"the newshour" tonight, house republicans use a traditionally bipartisan defense bill to pick a fight with the biden white house. we look at the impact. >> a year after the reversal of roe v. wade, the correlation between the lack of reproductive rights and domestic violence becomes clearer. >> of we want renewable energy but not in our backyard.

>> major funding for "the pbs newshour" has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of "the newshour" including jim and nancy bildner and kathy and paul anderson. >> to john stott and james l. knight foundation, fostering informed and engaged communities -- the john s. and james l. knight foundation. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. 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. >> welcome to "the newshour." a swath of countries sweating from the -- stretching from the west across the south has spent another day sweltering. phoenix faced a 10th straight day of heat warnings. at death valley national park, tourists have turned out to feel the burn despite forecasts that readings could reach 130 this weekend. >> when we were in las vegas, that all just said please bring water because it is so dangerous to come out here. >> overseas, scorching heat from africa has pushed into southern europe. the acropolis in athens closed for much of the day to protect tourists from temperatures that hit 104. in italy, people brought their

dogs to be just to cool off. the department of education announced is it's canceling $39 billion of student loan debt. it affects more than 800,000 borrowers. officials say that her payments were miscounted. in a statement today, the education secretary said, "for far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their payments." iowa formally joined several other states banning most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, effective immediately. a republican governor signed the bill today at a conservative summit. the state's previous law allowed abortions until the 20th week. the state court could rule next week on if they will block the new statute. in russia, lawmakers approved a ban on all medical care for transgender people. the bill passed unanimously. it would also outlaw marriages involving trans people and ban them from adopting children.

the kremlin says is it's meant to protect what it calls russia's traditional values. the crackdown has drawn criticism from trans advocates and the medical community. an indian spacecraft it's on its way to the far side of the moon, aiming to make up for a failed landing attempt nearly four years ago. crowds in southern india looked on as the spacecraft blasted off. it carries an unmanned rover designed to explore the lunar south pole. back in this country, a federal appeals court ruling today at least temporarily allows the biden administration to press social media companies about posts it deems problematic, ranging from covid to election fraud. a lower court judge had blocked all such contact. a final ruling will await the outcome of a lawsuit. reverend jesse jackson is stepping down from the rainbow push coalition, the national civil rights organization he founded.

jackson's declining health was a determining factor. the successor is set to be announced this weekend at the coalition's annual convention. still to come, the world health organization warns about the carcinogenic effects of a popular artificial sweetener. and ed carpenter offers life lessons in his new book. >> this is "the pbs newshour," from weta studios in washington and in the west that walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> the u.s. house passed a nearly 900 million dollar budget for the armed forces today largely on partisan lines. most democrats voted no after republicans added antiabortion and other provisions to the bill. house speaker kevin mccarthy and democratic leader hakeem jeffries laid out that divide today. >> and military cannot defend themselves if you train them

wrong. we don't want disneyland to train our military. we want our men and women in the military to have every defense possible. >> we are going to cut out the cancer that the extreme maga republicans have put in the defense authorization act, no matter what it takes, and we are going to partner with senate republicans and senate democrats to get a responsible national defense authorization act. >> "the new york times" congressional correspondent" is here -- "the new york times" congressional correspondent is here to tell us more. give us the top lines. what are the key funding changes? >> the bill authorizes 880 $6 billion to be spent on various defense and national security priorities. it covers everything from programs to help the united states better counter china and russia, spends $300 million in

security assistance to ukraine, and includes a 5.2% pay increase . >> as you mentioned, it passed mostly along party lines. why did so many democrats vote against it? >> in the last few days, republicans in the house have added a series of measures, amending them in a bill that do a whole bunch of things democrats don't like. there was a measure they voted on yesterday that rollback pentagon policy that offers time off and travel reimbursement to service members who have to go out of state to take abortion after the rollback of roe v. wade. there was a bill that ended coverage for gender transition surgeries, and another one today that band the department of defense from implementing biden's climate change agenda.

