amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the newshour tonight. amna: the national security council discusses white house efforts to change military protocols for investigating sexual assault. geoff: by the debate over opioid settlement money has sparked a legal battle in ohio. >> every state is doing things differently and there are very few firemen's for states to publicly report how to use this money.

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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. an historic day in washington. a federal grand jury has indicted former president donald trump on four counts on conspiracy to defraud the united states. geoff: it comes after more than a nine-month investigation. amna: this is the third time mr.

trump has been indicted this year. he was first charged in march with 34 counts related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign. geoff: his first federal indictment came in june. a florida grand jury charged him with 37 felonies related to classified material found in his home. amna: laura has been following all of this and joins us here. jack smith has been following two lines of investigation. just remind us how we are my -- arrived at this moment. the investigation into the former president's efforts to subvert the 2020 like, what he

potentially did to obstruct proceedings in congress and all of the potential conspirators that he worked with to do that. since then, the special counsel has interviewed a number of people that could potentially have information about what the president did, how he tried to exert his influence. we also another brad raffensperger, the georgia secretary of state testified and we know that recent boards showed that rudy giuliani who was someone we all heard repeatedly lie about the 2020 election spoke for eight hours to federal investigators about this probe. he is not named in this indictment as far as we can tell so far but he is someone who

could face charges, be it from the justice department or from fulton county's district attorney. geoff: the former president has been posting real-time reaction. he received a target letter because he posted on truth social. >> it was a lengthy statement from his scam name so i want to go to this one first from his campaign. it is striking the language used. he said the lawlessness of these persecutions of president trump and his supporters is

reminiscent of nazi germany and other regimes. it is a stunning statement. we have spoken to historians about the historic nature of these investigations. i think the historians we have spoken to would say that is not an accurate statement. the fact that the u.s. justice system is looking into this is a sign that we're not living in a nazi authoritarian regime. he compared this entire investigation, saying jack smith is trying to interfere in the election cycle.

amna: i want to bring in a couple of guests who have also been following and also with us is jessica roth. welcome to you both. you have been making your way through this indictment. what stands out to you about what you have been able to review so far? >> it is the sweeping indictment we were anticipating allegedly a broad scheme to subvert the election and in her fear with the peaceful transfer our. the allegations are shocking. this was an attempted to, so it is a somber day and country to be rude beating this narrative

account about what the former president attempted to do. >> the indictment accuses the former president of three conspiracies. depriving people of civil-rights provided by federal law or the constitution. walk us through those three charges and help us understand how the special counsel would have arrived at them. there is a separate direct charge. the three conspiracies would be the result of jack smith. the multiple prongs are similar to what we learn.

this involved the scheme to propound false theories that it had spoken. and to send their ballots into the vice president to be counted , to pressure the justice department except the ballots for trump take the action during the council. this ensures the peaceful transition of power.

both houses will meet. this entire scheme undermined that. it's the same charge that many of the violent attackers have been charged with, but here we are talking about the people doing the white collar work to set up the obstruction of those votes. it is about a conspiracy not to count ballots of voters in this country.

>> we do expect restatement shortly. how about reading this cap of indictment at this moment. we have been anticipating this for some time. >> it is critical in the eyes of the world and not just americans.

they have faltered one people in those countries are willing to commit violence against the government, sometimes at the direction of the leaders who seek to stay in power. we are at the charges. >> help us understand the burden of proof. >> the burden of proof is probable cause.

>> what was happening? >> so there are 23 members of the grand jury, if they think there are probable cause. what's been happening -- >> if i may, let's go straight to the special counsel. >> good evening, today and indictment was unsealed charging donald j. trump with conspiring to defraud the united states, conspiring to disenfranchise voters and conspiring to defraud a proceeding.

it sets forth the crimes charged in detail. i encourage everyone to read it in full. the attack on our nation's capital was an unprecedented assault on the seat of american democracy. lysed by the defendant targeted the process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election. the men and women of law enforcement who defended the r heroes. they are patriots and they are the best of us. they did not just defend a building or the people sheltering in it. they put their lives on the line to defend who we are as a

country and a people. they defended the institutions and principles of who we are as the united states. the department of justice has determined to retain accountability. our investigation of other individuals continues. in this case, my office will seek a speedy trial. in the meantime i must emphasize that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant must be moved innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.

