♪ judy: good evening, i am in judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, spacex ceo elon musk threatens to stop funding service that the and internet service that the ukrainian military has been using. then, consolidating power. chinese president xi jinping prepares to tighting his grip on authority, emulating his political hero, chairman mao. >> he patterns mao in the way he governs the party. the cult of personality. judy: and, it is friday. we weigh in on the january 6

committee decision to subpoena former president trump. and what to expect in the upcoming midterm election. all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> pediatric surgeon. volunteer, topiary artist. a raymondjames financial advisor tailors advice for you to live your life. life well planned. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including jim and nancy and kathy and paul anderson. >> actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. >> it's exciting to be part of a team driving the technology forward. i think that's the most

thing. >> people who know, know bdo. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering engaged and informed communities. more at kf.org. ♪ >> and friends of the newshour. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. vanessa: i am vanessa ruiz in for stephanie sy. we will return after the latest

headlines. russian president vladimir putin insisting he has no regrets over the war in ukraine in the face of international pressure and internal dissent. putin spoke today as russian missiles again blasted the ukrainian city of zaporizhzhia. he said he never intended to destroy ukraine. >> what is happening today is unpleasant, to put it mildly, but we would have to face the same situation later in conditions worse for us. so we are acting correctly and on time. vanessa: putin said he also has -- also said that his unpopular mobilization of russian reservists should be finished in two weeks. moscow promised -- in this country, police in raleigh, north carolina, say a 15-year-old boy is in critical condition after killing five people last night. he allegedly shot the victims on neighborhood streets and a nearby walking trail. hours later he was cornered and arrested.

it's unclear how he was wounded. nicole ellis has our report. reporter: a slaughter in north carolina. the latest chapter in an all-too familiar american story. in an east raleigh neighborhood, residents were forced to take shelter for hours. police hunted a suspect in a shooting rampage. by 10:00 p.m., police had captured a white 15-year-old boy accused of killing five and wounding two more. his motive is unclear. today, the mayor called it mindless and needless. >> there are several members of our community waking up this morning without their loved ones. we grieve for them today. reporter: the associated press reports thursday's shooting was the 25th u.s. mass killing this year with four or more killed not counting the gunn. among lt night's dead, an off duty raleigh police officer headed to work as the shooting began.

it added to an already lety week for police with police shot in seven states. in connecticut on wednesday, two officers were killed and another injured after apparently being drawn into an ambush while investigating a possible domestic dispute. in all f.b.i. data shows 49 law ,enforcement officers have been killed in the first nine months of this year, compared with during the same 54 period last year. ambushes of police are on the rise. for the pbs newshour, nicole ellis. vanessa: asking a federal appeals court today to end an outside review of documents taken from former president trump. a special master was ordered to examine white house records found at a trump today's filing estate in florida. today's filing argued that the judge overstepped her authority. 49 migrants flown from san antonio to massachusetts got a certification to allow the mostly venezuelan migrants to allow for special visas -- apply

for special visas which allow them to stay in the u.s. lawfully. an investigation is ongoing. in australia, flooding from heavy rainfallas inundated parts of the country's second most populous city. officials say some 500 homes have a flooded in melbourne and other cities across victoria state in the southeast. crews have rescued more than 100 people in the past 48 hours. the swollen rivers are expected to remain dangerously high for days. climate change protesters in london threw tomato soup today on a van gogh painting at the national gallery of art. the activists attacked the iconic work, sunflowers and then , glued their hands to the wall to protest against fossil fuel. they were later arrested. gallery officials said the artwork was protected by glass. british prime minister liz truss fired her treasury chief today and abandoned plans to draw up a corporation tax hike. the value of the pound has plummeted to record

lows after she announced tax cuts financed with borrowed money. today she said she wanted to reassure markets, but dismissed calls to resign. >> i'm absolutely determined to see through what i've promised, to deliver a higher growth, more prosperous united kingdom, but it was right in the face of the issues that we had that i acted decisively to ensure that we have economic stability. vanessa: two giants in the u.s. grocery industry are merging. kroger agreed to by albertson's in a deal totaling $25 billion. together they own 5000 stores nationwide and are subject to federal nationwide approval. we have a passing of note. actor robbie coltrane, the half giant hagrid in the harry potter movies has died in his native

