♪ ♪ judy: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, fighting back. the ukrainian military recaptures territory while russian forces retaliate by causing widespread power outages. and school meals. the end of a pandemic era free breakfast and lunch program prompts confusion about how to sign up for assistance which could lead to more families left with the bill. >> i hope that our elected officials can look and say, this is a huge problem, food insecurity is a huge problem for families across the country. judy: democratic groups pour

millions of dollars into republican primaries in an attempt to ensure their candidate face less appealing opponents in the upcoming election. all of that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ >> it is the little things. the reminders of what is important. it is why fidelity dedicated advisors are here to help you create a wealth plan. a plan with tax sensitive investing strategies. planning focused on tomorrow while you focus on today. at is the planning effect from fidelity.

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possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: ukraine's military is pushing ahead with a fast-moving counteroffensive against russian occupiers and has retaken territory in the northeast and south. the move has taken russian troops by surprise and provoked outrage in moscow among supporters of the war. we have mo from the situation. reporter: first, they ripped through russian lines and then the russian flag. another day, another ukrainian town liberated. the videos are filmed by ukrainian soldiers. after seven months of russian occupation. the russian route happened so quickly that troops left behind armored vehicles and entire

stockpiles of weapons and munitions. on russia's tv, the administrator admitted his forces were badly outnumbered. >> the command decided to retreat and regroup to preserve our personnel. reporter: that admission sparked rare doubt on tv. a regular pundit. >> it is absolutely impossible to defeat ukraine using these resources and colonial war methods with which russia is trying to rage a war without mobilization. reporter: ukraine's gains began in cities that russia was using as logistic hubs and spread too much of the region. in response, russian launched its largest strikes on critical infrastructure including this power station causing water shortages and a blackout in a region 200 50 miles across. russia h struck civilian targets inside the cities.

this was a law enforcement building. firefighters have been fighting the fire for the last few hours but because russia has hit critical infrastructure in ukraine they are short of water so they are struggling to overcome the fire. 14 fire brigades addled the fire that killed one person inside. it spread rapidly through a building firefighters say was full of wood. the missiles hit in the middle of the city in the middle of the day. >> for the second day and a road they are destroying the city. i think it shows their weakness because they cannot do anything else but because the defenseless pain. reporter: the regional police chief called today's attack with the multiple launch rocket system indiscriminate terrorism. >> because of this "second greatest army of the world" can only destroy the civilian population, it shows their lack of capabilities and the fact that they are barbarians. the whole world sees that.

reporter: in total russia struck the city and its outskirts at least a half dozen times. this one landed across the street from her home and she has a message for putin. >> i have lived a long life but i never thought this mastered would come to our native land. why are they destroying children and people. he has a basket. putin ukraine tries -- reporter: ukraine trieso harness the anger and its recent success for increased western support. i spoke with him this weekend at the yalta european strategy conference. welcome to the newshour. are you worried about what one u.s. official told me, ukraine fatigue. the west losing patience and the ability to continue to support ukraine for the long-term? >> if you ask me personally, i

am not. we are fighting. we are struggling. we are making success. maybe russia wants the world to have ukraine's fatigue but what we hear from our partners is this is not the case. reporter: winter is coming and there is a lot of talk about making progress before the winter. are you worried about when winter arrives and natural gas prices in western europe go up and europeans are paying more for their gas, that that will erode support for you? >> here in ukraine, people are dying. we will together have to tighten our belts. through these 90 days of winter. in spring we will come out much more stronger and much more safer and much more united hopefully. and much more near to ukraine's victory. reporter: how important is it do

you think that the counteroffensive succeeds or have -- has a level of success before the wintertime starts in order for that political support for ukraine to continue? >> definitely time matters for us. it is in the interest of russia to prolong the word. probably they are counting on the wintertime when it is easier to fortify its positions and much difficult to make an offensive. and it is the ukrainian decision when to start and where to start and how to start. once again, our general aim is to liberate our territories. reporter: president biden said he opposed labeling russia a state sponsor of terror. what is your response? >> this is the bullet which will definitely make the final end to