all but four said, we are not on this anymore. >> there were two notable republik and efforts that did fail, and attempt to limit ukraine aid, backed by republican matt gaetz and marjorie taylor greene, among others. there was another provision to restore the old confederate names of military bases. why did some of those fail? >> the confederate name issue came up a couple of years ago and as much as president trump was pushing forward at the time, it was not completely popular within the republican party the fact that you had people defect from that in the gop was not much of a surprise. the ukraine issue was interesting. we always knew that was going to fail. there's too many leaders in the party who have been outspoken about the need to maintain support for ukraine because this is about the west versus russia and we don't have to fight a war with russia. while democrats and republicans

stayed together to vote them down, the interesting thing is how many more republicans voted to actually cut that funding. about a year ago, we saw 57 republicans voted against a bill that would send about $40 billion of humanitarian assistance to ukraine. now we saw 70 republicans say no more money to ukraine, and i think it was 89 republicans who said let's cut the program that i just mentioned, so that means the numbers are taking up. even though that did not pass, is it's interesting to see where it is heading. >> let's talk about the senate now which will likely look very different. this is a critical must-passed bill. how does this get resolved? >> that's a good question. you are going to have a really republican measure from the house coming face-to-face with a really democratic bill from the senate. i would say the 4 chairs wanted

to do a bill that was going to be very bipartisan and not get into these culture wars fights and if you just left board members in the room, they would probably say let's see what we can pass through both houses of congress and a strong bipartisan majority, but it's got to go through a process where a whole lot more people will be at the table fighting hard to get these provisions, so at the end of the day, it is not clear if they can get a resolution for that. that would be a situation where you break congress' streak of nearly six -- six decades of passing this annually. there's supposed to be these policy bills before passing the budgets for absolutely every part of the government. everything else has fallen away, but defense is such a huge part of the budget, but i guess the worst case scenario, if they cannot get a resolution is that difference just goes away everything else has so far. >> i have to ask about one of the provisions you mentioned, to

cut diversity or equity inclusion office. during the debate last night, one congressman actually used an offensive and outdated term to refer to black americans. he said "colored people." doesn't that seem to cut the argument that this is needed? >> a lot of democrats went after him and said dei training in congress if that's the language you are going to use about this stuff. they have been making their argument based on this line of we don't need dei training, it is a waste of money, everyone is equal, let us just say that, but the onus is on them to kind of walk the walk, and if people like eli crane are using the terms they do, it merely undercuts the argument they are making and makes it look like they are trying to roll things back. >> and lot to track. we know you will be following it. good to see you.

>> get to see you too. thank you. -- good to see you, too. thank you. >> the world health organization has classified the artificial sweetener aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic to humans," and that has led to some concerns and confusion about the risks. besides diet sodas, aspartame can also be found in a variety of foods including breakfast cereals, chewing gum, and some desserts. the who's cancer research group said it was categorizing the artificial sweetener as a possible carcinogen, but the agency's food safety group said the evidence was not convincing. there's quite a bit to sort through here. our next guest from npr news joins us to help us clear up some of this. adding to the confusion, the fda also says it does not believe this artificial sweetener is carcinogenic.

>> i think you have to start with why the world health organization decided to look at this. the reason was there have been several studies over the course of the last five or 10 years that found people who consumed the most aspartame over time had a slightly elevated risk of certain cancers. this was showing up in kind of population studies, and the question was why? could aspartame actually explain the risk? scientists at the world health organization decided to review all the evidence, and they determined that though these were good studies, they could not determine if this finding of a slightly elevated risk of cancer was due to chance or bias or just that the people who were getting cancer and consuming lots of aspartame might have other risk factors or other lifestyle habits that have put them at risk of cancer. >> the fda says aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply and has been on the market for some 50 years. how are there still unanswered

questions about it safety? >> i think that is the confusing part of people. the fda saying it is safe and well studied, and on the one hand, there are lots of short-term studies. i think over time, if you think about cancer, it is a disease that develops over decades, so i think the question was, this was introduced into the food supply in the 1980's. that is when diet coke first started using aspartame. that was when diet coke was first blended with aspartame. the question was -- was there some kind of long term risk people were missing? i think that's what the who was trying to assess and look at, but i come back to where the fda concluded, the fda basically says as a sweetener in the amounts that people consume it, the agency has reaffirmed its finding that aspartame is safe. >> the american beverage association, the lobbying group, the trade group that represents coke and pepsi, says the who finding is an expression of personal opinion, not the

