♪ ♪ judy: good evening. closing arguments. democrats and republicans make their final pitch to voters as americans prepare to cast their ballots in the midterms. cease fire. the ethiopian government agree to a truce after two years of civil war. but widespread poverty and devastation remain. taking the time. a bipartisan bill in congress would eliminate clock reset. we look at the history of daylight saving and i effect on our health. >> if we have to choose where to get our light and where is the most healthy part of the day to get our light, that is in the mornings. judy: all of that and more on

tonight's pbs "newshour." ♪ ♪ >> major funding for the pbs newshour been provided by -- ♪ >> it was like an aha moment, this is what i love doing. companies have this energy that energizes me. these are people trying to change the world. when i volunteer with women entrepreneurs, it is the same thing. i am thriving by helping others every day. people who know know bdo. ♪ >> the kendeda fund, committed to advancing restorative justice and meaningfulork through

investments in transformative leaders and ideas. more at kendeda fund.org. carnegie corporation of new york. a supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ ♪ >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. judy: president biden and former

president trump are on the road tonight with five days to go in the midterm election campaign. the president has kicked off a four state swing for democrats starting in new mexico. mr. trump is headlining a republican rally in iowa. final results in israel's elections confirmed that former prime minister regimen netanyahu's victory today. the incumbent conceded defeat and directed the transition to begin. netanyahu's far right block will have a solid majority in parliament. political tensions have sparked -- spike in pakistan after a gunman has tried to kill the country's one-time leader. the u.s. and others condemned the attack. we have a rapport and some of the images may be disturbing. -- we have the report and some of the images may be disturbing. reporter: chaos erupted after

the former prime minister was shot and wounded as he waved to supporters from his convoy. he was six days into a protest march to islamabad demanding early elections. local police say he was shot the leg and one of his supporters was killed. nine other people were wounded including an ally. >> i pray for you all. khan is safe. some friends are injured. one has expired. we need your prayers. reporter: witnesses reported there may have been two gunmen including one man seen firing an automatic weapon. police later released video of one of the shooters and custody saying he acted alone and targeted khan. in a show of solidarity, and his supporters across the country rallied tonight.

>> the majority of the pakistani citizens are supporters of khan. reporter: the current prime minister at -- condemned the attack and ordered a full investigation. but pakistan is no stranger to deadly political violence. the first female prime minister was assassinated in 2007 at a rally weeks before an election. concerns of political instability in pakistan have only grown since khan was ousd in april. the prime minister has refused insisting elections be held as scheduled next year. judy: in iran at least two people have been killed in new protests over a woman's death in police ctody. it happened as crowds in a city marked 40 days since a protester

died in the uprising. online video shows thousands in the streets as helicopters dropped flash grenades. north korea fired six more missiles into the sea today in a war of nerves. one was a long-range weapon that triggered evacuation mornings. in japan, the u.s. defense secretary and his south korean counterpart warned the north to step back. >> certainly, we are focused on they could sure they do not deploy a nuclear weapon or choose to attack south korea. you have seen us recently redeployed fifth generation fighter aircraft. you have seen us exercise our strategic assets from time to time. judy: the south korean defense minister dmissed any thought of deploying tactical nuclear

weapons to deter pyongyang. a sprawling nuclear plant in ukraine is running on emergency generators again tonight. ukrainian and you and officials say schelling cut the plant's external power links. in this country, paul pelosi, the husband of nancy pelosi, has been released from a san francisco hospital and is back home and resting. paul pelosi had surgery for skull fractures and other injuries after being attacked at home i am in with a hammer. federal prosecutors in washington rested their january 6 k's today against the founder of the oath keepers militia. he and four followers are accusedf seditious conspiracy to stop the transition of presidential power. his lawyers have suggested that he will testify in his own defense.