his aggression. the sides the instrumental which includes the trade and taking control of the financial system. there is an important moral meaning and has an important signal. russia is good at rigging signals. reporter: the u.s. continues to deny the ukrainian request to send high munitions systems. what is your response to that continuing resistance to send some of the longer-range weapons you are asking for? >> everyone in the u.s. and elsewhere see that ukrainians know how to fight. that was a concern in the building. -- that was the concern in the beginning. we will continue to do this and we will continue to say we do not want any other territory but

we have all of the rights to take back each and every inch, each and every piece of ukrainian territory. yes including crimea and donbass. i am not a general. we need more heavy weaponry. yes, we need air defense systems. we need ammunition. we need armored vehicles and tanks. we are fighting but in order to win, finally win, we need more weapons. reporter: ukraine's government needs at least $5 billion a month to make up for budget shortfalls. are you getting enough economic support from the west separate from the military support? >> not enough. right you are, we need $5

billion up to $7 billion just for our social payment system. for our soldiers fighting on the front. it is very important for the world to help us financially and help us to win. if we don't stop the aggression here in ukraine, it will spread. reporter: does the world need to prepare to support ukraine indefinitely? >> yes. reporter: do you think the west will step up and do that? >> if not the west, then who? we have to be united and it is in everyone's interests. reporter: thank youery much. ♪ judy: in the days other news, thousands of people in scotland turned out for final tributes to queen elizabeth. a somber processional and an

overnight vigil. welcome reports from london on the days events. reporter: from edinburg castle, the traditional salute rang out across the city in tribute to queen elizabeth who died in her beloved scotland four days ago. [bagpipes playing] king charles iii walked behind the hearse carrying his mother's standard. he was accompanied by his three siblings as the procession made its way along the narrow main street nor -- known as the royal mile. normally bustling, the crowds watched on inespectful silence. the new monarch has made a point of reachingut to the british people in person. >> it brought me to tears. there was -- i was really

emotional and feel really privileged. reporter: earlier, king charles iii received the condolences of the british parliament as he undressed lawmakers for the first time since sending the throne. >> as i stand before you today, i cannot help but feel the weht of history which surrounds us and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions to which members of both houses dedicate yourselves with such personal commitment for the betterment of us all. reporter: the kings final duty was to return to saint giles to stand vigil next to his mother's coffin alongside his brothers and sister. there the queen will remaifor the next 24 hours so thousands of scots can bid a final farewell. she will be flown to london to lie in state for a further three days. authorities are expecting around a million people. officials warned they may have

to wait in line for 30 hours or more to pay their respects. for the pbs newshour, i'm welcome. judy: in sweden, sunday's elections have given a populist anti-immigration party a new voice. supporters of this between democrats celebrated last night after becoming the second-largest party. it is unclear if they will be accepted into a governing coalition. former trumps lawyers urge a federal judge to continue barring investigators from reviewing government documents found at his florida home. they pressed again for an outside arbiter or special master to review the material first and they objected to the governments candidates for that role. the lawyers also argued the case amounts to a document storage disputes. some 15,000 nurses in minnesota launched a three day strike today over pay and staffing. nurses picketed 13 hospitals

around minneapolis and st. paul. hospitals said they are using temporary fillon storing the walkout. the biden administration urged railroads and unions to reach agreement and prevent a nationwide railroad strike this weekend. the u.s. chamber of commerce says the economy could lose $2 billion a day. some 60,000 rail employees may strike over workloads and time off issues. and on wall street, stocks naged new gains to start the new week. the dow jones industrial average was up to 29 points -- 229 points. the nasdaq rose more than 1% and the as mp 500 added 43, also -- the as mp 500 added 43, also 1%. we break down the latest political headlines. how jackson, mississippi's water crisis are indicative of larger

racial inequalities. regimen franklins literary -- benjamin franklin's literary legacy lives on in one of the nation's largest lending libraries and more. >> this is the pbs newshour from the west. judy: the start of this new school year is bringing an important change for many students in k-12 schools. the end of universal free mills -- free meals. and 2020 congress dave schools waiver to provide free breakfasts and lunches regardless of income. in both political parties, they agree to prioritize reducing hunger and economic hardship. the waivers came to an end at the start of september. lisa desjardins looks at what that means for students and their families. reporter: at one point about 30

