john: good evening. i'm john yang. amna nawaz and geoff bennett are away. on the newshour tonight, today's

jobs report shows hiring is slowing, but so is inflation. what the latest economic data signals for american workers. as a texas law banning gender-affirming care for transgender children takes effect, families grapple with the potential consequences. and districts seek new ways to deal with pandemic learning loss. one potential solution? lengthening the school year. >> in this once in a century moment, we need once in a century responses. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour, including --

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health john: welcome to the newshour. we got the latest snapshot of the u.s. economy today -- the august jobs numbers. they portray a healthy labor market that's steadily growing, though there are signs of cooling in the face of the federal reserve's higher interest rates. employers added 187,000 jobs in august, while the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.5% to 3.8%, a sign that more americans are looking for work. in addition, downward revisions to june and july numbers put the average monthly job gain over the last three months to a relatively modest 150,000, down from an average of 238,000 from march through may. at the white house, president biden hailed the 32nd consecutive month of job growth. pres. biden: more than 700,000 people joined the labor force last month, which means the highest share of working-age americans are in the workforce now than at any time in the past

20 years. people are coming off the sidelines, getting back to their workplaces. and the lowest unemployment rate in 70 years for women. john: but adding today's report to earlier data paints a complex picture of the current economy. catherine rampell is a newsour special correspondent and washington post columnist. catherine, let's talk about the job numbers. what was your reaction to the jobs numbers? catherine: i think it was generally a good report. these are not the same kind of gangbusters job growth numbers that we saw earlier when the economy was first reopening, but those kinds of numbers were never sustainable. a at pace of what we had last month is generally a healthy pace. it is slower than it was. that is kind of what the fed is looking for at this point. they want to see evidence that the supply of jobs is about

matching the supply of workers, and the deploy of workers is equal. we are headed in that direction. i think there are some concerning signs in the economy, which we can talk about, but for the most part, this was a pretty robust report. john: was there anything below the big numbers, the top line numbers, any patterns of who is getting jobs that you found significant? catherine: i think the unsung heroes of this labor market to date are two categories, immigrants and women. you heard biden just now talk about how women are more than punching above their weight. if you think about a few years ago, there were lots of concerns about the so-called "s shecession," throwing working women back a generation because of the disruptions to childcare, disruptions to school that took many out of the workforce or existing jobs.

that has not materialized. if anything, women are doing better than ever in terms of their participation rates in the labor force and their ability to hold down a job. women are basically kicking butt in this economy. the other category is immigrants. if you look at who is joining the labor force, why the number of workers has grown quite a bit, it is primarily because of foreign-born workers. relative to pre-pandemic levels, the number of nativeborn workers is about flat. it is slightly up, and that is because nativeborn americans tend to be older, they are more likely to be retired. foreign-born workers are more likely to be working age, more likely to be in the labor force, and the integration of the system that had been set back quite a bit by the pandemic has enabled many of those foreign-born workers to contribute to the economy and supply and fill those jobs. john: earlier this week, we got numbers on consur spending,

on inflation. we sought delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans rising. are these signs of concern? catherine: i think they are a little bit worrying, yes. i don't want to use the dreaded "r" word, recession, and i don't think we are there yet. there is no sign we are there yet. but there are some vulnerabilities that are clear in this economy. americans have spent down. a large part of their extra savings they accumulated during the pandemic, both as a result of forced savings, not traveling and not going out and dining out , and also a lot of those fiscal policies, those various government transfers that had helped people amass more savings , they spent a lot of that down both because time has passed and because prices have been high, etc. you see the result of that in those rising credit card delinquency rates, for example. in the lower saving rates we have seen recently, and some other signs of stress throughout the economy.