scotland. he broke through with a role in the british series "cracker" and starting in 2001 he appearrd in all eight of the harry potter films. robbieoltrane was 72 years old. still to come, why gas prices are so much higher in california. also, david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines. afghan poets find inspiration in exile. using art to channel pain. and much more. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. judy: elon musk said today that his company spacex can no longer fund the satellite system in ukraine. the service has helped both the ukrainian military and civilians stay connected during the war with russia. the announcement comes after mosque reportedly suggested the

pentagon take over funding for star link. it follows backlash that musk received for suggesting a peace plan to end the war that would require ukraine cede territory to russia. john yang has the latest. reporter: since february, more than 12,000 starlink internet terminals have been delivered to ukraine. they've been crucial. drone operators rely on the service to send live fields to targeting units. star link has also been vital to troops staying in touch with their families. today musk said spacex cannot indefinitely fund the system. which he says cost nearly $20 million a month. last month, spacex asked congress to take over the service. felicia schwartz is the financial times u.s. foreign affairs correspondent. thanks for joining us. how important has this system been to ukraine in this war? >> american and ukrainian

officials have described it to us as a total game changer, super important. as you said, it helps drone operators, it helps people stay in touch. it's basically a backup communications network when cell phone and internet infrastructure are down and especially as ukrainian forces our retaking area in the east of the country where there is not a lot of ukrainian cell coverage. it has been crucial. reporter: has musk just been donating this? >> it's been a mix. musk and spacex have donated some. the u.s. government and european countries have donated some. there has also been crowdfunding efforts, but he has donated some terminals as well. reporter: musk asked the pentagon if they could take this over. where do things stand with that? >> the pentagon said they are in active conversations with spacex and musk trying to figure it out.

they said they've received this communication from musk expressing concern about the pricing. i know american officials i've spoken to made it clear that they see satellite communications and these star link terminals in particular as very, very important to ukraine's war effort and said they're in ongoing talks with spacex and elon musk. they also identified some other companies, they would not say which ones that also provide this kind of satellite function and they're looking into that as well. it is a high priority to keep ukrainian troops connected. reporter: given all the military assistance the united states is providing, could this get wrapped into that military aid? >> i think that's something we're ting to report out and figure out how this may be paid for. some analysts suggested to us maybe the pentagon would use the defense production act, for example, to try to fund this but

i think some u.s. funding is going to communications and satellite communications, infrastructure and so on so i think it depends on what the dollar amount is that they work out, how it will be covered with funds that have been allocated. maybe congress will play a role but i think that will play out in the coming days and weeks. reporter: you and your colleagues at the financial times have reported there have been wide areas of ukraine where in service has gone down, that it's not operating anymore. any idea what caused this shutdown and how has that affected ukrainian military operations? >> beginning last month ukrainian troops started telling , us what they described in some places as catastrophic outages. they have gotten in the way of their efforts to take territory back. i think we're still trying to get to the bottom of what's going on.

ukinian officials said that they suspect there might be geographic limits that spacex is imposing. some of these outages kind of came as elon musk was tweeting about a peace plan for ukraine, that ukrainian officials and lots of observers see as quite favorable to russia. it would involve annexing territory that ukraine has made clear they don't want to give up. what might be known as geo-fencing or geographic limits in some areas might be one explanation. officials have said russian jamming might account for some of it as well. perhaps musk and spacex don't want russian forces to be able to use the system so they're being cautious about turning it back on in places where ukrainian troops have arrived. it has had a big effect on the battlefield. nce we wrote that original story we've heard that some of