million children were getting their free meals. the republicans blocked another extension of the program the summer saying the worst of the pandemic was over. students and families cannot apply -- can still apply for free meals but they must meet income requirements to be eligible. the limit is lower for smaller households. there is what some parents and educators told us about the changes and their frustrations. >> my oldest son started school last year during the program and it was wonderful. i never had to worry about packing his lunch. i knew every day he was going to get fed and it was a worry off my plate. with this universal free lunch program ending, we are incurring additional cost because we have to buy specific types of groceries to pack and lunches. >> i have four children that go to school and when they and

their friends are all fed equally, the learning activity is more positive. i think there is probably less fighting. to me, it sms it is ideal for each child to have the same opportunity for nourishment. >> students i have worked with that have to have conversations in understanding that sometimes there is just not enough resources, not enough food or support. and they are still expected to learn. >> if they have classmates that are hungry or classmates that are stressed about money, owing the cafeteria money, classmates that are worried because they may not owe money now but they may down the line. classmates worried, what will their parents have to cut in order to pay for their lunches at the school. things that were not worried

about for the past two years. >> though school district where we live sent an announcement a feweeks ahead of the start of the school year that the program would be ending. they gave a link on how to and instructions on how to load your child's meal card as well as provide information about applying for free and redud lunch but my family does not meet the income requirements to qualify for free or reduced lunch and when you look at those numbers, you have to be in pretty serious financial dire straits to qualify for a free or reduced lunch. >> we have the ability to come together as a community and advocate for each other and help each other and empower each other to ask the hard questions. what are my rights? should i have a right to have nutrition that is offered to me so i am able to learn? what child under the age of 18

is empowered to ask those questions? >> i hope our elected officials can look and say, this is a huge problem. food insecurity is a huge problem for families across the country. implementing free school lunch is an easy way we can provide hungry kids with food to eat. to me it seems like a no-brainer. it made me feel like it was a good use of my tax dollars when that program was an effect. reporter: five states including california, vermont and nevada have changed the policy to pick up the tab and make school meals free to all at least this school year. some are expanding eligibility. it still means most states will not have free school lunches or breakfasts this year. elaine studies this and joins me now. what do we know about this

unprecedented federal ogram and what it meant for child hunger and what does its end mean now? >> we have learned some important lessons from the pandemic which is that school meals have been a critical portion of what families rely on to feed their kids. that became very clear during the last couple of years. we also know from research that there are a number of benefits for everyone in the school whether or not they are lower income. schools that have universal school meals tend to have higher test scores, fewer disciplinary problems, less bullying and less stigma. we know it is a good investment asell. unfortunately, the pandemic may be abating somewhat but what has not changed and in fact has accelerated is the cost of food. food price inflation is

double-digit. that is not something we are used to and that is creating a lot of pressure on family food budgets dust at the time that these waivers are being rolled back. reporter: critics say the $11 billion this would have cost is too much for the federal system to take on and some republicans said it would encourage dependence on the government. can you talk more about how this was helpful in the school environment? what do we know about having all kids with nutritional supplements on the same level, what is that doing educationally? >> we have to think about it as an investment in education because we can see that universal school meals increases test scores and improves the school environment. when we talk about it as a cost, we are using the wrong language. it is an investment in kids. food insecurity is associated

with a host of issues including depression, suicide. these are thingse are investing in to try to improve outcomes rather than using the language of cost. reporter: some parents did not know the program was ending. it seems now that some may be left outside because they have not known to reapply. can you talk about what is going on in school districts? >> there are a few things to be concerned about. schools still have a lot on their plate. there is a lot of pressure from food supply chains. laching a program where you have to process applications again in the midst of that is challenging. we know that a lot of the children who are just over the cutoff for free and reduced price lunches are actually

children of color. it is going to fall more in equitably on those families and we worry about them because typically food insecurity rates and those households are usually twice what they are in white households. parents may not realize they have the ability to apply but they also may be just over that cutoff. i do something they have to build back into their budget just when food bills are very high. reporter: this comes during a time we are seeing record prices specifically on food. can you talk about where we are on food insecurity and hunger overall? what does the loss of this program mean in terms of our country and dealing with hunger? >> we just had some new data from usda that suggested in 2021, food insecurity for households with chiren fell to an all-time low in the period we have been measuring.

