wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. geoff bennett is away. on the "newshour" tonight, aid workers struggle to reach a coastal city in libya where thousands have died from catastrophic flooding and thousands more are still missing. north korea's kim jong un pledges support for russian president vladimir putin's war in ukraine in a rare meeting between the two leaders, and judy woodruff explores how a group of democratic voters view the nation's deep divisions and former president trump's role in the current political climate.

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amna: welcome to the newshour. scenes of biblical devastation, the dead stacked in the streets, and aid for the living too slow in arriving. that is the situation tonight in north africa. at least 5100 are dead from immense flooding in libya. the mayor one city says the toll could be as high as 20,000. and to the west in morocco, nearly 3000 are now officially counted among the dead from the friday earthquake. ali rogin reports. ali: scenes of horror along the streets of the coastal city hit hardest by the daily show. -- deluge. rescuers say there are bodies everywhere. beneath the ruins of apartment buildings and floating offshore in the mediterranean. yesterday, libya's prime ministers at the top priority was searching the open water where thousands are feared missing. >> we need specific assistance

especially in retrieving bodies from the sea. the libyan navy, divers are putting all their efforts into retrieving these bodies. ali: the devastation began sunday with torrential rain brought on by mediterranean storm daniel, but the worst hit when the torrent of water directly was sent through the city center. satellite images show its sheer force as it washed away entire neighborhoods in its path. some survivors describe a wall of water reaching heights of 25 feet. >> i live on the top floor of this building. i open the window and saw the storm attacking us. cars were thrown around and families started running. the water reached the second floor. ali: some medical facilities are barely intact. rows of corpses lay in the streets as overwhelmed hospitals begin the agonizing process of identifying the dead. >> we counted them as they were lying in the hallways.

whoever is identified is buried. there are some who have not been identified so we started photographing them and assigning numbers to them and burying them as well. these are very bad. the hospital is dilapidated. >> they are mentally and physically completely devastated. i mean, they lost their houses, lost their city, lost their workplaces, lost everything. ali: he is coordinating needs assessments in tripoli. his organization, the international rescue committee, is one of the few that already had operations near the disaster zone. >> we have heard stories from people who were trying to call each other in the same house while the floods were taking place on the second floor and some people were over the cabinet and trying to pull to see if they are breathing or able to respond or answer. ali: the human toll is becoming

more dire by the hour as recovery efforts continue. the discount is -- the death count is expected to rise. 30,000 people are now without a home but the floods have caused extensive damage to libya has coastal access roads and shut down communication. >> communications infrastructure is lost right now and it is challenging for the search-and-rescue teams to communicate with each other. >> in africa's northwest, morocco is reeling from last week's catastrophic earthquake but help is finally starting to arrive. crews bulldozed through the rubble and brought much-needed aid to survivors, many of whom have lived in makeshift tents for days. some took refuge in whatever shelter they could. >> we have no food, no -- nowhere go to sleep. it is not just about the collapsed houses. a house can be rebuilt later. i lost my normal life. everything from our life is

gone. ali: many of the delays were physical. some of them were frustratingly political. maracas government continues to refuse any assistance from countries like the u.s. and france. in libya, aid has poured in from neighboring egypt, algeria, and tunisia, as well as turkey, italy, and united arab emirates. amir says he hopes the effort will get people what they need when they need it. >> there has been it hundred thousand people who are identified as needing assistance. following this tragedy, i am afraid this number will increase very quickly in a very short time. ali: for the pbs newshour, i am allie rogan -- ali rogin. ♪ amna: in the days other

headlines, inflation rose again in august, fueled by higher gasoline prices but overall, prices are cooling. labor department data shows the consumer price index was up 3.7 percent from one year earlier. that was higher than july's year-over-year increase of 3.2%. core prices, excluding energy, were up three point 4% -- 3.4%. the federal reserve will decide whether to raise interest rates again next week. a federal judge today ordered former president trump's lawyers to use a secure facility in his case. that may rule out reviews at the mar-a-lago estate in florida. he is charged with illegally storing secret material there. instead, the rules from the judge make it likely that the reviews will take place at a federal courthouse. a leading trump critic will