a judge in new york announced he will name an independent monitor to oversee the trump organization. the move will restrict the company from selling assets and restructuring while it is on trial for alleged fraudulent practices. and on wall street, fears of future interest rate hikes kept investors worried. the dow jones industrial average closed near 32,000. the nasdaq fell nearly 1.7%. the s&p 500 was down 1%. still to come on the "newshour" the impact asian americans could have on the midterms. an author, robert draper discusses how republicans embrace conspiracy theories and pose a threat to democracy. new data reveals a stark number of alcohol deaths especially among younger americans plus much more. ♪ >> this is a pbs "newshour" from

weta studios in washington and from the walter cronkite school of journalism. judy: democrats and republicans are hitting home key messages in the final push before election day. the economy, crime and abortion are major issues for voters. president biden continues to warned of threats facing democracy something top of mind for democratic voters in particular. to weigh in on how the political messaging is resonating with voters, i am joined i long-term republican strategist and former republican national committee communications director, doug hein. and joel, a democratic strategist who worked on barack obama and hillary clinton's presidential campaigns. we welcome you both act to the newshour. thank you for being here. let's look at the issue president biden raised last night in his speech before a democratic audience. he spoke about the number of election deniers running for

office this year and he said what they are doing is un-american and presents chaos in this country. it does not get much more serious th that and yet it is not an issue resonating with republicans. >> it is a serious issue. a lot of the substance that biden brought up can resonate with some voters but it is not a top-tier issue. voters will tell you what they care about. overwhelmingly, we see it is the economy and specifically inflation. what biden did last night regardless of the substance and i thought he deliver the speech fairly well is he said to voters, here is what should be important to you when voters are saying, what is important to us is inflation and getting it under control. judy: what is your sense of why this issue may be motivating

democrats but it is not with the people in the middle and not with republicans. >> i think elections are always about the values of people and their lives and that is what democrats have to do. we know that inflation is high. we also know corporate profits are up higher than they have been in a decade. hiring has been high and we hear about supply chain shortages. some of those numbers do not drive when you think about it from the economic perspective but that said when you look at fundamental differences -- what democrats have to do is show a contrast between the values and the people that stand up for them. i would lean in on cutting taxes for the middle class. a poll we did shows enormous support for that. and for cutting taxes for small businesses. however, the contrast with

republicans we should be drawing is they are the only ones that want to give more tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy. those numbers are abominable. even among republicans, only 34% agree with that republican position. the numbers are low with democrats and independents with barely 20% of those groups agreeing with that. in these economic times, i think we should play to our strengths for who we are fighting for. judy: is that what we are hearing from democrats on the campaign trail? >> it is not and it is startling. i live on capitol hill. democrats were mystified that this is what biden had as his closing message. the last big national thing you hear from the president is not on the number one topic that drives american lives every day. you go to the grocery store and something is more expensive than

it was the last time. putting gas in your car is more expensive than it was a year ago. you see it on something every day in your life. judy: joel, you just mentioned tax cuts and doing something about taxes but what about the immediate issue of inflation? are democrats making an adequate argument about what people are dealing with in their daily lives? >> i think one could make a stronger argument. if you look at the economic indicators, businesses and corporations are not hurting. i think people in america and particularly working and middle-class people are. we have profits up. they are having extraordinarily good years and i am a business person. i am not antibusiness. we need to draw a contrast between those that need brakes from inflation -- by taking

advantage of the dialogue about supply chain shortages but they are hiring more workers, raising prices and profiting more. how does that make sense when they do not have the supplies they need to make their goods? they have enough to drive up their profits by doing thos things. they need to engage in that argument and make them play defense. judy: i hear what you are saying but there are only four days until the election and we are not hearing that as an argument. >> we went to rival colleges. when i watch the north carolina and duke football game, i saw ted talking about crane -- crime and inflation. cheri beasley was talking about abortion. something she feels can drive some democratic votes but you're not talking about the number one issue that voters are talking

about today and america. judy: may i jump -- >> may i jump in? if you ignore what happened in kansas where voters rejected restrictions on abortion and a turnout that was presidential level. 60% of the voters were republicans. in the poll we just did, overwhelmingly voters say protecting a woman's right to choose is a top priority. it is higher among democrats and independents at 82% among democrats and 40 6% among independents. but 43 percent among republicans. we ought to be drawing that contrast. that hits home where people's values are. judy: i hear you saying what democrats ought to be doing. what republicans are doing among other things is spending a lot of money on talking about crime. saying democrats are soft on crime. people will be safe if they --

will not be safe if they elect a democrat. is that an argument in proportion to reality? >> i am a little biased because i was mugged last year walking to the grocery store at 8:45 p.m. i take the issue more personally than many do. it is something you hear people talk about all the time. it is whether they have experienced it themselves or seen something on tv about an uptick in carjackings and things like that that are not the targeted gang shootings or things like that or even just going to your drugstore and you have to push a button for someone to unlock thehampoo or shaving cream. you are not a victim of crime at that point you recognize you are having to do that because shoplifting is up and you see videos of a storm of 10 people shoplifting an entire drugstore and you are worried about that. judy: in 30 seconds, joel, what can democrats say to counter this argument coming from republicans? >> well, i think one of the