but at the urban institute we conducted a new survey the summer and found that households with children have food insecurity rates that are creeping back towards what they were at the beginning of the pandemic. that reflects the higher cost of food. it also reflects fewer support. -- fewerupports. the loss of universal school meals. the rollback of the monthly child tax credit payments and other resources available in 2021 like an enhanced unemployment benefits not available for families anymore. reporter: elaine from the urban institute, something we will be paying close attention to in the coming months. we appreciate your time. ♪ >> thank you for having me. ♪ judy: in primary contest in new hampshire tomorrow money is

pouring in for republican candidates from an unusual source, democrats. >> meet bob burns. reporter: in tv ads like this one, and unexpected strategy. >> burns follows the trump playbook. reporter: what at first glance looks like a typical campaign message for a republican candidate is actually an ad paid for by democrats. bob burns, former county treasureand roy -- and loyal supporter of donald trump is hoping to take on a democratic congresswoman to represent new hampshire's second district. but first, burns who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election has to beat a mayor in the party primary. he is a centrist backed by chris sununu and he has different views on issues like abortion. burns already leads in the

polls. democrats boosting his candidacy are rolling the dice. in a district that joe biden won by nine points, burns is easier to beat. it is part of a national strategy. official democratic arms are pumping millions of dollars into republican contests in at least seven states adding that trump faithful will be less competitive in november. >> donald trump's hand-picked candidate for governor is trying to prove the last election was a fraud. reporter: in maryland, democrats spent money to elevate dan cox. in a blue state, his victory all but clears the way for a democratic win in november. >> hand-picked by trump to run for congress, he called donald trump the greatest president. reporter: in michigan, democrats poured money into promoting john

gibbs. he beat a freshman congressman who voted to impeach donald trump. to mike madrid who has worked to defeat election deniers, the strategy is hypocritical and a danger to democracy. >> it is aiding and abetting a social movement that is trying to destroy our democratic underpinnings. to be involved in that is a moral travesty. it is literally feeding into the same toxicity at the problem you are trying to address has created. >> republican, chris matisse, a true conservative. reporter: the ads are similarly designed emphasizing ties to donald trump. all issues that democrats should use to challenge the republican opponents argues a democratic ad maker. >> these candidates are a threat to our democracy. we should be running as smart and as tough a campaigngainst

them as possible because they will be dangerous if they are elected in november. reporter: she also said it is republican voters elevating these candidates and not the ads the democrats are running. >> these are the types of candidates who are coming through primaries that are determined with the plurality of the vote. the fact that democrats are pulling out all the stops to try to halt the march of these right wing candidates in primaries, certainly in general elections, is an important strategy. reporter: in new hampshire, democrats are also trying to help senator maggie hassan win election. >> chuck norris, another sleazy politician. reporter: speing money on republican campaign ads. in arowded field, the candidate closest to donald trump leads the polls. proponents of the strategy .2

senator claire mccaskill's victory over the republican and 2012. -- in 2012. reporter: that comment effectively doomed to his candidacy. >> aiken wants to stop all funding to planned parenthood. reporter: madrid says 10 years later, the stakes are higher. >> what we are dealing with now is foundational he different. todd akin was not suggesting the election was stolen or that it was ok to engage in insurrection. reporter: with potentially long-term consequences. >> many of these candidates develop larger following even if they lose the current rates. they come back and race for school board or city councils because of this new awareness and recognition. reporter: that contrast and risk is clear in this year's governor

race in pennsylvania. the democratic nominee for governor spent an estimated $855,000 on ads to be -- defining his opponent as an extremist. >> if he wins, it is a win for what donald trump stands for. reporter: now, an election denier outside the capitol on january 6 is racing to catch schapiro in the polls. as at the general election heats up in pennsylvania, new hampshire and across the country, the democrats risky strategy will be put to the test. ♪ judy: primary season officially comes to a close tomorrow so republicans and democrats are turning their midterm messaging

towards the general election. it is less than two months away. here to talk about what is next is amy walter of the cook political report with amy walter and tamera keith of npr. it is time for politics monday. you just listened to laura's report. a really interesting report about what is going on this season. is this working? reporter: we have been watching this dynamic develop through numerous primaries as this year has gone along. democrats are getting the opponents they want largely. but be careful what you wish for. there were a lot of hillary clinton supporters that wanted donald trump as an opponent and they got him as a president. what is truly striking is that this is happening at a time when democrats, most notably president biden, are shouting