retire instead of run for reelection in 2024. the republican announced today he will not seek a second term. he is 76 years old and said it is time for new leaders at he also criticized both president biden and mr. trump for failing to address vital issues. >> i think it will be a good thing if president biden and former president trump were to stand aside and let the respective party pick someone. both parties would be far better served if they were going to be represented by a people other than those of us from the baby boom generation. >> romney is a former republican nominee for president but he faced criticism after twice voting to convict mr. in impeachment trials. ukraine staged a major new attack in crimea, wounding 24 people. a muscle and drone strike hit a shipyard. that came as russian attacks

across ukraine killed three people. the red cross appealed for help today after migrants descended on the italian island in just 24 hours. that's several hundred more people than the island's population. they were packed onto more than 120 flimsy boats launched from tunisia. the flotilla overwhelmed the italian coast guard and their border patrol. in this country, and escaped murderer in southeastern pennsylvania is back in custody after two weeks on the run. they were recaptured earlier today outside philadelphia's suburbs where he had broken into homes and soul a rifle. a police say search teams caught up to him after a plane with a thermal imaging camera picked up his heat signal. they sent in dogs to subdue him. >> they were able to move in quietly. they had the element of surprise. he did not realize he was surrounded until that had occurred.

that did not stop him from trying to escape. he began to crawl through thick underbrush, taking his rifle with him as he went. he continued to resist but was forcibly taken into custody. no one was injured as a result of that. amna: his daring escape had made headlines here and in his home country of brazil. it showed him on the left crab walking up two walls topped with razor wire. he jumped from the roof and ran off. artificial intelligence or ai was topic a today aztec leaders met with more than 60 senators. it came amid growing calls for regulation. among those attending, mark zuckerberg and elon musk, owner of x, formerly known as twitter. he said there was bipartisan agreement. >> i cannot read their mind. but judging by the fact that they put their hands up when

asked if they believed some regulation is in order, i think that the general -- it's clear that there is a strong consensus that there should be some ai regulation, that it would be in the best interest of the people. amna: it is unclear what form any regulation would take. the inflation news did little to move the market either way. the dow jones los70 points to close at 4000 575. the nasdaq -- 34,575. the national toy hall of fame in rochester, new york, is out with this year's finalists and ken tops the list. it joins other favorites in the running. the three toys receiving the most votes by a selection committee and the public will be inducted in november. i am cheering for the ninja turtles. still to come, a potential

autoworker strike looms as the deadline for an agreement approaches. the white house response to house republicans impeachment inquiry against president biden. colorado secretary of state on efforts to keep former president trump off the ballot. >> 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. amna: it is a growing alliance that's sparking concern from the u.s. and its allies, in his first trip outside of north korea since the pandemic, kim jong-un met vladimir putin in russia today to discuss whether they each had something the other wants. stephanie sy reports on what that could be and the ramifications a deal would have for ukraine and the world. stephanie: the kim dynasty's preferred form of transit, an old fashioned armored, luxury train, rolled into russia carrying the "supreme leader."

handshake meeting only for the -- meeting only for the second time, kim jong un and vladimir putin greeted each other like two familiar autocrats. the summit lasted at least five hours, with promises of greater economic and security cooperation. there were no signed agreements but gushing support for putin's invasion of ukraine. >> russia is currently engaged in a just fight against hegemonic forces to defend its sovereign rights, security, and interests. stephanie: up against a nato-supplied ukrainian counteroffensive, russian forces need more guns and ammunition, even the old soviet-kind. and while 42% of north koreans can't get enough food, the government maintains a large stockpile of these artillery shells and rockets. u.s. officials suspect moscow has already procured north

korean war supplies and are watching to see if today's meeting leads to a more expansive arms deal. but since 2006, north korea has been under u.n. sanctions over its nuclear weapons program-sanctions that moscow previously supported. putin and kim jong un walking but putin's chosen location for the summit is raising red flags, the vostochny cosmodrome is russia's largest rocket launch site and it's no secret that kim wants a spy satellite. speaking at at an official lunch, he avoided specifics. >> together with comrade putin, we've just had an elaborate discussion about the military and political situation on the korean peninsula and in europe, and have come to the conclusion that we need to further intensify strategic and tactical cooperation to ensure safety. stephanie: despite international sanctions, putin seemed to suggest there was room for cooperation. >> there are certain