things we should counter is draw a contrast on their position on second amendment and gun control and reasonable gun control. antony skill leo closed his opinion by saying as with all amendments to the constitution, the second amendment does not come with --. we ought to quote scalia and we ought to make that point and say, we are not going to take people's guns away but we will have common sense laws just as scia said. there is not an unlimited right to carry guns everywhere. we have done research on this with voters across the spectrum and they believe there shall be limitations in places where guns have no business. schools, be theaters, shopping malls and public parks. i think we can draw a contrast on issues that are on people's minds particularly with crime

rates up in many places and do a better job at it. i think doug and i would agree -- we know you want to be closing strong in the endut you have to build up the momentum starting about labor day. that is that is the challenge for democrats. judy: we have four days left and some campaigning and advertising on election day. we will continue to watch this. thank you to you both. ♪ judy: turnout typically determines results in any given election year and a recent poll, asian americans could sway this year's midterms more than ever before. our white house correspondent looks into what is driving these voters to the polls. reporter: asian americans are

the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the country. nearly 23 million americans are estimated to be aapi and their votes played an outsized role in the 2020 election in swing states like your job. joining us to discuss this is kristin and a public policy professor at the university of north -- of california riverside. in addition to georgia, where could aapi voters have the biggest impact? >> there are several senate races including in nevada and north carolina and in virtually any state where there -- where the margin of victory is 2% or smaller. chances are the asian american and pacific island community will play a decisive role. beyond the senate, there are several house races including in orange county in southern california and several other

districts through the south and in the northeast that have significant asian american and pacific island populations that are rated as battleground races. those are all the places where we can expect the asian american and pacific island community to play an important role this year. reporter: christine, the survey shows aapi voters preferred democratic control of congress but within that, vietnamese voters favor republicans 40% to 35% which gets at the fact that the aapi is diverse. can you explain what is drawing the vietnamese voters to republicans? >> they appeal especially to the first generation immigrants in the vietnamese community about anti-communism. it is really that early engagement that has really

developed the relationship with the vietnamese community. what we have seen in the asian american voter survey is a larger segment of the vietnamese population, though they are still heavily republicans, are starting to identify as independence. -- independents. that is a start of seeing the second generation and younger voters coming of age and registering and voting. reporter: what issues are motivating aapi voters to turn out? >> several issues are standard. not only with respect to asian american and pacific islander voters but voters more generally. the economy is usually one of e top two issues in any year we have done the serving of these populations. and that is true of this year as well. what was interesting in our survey was health care emerged as a top issue. we did not ask specifically

about abortion. other surveys including from the pew research center shows asian american voters tend to be the more supportive -- most supporve in terms of abortion rights. that will be an issue as well the economy but there are issues like gun control and of our mono protection that are among the top five. republicans do not enjoy support in the asian american-- reporter: the rise of asian american hate in the u.s. has grown in the last five years. in the survey, 73 percent of asian americans worry about experiencing hate crimes, harassment and discrimination sometimes. 24% of them worry about it often. how is that it -- how is that influencing the vote? >> among those very worried about hate incidents and crimes, they have a stronger support for

the democratic party. what that suggests is this is a top of mind issue in so many asian american communities and in ways that benefit the democratic party and candidates. what is interesting is some republican candidates are trying to frame it as about crime to try to gain an upper hand among asian american voters on that issue. as long as asian americans perceive these as acts of discrimination and of hate, chances are the democratic party is more likely to benefit. reporter: since 2018, there has been more attention paid to aapi voters and their influence in the electorate. can you explain how the parties are improving or not there resech? >> we have been researching thi since the 2012 survey. it has not changed that much. still over 50% of the community is not being contacted by the

democrats or the republicans. we know they are chipping away and improving every cycle. this cycle we are also seeing there are more asian american organizers that are being hired by both parties. there are more investments in terms of direct mail, phone banking and canvassing as well as engagement with the ethnic press. this also demonstrates when you look at how many of the asian american electorate identify with the parties, it ranges from 20% as high as 43% for the chinese-american community. what that tells me as the parties are not doing enough to educate our community and do long-term engagement with our community past the elections. reporter: what do we know so far about youth voter turnout among the aapi voters? >> we saw a record increase