from the rooftops about the risk these candidates posed to american democracy. the idea that people will deny election outcomes that is a dang to america at the same time that some democratic outside groups are boosting these candidates. the argument they would make is we are defining our opponents and they were going to win anyway and it is possible they would win the primaries anyway. judy: possible but there is an award and a risk. reporter: the risk is one of being seen as incredibly hypocritical and cynical which is promoting people who are doing the very thing you say is the greatest risk to our society right now and the practical is that yes, these candidates and up winning. campaigns are graded not on those metrics but on whether you win or and when it comes down to it, the job of the campaign consultant or manager is to win

the campaign in any way possible. when you know the margins in these races are 1000 votes, 15,000 votes win control of the senate is literally one c, they will look for every opportunity they can't but it is hard to take the moral high ground on issues like campaign integrity while and the vice psident was asked about this this weekend, asked by chuck todd on meet the press, what do you think about this, about democrats going and promoting these very candidates and she had a chance to step on the moral high ground and she did not take it saying everyone has to run their own campaign. judy: for some of these candidates come even if they do not win and succeed at getting them chosen, they could live to run for other races and will have longer political lives. reporter: running a statewide or

a congressional district race raises your profile. your ideas are out there on tv. they are out there in debates. your ideas are being written about. and sometimes these campaigns create celebrities. that said we have not heard a lot from todd akin or murdoch in indiana. some of these candidates quietly disappear. but that was a different time. it is not clear that people will quietly disappear or admit they lost if they lose. judy: this is getting closer to the general election and tomorrow is the last primary day. what are you seeing from the parties in terms of their candidates' messaging? reporter: i am watching new hampshire. very early on republicans thought this state would be one of their best pickup opportunities. they have a popular republican

governor in chris sununu. he decided not to run. he said it was because he did not want to come to washington but his relationship with donald trump was tenuous and he probably did not want to deal with that sort of relationship. republicans still think they have a great chance there but a possibility of a weaker candidate. a candidate who sununu at one point said was a coniracy theorist could end up winning and that would be problematic. they could still win but a much more challenging candidate for republicans than the other one. i get ads in my inbox and i'm sure you do also every day and i went through a bunch of them before i came on air and it is not that surprising but republicans continue to lean into the economy, inflation, and biden. 's are getting better in the

economy. vast prices have gone down and the pinch of inflation consumers essay as not as strong as it was earlier but it is still a big deal. democrats really leaning into the issue of abortion especially in the swing states. judy: what are you seeing in this messaging and are you seeing any shift? reporter: what you definitely see is that democrats are not afraid to talk about the abortion issue. in past cycles, democrats have been afraid of leaning into cultural war issues. in this case, democrats are trying to create a narrative that it is not just the abortion rights but other rights you care about and also that the people who support those ideas are extreme. at is the message they are going with. that gets to the idea that they want this to be a choice. they do not wanted to be a referendum on joe biden or crime

or immigration they want it to be dashed america, do you really want to go back two years ago, do you really want these extreme ideas to be mainstream? judy: you are not seeing a shift is what i hear you saying. the economy -- reporter: we are going to see in individual races talk about immigration including in arizona and new mexico. crime will also be an issue. what is interesting is watching republicans on abortion. it reminds me of where democrats were on the issue of defunding the police are reducing funding for the police. republicans put democrats in an awkward spot where they wanted tand with racial justice supporters in their own party.

at the same time they wanted to talk to swing voters and assure them they would be tough on crime. they did not do that well in 2020. what you have seen since then is democrats proactively talking about their support from law enforcement. republicans have gotten caught on abortion in the same place. they have not figured out how to keep their base happy saying my pro-life positions are still my pro-life positions but also talk to moderate swing voters saying i am not the extremist my opponent says i am. judy: but they are. we see republican candidates adjust their language. reporter: or scrub their websites or not make it part of their stump speech or not talk about it much. you would think, here is this huge victory, something they have been fighting for for a long time. but now, they don't want to talk

about it because it has become uncomfortable. the reality is that the polling indicates that the american people, the majority of americans do support some abortion access,ome abortion rights. you get into the nitty-gritty and it gets more complicated but in a lot of these states it is no access at all which sharpens the contrast. judy: and two months to go and we will see what may shift or move between now and november. camur keith and amy walter, thank you to both. politics monday. ♪ judy: residents of jackson, mississippi have gone without save drinking water for weeks after heavy rainfall caused a failure at the largest outer treatment plants.