, these affected units have been turned back on. i think it will be crucial that these troops can stay connected as they try to make gains in e south. reporter: you mentioned that peace plan that musk floated that got a frosty reception from the ukrainians. i think it's fair to say it's often hard to determine musk's motivations. is there a connection, do you think, between that sort of failed trial balloon and what he's saying now? >> i think it's hard to know and i definitely wouldn't want to speculate. there are definitely some people we're talking to who thinks that's the case. others have pointed to what musk said, he fears escalation and once to avoid a wider war. obviously musk is tweeting a lot about what he's doing and his intentions and we're talking to other people in touch with him and trying to figure out what's going on there.

reporter: felicia schwartz of the financial times, thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. ♪ judy: china is set to hold its most important political meeting in decades. the communist party's 20th national congress, which kicks off sunday, will see a shakeup of the country's leadership but the top job is all but secured with president xi jinping expected to remain at the helm after scrapping term limits in 2018, paving the way for him to cement his status as china's most powerful leader since mao say tongue -- tse tung . our special report begins in a rural province where xi lived as a young man. reporter: the ride is bumpy but

the surroundings are pristine with fields brimming with crops. this is a village considered a living shrine to china's leader. as a teenager, xi jinping was sent here to reeducate privileged urban youths. he spent several years living in caves carved out of the hills and in one of them a case of books he is said to have read. in another, posters of modern china's founding father. >> it was very hard time. reporter: he is a former beijing correspondent and author of "inside the mind of xi jinping. >> those years are used in his political career. you can say he's a man of the people, a down to earth man and not only the son of

revolutionary red aristocrat. reporter: >> xi's father suffered as a result of the leaders purge of potential rivals. but far from turning against the communist party, he embraced it. in mao he saw a role model. >> it's the first leader since the death of mao in 176 to honor the legacy of mao without reservation. if he follows him in the way he governs the party. the cult of personality is very mao style. reporter: now as the twice a decade congress party nears, xi is a step closer to emulating his political hero. he has paved the way for his historic third five-year term as leader. xi's quest for power could extend well beyond that with many political analysts belief, like mao, he intends to rule for life.

but it comes as the country faces mounting challenges under the 69-year-old's leadership. ongoing and frequent lockdowns across the country under his zero policy on covid have taken a heavy toll. the growth report is its weakest in nearly four decades, at 3.2%, excludinghe financial crisis in 2020. earlier this year, there were warnings against criticism of the government's covid policies. this covid testing booth was spotted recently sprayed with graffiti saying give me freedom or give me death. alfred wu is an associate professor at the national university of singapore. >> lots of people were locked at home for months. there were lots of mental health issues. now the unemployment rate is very, very high. almost 20% so basically it's

some sort of failure in china but chinese leadership, particularly under xi jinping insists this is the approach he wants to adopt. reporter: china's two-term limit was established in 1982 by the leader who followed mao to avoid the kind of chaos that can occur under a single authoritarian leader. >> he tried to tackle the issue to have more checks and balances because they knew that mao made a lot of mistakes. reporter: there were more than mistakes. tens of millions of people died result of mao's economic policies. he was china's unchallenged revolutionary leader for more than three decades. as part of the shakeup of the party's congress, political activists expect xi loyalists

will replace the current politburo, giving him a level of control unseen since the days of mao. >> a drastic change is happening with c.c.p.'s ruling approach, turning from an authoritarian system of market economy and globalization running from 1992 to a totalitarian system. this totalitarian system is a new change for china's future and for the world. it's a fundamental change. reporter: under xi, china's relationship with the west has become particularly fraud. a declaration of a partnership with russia's vladimir putin just weeks before his invasion of ukraine drew international criticism. it's raised questions also at home. a senior fellow at an institute -- >> it is respect for authority

and territorial integrity. some of the policies of russia are not in line with chinese principles. reporter: rising nationalism have also strained china's image. some 82% of americans now have a negative view of china. >> china's insecurity and distrust towards international society results in international society's suspicions and distrust of china. as china closes itself borders, it ends up with a contradictory and confrontational relationship with the international community. reporter: meanwhile, china's ambitions for nationalism and some say global supremacy by 2049 have been dealt a fresh blow from the biden

