls were wrong in 2016, are wrong now and i'm absolutely certain it will be a landslide. you say, maybe he'll lose. a lot of people i like and know,eth not a part of the possible reality. if donald trump does lose, i'm a little concerned about how a lot of people will react because it will come as a complete shock to

a lot of people and maybe vice versa on the democratic side. on the part of the republicans they will be completelyñi flummoxed. >> woodruff: mark, does it concern you? >> it doesn't concern me. i have been at this longer than david has. in 1964, you mayñi recall, the theme of barry goldwater's campaign was a choice not an echo. he wasn't a moderate, lukewarm republican. he was a different choice. so millions of people were going to show up andçó elect barry goldwater. it never happened. in '72, there was an idea they would turn out. nixon and induments won and armies never materialized.

the trump people have a good campaign of registering voters this time, and registering those who had not voted last time. but i jut don't see that this is going to materialize, these great armies of unnoticed and previously unrecognized voters are going to show up on election day. >> woodruff: let me turn you both to the amy coney barrett confirmation hearings to the supreme court. david, what did we learn about her this week? >> first thing, i thi she's a remarkab human being. i think she's a very good, admirable person who led an admirable life. her approval ratings rose considerably over the period which is not regular case and 27% of democrats think she should be concerned. having said that, these hearings have become semiuseless. if you go back to theçóñi robert bork hearings, had an

interesting idea on his judicial philosophy. elena kagan was like this. anything remotely stepping to politics, should we have a peaceful transfer of power, well, i don't want to get into politics, these hearings, the way the politicization of the process has destroyed the usefulness of the hearing. >> woodruff: how do you see these hearings, mark? she testified over three days before the senate judiciary committee. >> yeah, no, mien, she was a superb witness for the republicans, make no mistake about it. it was interesting, judy, that the support for the president's nominee was announced even before the nominee was identified by several members of the committee, wides really suggest that the hearings are a sham or just a pretense. but i think both sides learned

something, the democrats realized they didn't have the votes. i think they made the case on healthcare very, very strongly, and the major case that's going to be confronting justice barrett if she is, inxd fact, confirmed before the election, that -- and the republicans were playing defense. so, you know, i think no surprises to me. she was an excellent witness for their side. in a strange way, politically, it may have helped lindsey graham rehabilitate his somewhaó sullied reputation of being caught in flagrant and open lying on public television and public air waves about whether there would be a new justice confirmed if there were a vacancy in the last year of donald trump'sñi presidency because they did go so wellñi ad that there weren't -- the

democrats did not go after her the same way, and i think for good reason politically that they went after justice kavanaugh and found out that that was the course to follow prudently. >> woodruff: it will be reallyñi interesting to see whether this has any bearing on the presidential election. thank you both on this friday night. mark shields, david brooks. we'll see you next week. >> thanks. you, judy. >> woodruff: as the week comes to a close, again remember a few remarkable americans who have lost their lives to covid-19. margie kidd was in her 40s when she went back to school to become a teacher. she had a gift for holding the

attention of her kindergarteners and first-graders in ridgeland, soutcarolina, and regularly said that learning should always be fun. she'd wake up early, by 6:00 a.m. each day, and send silly memes to her daughters and grandchildren, along with messages of love and advice: >> just remember what i taught you-- to become a better woman, you must believe in yourself, you must do better and you must help others. >> woodruff: margie was 71 years old. domenic parisi started cutting hair in sicily when he was 12. by 20, he had moved to the u.s. and opened a barber shop. for nearly a half century, generations of new jersey families came to domenic for haircuts and good conversation. among his many regulars was president richard nixon, who came to domenic for close to a decade after leaving washington. warm and kind-hearted, the 76-

year-old father and grandfather brought his family together for dinner on every sunday. robert washington jr was a sports legend in his hometown of steubenville, ohio; a member of notre dame football's 1973 national championship team. a hard worker, robert took on various jobs: a blackjack dealer, truck driver, shoe shiner, and most recently, a casino security guard in chandler, arizona. empathetic, supportive and positive, robert's daughter said the 68-year-old always put family first. growing up in la fayette, new york, adeline fagan loved to pretend she was a doctor. fast forward to medical school; the sociable student made it a point to meet all 144 of her classmates. she traveled to haiti on outreach trips and, driven by her love for babies, surgery,

and education, became an o.b.g.y.n. resident in houston. one of four girls, her parents said that adeline was the mischief maker and had a silly streak. a best friend to her sisters, adeline was 28 years old. jue stephen f. williams was both disciplined and free- spirited, his son said. stephen followed in his father's footsteps to become a lawyer, and in 1986, president reagan appointed stephen to the d.c. circuit court of appeals, where he served for more than three decades. stephen's wife of 54 years is a poet. their son said his parents' shared love of language often came through in his judicial opinions. a loving father to five, stephen's son described him as good-humored, easy-going, and curious. stephen was 83 years old.