restrictions on military cooperation with north korea. but there are things that we, of course, can talk about. stephanie: for more on the significance of today's meeting, i'm joined by jean lee, former pyongyang correspondent for the associated press and co-host of the lazarus heist podcast on north korea. and by john sipher. he had a 28-year career in the cia and was based in moscow during the 1990s. welcome both to the newshour. putin and kim played this off as a typical diplomatic visit but there seemed to be no question that this was transactional. putin needs ammunition. kim needs all sorts of things including food, military technology. assuming you agree on that, how much assistance can north korea actually provide russia? i will start with you. jean: there is an often a time where north korea can provide anything to anyone but this is one of those times so this is

why we are looking at this so closely because it comes 18 months into russia's conflict, this wharton ukraine, perhaps at a time when it is running low on some of the munitions that it needs, and it has got a neighbor that is desperate and has plenty of stockpiles of the ammunition and some of that weaponry because of course north korea, for many years, was supported by the soviet union, so it has a lot of that technology -- that weaponry that moscow might need right now to prolong that conflict. amna: what exactly does putin need? how much pressure is russia's industry under right now? john: there is reporting they have expended as many as 12 to 15 million artillery shells so far in this war. they have not asked he pushed forward at all during that time so i think they are running low on some stocks. they know the north koreans have soviet and russian capable kind

of bullets come artillery shells, rockets, and things the russians can use. it's a signal that putin is digging in for the long-term here and it's also a signal that they are sort of running low on things they need. jean: do you -- amna: do you agree with jean, who uses the word desperation for putin? john: it's a signal that he is in for the long-term. he has been unable to change things on the battlefield. he is turning to north korea. north korea has the gdp of something like $18 billion a year. we provided more assistance than that to ukraine during this time. he had to travel in an armored train because north korea doesn't have any aircraft that are suitable or safe enough. yes, vladimir putin will gain may be some new shells -- many of these shells are duds and such but he's doing what he has to do, scraping the bottom of the barrel. amna: let's talk about what kim

jong-un gets from this meeting and what are the ramifications of this meeting with putin for kim? jean: for starters, he gets a stage. he is coming out of isolation after four years of shutting himself off, shutting north korea off from the world. he is stepping out onto his platform that president putin is giving him so he has all the propaganda that he needs. on the other side of the equation, he has gone to the space center and has had conversations about space technology so there's certainly a question about whether this exchange has included some piece of technology that will help him advance that program and i think it is important to note that it is not just about space exploration. this is a technology that is very similar to ballistic missile technology. you need those long-range rocket's to get the satellite launch vehicles into space. it's about proliferation. this kind of exchange of

information will certainly have the potential to help kim jong-un get his nuclear program to the next program. amna: i wonder if you agree with that assessment that there is a concern about nuclear proliferation and technology transfer in that realm. john: i don't know if it is so much about nuclear proliferation or transfer of nuclear material but it is about satellites and reconnaissance satellites and the kind of equipment necessary if we are going to have a standalone ballistic missile program you are going to need and the russians have a lot of experience going to space. russia has just had a space effort that failed and. satellites to space that also failed. amna: to your point, kim jong-un in recent months has had two failed launches of a spy satellite that he seems to

desperately want. putin has been posting about that. they had a failed moon lander launch. how big of a threat is this alliance? john: i don't think it changes the strategic battlefield here at all. the russians have expended this much ammunition and the north koreans can give them some additional ammunition will not change things on the battlefield. this has got to be humiliating for putin that he has to turn to places like iran and north korea to get assistance and cannot go elsewhere really. even china will not give them military weapons and ammunition. that suggests he is doing what he needs to do. it will end up with more dead russians and dead ukrainians but i don't think it will change what is happening on the battlefield. amna: bigger picture, what does the putin-kim meeting portend? jean: what it projects and

messages to us is that there's going to be a huge challenge ahead for the west, for the united states. if they want to try to bring north korea's nuclear ambitions under control, now, we have got the president of russia standing with the leader of north korea and saying they stand together essentially against the united states and the west and that means it will be difficult for the u.s. and its allies to get russia on board with any new un security council resolutions. today un security council has been a place where they have meted out punishment, tried to restrain north korea from expanding its arsenal and that's going to be increasingly difficult with this show of friendship. amna: jean and john, formerly with the cia, thank you both for joining us with your insights. jean: thank you.