water pressure has been restored but the city still lacks clean water. we have more about how that is affecting everyday life there. reporter: jackson's 150 thousand residents were already under a boil water notice since july when the health department found cloudy water that triggered health concerns. the august storms and flooding exacerbated the water crisis and it continues to this day. this video taken on friday shows brown tapwater coming from molly's home. she is a local reporter. >> it just feels like a complete mystery what actually caused the brown water coming out of my tap. and who, as a private citizen, i would appeal to to get it fixed in addition to the mistrust or rather i should say lack of trust that people are feeling.

the fact that it feels impossible to ascertain why this is happening about something that should be easy to figure out. >> when i first turned my shower on and it turned brown, i got a little bit scared. i wanted to go home. we have to do extra steps and take extra precautions in brushing our teeth and that is an everyday life thing that should be simple. for us it is not simple. personally for college though, it might get better considering we have a water tower but for the city of jackson as a whole, i don't see it getting better. >> even here in our café, the pressure was so low we could not even flush the toilets. this is hard and it is not normal. and this has been going on for a while. reporter: jackson's water crisis is in the headlines but other

communities face similar and ongoing issues. joining us now is robert, the distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at texas southern university. professor, welcome to the newshour. i want to get your reaction to some of what we heard. what does it say to you that residents in a capital city in america for weeks have not had and still do not have clean tapwater coming into their homes? >> what this says is infrastructure in many of our cities that have suffered from disinvestment over decades is now coming home. and it is a result of systemic flight of resourc to outlying areas at the expense of those who are living in our cities. reporter: today we are focused on jackson, mississippi. earlier this year we were

talkg about benton harbor, michigan and earlier we were talking about flint. are these one-off events or do you see something larger? >> this is indicative of a larger problem and the problem is basically looking at which communities get resources for infrastructure and which ones get left behind. when cities begin to transfer and the demographics shift from predominantly white to predominately black or brown, you see problems occurring in terms of getting state funding to support infrastructure. you can see that direct line not only with infrastructure when it comes to water, you can see schools. you start to see the schools decline in terms of lower tax dollars. when it comes to housing and other types of infrastructure which means we have to make sure that dollars flow in a way that is not based on race or geography. reporter: when people hear the

phrase -- environmental racism, is this what we are talking about? >> we are talking about environmental racism, infrastructure, apartheid, which communities get left behind and when you have a blue or red state with blue cities, it is more difficult for those cities to get resources from the stage. it is not just jackson. it is other southern states specifically when you see the flight of a white people from the city and you see the flight of infrastructure dollars for roads, bridges, dams, water systems and schools -- name it. mississippi is rated a d-when it comes to infrastructure. the u.s. as a whole is a c minus. when you talk about water, water is something you cannot live without and you would hope that a city and state could work together to ensure that the citizens have clean water and other kinds of safe issues that

make for a of life. reporter let me ask you about some of the funds because there are federal funds that folks are pointing to saying it could help your the state will get money from the bipartisan infrastructure act to fix the water and sewer systems. the city objection is slated to get about $25 million from the american rescue plan. what kind of a difference can those funds make to keep this from happening again? >> any time we can invest in infrastructure and have funds flowing to need like the bipartisan infrastructure act, the money needs to go directly to the city and sometimes county. when it goes to the state, there is a roadblock. it is important that we dismantle those artificial barriers that keep funds from going to those need cities. reporter: what kind of a roadblock? >> it is racial.