particularly among younger voters, 18-35. these tend to be the most progressive voters on a range of issues. a big question will be, will the youth turnout and match wt we saw in 2018? on one hand you have issues like abortion, reproductive rights, udent debt that might motivate them to vote but inflation and economic difficulties may demobilize some of those voters as well so that will be an important question in this election in terms of what youth turnout will look like because that will have an impact in terms of what the overall level of democratic versus republican support will look like in this election. reporter: thank you for your time. ♪ judy: heading into the final

days of the midterms, large parts of the republican base remain fervent believers and former president donald trump's lies that he won the last election. lisa desjardins sits down with the author of a new book looking into what he calls a politics of hysteria. reporter: several recent bugs try to make sense of january 6 and former president donald trump's reach but one, "weapons of mass delusion" focus in on some of the stars. the author is joining me now. there has been some news that overlaps with the themes in your book. when you look at the right and the reporting and what we know about the attack on paul pelosi, what do you think of it? >> i think it falls under the category of terribly shocking and not terribly surprising. we have seen what began as the coarsening of political rhetoric become demonization of the other

side. i'm not putting this on anyone in particular but i do think violence against the husband of the speaker is something that has been foreshadowed. reporter: your boat gets at something i have been wrestling with daily which is group thinking and mob mentality. i want to ask you to read a passage that sparked some thought for me especially. >> i conclude this way -- amid the tangled threads of american life, only one strand stood out -- people. it was omnipresent, stable and oddly stabilizing. a kind of dark lodestar to measure one's thinking against. so long as there was evil, there was righteousness. identify people and the details did not matter. the fax did not matter. reporter: when i was tweeting my reporting about the attack on paul pelosi i saw an

unprecedented number of responses that were just vile, blaming paul pelosi, conspiracies and beyond. some republican lawmakers have repeated those ideas in the last few days. >> they are preposterous but they have an antecedent. the way the speaker has been targeted over the years and not just been the but of jokes but really has been objectified as almost a demon force of the left. reporter: given that, what did you learn about so many americans that are smart come to believe in things like election denial? >> they dwell in an ecosystem where that is all they hear and know. the influencers in the media and officeholders and neighbors told them this. all of their information sources tell them this. lacking any alternative voice or reason to seek out an

alternative voice, they come to believe that up is down and black is white. reporter: and they believe they are the heroes. >> they believe the stakes are existential and the other site is evil and that they are patriotic. and that notion justifies the instruction on january 6. reporter: you sketch out some characters that are often portrayed in almost cartoonish ways but above all, marjorie greene. >> it has been tempting to say that what drives her is a lust for attention. part of it is true. one should also take her at her word that she decided to run for congress in 2019 because republicans in her view were not doing enough and when she went to go visit with republicans or tried to on capitol hill come she could not get them to talk to her. i think there is a sense of vendetta against her own party that she carries to this day.

the tendency is to focus on someone like marjorie greene and matt gaetz and others and view them as the performative wing of the republican party. the corollary is big nor the performers and they will go away. that you are only giving them oxygen. is allied by the fact that marjorie greene has grown in influence in her own party. she is a top fundraiser. leadership is scared out of their minds. they are offering her plum committee assignments. reporter: you have talked to her and among your takeaways is her complete does -- her complete disregard for kevin mccarthy who is in position to become speaker should they gain the majority which they could. what do you think that kind of republican majority would look like given your reporting in your book? >> the first thing that is

likely to happen as marjorie greene said to me is there will be a lot of investigations. she things she will get on a judiciary committee. the guide likely to be the chair of oversight, james comer has said he would welcome her. we can expect investigations relating to the pandemic, hunter biden's laptop etc. we can also expect there to be impeachment inquiries. marjorie greene has been submitting resolutions for impeachment since literally biden's first full day in office. what happens after that remains to be seen. there could be social wedge issues tied to the debt ceiling but that will be in a hostage situation. reporter: do you think kevin mccarthy can control marjorie greene and her allies? >> many have said if mccarthy gets majority of 25% that he can disregard marjorie greene.