science, and they say their products are safe. setting that aside, are there recommendations from health organizations about how much people should consume? >> the regulation that comes from the agency within the who says that people could consume a maximum of 40 mg of aspartame per kilo of body weight. what that translates to for a 130-pound person is about 12 diet coke per day. that's a lot more than most people are consuming. >> bottom line, then, people don't have to give up their diet cokes? >> i think bottom line is that the agency is saying, you know what? we are asking for a bit of moderation here. i think if you ask yourself, why am i drinking diet coke, and my drinking diet soda because i want to help manage my weight and i think that is helping me, perfectly reasonable answer there, a diet coke or two a day, i don't think there's any evidence it will harm you, but you also might say, given the

uncertainties, i don't really enjoy diet coke, i don't really enjoy aspartame, i don't think it is helping me manage my weight, in moderation, the fda says aspartame is safe. >> thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. >> long before the supreme court struck down roe v. wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion, researchers noticed a link between women having abortion access and a reduced risk of violence from men. in the wake of the court's decision, the opposite is happening, both anecdotally and in the data. abortion restrictions have led to a significant uptick in intimate partner violence. the national domestic violence hotline reports seeing nearly 100% increase in calls. our health reporter spoke to experts about this for a recent

story on our website and joins me now. it is good to see you. you have been talking to experts reporting on this disturbing trend. what are they telling you? >> each year, roughly 12 million people are affected by domestic violence in the u.s. part of what perpetuates that violence are control, isolation of victims by the abusers. when we saw overnight in many places the loss of access to nearby abortions, it just evaporate, people began to suffer. we were seeing preliminary data, anecdotal evidence that suggests all the warning signs we were hearing about before dobbs came down are starting to materialize. >> the national domestic violence hotline says 100% increase in calls. what does that mean? >> there is so much need right now, and it's going to the hotline. the national domestic violence hotline is hearing more than

3000 calls per day on average, the highest volume that they have seen ever since they were established in 1996, right? it is this massive uptick, and there's definitely -- again, preliminary evidence pointing to dobbs making things worse. >> you spoke to a woman named crystal justice from the national domestic violence hotline. here's what she had to say. >> after the dobbs decision, we knew we would be hearing from survivors all over the country who were going to need critical support to talk about abuse they were experiencing, to talk about the years they were feeling, that now their access to reproductive health care had essentially been removed, and i think it is really important to say that an abusive partner will use any tool in their toolbox to assert power and control over their victim. >> when it comes to tools in that toolbox, experts told you about an increase in something called reproductive coercion.

what does that mean? what does that look like in real life? >> reproductive coercion is a form of domestic violence that we are hearing more about it especially after dobbs. that means an abuser could sabotage contraception, could intercept birth control, could otherwise just hinder a person's ability to have control over their own body. in our reporting, i came across a story of a woman who was in an abusive relationship and could not leave her home, but she could receive birth control. she got it through the mail and was able to keep control over that much of her life until her abuser discovered that she was receiving her birth control through the mail. he began intercepting her mail, got her birth control. eventually, she became pregnant, and she was in a state where she could not access abortion. she also did not have the financial wherewithal to go somewhere else where she legally could. in that terrible story, it is not a one-off.

according to experts i've been talking to, it is happening again and again and getting worse after dobbs. the stories are so alarming and disturbing, but what is the data showing? what do numbers say about this? >> it takes time to get federal data sets, but what we are seeing from sources like the national domestic violence hotline is nearly 100% increase in these calls about reproductive coercion alone. data experts also told me they have seen more than 20,000 calls related to nonconsensual sex, so it gives you a sense of how these power dynamics are being manipulated and used, and people who are losing access to one way to give them some distance from their abusers. >> people will hear this and wonder what to do if they or someone they know needs help. what should they do? >> help is available. the national domestic violence hotline number is available 24

hours a day. you can chat online or you can text. again, it is available 24 hours a day seven days a week across the country. they are there to help make safety plans, find resources, figure out how you can get from a terrible situation to something hopefully safer. >> thank you so much. >> thank you. >> the intense heat wave making much of the country is expected to only get worse this weekend, leaving more than 100 million people under heat advisories. experts say the heatwave underscores the need to slow climate change in part by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, but there are already fierce battles playing out around the country over how