and we thank family members so much for sharing these wonderful stories about their loved ones. our hearts go out to you and to all those who've lost loved ones during this pandemic. >> woodruff: gardening can be a challenge anywhere, but few places are more challenging than in the arctic. in the tiny alaskan village of anaktuvuk pass, one woman has taken on that challenge. after a few years of growing fresh produce, covid-19 has brought her efforts to a halt-- for now. from alaska public media, erin mckinstry reports. and a note-- parts of this story were filmed prior to the pandemic. >> reporter: across alaska's north slope, agriculture is practically non-existent, thanks to harsh growing conditions and

little historical precedent. but nasugraq rainey hopson is breaking new ground, literally. in 2016, she started the project "gardens in the arctic," and installed a high tunnel for growing fresh produce. similar to greenhouses, these domed, plastic-covered structures extend the growing season by keeping in heat and providing additional protection to plants. hopson typically sells about 150 pounds of produce a year, and grows nearly 100 different varieties of plants, keeping detailed notes on what works and what doesn't. she's become something of an arctic gardening guru. on this day last summer, she showed off her garden to participants in an agribusiness workshop. 2019 was a hot, dry summer in the arctic, which means cold- hardy plants like kale suffered, but heat-lovers like melons and squash flourished. whether a changing climate will open doors to more agriculture

in the arctic is an open question, hopson says. >> there was a stableness the first few years, and then things kind of went haywire to extremes, not only with plants >> reporter: this year, she's facing even more challenges. for one, she had to move her garden to a new lot. and due to the pandemic, there was an increas nationwide interest in gardening. >> it was just like a crazy time where we're trying to move the high tunnel, and i couldn't get seeds where i usually get seeds, the kind of seeds i get, so i was like, well, it's probably going to be pretty crazy this summer. >> reporter: she decided to put the project on hold, despite increased food security concerns brought on by the pandemic. but those concerns aren't new to her community. anaktuvuk pass residents rely heavily on hunting caribou for food, but a changing climate is impacting them too. in the past, caribou migrated through the pass in great numbers, but a warming arctic means that migration is no longer reliable.

that makes projects to improve local food security like hopson's all the more important. a search for a healthier lifestyle inspired hopson's project initially. according to the last census, over half of anaktuvuk pass residents reported having difficulty accessing healthy food. vegetables in the fly-in-only community are hard to come by, and what is available, is expensive. >> my goal is to provide service for my community and to make my people better, health-wise, mentally, and just give them an option that they didn't have before. >> reporter: in past years, hopson has given half of what she grows away to elders and has made all-inclusive kits for families to grow gardens in their own backyards. her model focuses on community and cultural values instead of turning a profit, and is taored to her community. but this year has proven the most difficult-- because of social distancin she can't work closely with other gardeners, and the need is

greater than ever. >> this last year, we've been having issues with our store. so, there's very little food available. it's very empty over there. very little available in the village. >> reporter: but she still has plenty of ambitions for the project, like a second high tunnel. she's told everyone to sit tight until next year, when she hopes to have plants back in the ground. for the pbs newshour, i'm erin mckinstry, in anaktuvuk pass, alaska. >> woodruff: they remain the best-selling female band of all time in the u.s., and the best-selling coury group since nielsen soundscan started tracking in 1991. but the group-- formerly known as the dixie chicks-- may be best known for a single comment the lead singer made in london in 2003, during the lead-up to

the iraq war, which led to death threats and a virtual ban from country radio. 14 years after their last album, the chicks are back, with new music and a new name. jeffrey brown has our story, part of our ongoing arts and culture series, "canvas." ♪ gaslighter denier >> brown: a gaslighter is someone who sows seeds of doubt to make others question their own perceptions or sanity. and the chicks are back to call out a few... ♪ how do you sleep at night >> brown: this time without the "dixie," but still with all the trappings of the group that once dominated the country music charts-- three-part harmony; powerhouse vocals by natalie maines, backed by sisters martie maguire on fiddle and