the fact is they are paying attention to marjorie greene and she thinks it is because she represents the base of the party which is still controlled by donald trump. reporter: the title of your book is -- weapons of mass delusion. how deep does the delusion go? how dangerous is it for the country? >> it is deep and dangerous. it is the real focus of the book. the delusion of tens of millions of americans who continue to believe that the 2020 election was stolen and that democrats cheat to win but also believe the corollary lies. for example, january 6 was either the work of antifraud or a peaceful protest or staged by the fbi. they believe covid vaccines are ineffectual or killers. reporter: all untrue. >> that is right. when you have party that is

based on tens of millions of individuals believing in things that are provably false, you have to ask when will truth the restored? and one -- and what does one make of a party whose platform is the stuff of lies. it is a scary situation. reporter: thank you for your reporting. the book is weapons of mass delusion. thank you. ♪ judy: it is the deadliest conflict in the world. as many as half a million people have died and if eop in a brutal civil war between the federal government and the northern province of tigre. yesterday, the two sides signed a truce but enormous challenges remain ahead. reporter: they have aimed their guns at each other for two years

but yesterday they signed to silence the guns permanently. ethiopia's federal government and the liberation front signed a truce that requires forces to disarm and recognize federal government control. ethiopia agreed to halt its military offensive and further enhance its collaboration with humanitarian agencies to continue expediting eight. the former nigerian president led the negotiations. >> this moment is not the end of peace process but the beginning of it. reporter: relief cannot come soon enough. more than 5 million need urgent food aid. the world health organization calls it the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. >> we are not able to treat our patients. reporter: this surgeon works at the only functioning hospital and has not received antibiotics for a year and a half.

there has not been insulin or dialysis for more than three months. >> nothing has come through to the spital. reporter: desperate patients lined up only to be told there is no treatment. >> we are one of the professionals that treat patients but the bad news is we are rry, we cannot treat you. reporter: international humanitarian organizations have accused ethiopian forces of widespread atrocities and gender-based violence. the crisis began in november 2020. horses that used to run the country attacked a federal outpost. federal forces and allies from eritrea waged a scorched earth campaign. in june 2021, forces pushed federal soldiers out by the government launched a siege. ethiopia block humanitarian a from entering and evenetained

truck drivers. this last march the sides signed an initial cease-fire but in august ethiopia relaunched the campaign and seized key cits. the campaign reduced parts of the area to rubble. an airstrike killed several children hitting a kindergarten. reporter: that is the combat that ethiopia promises to end. to discuss this more we are joined by the former ethiopian minister for women, children and youth. she was the youngest minister in the president's cabinet but resigned last year in protest. welcome to the newshour. how significant do you believe is this truce? >> i think it is very important that we finally reached to this moment and it is going to be very important for the country especially for the northern parts of ethiopia which will bring a two-year conflict to an end.

reporter: some of the concerns about the truce that have been raised by this is it does not include eritrea or an ethiopian ally in eastern ethiopia. could those be spoilers going forward? >> from what we have seen from the agreement, it is focusing on the internal which is the conflict between the ethiopian government and the regional government. it was a conflict that started with a blitzkrieg but it was not successful. that -- we as ethiopians, let us discuss the differences in a roundtable and then come back to external factors. reporter: not only was the litz creek unsuccessful but ethiopia

launched humanitarian crisis into the region according to officials i spoke with. more civilians died from that then died from any of the conflict and humanitarian groups tell me there was a deliberate campaign to with -- to withhold age. this agreement does not force the ethiopian government to allow aid into the region. does that concern remain today? >> there was a siege for more than two years now. i think both sides are blaming each other but i would definitely call out for the government to say that the buck stops with the government. they are the federal government and should be putting people over politics. i believe the government has a role to play in this and they should absolutely take this piece deal in a way they can find a way to heal the people. reporter: you became minister in

march 2020 and resigned a year and a half later because of the government's failure to bring perpetrators of war crimes including mass rape to account. >> we set up a task force to go on the ground and to find what has been happening in the region after the government took over. we found a lot of atrocities took place especially by the government. and militia as well. that is not to say -- they interestingly did not commit any crimes. we focused on the area where the main conflict was taking place. what we found was absolutely horrendous. it was really hard to shake.