and if greater energy should be developed locally. >> across kansas, there are 4000 wind turbines and counting, but as energy projects have expanded, so, too, has the controversy surrounding them. >> they have turned friends against each other. they have turned families against each other over this. >> i know two brothers who have farmed together for years that hate each other now. >> federal subsidies have spurred a green energy boom across the country, but as critics have gotten louder, some local governments are putting the brakes on development. >> in franklin county, we have been able to get a three-year moratorium on the construction of any turbines or solar projects. >> why does this matter? the u.s. government needs rapid renewable development to meet its climate goals. we went to kansas, ranked fourth in the country in wind capacity growth, to see what the fuss is

about. >> we have 95 turbines on site and produce about 300 megawatts. covs 73 square miles. these 500-foot turbines have been generating powernanc >> it is like having 95 kids. you have the good kids, the ok kids, and the troublemaking kids. >> these kids do have some great admirers. >> i think they are majestic. i like building things. i'm a builder. looking at the turbines, it is just a miracle of engineering. >> a county representative says when development has given the county a shot in the arm. >> you are here on an extremely beautiful day. normally, the wind howls and we do not say nice things about it, so if we can generate some income off of something that is not popular, that's a real win.

>> mueller leases his land and views it as another extension of farming. >> personally, i'm proud of the fact that we are harvesting wind as a farmer. i grow wheat and we exported. we grow cattle and export them to feed our country on the world. >> he points to other ways the company is investing in the tiny town of tampa, population 100. annual payments to the schools, money for a new library, funding for a freezer at the co-op grocery store. $30,000 for a new fire truck. >> we have done fundraisers, chile feeds and hamburger fries, but that's a lot of hamburger feeds to make up that money. we can use the roads to get into our pastors. we can use the roads to get to our pastors, which was not --

pastures, which was not possible before when they were dirt roads. >> not everyone is such a fan. >> what was your reaction when you first heard a wind element was coming to the area? >> anger. i had just built this new home. this was supposed to be my retirement home, my dream. wind turbines is not my dream. >> amy's property is surrounded by wind turbines recently installed by a different company. you were never approached about putting turbines on your own property? >> no, ma'am. i only own 20 acres and it is and 80-acre minimum. >> she felt pressure to protect the countryside she owns. >> these big beautiful windows you have all have lack of shades. why is that? >> when that is the new view, i don't care to look at it. i moved out here to be on the farmland. wind farms are not farms at all. it is nothing but industrial and commercial. >> when we visited, the turbines were not yet operational. stutzman feared things would get

worse when they were up and running. shadows cast by the blades, for instance. >> what does that due to underground aquifers? what does that do to, you know, livestock? >> on the others of the county, there's been no obvious impact on livestock or groundwater, but at night, one common complaint does have people seeing red. blinking lights. as for the project surrounding stutzman's property, it has already destroyed her relationship with neighbors who leased their land. >> i understand things got kind of heated here. >> i had vulgar messages spray-painted on the side of my house. i received death threats in my mailbox. >> she has been accused of harassing people herself and firing shots when companies conducted a land survey nearby. she said she was target

shooting. >> i was still convicted of three felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. >> and you are appealing this now, correct? >> yes. >> she wants to leave the area but says she cannot afford to. >> one of my neighbors contacted a real estate agent and was basically told, you don't even need to list. >> because nobody will buy it? >> nobody will buy. >> elsewhere, residents of douglas county fear a proposed wind development could hurt their property values. >> the turbines will start about three miles southwest of here right along the tree line. they will just run to the north. my wife loves this view, and wind turbines will mess that completely up. >> this farmer hosted a group of community members opposed to projects being considered nearby . >> if they put wind turbines here, the electricity does not stay here. it is all sent to a southeast or southwest power pool. >> i'm concerned because our

county has high population densit if you take the three cities that are dominant in our county out, we still have over 30 people per square mile. >> the president of the douglas county rural preservation association. >> put them somewhere less populated where people are not affected by them. >> some saw wind as a means to preserve their farmland, but he worries they will have the opposite effect. >> we have absentee landowners who live out here who signed leases. farmers rent that ground to farm, and now they are going to lose it. we have hawks. we have soaring birds. they are all going to be at risk. >> he and his neighbors say they don't oppose clean power projects. they just don't want them so nearby. >> i'm for clean energy, renewable energy. i'm totally for it, but i don't like the idea of somebody ramming something down my throat. >> wind development over time is getting more contentious.