these women and men are public servants of the very highest order and it is a privilege to work alongside them. thank you. that was special counsel jack smith. jessica roth, i cut you off. fill me in. how does all of that strike you. >> i anticipated we would hearing from him after the indictment was unsealed. again after the indictment was unsealed, i thought the remarks were propria.

relay laying out a sick allegations. and how important it was to bring these charges and defend democracy. i think it's important that the american people here from the special counsel to acknowledge these charges and remind people that these are allegations in an indictment supported by probable cause. but that this defendant isn't tired to the presumption of innocence until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. it will certainly be a challenge given the crowded calendar mr. trump is facing.

but i expect we will hear more incoming days about the scheduling of this matter. i'm struck that it is only mr. trump who is named here. even though their other co-conspirators, they are not including them in this initial indictment to keep things streamlined. >> talked to us a little bit more about the potential timeline ahead. he said he would like to seek a speedy trial. is there any way this trial unfold before that election. >> i think the reason this first indictment just names donald

trump is in an effort to make sure you are not dealing with multiple codefendants. i can make a pretty well educated guess about who some of those other co-conspirators are. and the government is still continuing to investigate. for right now, i think a couple of things are possible. alvin bragg, the district attorney did state over the weekend that if he did need to yield to a federal trial, he was willing to yield to that. i believe mr. bragg's case was scheduled for march. it is also possible that the mar-a-lago case will get bumped later because of the addition of three new accounts and a new defendant with the preceding indictment.

we also have the potential of the georgia indictment. this one will be prioritized and i do think it's possible to get to trial before the election and before the conventions. geoff: our white house correspondent is still with us. picking up on that point, in light of these two indictments, work at this investigation go? we know there are investigations . there has been coordination, but we do know that that could be coming very soon. also what was striking to me to this point was the

investigations of other individuals continue. there is co-conspirator one the 2020 campaign attorneys would not pursue. there is in that is trying to submit false selectors. it was actually talking to state legislatures about submitting false electors. as well as rudy giuliani, he could be a target in the doj investigation and a target of

the fulton county investigation. >> we heard the special counsel say this conspiracy is fueled by lies. that light continues to hold especially among many of his supporters. where do you think and how do you think that will go? >> his base rallies around him, his poll numbers go up. he is leading by almost 58 percent among republicans in the primary electorate. he is leaving ron desantis double digits.

it is basically what his entire election cam amos about. it is about him saying they are coming after me and they are using it in every single stump speech as he tries to argue that the doj is being wet nice. >> thank you to mary mccord and to jessica roth. stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. former president donald trump has been ordered to appear in court thursday. you can stay up-to-date on the latest developments online.

meantime authorities in michigan have accused two prominent supporters of former president trump of tampering with voting machines after the 2020 election. one is a lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general. the labor department reports job openings in june slipped to the lowest into years and the number of people who quit their jobs also dropped. dozens of congressional democrats are petitioning to and expedited screenings. 13 senators and 53 house members said that asylum candidates are not getting access to legal counsel as the bided administration said they would.

it is key for individuals featuring -- fling life-threatening harm. hundreds of european nationals lined up outside for hours. u.s. officials are not planning yet to evacuate americans. islamist rebels now have an opening. >> it's a situation that could encourage jihadis. you can understand that this will allow the jihadists to make advances on the ground. >> the prime minister called for outside powers to overthrow the military regime.

north korea has responded to inquiries. a pentagon spokesman said pyongyang communicated but offered no details. he was in civilian clothes and then dashed across the demilitarized sound and has not been seen since. a drone attacked a skyscraper in central moscow for the second time in 48 hours. >> it's obvious that they succeed somewhere and we succeed somewhere.