it is political. it is historical. and it is powerful when it comes to having a predominate black said he trying to get funds from a state that somehow does not see it as important. now, that is a roadblock. that is a barrier. and race -- if you look at zip codes, race is still the most potent factor that determines where money flows. it is pretty obvious that infrastructure dollars over these decades have not flown into jackson. and that is a major issue today but it did not just happen in the last year. it happened over decades. reporter: these funds could take many months to make their way into communities and projects will take a long time to have changed. what can be done in the short term to help the people of jackson? >> the issue of fast tracking

water systems and getting the kinds of treatment facilities online quickly with the urgency of now, i don't think we should go through the usual process. this is an emergency. we are talking about not just water but health and people's lives. it needs to be treated with that sense of urgency and not allow redtape or politics or any kind of artificial barriers to stop this from being fast tracked. reporter: that is professor robert bullard joining us tonight. thank you very much. ♪ judy: as millions of students are returning to school across the country, we take a look at how a gift from a founding father helped spark a movement to make public education a

reality. pamela watts from rhode island pbs weekly reports for our arts and culture series, canvas. reporter: people want to see the books and touch them. it is almost like a sacred artifact. reference librarian vicki says this historic collection of books is so precious it is kept under lock and key in a glass display case. >> this is our baby. reporter: the town of franklin, massachusetts treasures this -- these books from the 1700s because they are the genesis of the first free public lending library in operation in america. a revolutionary idea at the time. the volumes were a gift from benjamin franklin. >> he was a writer, printer, publisher, scientist, diplomat, statesman.

he knew a lot about a lot of things. reporter: today we would call him a major influencer. >> absolutely, yes. [laughter] reporter: he was so popular that there are 31 states -- 31 towns in the united states named after benjamin franklin but franklin, massachusetts was the first. >> a document was presented to the legislature for naming the town. someone along the way crossed out the original intended name which was exeter and wrote in franklin. reporter: the community leaders may have had an ulterior motive for best owing the honor. >> well, let me tell you about that. the local preacher of the congregational church decided that if they gave the honor to dr. franklin, that he would give them a bell for their new

meeting house. maybe a paul revere special. reporter: the bell request was engineered by a powerful minister, the reveren nathaniel evans. benjamin franklin responded by sending the collection of books instead. they were loaned out from the congregational church until the franklin library was built in 1904. why did benjamin franklin send books instead of a bell? he explained in a letter to the town and one line is inscribed on his statue outside the library. he reasoned sense is preferable to sound. >> would they rather know something of value or do they want to just listen to the ding dong ithe steeple. >> one of the biggest parts of the collection is the works of john locke. his theories and his political

theories were a big part of the enlightenment. a person that came up with the theories of all people having the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that is part of his concept. a lot of what he wrote ended up in the constitution almost verbatim. reporter: the is another chapter to the story. turn the page forward a few years and a franklin farmboy borrows the books. >> he wasorn and raised here and mostly self educated through the benjamin franklin collection. reporter: the student was horace mann he has considered the father of public education in america. >> he believed that all children have a right to education and education should be tax supported. >> not only public education for white people but he thought that native americans, people of color, women should have the equal opportunity to secure a good education and when he

became the president of antioch college, he opened the doors to women, to native americans, to people of color all on an equal basis. reporter: unfortunately, benjamin franklin never got to visit his town in massachusetts. he died in 1790 shortly after donating the collection. what do you think he would have thought of his namesake town? >> i think he would be happy. he will -- that we established a very nice home for his books. he would be happy to know his books started something very positive. i think he was hoping someone in this town would prefer sense to sound. judy: that is a nice note. tonight on pbs, independent lends presents a documentary about the culture of hazing on

university campuses. hazing from a filmmaker takes a deep dive into the culture and consequences of pledging rituals at american education institutions. >> passed the pack continues to keep their memories alive. both families are still tormented about how their loved ones died. this is the other side of the headlines. that people do not see. >> the story was they were on the ach. >> it was around 10:00. >> pitch black. they went to rinse off into the beach water and that is how they drowned. it did not make sense. >> the police reported there was an accident with no evidence of hazing though numerous eyewitness accounts set otherwise. judy: hazing from independent lends premieres tonight at 10:00

p.m. eastern on pbs. can check your local listings. that is the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here this evening. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless services that allow people to communicate and connect. to learn more visit consumer cellular.tv. ♪ >> the kendeda fund committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningful work through investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendeda fund.org. supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. committed to building a more just and peaceful world.

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hello, everyone. welcome to "amanpour &" here's what's coming up. >> in a little over a week's time, we will come together as a nation, as a commonwealth, and a global community to lay my beloved mother to rest. in our sorrow, let us remember and draw strength from the light of her example. he delivers his first address as monarch and greets his public as the united kingdom now enters a new era. gun salutes are fired and bells ring out across the cotry as the world mourn queen