and we don't know the full extent of the consequences of the fed's rate hikes to date. the whole point was to tighten financial conditions and to make it harder for people to borrow and make it less likely they would spend money. that is a feature, not a bug. but there is a lag between when the fed raises rates and when it is felt, so we don't know how much more is working its way through the system at this point and how much more pain that could cause later on. john: catherine, thank you very much. ♪ john: in the day's other headlines, florida's big bend region faced another long day of cleaning up from hurricane idalia. one utility said today it could take two weeks to repair badly damaged electrical grids in rural areas. the storm also wiped out scores of homes in coastal towns. and officials said area farmers

are facing a catastrophe. >> we are going to sustain tremendous agricultural losses. when you think about the impact that has on our communities, the jobs that it provides, the local economic impacts, it will be felt very strong and deep. john: estimates of insured losses alone range as high as $9 billion. and idalia may not be finished yet. it's back over the atlantic, and forecaster say it could again become a tropical storm as it heads toward bermuda. the white house is asking congress for an another $4 billion in supplemental disaster aid. that would bring the total request to $16 billion, in the wake of hurricane idalia, the maui wildfires, and other events. the request is expected to meet resistance from republicans who say the federal government spends too much. two more former members of the far-right proud boys were sentenced today for their january 6 crimes. ethan nordean got 18 years in federal prison for seditious conspiracy, tying for the longest sentence yet.

dominic pezzola was given 10 years for leading the attack to stop congress from certifying the 2020 election results. as he left the court, he shouted, "trump won." in the russian-ukraine war, moscow says its forces intercepted a new wave of drones attacking deep inside western russia today. officials report one of the drones targeted kurchatov, home to a nuclear power station. there was no word of damage to the plant. today, officials in kyiv warned of more to come, as pro-ukrainian partisans step up cross-border operations. >> concerning attacks on the russian federation, there a growing number by unidentified drones launched from within russia. these will increase. this is the stage of the war when hostilities are gradually being transferred to territories inside russia. john: meantime, the kremlin said that on monday president vladimir putin will discuss black sea grain shipments with the president of turkey. in july, russia pulled out of a deal that allowed safe passage

for vessels carrying ukrainian grain. japan held nationwide earthquake drills today, marking 100 years since its deadliest quake ever. the drills simulated a major tremor striking central tokyo. prime minister fumio kishida and his cabinet wore matching uniforms as they walked to his office for an emergency response meeting. officials said the great kanto quake of 1923 showed the potential for catastrophe. it triggered an inferno and killed more than 140,000 people. back in this country, the biden administration proposed what would be the first federal rules for staffing at nursing homes. care facilities would be required to have a registered nurse on site around-the-clock. the proposed rules also call for staffing equivalent to three hours, per resident, per day. the administration says the new rules would make residents safer. the industry says they would cost billions of dollars and make existing problems worse. and on wall street, stocks surged after the jobs report,

then gave most of it back. the dow jones industrial average gained 115 points to close at 34,837. nasdaq fell 3 points. the s&p 500 added 8. still to come on the newshour, ukrainian forces make slow but substantial gains in the country's southeast. the long-standing problems plaguing the atlanta jail where former president trump and his co-conspirators were booked. and david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington, and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. john: a ban on gender affirming medical care for transgender youth when into effect in texas today, making it the most populous state to date with a ban.

an estimated 30,000 young people in texas between the ages of 13 and 17 identify as transgender. the new law revokes the medical licenses of any doctor who provides minors with gender-affirming medical care, like puberty blockers, hormone treatments, or surgeries. beyond texas, the gender-affirming care for some 300,000 young people who identify as transgender is under threat. laura barron-lopez has been following all of this. what is the situation in texas right now? laura: right now, the law is fully in effect, and it is going to ban providers from giving puberty blockers, hormone treatments, surgeries which are very rare for minors to transgender youth in the state of texas. it is also going to require that if any of these patients are currently receiving those treatments that they are weaned off of it. advocates on the ground have told me that ultimately already, providers and pharmacies are not even trying to approach that weaning off, that they simply

are going to stop providing treatment altogether. john: are they still fighting this in court? laura: they are. what happens next is that lit a -- litigation will continue to play out even as this law takes effect. ultimately, the texas supreme court will decide whether or not this law is constitution under texas state constitution. but i ask the attorney general's office what their response was to this all taking effect. they said they will enforce it fully, and that this law, they claim it is designed to protect transgender youth from what they say are damaging gender transition interventions. it is important to know that all the major american medical associations say that this gender affirming medical care helps transgender youth, that it often prevents suicidal ideation's, and it is their