amna: in just a little over 24 hours, nearly 150,000 autoworkers could go on strike against the so-called big three automakers here in the u.s. as laura explains, the union and manufacturers are far apart on some key issues that may be crucial to the future of the industry and to labor's broader goals. laura: the deadline is midnight tomorrow and the united auto workers are pushing for big changes including a substantial wage hike of 30% over four years. eliminating wage tiers which pay different rates per hour, a shortened 32 hour workweek, while keeping pay at a 40 hour level, and union representation at tenney electric vehicle factories. 23 automakers, gm, ford, and so

lantus, -- they say it makes it too difficult to meet these demands. neil has covered the auto industry for two decades and he joins me now. thanks. we just got an update from the president of the united auto workers and here is what he had to say. >> we are making progress at each of the three negotiating tables but as you just heard, we are still very far apart on our key priorities, from job security to ending tears, from cost-of-living allowance to wage increases, we do not yet have offers on the table that reflect the sacrifice and contributions our members have made to these companies. to win, we are likely going to have to take action. >> as you just heard, an agreement seems pretty elusive there.

is a strike inevitable at this point? >> it is pretty darn close to inevitable, probably 99% chance i think. they remain far apart on wages although they have had some movement there. they had other movement in terms of work conditions, retiree pensions. they are very far apart. both sides are pretty dug in in their positions. amna: one of the big dividing lines here is the call for substantial races. -- raises, 30% over four years, and an end to the tiered wage system where some are paid less than half of what others are paid. if the tiered system is ended, what impact would that have for these workers livelihoods? >> there are a lot of workers who are making $20 to $25 an

hour, some even less than $20, and this is tough work for that kind of pay and also they are producing expensive vehicles. $50,000 pickup trucks so that is a high-priced product to be making the kind of wage that some people might make literally babysitting or working in a supermarket. it would be a substantial change to their lifestyle and their way of living. >> the union is also calling for a four day work week but when speaking to reporters, ford ceo threw cold water on them. >> a four day work week is not containable. literally fighting for the future of our country. amna: what is the biggest worry for these companies right now? is it that easy transition, -- the ev transition, raises? >> they are concerned about the

ev transition, but they want to avoid getting locked into something that they cannot change down the road. that happened in the past and that was part of the reason why the victory became so uncompetitive. they regained their competitive edge so they don't want to do something like a four day work week that they are locked into five years from now or 10 years from now. conditions change and that makes them uncompetitive. a wage increase, they can accept, but permanent changes to the way work is done, that would be a real tough thing for them to swallow. amna: what with the impact be on everyday americans if the strike takes place? with the price of cars go up -- would the price of cars go up? >> i don't think you would see that much impact in a short strike. dealers to have inventory so people would go out and buy cars. if it lasts longer than that, if it goes on for weeks, five weeks

more than that, dealers would start running out of cars. you could see prices go up and it could be tougher to find the new cars people want to buy. amna: could you explain why it is so critical to the union to be able to organize at these easy plants -- ev >>? -- ev plants? >> because right now, one battery plant has been organized but there are others being built and there is concern that if those jobs remain nonunion, they will be paid 15 to $20 an hour, a wage that is roughly half of what the top uaw wage is so they are concerned with those workers and also the working conditions. the battery plants can be dangerous to work so there's a lot of concerns they have with those people in the battery production plants.

amna: to what extent are these talks important to the larger labor workforce in the u.s.? >> i think they are the highlight. we had a lot of going on this summer. hollywood writers are out, hollywood actors are out. this was the biggest one of all. 100 50,000 uaw workers at the three companies and there are plans all across the upper midwest. if there is a strikegainst the three of them, there would be economic pain with dozens of factory towns in michigan, ohio, indiana, and other states in the midwest. amna: thank you so much for your time. >> glad to be here. ♪

amna: after house speaker kevin mccarthy directed republicans to launch an impeachment inquiry into president biden yesterday, the white house is urging a more aggressive push back to the gop and is dismissing the effort as "extreme politics at its worst." that description came from ian sams, it white house advisor working on congressional investigations, and he joins me now. welcome. thanks for joining us. you have heard the republican justification for this inquiry despite a lack of public evidence and no floor vote as to mccarthy had promised. they say this allows committees to coordinate investigations and gives them greater standing to get documents that they are seeking any are using it as an investigative tool. what does the white house say to that? ian: speaker mccarthy is dealing with a far-right groups of his caucus like marjorie taylor greene who demanded that he open an impeachment inquiry. or else he would shut down the government. they made it very clear that