>> sarah study's state and local renewable energy policies at the university of michigan. >> as the more remote rural places with lots of farmers have been taken up and wind projects have moved closer to where there are vacation home owners where people have moved there in retirement, that's where you start to see lots more contention. >> that means getting permits for new projects is more difficult in some places. >> what you have done at the local level is created what is effectively veto rights for the local governments. it becomes a classic case of we want renewable energy but not in our backyard. >> who says he is running into more local resistance to renewable projects. >> if there is discussion involved in the permit approval process, they can be in a bad mood that day, and a vocal minority can prohibit the broader community from benefiting from all of the

economic and other benefits that these projects provide. >> mills says energy developers must convince local residents that building new infrastructure is in their local interest. >> i think it is hard because we can all imagine landscapes where we would not want to see energy infrastructure, and one of the real tricks is that those landscapes for me may be different than the landscapes for you. people in a place may have differences of opinion about that very same landscape. >> as is the case in the places we visited in kansas. to some, the turbines enhance the view and local economy. two others, they don't. >> for analysis of president biden's trip abroad this week and a 2024 presidential race, we turn now to the analysis of

brooks and capehart, "new york times" columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor of "the washington post." president biden notched a number of wings this past week. in europe, he celebrated some major breakthroughs at a nato summit. he was able to showcase his devotion to diplomatic engagement. what were your takeaways? >> when he was president, donald trump said native was obsolete. that was not a totally crazy position. we have learned why it is not obsolete anymore. bright -- biden has pinned his presidency around the idea, and he has used a lot of different means with india and others to try to advance the democratic's that the democratic side's cause.

getting more commitments for you to was significant. the slowly developed consensus that ukraine is not going to join nato now, but after the war is over, it probably will, that is also significant, so either case, he is expanding the democratic camp. >> i have nothing to add to what david said. he lays it out perfectly. i just want to talk about what the president did after the nato summit and where he went -- helsinki -- and the room he was in. the exact same room where five years to the day earlier, then president trump with vladimir putin standing right next to him when asked about russian interference in the election said, well, i asked president putin, and he said it wasn't him, and i have no reason to believe otherwise. that was a thunderclap moment for the alliance, a thunderclap moment for the american people who care about the united states ' standing in the world, but also the american president

standing up not just for the liberal small d m aquatic order but for the alliance and the united states' role in the world, and there you have president biden five years to the day later standing there clearly as not just the american president, but the leader of an alliance that is standing firm against the aggression and authoritarianism of vladimir putin, and i just think that is the cherry on top to what david just said. >> on the matter of building a coalition of democracies and supporting ukraine, there is a record high of 44% of republicans and gop-leaning independents who say the u.s. is giving too much aid to ukraine according to a survey released last month and republican presidential candidates have really seized on this wariness of the cost of the war. to our allies have reason to be concerned about the durability of the u.s. commitment? >> yes. in the 1940's, one candidate

wanted to know if taft would support nato, and taft would not. because of that move, the republican party the ensuing decades of the u.s. should exert power abroad, but now over the last couple of years, the republican party has been returning to what was the pre-eisenhower bias toward -- i don't want to say isolation, but let's take care of ourselves at home, suspicion of foreign alliances. for a while we did not have big gaps between the parties on how interventionist the u.s. should be and now we do. a lot of republicans have said let's not waste money abroad, and that is an ancient war cry in america. >> david says republicans, you

know, we should take care of our own at home, but the republicans we are talking about today don't even want to take care of what is happening in the country with a lot of the things that they have voted against, so just wanted to put that in. i know i cut you off. >> i was going to ask what you thought about that, but also, typically, foreign policy does not really resonate in presidential elections. will that change in this cycle, do you think? >> it very well might. i think the president's leadership makes it something that could be salient for the american people, but this is the other point i wanted to make in terms of the money, and the concern of the people, particularly republicans, about all the money being spent. i thought it was very important that president zelenskyy, before he said anything in a meeting with the president, thank the american people for their