administration rolled out sweeping regulations to limit china's access to accept conductors. it could crimp its ability to develop the economy. it's seen as the most aggressive action by president biden yet to prevent china from developing technology that could pose a threat that prompted an angry response from beijing. >> in order to maintain the hegemony of science and technology, the u.s. abused export control measures and maliciously blocked chinese enterprises. that deviates from the principle of fair competition and violates federal, economic and trade rules. reporter: even without that, the upcoming gathering has field debate over whether one man should dominate this massive country or turn away from collective leadership that has transformed china into a powerhouse over the last four decades. for the pbs newshour, patrick faulk in beijing. ♪

judy: gas prices in much of the country have dropped substantially this fall but in california, the price per gallon has remained much higher this -- than in other states. the costs are pushing some residents to the edge and raising concerns about whether price gouging is to blame. william brangham has our report on what's behind the spike and the toll it's taking on the golden state. reporter: this month, consumers in california were paying $2.61 per llon more than the average national -- national average for gas. the average there is about $6.15 a gallon now but in some parts of the said it's been $7 or more. we'll look at what's behind the spike in a moment. first, we spent the last week talking to people across the state about how these prices at the pump are affecting their daily lives. >> my name is crystal miller. i live in los angeles, california, and i work in social media in marketing.

the gas prices in l.a. are crazy high. right now it is $6 or $7 a gallon. depending where you live. >> my name is lee gross, i live in southern california. i'm a semirelieved agricultural economist. we're being more thoughtful about where we drive and what the value proposition is for the drive. >> i'm living in northern california. amador county. and i work for a major health care organization. i'm originally from oklahoma. proud member of the choctaw nation of oklahoma. it's kind of terrifying to see gas prices where they are. >> i'm linda randall. i am from penn valley, california. i'm an ex-financial analyst and i am not a wealthy person, so i am using pennies to get by. >> is it worth driving 20 miles and burning a gallon of gas to go buy ice cream at one of our

favorite places or can we buy it closer and save at this pace $14? >> it's so much easier and convenient and cheaper now to shop online rather than wastin gas to sit in crazy l.a. traffic. >> i saw $6.79 a gallon on friday. i didn't have to put gas in my car so i did not stop. i saw it and i was like what? it was a real double take moment to see that here in my little town. it was like, what? where am i right now? >> one of my hobbies is singing and i sing with the san francisco symphony choir, which is a big deal, but if i want to sing, that's 150 miles. it costs me between $70 and $80 to go round trip depending on the price so the calculus i'm making is that's a lot of money. >> the higher gas price comes into play when we do things like

support a local beef producer. local, 35 miles away. we have been buying directly from him. we had to rethink that. we would like to support him, but with $7 gas, you put that added cost into the price of the product you're picking up. you think, let's change that. >> my parents live towards the long beach area and i live more towards the airport so i'm the one who drives out to see them every week. the gas affects me so i only go out there about once a week. >> i drive an economical car that gets about 32 miles per -- to the gallon. i could fill up for $35. it is almost $70 now to fill my little 11 gallon tank. >> now to drive to albuquerque, 1500 miles, the cost of gas to

do that, that makes that trip almost impossible to think about doing. that means i don't see my family as much. reporter: to help people deal with those costs the state has , started to give out inflation relief payments of just over $1,000 to 23 million californians and governor gavin newsom has called for a new wind fall tax on oil and gas companies in the face of their record profits. but it is still a difficult time for many. i'm joined by a professor of business and public policy at the university of california berkeley. professor, thank you so much for being here. we heard some genuine impacts on people because of these high prices. people will look at what's happening in california and say aha, it's california's fees and regulations and environmental rules that are driving up the price of gas there. how much of that is true? >> that's definitely a part of