for me it was never about who committed those crimes but it was who it was committed to and it was the woman and the innocent girls. we had to speak out. that led to a lot of pressure. we were not able to use any means of government media to come out and speak to the public and other relevant stakeholders. reporter: who pressured you? >> government. reporter: the ethiopian government. >> the goverent i was serving. reporter: what does justice look like for the victims? >> the hostilities must cease. we are seeking accountability for the crimes of human rights violations especially the ones targeting people and the systematic rape of women and girls from both sides. reporter: the former minister in

the federal ethiopian government, thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. ♪ judy: we know that drug overdoses and the opioid epidemic have risen dramatically over the last two decades causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. alcohol use and abuse is a huge problem as well, one that gets far less attention. a new study documents how big a toll it is taking on american lives. john yang has the details. reporter: the study which is from the centers for disease control and prevention found that between 2015 and 2019 one in eight working age americans died from excessive drinking. among those ages, 20-49, one in five deaths was attributable to

alcohol. 20-34, one in four. overall, working age americans accounted for nearly two thirds ofhe nations annual average of 140,000 alcohol-related deaths. an independent journalist who covers health for the new york times. i know you watch the situation carefully. what struck you or stood out to you from this report? >> the cdc only do this kind of analysis and release those full accounting of alcohol deaths every few years and the trends have been going up for a long time but it is still shocking when you see at that it is killing about 140,000 americans a year. it is not lonely -- it is not only a huge public health problem but it is cutting into

people at the core of their life. it is neglected as a crisis. reporter: so much attention has been given to open your the recent years. can you compare the two? >> the country has been juggling a lot of public health challenges the last two years and we have our plate full and we are rightly giving a lot of attention to opioid overdose deaths. those deaths come to around 100,000 people a year. alcohol kills more people than opioids and gets a fraction of the attention. reporter: why does it not get a lot of attention? this is a substance that is largely legal and lightly regulated compared to opioids. does that create the impression it is not a problem? >> alcohol is a popular commodity. the majority of americans

partake. millions and it responsibly. it has huge societal costs. i thk we under appreciate the harms because some of them are scattered across the health system. people tend to think of alcohol and its impact on the roadways in terms of drunk driving and accidents and do not recognize the huge number of deaths contributes to. the cdc put together 58 causes of death that are alcohol attributable including breast cancer among women, it is thought to contribute to cardiovascular disease. for all of those reasons come only when the cdc puts these causes together do we get a full picture of the catastrophic damage it is doing. reporter: the data in the study goes up to 2019 because of how they collect the data. before the pandemic.

during the pandemic, with social isolation, was there any sense this may have gotten worse? >> the data the cdc puts together in this country hence way is out of date. the preliminary data we have from 2020 said just some kinds of alcohol-related deaths jumped considerably that year and there was a period of time where people appeared to have been drinking more frequently, drinking at home and at a higher volume. the numbers as they come in now for this year and in future years are likely to be even worse. reporter: the study also shows wide disparity in alcohol-related deaths from region to region. in new mexico, it was incredibly high. you looked at new mexico. what is going on there? >> the state is head and shoulders above other states in

the number of alcohol-related deaths it has and the study shows that in new mexico people that died between the ages of 28-39, one in three as alcohol-related and that is due to a constellation of factors having to do with the region, the poverty of the state, disparities within the state, a system still catching up. researchers say it also has to do with a week policy environment. new mexico has typically not embraced a lot of the measures that scientists say would be important for addressing excess alcohol use. reporter: what are some of those measures? the study gives us a sense of the size of the problem. what are the measures and solutions that could be used? >> dr. marissa as her, the head of the cdc's alcohol program told me that evidence-based strategies are out there and underused. the ones she ticked off as top priorities are to increase the price of alcohol by using

alcohol taxes to doo and that is a matter of simple economics that when prices go up, demand has to go down. contrary to that evidence, the u.s. congress last year made permanent reductions in the alcohol taxes and the trend across most states has been to allow those taxes to shrink controlling for population. alcohol is more affordable today for most then it has been in american history. reporter: journalist ted alcorn, thank you very much. ♪ judy: this weekend nearly all of us will set our clocks back one hour as part of the twice year ritual of alternating between daylight saving time and standard time. as william reports,here is a movement underway to do away with this process once and for all. reporter: like almost all of us

in the country, scott yates is about to set his ccks back one hour as we do every fall when the nation falls back to standard time. but he like a growing number of americans is sick of it. >>f someone snuck into your house and changed your alarm clocks and it went off an hour earlier than your body was expecting, you would be so mad and yet the government does it every year. we are so sleep deprived, we don't know how to respond. reporter: in every state but arizona and hawaii clocks spring forward in early march to start daylight saving time and fall back in early november 2 begin standard time. a few years ago his wife told him to do something. he started a blog compiling reports about why we change the clock, the economic impact and striking evidence that this back and forth switching can harm people's health. >> you can compare the heart