support and specifically, "i thank you for your money," because he understands it is a financial sacrifice for the american people, and he wants us to know that he knows that and realizes that and that when the president says we will be with ukraine, no matter how long it takes, that zelenskyy is like hey, you know, we appreciate it. keep it coming. >> on the matter of defense and money, congress, as we heard earlier, is considering the national defense authorization act, which sets policy for the defense department. the house narrowly approved its version last night, and it includes republican provisions blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the pentagon, transgender care. in years past, this was a bipartisan enterprise. what do you make of this effort by republicans to use this bill as a cultural in the culture wars and to really virtue signal the members of their base?

>> having the pentagon pay for people to travel for abortion, that is a policy choice. the pentagon made a policy choice based on a set of rublics have a different philosophy, so they can try to vote it down, and that's fine. to me, that is the democratic process. the terrible thing that is happening is the senator blocking promotions until he gets abortion policies. it is find you have debate, find to have amendments, find to have a policy process. it is not find to weaken a military because of your philosophy. the ghost of mark shields is smiling upon me. a dutch prime minister had a thing called the philosophy of the spheres, that we have different spheres of life. politics over here, the military over here. you ruin the society if you don't respect the differences of the spheres, and the military does its own thing by its own logic, by its own standards and

should not have outsiders screwing up the way it does its business for ideological and culture wars. >> president biden has called on republicans to talk to senator turberville to get him to change his ways here. does it seem that will happen? >> yeah, and the marine corps commandant in waiting can be acting, but this is the first time in -- what? 150 years? that there has not been a senate-confirmed commandant of the marine corps, and that is important because for that person to be senate confirmed, it means that person is beholden to the american people, accountable to the american people. i don't know what it will take for him to change his view.

i wish he could change his view on holding up these promotions in the same way he changed his view right-click on his definition of white nationalism, if it's racism or not, but that's another conversation, isn't it? >> in the few minutes that remain, let's talk about 2024 because former president trump is not among the candidates gathering in des moines for the family leadership summit. at this point, does it even matter or is he so far ahead that his lead is basically just insurmountable? >> i don't think it is insurmountable. there's a lot of rumbling among the donor class turning toward tim scott or others as the dissent's bubble fades a little. i think there's going to be a lot of movement. if you can get away with not debating, i really don't know. i'm curious to learn and i think i am going to learn because i don't think he's going to do a lot of these debates, and this may be just another rule he may be allowed to break as a candidate. holding on trump is he is still so popular, they think he's going to beat biden, they like

his economic policies. he could win without debating, which would be bad. i see you shaking your head. >> it would be bad and he thinks he can win without debating and he probably can. each indictment, his poll numbers have gone up. i'm old enough to remember, you get criminally indicted, you might as well just close up your campaign shop and go home, and the reverse says the opposite has been true. >> and the fact that the republican donor class is giving a second look to tim scott, given concerns about the dissent's campaign. how does that strike you? >> it strikes me as smart on their part. i have not used these words, but i will use them now, and please don't @ me, but from the moment tim scott got into this race, he was the dark horse candidate. i thought what he had to say to

the republican party faithful was something that was interesting. he was the happy warrior. he is worth a look, and it is telling that that lead memo from the desantis -- that leaked memo from the desantis campaign shows that governor desantis wants to focus on tim scott because they see what i see. >> i see it the same. at this point in the race, mosley what you want to do is focus on cash it is like spring training and you are looking at pitchers. -- at this point in the race, mostly what you want to do is focus on, it is like spring training and you are looking at pitchers. >> thanks to you both. >> the author of the new book titled "building," is, as you

might expect, a carpenter who knows his way around tools, but rather than a how-to book, this book is developing -- about developing any kind of craft and skill along with a few hard-earned lessons from living a good life. we have that story for our arts and culture series "canvas." >> and 1840's house now being restored and renewed. >> everything you see on the outside of the house is brand-new. every board, every stick, every brick. >> but made to look like that photograph. >> eight 1940's photo used to guide the work on the exterior mandated by new york city's landmarks preservation rules. >> whole portions were certainly added later than 1840. >> mark ellis and is doing the best he can, but who knows if this is really how it originally looked? >> so is this preservation? >> i'm not sure. >> what do you call it?