this is a far right politically motivated exercise rather than any sort of real attempt to get to the truth or the facts. as you just noted, they have been investigating the president for eight months now and time after time after time, they have come up with no evidence of any wrongdoing. why haven't they come up with any evidence of wrongdoing? because there is no evidence of wrongdoing. they keep turning this up over and over again. their own witnesses have testified to that. their own documents that they received have testified to that. this is clearly a politically motivated stance to try and attack president biden over nothing, to abuse what is supposed to be a really grave constitutional process, impeachment, for high crimes and misdemeanors as a last resort by the constitution to sort of hold people in power accountable. they are politicizing and trivializing it. what the american people are going to see here is a president who is focused on what they care

about. today, a quarter billion dollar investment in cancer research versus what the house republicans care about which is more nasty false political attacks against the president. amna: the republicans are not done gathering that information and they are seeking bank and credit card statements. become mccarthy listed that specifically. has the oversight committee or anyone else requested those documents from the white house and will the white house comply with any subpoenas? ian: they have not. you are hitting the nail on the head. they claim that they are -- there is somehow a lack of cooperation. just a month ago, james went on foxbusiness network and said everything i have requested via subpoena as the chairman of the oversight committee, i have gotten 100% of what i asked for. it raises the question of why did they even need to do this? they have not turned up any evidence and they have tools at their disposal to get it. there is no evidence because this is a baseless stunt to go

after the president. i don't want to speculate about what they may or may not ask for. it has been 24 hours since they opened this impeachment inquiry. they made no sort of explanation about what it is about. it is a fishing expedition. they want to go on a wild goose chase to attack him. he won't even explain how this is going to work. amna: because these concerns -- the issues they are raising, there are americans who have expressed the same concerns. you have seen the polls when asked about the president's involvement. a recent cnn poll showed some 61% of people said that then vice president biden had "some involvement" in hunter biden's business dealings and that is what they believed. it's not just republicans 64% of independents believed that. among those independents, 61% also believed the actions were illegal.

so how do americans go about getting their concerns addressed? ian: things that you just said really show that there is a real premium put on the truth. it is incumbent upon the independent media, incumbent upon us to explain to the public the truth, that the president was never in business with his family and these lies and false attacks coming from republicans with no evidence, no evidence to back them up are in fact lies. the public needs to understand that. there needs to be more scrutiny on these claims being made by house republicans that are feeding this perception which is driven by conservatives and republicans as you mention in that poll. when republicans in that poll -- 90% of them express a belief in something, it shows where they are getting information from. amna: pardon the interruption. a majority of independence -- i

want to ask about the skepticism because there are moderate republicans who expressed some skepticism about the process. as the white has been in touch with any of them or any of the 18 house republicans who represent districts that mr. biden won in 2020? ian: you are exactly right that moderate republicans said there's no evidence, doesn't exist, we don't know why they have not laid out any evidence implicating the president in any wrongdoing. it explains why the speaker avoided having a vote to try to not lose a vote because the bipartisan majority of the house clearly opposed taking on an impeachment over nothing so as this process moves forward, those republicans in congress who are driving this exercise are going to have to explain why they want to lurch the congress and the country into an impeachment without evidence instead of focusing on the real issues that americans want to see their leaders in washington focusing on. the president is going to keep

focused on that. house republicans will do what they want to do but the president has a lot of priorities for the american people. talking about the economy tomorrow, i think that these are the things they want leaders to be focused on, not the far right political sideshows. amna: that is the white house advisor working on congressional investigations, joining us tonight. thank you for your time. we appreciate it. ian: thank you. amna: over the summer, judy woodruff listened in as a group of iowa republicans discussed their support for former president trump following his indictments, the state of the country, its divisions, and what can be done to move forward. for a different perspective, judy recently visited bethlehem, pennsylvania, to hear from demoats on these topics and more. it's part of her ongoing series, america at a crossroads. this story was produced with