it. california has higher gas taxes than the rest of the country. it has some environmental fees from a cap and trade program and a low carbon fuel standard and it uses cleaner burning gasoline that costs a little bit more to make but when you add all that up right now, that accounts for about 85 cents a gallon. that is a big difference, but that is only part, less than half of the differential we are seeing between california and the rest of the country. reporter: so back in 2015 you saw a similar spike that went up and never went back down. and you referred to this as the mystery gasoline surcharge. what is that? >> what happens is we had a refinery fire. the price spiked up and the wholesale price of gasoline spiked up first and then the price came back down. we have had these happen since we went to a different blend of gasoline in 1995. and usually the retail price

comes back down and the differential is back down to that basis of taxes and environmental fees. in 2015 that didn't happen and since then, california's prices have averaged an extra $.30 a gallon over the rest of the country beyond what we can explain with higher taxes and fees. that amounts to over $40 billion for california drivers. reporter: that's a huge amount of money out of people's pockets. is that a function of oil companies and gas companies and refiners making a profit? >> we're not exactly sure what's going on. i have been arguing for the last seven years at california needs to invest some money into a serious investigation to find out because this is a huge amount of money beyond what you could normally explain with just the taxes and fees. it is clear that that differential over the last seven years is not at the refinery

level. because that spot price for gasoli, the price for giant shipments of gasoline is about in line with where it should be. the differential seems to be downstream in the marketing, distribution and retailing sector. they have complex contracts with the refiners. the refiners have a lot of influence over what they charge. it's unclear who's actually collecting the money and why that is so resilient. one thing worth noting is that california has a much smaller share of offbrand stations than the rest of the country. a very small portion goes through the mom and pop. we are not seeing discipline enforced with competition than we would in other parts of the country where those makep a bigger share. reporter: some of the critics of the oil and gas companies say this is price gouging. the prices are up and they have no incentive to bring them back down regardless of the economy.

is there any evidence that that's true? >> i haven't seen evidence that they're colluding. short of that, these firms are going to try and make as much money as they can. we rely on competition to keep them from driving prices up and california has a less competitive gasoline market than the rest of the country. partially because we use this cleaner burning gasoline formulatiothat we can't trade with the rest of the country. partially because two refiners in california control about half of the gasoline market. we have a potential problem here. the gasoline companies claim the real problem is various regulatory barriers. i think that is worth looking into. unfortunately the politicians get very interested in this when the price spikes. when it comes back down and even stays higher than it should, they move on tother issues. it's time we really dig into

this and not lose focus. reporter: thank you so much for being here. >> thank you. ♪ judy: judy: we are in the final weeks before the midterm elections and nearly 1.8 million americans have already cast a ballot. in washington, the january 6 committee has voted to subpoena former president trump as part of its investigation into the attack on the u.s. capitol. that brings us to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that is david brooks and johnson capehart. hello to both of you. it is very good to see you smiling. i think you are smiling. the january 6 committee, ninth public hearing and they did vote to subpoena the former

presidents. we do not know if he will come. if he did -- first of all, do you think he will if he did, , would it make a difference? david: if he did, i think cows would fly. [laughter] i don't think he's going to do it. first, would it make a difference? in the polling nothing would make a difference. the public opinion is exactly where it was when this committee first started going. the reason i don't think he's gointo do it is even though , he says he wants to do it, he's being investigated by the justice department for the same thing. no lawyer lets their client go under oath and confess they are being investigated over here. he has shown he's willing to take the fifth, as he did in the new york investigations so i just think that spectacle is one we'll have to just dream about. judy: cows flying? what do you see, jonathan? jonathan: i would love to see cows flying but i know i'd be disappointed. [laughter] david: until you are standing

under one. [laughter] judy: we just started here. jonathan: he is not going to testify. and i don't think the january 6 committee had any expectation that he would. however, i do think that the january 6 committee felt it was important, given all the evidence that they have, given all the evidence they had presented to the american people over nine hearings that it was the logical thing to do and i think it was the right thing to do, whether he shows up or not. what they are doing is investigating an attack on the u.s. instigated by the president of the u.s. and the hearings and the rept that will be released later in the fall is as much for the american people right now as it is for the american people and the world decades down the road. there needs to be an accounting and what the committee has done is part of that. judy: about history? jonathan: about history, yes. judy: and you were saying that earlier today but david, we