>> in my book, i call this a paleo facsimile because it has the bones. >> we will do the same spacing, exact same thing. >> with design demands in order of the impossible, and client expectations are off the charts. >> if it is really, really, really good, everybody goes, yeah, of course it should be that way, and i go, you have no idea what it took to make it look that way. you have no idea what we went through make the staircase look like this. >> staircases are indeed a signature. ellison has gained a reputation as the master builder behind some of the most beautiful and expensive homes in new york and beyond. often for celebrities and wealthy owners who don't want their names known. he is the go to guy who can take the grand designs of architects and figure out how to actually make them.

now 61 and 40 years into his career, he has written, "building: a carpenter's notes on life and the art of good work ." one word he has no patience for -- talent. >> if you believe talent is the main thing, you are already on the wrong track. >> what's the main thing? >> work, effort, practice. take a day off once in a while, but studied ritual practice, having a good teacher, having good guides, having people that can teach you how to do things without ever -- without error and staying at it. i was not a good carpenter for at least 15 years. itook me 15 years to decide i was a good carpenter. >> ellison took us on a tour of what by his standards is a rather modest project but still an eight-figure proposition overall. side-by-side townhouses in clinton hill.

the neighborhood home to mentions in the 1800s and middle and working class homes and now again undergoing vast change amid gentrification. >> this is what is called a primary bedroom suite. >> a sinking of the titanic seen for the primary bathroom, executed by a long list of artists and craftspeople overseen by ellison. the idea came from the owner. >> when someone really loves an idea and gets really excited about it, i will go all in to render it as incredibly as i possibly can. >> the home will also feature a spiral staircase. ellison started with a model. >> i figured out how to do it and i have to figure out how to detail it and make sure everything is smooth and curves and makes sense and it looks right from the underside and the curves are good. it's going to have this sort of tornado quality to it and be kind of like a vortex stair simply because of the way the

geometry on this side works. usually when i find whoever designed that's usually what i find is whoever designed this side did not think about this side and that's what i have to do. >> he builds his models and does his own work in his studio about an hour north of the city in 81905 firehouse he converted. -- in a 1905 firehouse he converted. it is also where he practices his other passion, music, the one that does not pay the bills. still, he insists developing any skill is the ability to overcome obstacles in the way. >> anyone who has ever developed a real skill, 75% of what they will talk to you about is the stumbling blocks they encountered on the way and what they had to overcome on the way to doing those things. over time, it becomes the confidence in oneself of knowing if i set my mind to something, i can do it. even if i have never done it before, will gives me the

feeling that i can do this thing , i will do this thing. >> the creativity comes in how you build it? >> the creativity comes in how you realize it and how well and how you balance everything. it is part of making it more complete and more beautiful. it is like excellent tailoring. >> there was a clear expectation ellison would go to college. instead, he chose a very different path, and he writes of the social realities of the workplace itself and who builds in america today. >> it is dirty. you get hurt. i have been hurt many times. carrying buckets of mortar, carrying block and concrete is done mostly by people who don't get paid a lot of money and have not been here very long, and most people who live in this country won't take that type of work. if you want to know what parts of the world have the most trouble right now, those people will be on my job site a couple

of months. >> you can see the american class structure at work. >> it is right here. i've taken a lot of people from carrying brooms to running jobs in my career, but it is a harder thing to do for sat does not have the opportunities that i do. thy omeb>> do you have the sensa lot of the craft ability has been lost? >> i think it is less then imagine. you have to know where to look. there are still people that take a keen interest in many different fields. i know weavers. i know people who weave on hand looms. i know people who make musical instruments that rivaled a great musical instruments of the past. there are people who do these things, and you will find most of them sort of between the cracks. >> now i'm thinking about debates in this country about education. do you wish or ever advise young people to go into the kind of work you are doing, other than go get their four-year degrees?