professional recommendation that they have access to this care. john: you have been tracking a young transgender girl in the austin area. how are they acting to this? laura: a few month ago, i traveled to texas to speak to leah marion john. she is a 12-year-old transgender girl in the austin area. i spoke with them today about what they are feeling now in the aftermath of this law taking effect. we changed their names and provided anonymity due to the fact that families like theirs are facing threats. >> it kind of took my breath away even though we were expecting it. i had some hope going into it. laura: have you spoken to leah about the fact that this law will go into effect? how is she feeling right now? >> she did specifically ask us, are we going to have to move? i don't want to move. i love my teachers, i have friends. we are just letting her know, we will just do what we need to do to keep her here, to do what she

needs, and i am hoping that is going to be enough and we don't have to pick up and leave. laura: it is an emotional day for the family. they tell me they feel like it is a betrayal of the state. they love living in texas and they don't want to have to leave. but right now, they are put under a lot of stress to find care for their child. john: what does the road ahead look like for them? laura: marion john told me that at this point leah is ready for puberty lockers, and pubert blockers would pause her development into puberty, into a gender that she does not identify with. so, right now, they received a referral from their previous provider to seek out care in new mexico. new mexico is a 12 hour drive for them from the austin area. they are essentially waiting to see if they can schedule an appointment. >> we are going to have to make arrangements with the out-of-state providers and

really start thinking about how and when and how often we need to go. to make those plans with our employers, take time off. more than likely, there will have to be school time off. so it is definitely a situation where it disrupts life. work, school, financially. laura: a lot of disruptions to their life. mary did call that clinic today, but again, they don't have any word whether or not they will get an appointment. and if they are not able to get an appointment at that new mexico clinic within the next six months, mary and john told me they will have to look for other states and that those states will be even further away, because more disruptions, and more financial burden. john: in a news conference about three months ago, you mentioned this family and what they are going through to president biden. at the time, it sounded like the president michael higgins. what has happened? laura: the president has not

called them. but he did direct a liaison to the lgbtq community to call the family, and she called them and a white house official told us that on behalf of the president, bristol expressed that the president stands with leah and her parents at this time. bristol also told the family that the president believes that parents like them, mary and john, should be supported and applauded for what they are doing to help their child. mary and john also told me that what they said to hannah bristol , and they said they expressed some frustration with the fact that while they appreciate the supportive words from the federal government, that they feel as though they haven't seen many actions on behalf of the administration, and they specifically told this white house senior advisor that, "everywhere i go, i don't know what is going to happen next,"

and they feel as if they are tiptoeing their life through texas. hannah bristol said they should feel free to contact the white house, to share the experience they are going through, and they would be in touch with the family throughout this process. john: how does this texas law fit in with all the other laws that are enacted around the country? laura: 22 states have laws on the books that banned some form of gender affirming care for transgender minors, meaning that either ban puberty blockers, hormone treatments, surgeries, or all three, and more than half of those state bans are partially or fully in effects now. some have yet to take effect and others have been blocked by the courts. i spoke with a lawyer today who has been fighting on behalf of these families who have transgender children, and courthouses across the country. he described all of this as a patchwork of litigation, a patchwork of legislation that is

putting families in an untenable position, so families like leo's are having a lot of uncertainty over the coming -- like leah's are having a lot of uncertainty over the coming months. john: for months, ukraine's military has been grinding through a counteroffensive designed to liberate russian-occupied territory. kyiv has admitted that it's been slow going. but over the last 72 hours, ukrainian soldiers have made what the white house today called "notable progress." nick schifrin reports on the counteroffensive and a population eager for progress. ♪ nick: in a city at war, the first day of school is held underground. >> [singing] nick: in a kharkiv metro station turned bomb shelter, children sing the words of their national anthem -- "our enemies will die

and we'll live happily in our land." [applause] >> after our victory, we will celebrate the first day of school very differently. [gunshots] nick: but that victory has felt a long way off. for weeks, ukrainian special forces in southern ukraine have been fighting through thick russian defenses. they've taken casualties, targeted on the ground by russian artillery. and from the sky by kamikaze drones. ukrainian soldiers have been stymied by massive mine fields pockmarked with craters. they use american technology and armored vehicles to hunt and detonate mines, trying to create a corridor to drive through. and last week, they achieved a breakthrough -- a village destroyed, but recaptured. it lies on ukraine's most critical toward the city of melitopu, on the way to russian-occupied crimea. and in the last two days,