don't know what's going to happen in the midterm elections, clearly. but if this committee wraps it up in a few weeks and democrats lose the majority in the house, what in sum will this committee have accomplished? david: i don't think it will have much political effect on the midterms. but it surprised me. there was a lot more to investigate and reveal than i knew about and i think a lot of us knew about. we all saw january on january 6 but there were a lot of behind-the-scenes things a lot , more planning and plotting than we knew about and then just to get the members of the trump administration, some of his allies, some of the proud boys, to get the testimony from those sorts of people, very incriminating. it will a, be a part of historical record and b, be a , ground work if the justice department decides to do something. judy: what do you think the

accumulated contribution or not will be when this committee wraps up? there is some speculation republicans will completely disband it. jonathan: they're totally going to disband it and shift their focus. if they continue anything related to january 6, it won't be what the select committee is going now. -- doing now. they'll turn their attention to speaker pelosi, as has been telegraphed for months. which is why i thought what i heard in the hearings yesterday was interesting. the behind the scenes video we saw of speaker pelosi and leader schumer pleading -- all the phone calls they were making behind-the-scenes to do something at the capitol, contrasting that with what the president of the united states was not doing. judy: david, as you look at the sum total of all of this that was a pretty dramatic thing. there they are on the phone begging the parts of government

that can do something to do something. david: yeah, i think the video that is the committee h thrown before us is the highlight of what they've done. it brings you back and even this -- i was a, impressed by their calm under pressure. pelosi, schumer. mcconnell was in there. steny hoyer was in there. i was also a little depressed that they were freelancing. let's call the governor of maryland, the governor of virginia. it's like there's no plan on what to do in this kind of emergency or any kind of emergency. so there was not a set of procedures. they were freelancing. i thought they did impressively but in the future we should have like, if this happens then this will happen -- for any crisis at the capitol. jonathan: the key thing is that they were freelancing because this unimaginable happens. the president of the united states was not stepping in and doing what is his constitutional duty, which is to protect and

serve the constitution and a branch of the government was under attack. yeah, they were freelancing, trying to figure out where to step in to save the situation. judy: and they clearly did not see that coming. today is october 14th. david, i looked at the calendar. we are about three and a half weeks away from the midterm election. people are voting now, but that is the day. congress hangs in the balance. i was in wisconsin last weekend. republicans are very much pushing crime and public safety and democrats will take us down a dark road. democrats are pushing they're , too far to the right and abortion. what does this campaign, this season look like you to right now? david: if you're democrat, the happy thing is a lot of these races are closed. in a lot of states like wisconsin, joe biden has an

approval rating of low 40's. in a normal year that would be disaster for a lot of democrat candidates. but the polls are closed. if you are a democrat you are thinking, we are defining history. if you're republican i think there are two things that would cheer you. the first is that the democrats had a swing in their direction two, three months ago. it seems in the last month republicans have had a bit of a swing in their direction and second, if you look at where the campaigns are spending their money democrats are , spending a lot of money in places they should not have to defend. districts where biden won by 7, 13. republicans are pouring into those districts. that suggests that both parties have internal polls that suggests there are places republicans are threatening that would seemingly be safe democratic districts. that may be that there's a sign of a republican surge we're not seeing in the public polls. judy: what do you see? jonathan: well, i agree with

david that in the summer the wind was a democrats' backs. they were almost euphoric about their political prospects but as with everything in politics, the pendulum always swings back. what i foresee is what my colleague jennifer rubin said this morning. we could be looking at two waves. not a tsunami, but two waves. you could have races determined by crime, inflation, fears of a recession. or you could have a blue wave where the issue of abortion, threats to democracy reign supreme. i think where democrats are able to make the economic link between bodily autonomy, reproductive rights for women, and economics, maybe they can eat into some of that advantage republicans have on the economy and inflation and recession.