attack date of the monday after the spring forward time change in places that do how the change versus those that do not like arizona. they do not have the spike in heart attacks the monday morning after in arizona but everywhere else. >> it is a glitch in the way we operate the clocks and it is a deadly glitch. reporter: he became something of a go to expert testifying before state legislatures and even trying and unsuccessful run for congress in colorado all focused on this issue of stopping the biannual change. it is an idea that is gaining popularity. in the last few years, 19 states have passed legislation to do away with the switch and make daylight saving time permanent even though federal law prohibits states from doing that. earlier this year and the senate, the bipartisan sunshine protection act was introduced making daylight saving time

permanent starting next year. >> daylight saving time brings sunshine, smiles and savings. >> i have watched youth sportg events be called in the middle or near the end of the game before it is included because there are not enough lights. >> any parent that has worked so hard to get a newborn or toddler on a regular sleeping schedule understands the chaos changing our clocks creates for no good reason. reporter: the senate unanimously passed the bill in march but it stuck in the house over which time is the one to lock our clocks onto. if there is a groundswell to stop switching, why do we do it in the first place? where did the idea come from? i remember it was to help the farmers and america. >> it is 100% wrong, this myth. reporter: david has written two books on the strange history of why we change our clocks. he also worked in the federal

department of transportation helping to craft the policy in the 1970's. during world war i, the germans changed their clocks to preserve energy in the summer months and in 1918, the u.s. tried the same and kept it up during both world wars. >> not only did it save energy but it left an extra hour in the evening so people could come home from work and tend to victory gardens which would grow some food extra for the war effort. reporter: for the next few decades cities and states could choose what to do but in the 1960's, president johnson signed a law setting specific dates for daylight saving time. it said if states chose to do it it had to be statewide. >> in the short-term, we face a problem. reporter: in the early 1970's, trying to ease an energy crisis, president nixon signed a law blocking the clocks onto

daylight saving time year-round but soon american saw the darker side to daylight saving which adds more sunshine to the evening but takes it from the morning. >> what happened was it seemed ok until the middle of winter in 1974 when it became very unpopular very quickly. people really disliked the winter daylight saving time. they had to get up in the pitch dark, disliked going to work in the dark and sending their kids to school in the dark. reporter: president ford reversed course and we went back to changing our clocks twice a year which brings us to tod and this movement. according to one poll, nearly six in 10 americans want to ditch the switching. that could mean longer days in the fall and winter giving us more light to enjoy the great outdoors, it is partly why the golfing industry supports the move, some health experts say, not so fast. >> waking up in the pitch black

is not normal for our bodies. reporter: beth is a pediatric neurologist at vanderbilt medical center and she says yes, later sunsets are great but stealing the morning light can have real detrimental effects. >> morning light is key in terms of helping people have a normal healthy sleep cycle and be able to get to bed at night. reporter: the light you are exposed to in the morning cannot just have an effect on you in the morning but 12, 14, 16 hours later on your sleep? >> correct. in an ideal world we could have light on both ants. but if we have to choose where to get our light, where is the most healthy, -- healthy part of the day to get our light, it is in the mornings for the reasons i mentioned because it helps us synchronize our bodies and our

brains to what is going on in our environment. reporter: she argues that on balance if we have to pick one option, permanent standard time would be the best. david argues for keeping the current system and helping people manage the transitions better. he says remember, permanent daylight saving gives you sunnier evenings but much darker mornings. >> you have mornings in places like new york, chicago, dallas and san francisco -- the sun would rise at 8:30 a.m. line in detroit, indianapolis, the sun would rise at 9:00 a.m. if the sun is rising at 8:30 a.m., 9:00, almost everyone is going to work and school in the dark. it is a negative for a lot of people. reporter: while congress the issue, we can enjoy a couple

more of these long, autumn evenings before sunday morning when we fall back into darkness. for the pbs "newshour," i am william. judy: this is far too controversial a question for me to express my own opinion. thank you, william. that is the newshour for tonight. join us online and here tomorrow evening. for all of us here, thank you, stay safe and we will see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular has been offering plans designed to help people do more of what they like. our u.s.-based customer service team can help find the plan that fits you. to learn more visit consumer cellular.tv. >> the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide.

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