ukraine's is it also captured another town. both villages lie within heavy russian fortifications, marked in red. in certain places, ukrainian soldiers have now breached the first line of defenses and are confronting the second line, deputy defense minister hanna maliar said on ukrainian tv today. >> the enemy is much more fortified there and, in addition to the mining, we also see concrete fortifications. and our armed forces have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to move forward. nick: ukraine also appears to be moving forward with attacks inside russia. on wednesday, drones struck a russian air base. satellite imagery showed military planes in pskov before, and after, the attack, some destroyed. the base is only 20 miles east of nato member estonia. it's also 400 miles from the ukrainian border, which just so happens to be the range of what ukraine says is a new weapon launched this week. but the attacks on russia are launched from russia, senior advisor mykhailo poldyak said today.

>> all this is being done by partisan movements or an agent network operating on the territory of the russian federation. nick: poldyak also said today ukraine would only stop fighting when it "destroys russia's military," even if it "continues for some time." for more on the state of the counteroffensive, we turn to doug lute, retired lieutenant army general and former u.s. ambassador to nato. welcome back to the newshour. how significant is it, as we heard from the deputy defense minister, the ukrainian forces have breached some of the first lines of russian defenses, most notably some of these minefields? >> i think it is significant because they have actually beaten the russians on this first line of defense. but i also think this first report should be cautioned because there are subsequent lines at least as bad as the one

they just penetrated. they lie in front of the ukrainian advance. it is good news, but it is mostly so far a tactical success without great operational significance. nick: they have gone through some of these initial lines, which are mostly minefields, then they go to the second line, which are concrete barriers. we have video of some of these barriers. there are known as dragon's teeth. what is the challenge? there are hundreds of miles of these across southern and eastern ukraine. what is the challenge that those fortifications pose that is different from the challenge posed by these big minefields? >> if the russians followed their own doctrine, most of the heaviest minefields would be those in the first line of defense, so the line that reportedly the ukrainians have already penetrated. the subsequent lines of defense will feature, if doctrine proves true, fewer mines, but physical barriers like the one you just mentioned, and also ditches

which impede the movement of wheeled and armored vehicles. but those together still form an effective line of defense and can channel and focus the ukrainian offensive, making it a target for russian counter offenses. nick: how difficult with this task be? across hundreds of miles, through minefields, through concrete fortifications. how difficult would that be for the american military? >> in the menu of tactical tasks that american armored and mechanized infantry units train towards, this is the most difficult. at the national training center in the mojave desert in california, where we train our mechanized forces, when american units attempt this task, they typically fail perhaps nine out of 10 times and have to do it over and over again to attain proficiency. so, this is very tough. it is especially tough for the

ukrainians because they don't have all the assets they need. they have insufficient mind clearing and obstacle clearing materials, manned by combat engineers, and they also don't enjoy much air support because the russians still have heavy air defenses. actually, along the line of contact, they dominate the airspace. they are playing with very significant disadvantages. nick: john kirby said today that there would be "reinforcing and pushing back on some of ukraine's progress on the russian side." what might the russian response to some of these tactical successes be? >> as we have already discussed, the good news is apparently the ukrainians have penetrated the first belts. the bad news is there are subsequent belts, as we discussed, but it is not clear where that ukrainian focus is, which means that in response, the russians can't focus their

replies. what i would expect is attempts by russia to attack the flanks of this ukrainian penetration where arguably the ukrainians will be vulnerable. so it will be a real move and priority afoot i the ukrainians to deepen the penetration, but also to widen it and protect its flanks, and that is what we should watch for the next several days. nick: in the 30 seconds or so we have left, we have seen the ukrainian claim of a missile with more than 400 miles range. we have also seen ukrainian drone strikes deep inside russia. quickly, what significance do those two announcements make? >> w two-fold. it shows the ukrainians have an indigenous homemade capability to strike the russian homeland, and in particular to strike those military targets in which the russians had been launching strikes on ukraine to include ukrainian civilians.