look, we've never been -- this is some place we've never been. even the pollsters are saying we don't know what's going to happen. judy: who benefits if it's two waves? we don't know? jonathan: we don't know. judy: there could be a wave in each direction. and they crash against each other. [laughter] we don't know. david: advanced physics. i did see a poll of what issue are you voting on most? in this poll the number one reason that is making people go to the polls is making sure the other team loses. it's not even the economy or abortion, it's just i don't like those guys. that's why the two parties are locked at even and not a lot as -- not a lot has changed. judy: that means these two neighbors we interviewed in columbia county, wisconsin, who are trying really hard and still friends but disagree completely on everything, including who to vote for but they're still friends. david: good fences make good

neighbors. [laughter] judy: david, you had a column today about what's going on in los angeles with the city council but it was about more then that there have been resignations but before that it got really messy and you talked about how this could be the racial future of this country. what did you mean? david: managing diversity is hard. diversity is fabulous but politically managing diversity and staying together as a country when we get increased diversity, when there's no majority group, which is where we're headed, that's a political challenge. so what disturbed me by the -- about the comments by the los angeles city council members was not only the raw racism but listening to there taped conversation was their assumption first that we were all on ethnic teams. the latino team the black team, , the korean team, and these

teams are currently at war. there has always been ethnic politics. but there's always been negotiations but this was game of thrones so if we enter a world with all this great diversity but politics is ginned up by politicians using ethnic and racial appeals to fight political battles, then you get a very ugly atmosphere. it's obviously happening to some degree with donald trump but it's how hard it is to manage diversity going forward. judy: where are you coming down on this? jonathan: i read your column, david. i should have written down the headline but this idea that because there's something about this is what happens when everything is viewed by race. this is what happens when race is everything. and i got your argument. you know, it's very utopian and i am one of those people who

wishes we could live in that place but we can't and we won't. the best we can do is strive to get there. i listened to the recordings of the comments and what struck me was that they sounded like old-school politicians having a back room conversation and when politicians get behind closed doors, the conversations can be pretty rough but when you're talking about the spoils of power and in this case it was redistricting. it gets ugly and what these tapes do is bring us on the inside. i don't types of conversations are new. it's just that we're hearing them now with our own ears and we have to remember something. this is where i take issue with the headline -- i write my own headlines, i don't know if you do. but the idea that black people or people of color are the ones who are foisting race on the

country is something that needs to be dealt with. it's problematic because it ignores the history of this country. i have here a picture that i took at the legacy museum in montgomery, alabama and in the old location there was a huge wall with all of these horrific signs. one says no negroes allowed after sundown. another, whites only within city limits after dark. another no n-words, puerto , rican, mexicans allowed. another want white tenants in , our white community. it's not that black and brown people are so focused on race because that's all they care about. they focus and are paying attention to race because they have to because of signs like that and that's just one example. we also have to remember that we are 57 years after the civil rights and voting rights act. that means we are on the 57 years of that's within the

living lifetimes of people. david: i said exactly that. white supremacy created these categories are the question is, are we content with these categories or are we going to militarize the categories? judy: we may continue this conversation. thank you both. jonathan: thanks, judy. ♪ judy: poetry has a special place in the heart of afghans. it has played a prominent role from the country's ancient history to its present day. but when the taliban took over, many of afghanistan's most popular poets had to flee. they are trying to find inspiration in exile. we talked to several masters of the art in our arts and culture series, "canvas." reporter: in post-taliban

afghanistan, the new constitution was written in prose. but the idea of the new afghanistan, peaceful, pluralistic and democratic was cloaked in poetry. ♪ reporter: starting with the lyrics of the new national anthem, written in 2006. >> this is afghanistan and this is the honor of the afghan. this is the home of the soul and this is the home of the peace. reporter: it's such a hopeful message. >> thank you. reporter: was that intentional? >> yeah. reporter: abdul is one of afghanistan's most prominent contemporary poles. he's spent most of his adulthood life in the united states, fleeing afghanistan after the soviet invasion in 1979. since then, he has wielded his most powerful weapons, his pen and his voice. >> this is what the artists and