help from our friends at pbs39, wlvt-tv. elena: now, it's just like you just have to choose a side and you automatically have to hate the other side when it shouldn't be that way. and it wasn't that way. judy: strong feelings from these 15 democrats living in and around the former steel town of bethlehem, pennsylvania, about the growing sense of division they see in the country today. >> i'm waiting for someone in congress to throw a chair at someone like they do in other countries. >> i didn't grow up like that, you know, either a republican or a democrat, and everyone got along. it wasn't such a bitter, i mean, bickering between each other or, you know, name calling. all that hate has just divided. judy: who do you guys blame for the division? why do you think it's gotten worse? >> i think it's heavily influenced by evangelicalism or some kind of religious push and billionaires, or like capitalism and inequality kind of occurring together.

>> i agree but i also think like donald trump himself made it okay, like our president makes fun of disabled people. it's okay to do that. our president, you know, makes racist, disparaging comments to people. people came out of woodworks with that. i mean, i think a lot of people were surprised by like the rampant racism that came to the surface and people were out and about and proud about it that we thought, you know, we're progressing in this manner in this country. but were we? or were people are just more quiet about it? >> yeah, like i feel like it's from the top down. you know, like basically, like if the leader of the free world is out there acting a certain way, then it just emboldens people. judy: whether it's republicans, swing voters, democrats, everybody believes we are very divided and everybody laments the fact that we are very

divided. judy: sarah longwell, host of "the focus group" podcast, was once again our guide. sarah: when we talked to republicans before, they were very clear about who they blame for the divisions, right. so they believe that the media was responsible for the divisions in the country, whereas the democrats today, they blamed trump. that was sort of the only thing that the thread they could find that was sort of common. they felt like he created a permission structure for other people to behave uncivilly, to say sort of racist, sexist things that he'd opened kind of a pandora's box of bad behavior. >> right around the time trump got elected, i found out my father's now a republican and a trump supporter. and just the things that he says are ridiculous. like we're hispanic and like, he has done so many things against and there's plenty there's latinos that support him as well, which i still don't get. //[but it's just like as a christian man who that's part of your whole identity and you have this person who's a crook and a cheater and, you know, just a degenerate and this is who you

like. that, to me, doesn't match with republican values in general, but him as a person. and it's just very weird to me. >> the relative that i have an issue with who i think is republican is my son. and the only thing that i can say or say to him is how did you get that way? because as a single father, he grew up with me and he saw how i voted and what my values were. >> the political parties used to be about difference in policies, i think trump changed the conversation, too, about being a difference in values. and so it's harder for people to understand how somebody can support somebody like donald trump, not because he advocates for low taxes, but because he says terrible things about, you know, people of different races or makes fun of a disabled

reporter or says things about women or who's under or many indictments. they don't understand how somebody they love, who they believe has good values, can support this person that they think so obviously has bad values. we were in iowa six or seven weeks ago. we were talking to republicans and we asked them whether a democrat can truly be a person of faith if they support issues like transgender rights and abortion. and they didn't think so, many of them didn't think so. what do you think about that? >> the pope said it best. who are we to judge? you know, i think if you take that lead, who are we to judge as humans? >> and jesus was an activist who was the who you know, it's spelled out in the bible.

like, i was raised catholic, too. i know. i know what he said. and he was inclusive of everybody. the message is love your neighbor as you love yourself. so i don't see how helping trans people could be anti-religious. >> like, what is the point of that statement? so is it that the democrats -- democrats can't have faith if they believe in trans people? because it just seems like such like just a wild thing to say, like, what does that mean? why were all those words in a sentence and have to do with anything? judy: unsurprisingly, the panel had strong views on the indictments trump is now facing, but also didn't expect his supporters to waver. >> if you broke a law, you need to answer for what you've done.