second of all, psychologically. it is a big reminder to the russian people that they are at war. nick: thank you very much. john: more than three years ago, schools received the first installment in what would become the biggest ever one-time infusion of federal money dedicated to education, about $190 billion to protect against covid, and reverse the academic setbacks that followed the pandemic. school districts used the money for a variety of purposes, from tutoring programs to building upgrades. some districts, like one in virginia, used it to add more days in the academic year. earlier this month, geoff bennett visited a school there to see how that program is faring. geoff: at fairfield court

elementary school, addition comes easy to these third-graders. >> even when they are all broken up, we can still imagine that you can form the big one. a big 100. you guys are so smart. geoff: this year, they have added 20 more days to the school year, starting class in late july. it is part of a pilot program that richmond public schools introduced to combat pandemic learning loss. math is eight-year-old kimora arrington's favorite subject. she says she's excited about the extra time in the classroom. >> i like to come to school to read and get smarter and smarter and grow up. school belongs to me. and i want to learn to get in college. that's why i always come to school every, every day. geoff: kimora was in kindergarten when the pandemic started. her dad, darryl arrington, says he noticed his young children drifting off in virtual instruction, and was one of the first parents to sign them up for extended school. >> i wanted the kids to

basically have a fresh start as far as when -- yeah, last year they learned this, but when they come back they can refresh their minds so they won't lose focus. i hope my kids gain a lot of experience as far as learning, a lot of education, purpose, and a lot of love. geoff: in 2021, the federal government gave school districts the third and final installment of pandemic aid money, $122 billion, with a requirement to spend at least 20% of those funds on helping students recover academically. in this district and others nationwide, the learning loss debate centers on time, and whether to use that new money for more hours in school. after pushback from some teachers and community members, only two of 55 richmond public schools adopted the pilot program. on july 24, state and city officials welcomed students at

fairfield court for their first day in class after a six-week summer. that morning, richmond public schools superintendent jason kamras said maintaining the status quo wasn't an option. >> the pandemic really set us back, and we know we had a lot of challenges before then. and so, in this once in a century moment, we need once in a century responses. and that is what we have here today. geoff: richmond is a notable example of what researchers call a national crisis. from 2019 to 2022, the city's third through eighth graders lost the equivalent of a year and a half in math and reading instruction. the city's black and hispanic students make up roughly 85% of public school enrollment and faced the greatest fallout. nearly all students at fairfield court live in a neighboring public housing development under the same name. in the fall of 2020, angela wright became their principal,

but didn't actually see students in person until the following year. >> that was hard for relationship building, just to see how parents really suffered going through the pandemic, and even trying to get their kids on board with education. geoff: she built support among parents and staff for the 20-day pilot as an opportunity to combat pandemic and summer learning loss. what was your initial reaction when you heard about this program to extend the school year? >> the summer learning loss for fairfield court and our students was real. our kids would come back and it's like they had lost everything they had learned. so, when our superintendent presented it to all, that was something that i was like, wow, that would really benefit our students. geoff: teachers receive a $10,000 bonus for working the extra month, and an additional $5000 after reaching certain academic goals. during the pilot, dymon hunt's teachers have introduced him and his classmates to more hands-on

learning, like field trips. >> we've been testing the science experiments outside, paper airplanes. i like the field trips. the field trips are like super fun. we got to go swimming. yeah, it was pretty cool. geoff: but opponents of changing the traditional school calendar said the district already has underfunded needs, and shouldn't add more days to what they call a broken system. >> i think partly the motivation for extending the calendar was the mentality that the pandemic created issues that were not there. but that is not so. these issues have been rampant in richmond public schools for years. geoff: neri suarez is a high school teacher and the president of the richmond education association, the city's teachers union. >> i think a better way to put that money to use is to have smaller classrooms, focus on teacher retention, improve the quality of our buildings. right now, we have buildings with mold. geoff: suarez also points out

that when the district surveyed parents and teachers about changing the status quo nearly two years ago, the majority voted to keep the traditional calendar. were you prepared for the initial pushback you faced when you floated this proposal? >> i think any time we introduce change, there's going to be a pushback. geoff: richmond public schools superintendent jason kamras says schools could only participate in the program if they showed strong support among parents and staff. he said students have already passed the first test -- attendance. >> it's going to all come down to student achievement, student satisfaction, teacher satisfaction. but i can tell you one of the first indicators we look at is, did the kids show up? geoff: in the first 20 days, fairfield court had an average attendance rate of 90%. the program is an approach education researchers say works under certain conditions. >> the evidence does suggest that more learning time, whether it's in the form of extended school days or school years

or intensive tutoring or summer schooling, does in general, when it's done properly, make a difference in student achievement. geoff: thomas toch is the director of future ed, an independent education think tank at georgetown university. he supports the extended school pilot program in richmond, but says there is no one-size-fits-all approach on how to best spend the federal funding. >> in some places, the absence of air conditioning or heating in schools, it makes learning very difficult. and so, what we've seen is that less affluent districts, often in rural communities, are spending some of their federal monies on hvac systems and on updating their textbooks and other things that more affluent districts have been able to afford in the course of their annual budgets.