poets and writers were doing, their part in the jihad or in fighting against the occupiers and the same role they played against the civil war after the soviet withdrawal. poets were opposed to the taliban too. reporter: above all he wrote , about the need of all afghans of all ethnicities to unite. a theme that the new president wanted to promote in the new anthem. >> it is about the pride we have taken in our country, in our history, in our present. reporter: karzai's choice of a well-known poet was deliberate. poetry is central to afghanistan's past and present, not just as a storytelling method but as part of the story. one of the most famous examples,

the namesake of pakistani activist malali. in 1880, afghans were fighting their second war against the british. during the battle the soldiers grew demoralized. malali energized them with a stirring short poem. >> young love, if you don't fall in the battle, by god, someone is saving you as a symbol of shame. reporter: these types of verses, usually written by women are what drew her to poetry. >> it is a way of resistance for women. against the patriarchy. reporter: but patriarchy was part of the taliban. when it came to power in the mid 1990's, women were largely erased from public life. so, too, were modern music and poetry, except for the taliban's own, which fixated owar and martyrdom.

when the taliban fell, as a student and poet, she flourished. in 2014, she recited a poem at the presidential palace, paying tribute to another symbol of afghan national unity, the flag. >> i kind of gloried the flag as a land where there was love, that is free, that is prosperous. flourishing, beautiful. the taliban said it was a very erotic poem and disrespected the afghan life. reporter: the poem, "my flag is made of colors," became a surprise hit, catapulting her to fam >> i was not expecting it.

i think it was one of the most important events of my life. reporter: in those years, the poetry scene that she was part of embodied modern afghanistan. reporter: men and women took part in a traditional game that's a mix between a poetry slam and a rap battle. like this one at kabul university in may 2021. just three months later all those forms of expression and the drive for gender equality were lost when the taliban took over and the americans withdrew. she escaped afghanistan and is now in canada. one year on, she feels no more settled. >> i'm not only exiled from my country but myself. reporter: for now, she has put down her pen. >> this grief is like an ocean

drning me and i don't know how to swim. ♪ reporter: sometimes, though, grief inspires as it did for this poet and singer. now living in pakistan, he wrote "o homeland" after celebrating his first holiday away from loved ones. >> we had lost our heland so in a very disturbed and crying state, i wrote the poem. and then i was able to sing it with music. reporter: back under taliban rule, popular music is once again considered sinful. the national anthem no longer plays nor does the flag fly. but he says this is afghan history running its course. >> whichever party comes to

power, they change the flag, they change the coins, they change the banknotes, they change the constitution. reporter: what remains is the desire for knowledge and freedom. some women have opened unofficial schools to teach girls beyond grade six, when the taliban says they must stop learning. and a favorite public protest, gathering to read. do you believe that will continue despite the taliban being in power again? >> of course, this is how we survive. and we will survive. >> those who think they can destroy our identity, cultural, -- culture and music by removing artists and poets should think again. no one can take afghanistan from us and each of us can work for our people in our professions from any part of the world. reporter: the taliban may have

reconquered the country but in afghanistan, history shows that the pen always outlives the sword. for the pbs newshour, allie rogan. judy: it's an enduring reminder, the pen does outlive the sword. thank you. and before we go, don't forget to join moderator yamiche alcindor and her panel on tonight's washington week read and tomorrow on pbs news weekend, look at two races in georgia that could help decide control of the u.s. senate and the direction of the country. that's the newshour for tonight. i judy woodruff. am from all of us at the pbs newshour, please stay safe and we'll see you next time. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- ♪ ♪

>> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. ♪ >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson and camila and george smith. the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water during climate change. so people and nature n thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to provide a better world. at hewlett.org.

♪ >> and, friends of the newshour. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ >>

tonight on kqed newsroom, and election special on the race to become california's next fiscal watchdog. we will be talking with candidates for state comptroller, republican lanhee chen and democrat malia cohen. coming you from state úheadquar october 14th, 2022. >> hello and welcome. i am scott shafer and for priya david clemens. tonight, we are devoting the whole show to the statewide race for the office of state