so whether you're an ex-president, a current president, whoever you are, you need to answer for what you did, the wrongdoing. >> i think if people do the wrong thing, they should go to jail but if he were to go to jail himself and the people that support him, they'd just blame everybody else, even though everything like everybody who has taken the steps into this indictment are mostly been people like appointed by him, it's always like the democrats or everybody else's fault or they're doing this wrong. >> are you surprised that republicans continued to support him after all the indictments? >> it's a travesty that this country lets this happen. it's very frustrating. and when i was in my twenties, i would never have an opinion like that, ever. now i'm in my fifties. i'm like, this is bull crap,

that we as a people, republican and some democrats, and i have to say, even as a woman, we would see banners up that said, vote for trump. what is wrong with you? do you know what that man stands for? who he is and what he what he says? >> in a way, i am surprised. i would think that when you see the facts and you believe factual evidence, you would come to realize, i guess i had the wrong idea. that kind of boggles the mind. on the other hand, it's almost like a cult where he is jim jones and they are drinking the kool-aid, you know. nothing you can say or do will turn them around, so you know. >> there was home when liz cheney -- hope when liz cheney decided to stand up and speak out against her own party. i thought about, you know, maybe there's a little glimmer of hope if people actually start to rally around her. but they didn't

they ousted her. judy: while feelings against trump were fierce, feelings for president biden, whom they all voted for were more ambivalent. >> if all these sideshows weren't going on, i would think we were doing pretty good with biden's putting a lot of new plans into effect and trying to help out the middle class, working class. and if the republicans didn't veto one more time, we'd be -- veto him all the time we'd be , doing a lot better. >> people in my life have jobs. my biggest qualm is the gun violence and guns. that's what has to stop. i mean, it's the leading cause of death and children in the -- - the leading cause of death in children in the united states and that's horrible. >> i think it's i think it's kind of yes, he's the president and the shootings, right, but it's like his hands are almost tied to a certain point. he can only do so much as the

president. >> the george floyd bill, that still hasn't passed. that needs to happen. judy: what about abortion? is that a strong motivating issue for all of you? >> yeah, sure is. >> definitely. >> it's women's rights. yeah. >> i don't know how we reverted back to them overturning that. >> that just blows my mind. >> i can't stomach it. >> i'm actually worried about where the country is headed. it's because of things like inflation and rising rent prices and and things like that. and yeah, it does seem like we're going backwards a little bit as well. >> you know, the cost of living is higher, but like our paychecks or anything or not being able to like, you know, pay our rent and everything like in inner city, like philadelphia, like my rent is constantly going up and i'm not making more money. so it's just harder to, like, survive to even go grocery shop ping, everything is just like way more expensive. so it's just harder for just everybody to survive. >> these groups of democrats

from pennsylvania sound so much like the democrats we talked to across the country. they are kind of middling on joe biden. they tend to not have a great sense of what he's done or a very positive sense of things that he's passed. and then there's still like a lot of economic anxiety from these voters, despite the fact that the macroeconomic picture has been brightening and the biden administration has been out there trying to tell a positive story about the economy, these voters in their daily lives still feel high gas prices, high rents. they're still feeling the inflation. i think right now we're better -- >> i think right now we're better than we were two, three, or four years ago. but i still think that there's a ways to go. judy: so a mixed picture from this group of democratic voters looking for more from the biden administration, who see trump as continuing to divide the country while also dominating its attention, and who have few answers for how to move beyond him and his support. for the pbs newshour, i'm judy woodruff in bethlehem, pennsylvania.

♪ amna: a complex legal theory will soon be tested in court in colorado and minnesota after a group of voters have asked judges to block state officials from putting former president donald trump's name on the primary ballot. the claim argues trump violated the 14th amendment, which says anyone who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the constitution after taking an oath to defend it is ineligible to hold office. more states are expected to face similar legal challenges. for more on the lawsuit, i'm joined now by the secretary of state of colorado, jena griswold. she also chairs the democratic association of secretaries of state. welcome. thanks for joining us.

sec. griswold: thanks for having me. amna: colorado voters are asking for a judge to say trump is disqualified and should not be on the colorado ballot. you have been saying you need more legal guidance on this so just help us understand what are some of the key questions that you think need to be answered for you can take a position on this? sec. griswold: there are big legal questions. first and foremost, in relation to the 14th amendment, it is unclear whether that amendment, if someone is disqualified under it, applies to ballot access. so barring that potential candidate from becoming a candidate on a ballot or just disqualifying them from being seated in office. it's also unclear who gets to determine whether someone is disqualified under section three of the 14th amendment. likewise, we would like to clarity under colorado law as to how to consider that potential