it's hard to assess what's right in a given community without really understanding the circumstances in that community. geoff: richmond school district officials argue additional days combined with small group tutoring will positively impact students now and in the future. this year, fairfield court will have five tutors for students struggling to keep up. >> if this program is effective and does help these children academically, will the position of the union change? >> absolutely. our position is what works best for all students. what is equitable for all students. and so, that's why we want to make sure that everyone understands that these are two schools. how many students are in these two schools opposed to continuing to lose learning in other schools because we're short staffed, because we're underfunded? that is really where the problem is. geoff: the district used part of its pandemic recovery funding to pay for the program, which cost

$2 million between both schools. school districts have a september 2024 deadline to budget the remaining federal funds, but one major question is how programs like fairfield court's will be funded after next year. >> i have been fighting really hard at the state level. virginia currently has a $3 billion surplus. i believe a huge chunk of that should go to virginia's public schools to support programs exactly like this. geoff: the results from this pilot will help the district decide whether to push for a similar approach at other schools in the years to come. the extra month in class has already inspired kimora to choose her future career -- a school teacher. >> i can help students to count and do place value blocks and put them in college and they could grow up to get their own house, their own car. geoff: but right now, there's still 20 minutes left in math class, and a chance to make things right for these kids.

♪ john: the fulton county jail in atlanta became front page news last week as the place where former president donald trump and his 18 co-defendants surrendered to be booked on felony charges. many spent just a matter of minutes there. but as william brangham reports, it's a much different story for the jail's long-term residents. william: john, just this week, two prisoners at the fulton county jail died while in custody. that brings the total to nine who have died there so far this year. these jailhouse deaths are not limited to atlanta, of course. according to the bureau of justice statistics, 1200 people died in local jails in the u.s. in 2019. that is the most recent year there is data. but in fulton county, conditions are so bad that the department

of justice launched an investigation this summer into prisoners' access to medical care and the use of excessive force by the sheriff's office. for a closer look at this, we turn to shamain cruz. she's a criminal justice reporter for public media station wabe in atlanta. can you tell us more about these latest deaths? how are these prisoners dying, and under what kind of circumstances? >> i will say that i have not been inside the facility myself, but the fulton county sheriff pat labonte has long said that the county needs a new jail. he says the walls are quite literally crumbling to the point that inmates are using some of the material that they are finding around the facility to make shanks and other weapons. just this week, four people were stabbed inside the jail, and that includes a 23-year-old man who died from his injuries.

as you said, that makes nine people who have died at the jail so far this year, and five in the span of a month. we are still waiting on the results of those autopsies, but sheriff pat labonte said they range from natural causes to pre-existing health conditions, and even homicide. william: it is sort of incredible this is happening in a modern american city. we should stress, these are people who have not been convicted. they are in jail awaiting trial or sentencing, right? >> that is right. officials with the department of justice said about 87% of the jail population is black and the vast majority have not been convicted. most are awaiting bail hearing's or simply cannot post bail. william: we spoke with the criminal justice reform advocate down there. here's what she said about the jail. >> it is a place that has been steeped in overcrowding and

neglect and people receiving poor mental health care, violence. if you look at the spectrum of problems that can occur in a jail, you will see almost every problem at the fulton county jail. william: how have complaints been handled in the past about this? this is certainly not the first time this has come up as an issue. >> this has been happening for years. but the family of a 35-year-old man named lashawn thompson launched the complaint that a lot of people have probably heard about by now. he was being held at the fulton county jail for three months. he was in the psychiatric ward of the facility. he was there for just three months waiting on a hearing. he had not yet been convicted. according to an incident report that i saw, he was found unresponsive in his cell, face down in the toilet, completely in bedbugs.