it's necessary to look for points of settlement. >> new jersey was shaken today by the sudden death of the lieutenant governor. she was hospitalized yesterday with an undisclosed ailment. she became the first black woman elected to state wide office. they were reelected in 2021. oliver was 71 years old. descendants of henrietta lacks have reached decades -- a settlement. doctors took tissue from her and her cloned cells aided countless innovations. fitch ratings downgraded the u.s. credit rating today citing

rising debt and the downgrade in government. it could impact interest rates to international contracts. the bided administration disagrees with the decision. janet yellen called at arbitrary and based on outdated data. the u.s. is moving on to the round of 16 but just barely, the defending champions played to a scoreless draw with portugal in a game they had been expected to win. it is not certain which team they will play next. still to come, why the debate over opioid settlement has sparked a legal battle in ohio and the head of the world food program and i how the end of the ukraine grain deal increases the risk of starvation. >> this is the pbs newshour from

w eta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: last night we heard from two attorneys with expertise about how the biden administration has changed to deal with expertise. >> and executive order makes the largest changes to the military justice system since the 1950's. it transfers powers to prosecutors who will decide whether to bring charges in cases of sexual assault, rape, murder, and other offenses. some legal experts have called the changes in movement and the right direction but see room for

improvement. to discuss the new action, we are joined by john kirby, spokesman for the white house national security council. thank you for joining us. you have called this new executive order and monumental step, why is that? >> it is historic, quite frankly. to take a whole set of covered crimes, sexual assault, rape, murder, and remove them from the chain of command, that has never been on before, so it is a monumental step and we believe it will help us deal better to more properly investigate and

restore some confidence in the judicial system by members of the military, particularly women service members. >> we spoke to some who found concerning language that said they were still authority under commanders. commanders will select the jury pool and provide that to the judge which is then randomly selected and it has language in pretrial confinement authority. any commander of the confined the may direct release from confinement. the language still leaves some authority with commanders. >> on the jury selection, it's written into law by statute that

a commander selects the members of a court-martial and that can't be solved by an executive order because that is law. there would have to be legislation to change that. commanders will certainly have the ability to help provide context on the availability of members to serve but by the randomization that has been added, they won't get veto authority more preselect because of the randomization factor that will give the system a lot more flexibility. on the confinement question, it is specifically designed that while commanders can assign pretrial confinement in they will have the ability if for

operational readiness can turn more other concerns to remove a member from pretrial confinement , it can override and demand if there is justification, demand the used stay in pretrial confinement. they have to be able to justify in terms of the case. quartz is there override language in another potential area where commanders have authority. if a commander believes the trial would detrimental to the

prosecution of war or harmful to national security, they can forward it to the secretary and potentially halt the trial. the irony of the language is that is making it harder for them to stop a prosecution because now they have to make a formal justification based on military needs. the bar is pretty high in before, there was no stipulation. for involving yourself or slowing down or curtailing an investigation and now that

commander has to procession -- petition the service sector in order to make that case the provision is written makes it more restrictive. does the president thank that more criminal offenses should be moved from under the commanders chain of command over to this new special trial counsel. does the president think the congress should change the law that they should be moved over to the independent prosecutor? >> because they are so

complicated and because they are outside of what a normal commander would lend him or her the ability to prosecute. we want to focus on executing this executive order. if we learn some things that cause us to change our minds or find new amendments, we will certainly stay open-minded to that, but we chose a set of crimes that are difficult for normal commander to investigate and adjudicate. >> what has the response been like from sexual assault survivors. >> we are hearing positive

feedback. covering these crimes outside the chain of command will allow us to hold properly accountable those responsible. >> thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. amna: the makers and distributors of opioid painkillers have begun to pay out more than $50 billion to state and local governments across the nation. how north carolina is starting to spend its share of those payments. as our special correspondent

ports, the money has led to a legal battle and those being left out of the process. >> three times a week, jacquie lewis goes were no mother wants to go, to her son's grave in ohio. >> shawn lewis was 34 years old when he passed away from a fentanyl overdose. jackie has come to bring new pictures and to clean the grave of a son she says was her best friend. >> he was always a prankster and a risk taker. he had a very kind, loving heart. he was very smart. he had ambitions when he was young.

he struggled with pain from scoliosis and was diagnosed with depression. >> the doctor put him on four different pain medications, which i didn't know were addictive. >> a 20 year battle with opioids followed >> i heard eric come out and it was the last breath coming out of him. she is raising her granddaughter, whose mother also died of a likely overdose. she is sharing her family story with anyone who will listen.