disqualification. overall, i think it is a good thing that a court is weighing in because this is truly an unprecedented situation. amna: some folks are already weighing in, arguing he should not be removed from the ballot, that the voters should be the ones to decide. michael mukasey argued in the wall street journal, he said if mr. trump is to be kept from office, it will have to be done the old-fashioned way, that way it was done in 2020, by defeating him in an election. the georgia's secretary of state said that for the secretary of state to remove a candidate would only reinforce the grievances of those who see the system is rigged and corrupt. secretary, what do you make of those arguments? sec. griswold: my job is to follow the law and uphold the constitution. some of those arguments sound like they are political arguments and i think overall, if the u.s. constitution bars a candidate, we have to respect

that. there's big questions over whether the u.s. constitution does bar him. section three of the 14th amendment clearly says that if someone swears to uphold the constitution and they then go and engage in rebellion or insurrection or give aid or comfort to the enemies of the constitution, they can no longer hold office. donald trump incited and insurrection. there's arguments on both sides and ultimately, it has to be decided by a court, not the public opinion of the nation. amna: what has to be decide -- sec. griswold: what has to be decided is whether the 14th amendment disqualifies him or not and that needs to be decided by a court, i believe. amna: do you expect this to go to the supreme court? sec. griswold: it's too early. a lot of people are having conversations, saying that it possibly could. i think this is a good candidate case because it is such an unprecedented situation. look, either way, whether or not donald trump is a candidate, whether he is on the ballot, whether he is off, he does pose

a threat to democracy. and even without removing him from the ballot in the past, americans have shown up to protect democracy. they did it in 2018, 2020, and 2022. i think there's a lot of mechanisms to make sure this country continues to be one where every person's voice is heard and that winners and losers of our elections respect the outcomes. amna: there are other secretaries of state who are weighing this as well. in new hampshire, the secretary of state just said that he is rejecting those 14th amendment claims that mr. trump will be on the ballot. we know mr. trump blasted out some pressure on him publicly as well. could it be that different secretaries of state in different places see this differently? what does that mean for our elections? sec. griswold: that definitely is a possibility although i think the general nextstep will be similar. lawsuits are likely to be filed. i do think we will see this

litigated in various states. that is already happening. there are four lawsuits already filed on the subject and ultimately, it will be up to the courts. look, section three of the 14th amendment was put in place after the civil war and it was used to remove hundreds of confederate soldiers and former officials from government positions. this is not a new amendment, but what is novel is the situation. that we had a former president try to get people not to vote in a pandemic, making it as hard as possible, having his team scheme up the electoral college steel, doing all the things that they have done to assault democracy. that is what is really novel, and the fact of it is to have someone who is in the presidency trying to steal an election and lose and then have the audacity to run again, that is what kicks up these big questions for the nation. amna: is this going to be resolved before your primary date? sec. griswold: if i could answer

that, i would not be the secretary of state. i would be a judge. i am not sure, to tell you the truth. i could see a scenario where this case pops up several times during the election cycle. remember, one of the big questions is whether section three of the 14th amendment applies to ballot access so actually getting on the ballot, or only after someone winds while they are being seated for office. so we could see this litigation get resolved very quickly or as quickly as courts resolve things. we could also see it be refiled if trump is the republican nominee at again if he does win the presidential election, refiled before he takes office. amna: we will be following it as it unfolds. jenna griswold, thank you for joining us. we do appreciate it. sec. griswold: thank you. amna: and that is the newshour for tonight. remember, there's a lot more online including a look at the top five things you need to know about this newest covid vaccine. that is all online at

pbs.org/newshour. i'm amna nawaz. on behalf of the entire newshour team, thank you for joining us. >> 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, and kathy and paul anderson. >> consumer cellular. this is sam. how may i help you? this is pocket dial. >> with consumer cellular -- >> you get nationwide coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing. >> have a nice day. >> the ford foundation, working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. funding for america at a crossroads was provided by -- and with the ongoing support of

these individuals and institutions. this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪

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wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. hello, everyone and welcome . here is what's coming up. reclusive dictator comes to russia, but will his meeting with vladimir putin change anything for ukraine or the world? my interview with ben wallace who has stepped down as britain's defense secretary. more than 700,000 people joined the labor force last month. >> the real story about the u.s. economy. nobel prize winner paul krugman lays out the dollars and cents for white americans