emily strayer on banjo. this is the first album in 14 years, and i wonder why. i mean, what took so long? >> well, we have nine kids between the three of us. >> and then once they got to be teenagers, we were like, "i think it's time to go on the road. ( laughs ) do music again." >> we finally had some more baggage to write about, i guess you could say. ♪ what a lie, lie, lie, lie >> brown: much of "gaslighter" is a deeply personal reflection on life, loss and resilience after divorce, which all three have experienced. >> we found that almost the more personal you are with a song, the more it relates to more people. because you think your story might just be yourwn. t, you know, most things that people go through in life are universal to everybody, in one way or another. >> brown: with the help of producer jack antonoff, the chicks stretched well beyond their country and bluegrass roots.

maguire is still on the fiddle, strayer still on the banjo, but: >> there are a lot of layers in there, and they're not as right up-front. and so, that is hard for me, because i certainly love a good fiddle solo up in the spotlight, but i definitely am a believer that you do what's right for the song. >> brown: the new sound is the latest twist in one of the wildest rides in music history. the dixie chicks formed back in 1989, when maguire and strayer, still teenagers, played western swing and bluegrass in dallas with two other women. maines, also from texas, stepped in as lead singer six years later, as the group shifted to mainstream country and climbed the charts with a long string of hits, including "wide open spaces," "goodbye earl," and" cowboy take me away." ♪ ♪

they sold t stadiums, and sang the national anthem at the super bowl. and then, in 2003, as they began a tour called "top of the world," it all came crashing down with one statement at a london concert made amid the run-up to the iraq war. >> we're ashamed the psident of the united states is from texas. >> brown: after that, their number-one song, "travelin' soldier" was pulled from country radio nationwide, as seen in the 2006 documentary, "shut up and sing." >> good morning, 61 country. >> they should send natalie over to iraq, strap her to a bomb and just drop her over baghdad. >> brown: does it bother you that that is always the lead, and will probably be in the obituary? not that i'm trying to put you there anytimsoon. >> no, no. i mean, i'm proud of how we handled it, for the most part. i'm proud that we stuck to our guns. i think it freed us up, musically. ♪ i ain't as good as i once was >> brown: in the years that

followed, country radio shifted toward so-called "bro country," drinking and party anthems. do you ever think that country radio would have been... would be better today, if the chicks were played and if you had stayed really in that world? >> that's a... that's a loaded question. i, you know, i am a country fan. you know, it really has not grown over the years and broadened itself, and i think that's, you know, that's... that's... it's important for that to happen. i want that happen. because i do love it. >> brown: this summer, as the group prepared to release "gaslighter," they came under new pressure-- this time for their name, evoking the confederate south. as the black lives matter protests gw, they announced the name change and released their song "march march." >> as time went on, we did get uncomfortable with it. it's like a huge weight off my shoulders-- our shoulders, really.

>> brown: most recently, maines has been plenty vocal on social media about her views of president trump. >> do you care about the foundation of america and what it means to be free in this country? because it wl be taken from us if donald trump gets reelected. >> brown: in august, they performed at the democratic national convention. >> band or individual, i feel like we have a responsibility to be engaged in what's happening in our world, in our country. >> brown: so what's next? and for how long? >> i'm open to doing it as long as it stays fun and we have something to say and we're not hobbling up the with a walke ♪ you don't like the sound of the truth ♪ coming from my mouth

>> brown: for a band that's always refused to just "shut up and sing," finding something to say hasn't been an issue so far. for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: still beautiful music. and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you, please stay safe, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> when the world gets complicated, a lot goes through your mind. with fidelity wealth management, a dedicated advisor can tailor advice and recommendations to your life. that's fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson.

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station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsor by newshour productions, llc ptioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

tonight on kqed newsroom, we analyze president trump and vice president joe biden about the guest starkly different conversation in their dueling town halls and we read the senate confirmation hearings of supreme court nominee amy coney barrett one in 10 eligible voters are part of generation c. her about the issues that matter most to our youngest voters. welcome to kqed newsroom, i'm priya david clemens. now for kqed newsroom's election 2020 coverage. since president trump was unwilling to debate vice resident biden virtually, this week but to be as planned