>> that includes the members of this ward. their task is to distribute settlement funds. >> ohio will have the ability >> the state is losing 5000 people year from overdoses. >> ohio's governor mike dewine

was one of the first to sue companies. he says it was designed as a private nonprofit largely because of what happened that money has been used by state legislatures >> by setting up a nonprofit to deal with these problems, we were sure the settlement money would go toward these problems. >> tracking of states across the country are spending their opioid settlement funds.

it is an approach that has raised concerns about whether the public will participate. they said we will choose to be public, but we don't have to and we don't have to follow public records laws or open meetings laws. >> now you essentially have government official spending government money claiming it that they can do it in secret. >> today, dennis runs a nonprofit harm reduction ohio.

>> i track it every day. >> last year, he said he was denied entry to the first meeting of the board. he filed a lawsuit citing languagen the founding document that reads meetings shall be open and documents shall be published to the same extent they would be should it be a public entity. >> they are covered by transparency laws and they need to follow them. >> in may, the court agreed. last month, governor dewine said it is not a state agency. exempting them going forward.

>> every single meeting is up in the public internet. they are accountable and anybody can find how the decision is being made. if it's a public entity, you could have candidly he future legislature that decides who we are going to spend it on something else. the board is missing two crucial perspectives.

larry kidd is chair of. >> we do our best to make sure the voices heard. >> several members of the board have been personally impacted. >> whether they have come through recovery issues. it is not an issue people want to make public. i have had issues with my own family. that's one of the reasons i'm so passionate about the cause. >> some on the front lines have felt left out of the process. >> people who use drugs are not

in treated at all. >> if you don't supply people with clean supplies and fentanyl testing strips, they die and if they die, they never get to be a productive citizen. >> i have to live every day just trying to figure how to go on without him. >> she is pushing for a family like hers to be reimbursed for funeral expenses and for kid to also be compensated.

>> grandparents who were thrust into the role of raising grand parents now, we don't know how long we will be around. >> a chance for a different life amid a still raging adamic. >> cap wise in columbus, ohio. amna: the world has never been wealthier or more advanced technologically, yet hunger still stocks tends -- stalks

tens of millions globally. the crisis could worsen without global action. welcome back to the newshour. thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> south sudan is very lush looking because it has had so much rain. there is climate change for you. there are various regions that have been hit very hard. some that are not doing so bad. people have had to leave their

homes so you see a vast surface from the air and there are these empty farm plots. consequently people are very much in need of food and are very hungry. >> when you talk about the scale of need, what are we talking about? >> it isn't norma's. and then you had conflict to this. refugees fleeing conflict. it complicates everything. many have been running from one place to another to escape it. there are a lot of people in refugee camps. there just isn't any food.

>> we think about the world food row graham. you have been focusing a lot on food resilience. six months in and nothing to exist in. but that's not the solution. the solution is resilience. farm their own land so they can feed their communities. in that way there is an economic fortune to this. the only way we will solve the problem of hunger is resilience and make it so people can feed themselves. at least 38 of the 86 countries

you operate in you may have to cut aid. it's tragic, they don't have any other place to go. i think there were some donor fatigue.

i think they are a little tired right now. make sure people understand the importance and where it sits. >> speaking of ukraine, there was a grain deal in place. president putin was allowing for the export, that deal has now fallen apart. how will that impact your work. some of that a came to africa.

the grain is in there. that drives of starvation. >> there was a senior official in the person said food security is consistency a top priority. we all went forward to our various entities just before

ukraine broke and then consequently afterward it is front and center anywhere. where else should we be looking that we are not we have canteen -- seen hesitancy and the hesitancy is a lot because of the instability. first in and we stay.

we do need funding and we do need extra help. >> the executive director of the world food program, thank you so much for your time. >> and that is the newshour for tonight. >> thanks for joining us. >> major funding has been provided by -- >> pediatric surgeon, life well planned.

and with the ongoing support of these institutions. thank you. >> this is pbs newshour west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

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