an independent autopsy later found he had been severely neglected and had not been receiving the care or the medicine that he needed to treat his mental health condition. after that case came to light, the u.s. department of justice announced it was launching its investigation into living conditions at the jail. after this case came to light, the county actually spent about $5 million this year to try to improve conditions at the jail. but it has just been, as the sheriff says, it has been a band-aid. nothing has really been done to relieve the overcrowding other than also just renting out bed space in other counties and things like that. but these issues are still happening, still going on. william: if the doj finds the sheriffs office or fulton county has been negligent, what are the possible remedies here? >> as far as i know, the county

has actually started looking at several options to build a new jail. they think it would cost about $1.6 billion. the reason they say that they went ahead and move forward with this is they think that the department of justice, after it completes its investigation, is going to force them to build a new facility anyway. we don't know how long this investigation could take. but the county is moving forward with these plans. william: the reason everybody is starting to pay attention to fulton county jail nationally is that is where former president donald trump and his codefendants had to report. we assume that they had markedly different treatment while they were there? >> that is right. when this indictment was announced, the fulton county sheriff said they would be treated just like anybody else. but as far as i know, only one codefendant spent time in a cell at the fulton county jail. and former president donald trump was only here for about 20

minutes while he was being processed and posted his $200,000 bail. that is just not the reality for most people who stepped foot in this facility. william: shamain cruz, thank you so much. >> thank you. ♪ john: fatal shootings rock the nation. the former president at the center of unprecedented legal prosecutions. and the senate faces questions from within its ranks after another health scare. to analyze all of this, brooks and capehart. that's new york times columnist david brooks and jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post. gentlemen, welcome to you both. it seems like a lot of the political news or news relating to politics these days have been in courtrooms. today, two former proud boys sentenced to 18 and 10 years in present.

this -- in prison. this week, a judge is set donald trump's trial date for conspiring to try to overturn the 2020 election and stay in office, the day before super tuesday. david, could the coming election be overshadowed by the last election? david: that looks that way. at least the primary season. i have a real problem with the way they scheduled it pre-super tuesday. i understand the people in the judicial system don't want to be political, but to be oblivious to politics and the effects of their actions seems to be somewhat irresponsible. if he really -- if it really does get held that day, trump will be under attack by the establishment. the day before super tuesday, it will be impossible for any other republican candidate to get traction in that circumstance. all these indictments have helped trump. you've got to think, you do the indictments, he deserves to be indicted. but are you aware of what is about to happen because of those indictments?

it is even worse to do it scheduled. they will say, he allegedly did these things a bunch of years ago, they politicized it, then scheduled it right at super tuesday? they are trying to destroy our man. we will rally around. jonathan: then when do you hold the trial? a lot of times, we talk about how judges and the judiciary should keep politics out of their decisions. so, why start now? the former president wanted his trial to go into 2026. judge chutkan was light, no. and rightfully so. i honestly wish the trial could happen at some point this year so that we could get it started, get it going. but i just think it is an accident of timing. we also have to remember that who knows what else is on judge chutkan's docket, the other cases that she has to work with? so i am not so much concerned

about when these trials will happen as much as i am excited for them to happen because this is the one time -- well, one of four times that the former president is going to be held accountable for his actions related to the 2020 election. john: there's another legal argument that is floating around, some conservative scholars arguing the civil war language in the 14th amendment should bar donald trump from being president again. it is actually being tested in court. one of the gop republican candidates, longshot candidates, is filing suit to test this. do you think there is anything to that argument? jonathan: i have serious questions, particularly from the two conservative writers who say that there is no action of congress that is needed. it is right there. all you need to do is just

enforce it. i read that and i am looking at american politics today, i am looking at state legislatures and elected officials around the country who are not nearly as honorable as the folks who you would need to depend on to make their argument work. i think the key is for the american people to make the decision at the ballot box. i am glad that the candidate in new hampshire is bringing suit because at least in that way, someone is bringing the question, and we will get a legal response. but until then, i think it is up to the american people. david: there is another case where we have legal scholars making a legal case oblivious to the political realities. i think their ideas are in cuckoo land. we have a country where people are distrustful of institutions, then their guy gets caught stuffing the ballot without a hearing and it magically disappears. we get locked into all sorts of