>> first off, you have to like it. this is a demanding, unforgiving, sometimes painful, sometimes dangerous work. if one does not have a taste for it, don't do this job. you won't like it. but for anyone who has a taste for it, there's an incredible need for people who would take that route. i hate to tell doctors and lawyers, but those of us who get really good at this make better money than they do. i love it. i still love coming to work every day. >> and then it was time to get back to work. >> speaking of loving what you do, as a tsa agent, benny latham brought lots of joy to her job, but after a violent incident at work, she felt the need to pivot. today, she has found success pursuing her dreams through voice acting projects and commercials. here, she shares her brief but spectacular take on second acts. >> in 2006, i started working at

tsa at lax airport. i was the tsa agent that was making up songs and doing funny voices and impressions while i was telling people to take their shoes off and all that jazz because, you know, at the end of the day, you don't know where these people are going, right? if i can be the little soft part of their day in such a weird, chaotic place, then i'm happy to do that. the circumstances that led to me quitting tsa was pretty violent. november 2013, an individual came into the terminal and opened fire at the checkpoint, and it was a wake-up call for me. i recognized in myself that i would rather deal with the failure of trying something and maybe not being completely successful than live regretfully wondering what if. at that moment, i decided i will take your over regret, and i

made plans to quit. i decided to try my hand at commercial acting, and then i booked my first un-camera professional commercial for samsung where i played a -- wait for it -- tsa agent. [laughter] why? because the universe has a great sense of humor. when i became a full-time actress, it felt right. i felt like i was at home, i found my tribe, and my inner child is so impressed with me right now it's not even funny. some of the characters i've played include harriet tubman. you know, she's very, very solemn, very dignified, very ethereal, almost. i'm also the voice of cedars-sinai hospital. in fact, if you call the number right now -- thank you for calling cedars-sinai. for information innglish, please press one. when it comes to dealing with

ethnic things, racial things, i meet people where they are and then i ask questions. if someone says, can you give me a little more sassy, i will give them examples so that together we can come up with a library of terms and images that don't necessarily rely on stereotype, they rely on character choices. nobody really wants to be shamed when they are trying to create art, but no one wants to lose their humanity, either. people be peopling and you take it as it comes. at the end of the day, i'm doing what i love. it does not matter. i'm doing things that allow me to connect with that little girl from compton who grew up to be a voice actress. my name is benny latham, and this is my brief but spectacular take on second acts. >> you can watch more brief but spectacular videos online at pbs.org/newshour/brief. >> is even more online including

a look at how new orleans has lost ground in its effort to end homelessness and what the city is doing about it. be sure to tune in to " washington week" later tonight right here on pbs. >> and watch pbs news week and tomorrow for a look at prisoners experiencing extreme heat with no air conditioning. finally tonight, we want to wish all the best to a longtime member of our "newshour" family who is moving onto her next chapter. >> mary lawrence has worked with us in our control room for more than 20 years as both associate director and director. she has guided us through much of our coverage, including supreme court confirmation hearings, impeachment hearings, and political conventions. >> and she was in the director's chair on january 6, 20 21, when rioters stormed the u.s. capitol building on that fateful day. her vision and leadership in those high-pressure situations is invaluable in our industry,

but those of us lucky enough to know mary also know she is full of joy. if you step into the control room earlier in the day, you will often hear music playing, and you might even catch mary singing and dancing along. mary will be getting some very well-deserved beach time before moving onto to her next project. >> mary, we will miss you. know that you can never be replaced. congratulations and we wish you all the best. [applause] >> and that is "the newshour" for tonight. >> thanks for spending part of your evening with us and have a great weekend. >> 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 camilla and george smith. the walton family foundation -- working for solutions to protect water during climate change so people and nature can thrive together. the william and flora hewlett foundation, for more than 50 years advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world at hewlett.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions.

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 "pbs newshour west," from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at everest -- at arizona state university. ♪ ♪

>> president biden unites nato leaders as republicans complicate critical defense funding at home. president biden: a stronger nato makes the world stronger. >> president biden notches historic wins at the nato alliance, with a deal with sweden and comments on ukraine. plus -- >> we don't want disneyland to train our military. >> how speaker mccarthyeek. navi the result could spell problems for the future of the must-pass defense bill. next. ♪ >> this is "washington week"