legal concerns whether trump really did insurrection or not. if the standard is embraced, do we think republicans will not want to start throwing democrats off the ballot? this was a pro civil war unique to the situation, where you had former confederate generals potentially getting active in politics. that was a clear threat. they wrote this thing into the constitution. we are not in that circumstance. it should not apply. john: this week, we had what is becoming unfortunately fairly routine. we had two shootings. one at the university of north carolina. the student newspaper at unc had their front page filled with text messages and other messages sent between the students. it really showed the visceral fear that these students were feeling. but the shooting itself barely made a blip on the radar elsewhere. are we just becoming too numb to this? we saw the terror among the students, but are we becoming too numb to this? david: we might becoming a little numb.

i confess, i was thinking about it today. i think about what we could do toward off these shootings. gun-control, red flags. if you see a young suicidal man reading neo-nazi literature, that ought to be a red flag. if that is in your family, you need to tell somebody about that. as i was thinking about it, i was thinking, i am going through the mental routines i go through, thinking, we could do a little t incrementally. but when you see the video that we saw, it still remains freshly shocking and traumatic. but i am glad the student paper did that to remind the rest of us that this is just raw evil and you can get him here to it. jonathan: it is way too routine. it used to be it was front page news, it was breaking news. this happens so much that sometimes a mass shooting can be a news brief in the newspaper. i think the tar heel did a

fantastic job of dramatizing to everyone, to the community, just what they went through, but also to the nation so that we don't get used to this even though we have gotten used to this. david: i would like to see a study done if you reduce the media coverage, does it reduce the copycats? i don't know the answer to that. john: there was another shooting in jacksonville over the last weekend where somebody who clearly left a lot of writings about his hatred for black americans, for black people, killed three people. a lot of people in florida pointing to the lax gun laws in florida, especially the concealed carry, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. is that a fair connection? david: i think we have hundreds of millions of guns in this country, so i have low hopes that some gun-control legislation will reduce people's ability to get guns. but i do think that was a case where the guy had previous suicidal tendencies, was reading this crap online, and hopefully

in those cases, hopefully somebody in the family or a friend can say to somebody, red flag. because that kind of case, he fit every stereotype of somebody who is going to do this awful thing, and somehow nobody stepped in. jonathan: we can't talk about jacksonville without talking about the political environment around black people, and particularly around black history, in florida. there is a reason governor desantis was booed when he did the right thing by going to the community, but the community booed him for a reason. his so-called anti-woke legislation, what is happening with the teaching of black history in florida public schools, that sends a message not only to the black community that the governor does not think much of you or your history or your contributions to this country, but it also sends a signal to those people, deranged or not, who believe that black people are inferior and

therefore are worthy of extermination. if the governor does not want to be booed, he needs to do better, not just in terms of his rhetoric, but in terms of his legislation. john: we've got a minute left. we also saw this week another scary episode. mitch mcconnell just freezing midsentence. this is the second time in a matter of weeks. if this happens again or keeps happening, can he lead the senate in an effective way? jonathan: if it happens again, i don't think so. as i said before, these situations demand that we as a nation have a conversation about what leaders of that age, what we should expect of them if they want to stay in leadership. john: the leading presidential candidates are 77 and 80. this is the oldest congress in a century. david: they are just getting started. i am not a doctor, but if he is having seizures, then that can be treated, and somebody who has

occasional seizures can do a job. but he has to be clear with us about what is actually happening. the statement from the doctor and the congress was not clear at all and not trust inducing. john: we've got to leave it there. think you both. --thank you both. ♪ john: and that is the newshour for this friday. be sure to tune in later tonight for "washington week" with the atlantic with jeffrey goldberg. what is coming up? jeffrey: we will be speaking with some of the country's top journalists about former president trump's trial date, which is set to begin just one day before super tuesday, and growing concern over america's aging leaders. john: thanks, jeffrey. we will be watching. and you can join me tomorrow on pbs news weekend for a conversation with former fema administrator craig fugate on the lessons learned from the maui wildfires and hurricane idalia, and the future of disaster response.

i'm john yang. for all my colleagues, thanks for joining us. see you tomorrow. ♪ >> 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,

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>> a trial date is set for former president trump. concerns grow over