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. i'm william brangham. amna nawaz and geoff bennett are away. on the newshour tonight, the united auto workers expands its strike to dozens more facilities, putting further pressure on the big three nationwide. congress is mired in gridlock as a government shutdown draws nearer and senate lawmakers try to work around a republican's blockade on military leadership. and ukraine's national security adviser discusses the ongoing counteroffensive and the uncertain future of their fight against russia.

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>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. william: welcome to the newshour. i'm william brangham. on capitol hill today, a looming government shutdown, a top senator is indicted, and lawmakers find a way around a months-long block on military promotions. more on those developments in a moment. but first, the united auto workers expanded their strike against two of detroit's big three auto manufacturers today. workers at 38 more sites in 20 different states are now joining the picket line, all part of a move designed to get the attention of car buyers and owners. ali rogin reports. ali: from gm facilities in flint, michigan, to distribution centers in dallas, texas,

autoworkers have taken their walkouts nationwide following the union's latest rallying cry. >> today at noon eastern time, all of the parts distribution facilities at general motors install a miss are being called to stand up and strike. ali: uaw president called on an additional 5600 autoworkers to join the 13,000 already on strike against the detroit big three manufacturers. uaw is now targeting gm and stilantus and other parts distribution facilities, but spared ford from any additional work stoppages for now. they said the union made real progress with ford this week on cost-of-living adjustments, profit sharing, and job security, but a deal is far from done. >> we still have serious issues to work through, but we do want to recognize that ford is showing that they are serious about reaching a deal. gm and stellantis, it is a

different story. ali: those two automakers fell short on cost-of-living allowances, providing zero increases over a four-year term. they also rejected the union's profit sharing proposals, as well as changes that would convert temps into permanent positions. uaw has other demands for all three companies, most notably wage hikes of 36% over four years. so far, the carmakers have put forward little more than half that, about 20% across the board. the union has also proposed other significant changes, a four-day workweek and traditional pension plans, and the end of tiered wages, all aimed at getting back what some workers lost during the 2008 financial crisis. the automakers argue they cannot meet many of the union's demands, largely due to the industry's extensive shift to electric vehicles. earlier this week, detroit free press published an op-ed by jim president mark bruce, writing, "85% employees would earn a base

wage of approximately $82,000. the uaw demands can be described in one word -- untenable." late today, the white house announced president biden will travel to michigan on tuesday, after the union dialed up the pressure by inviting him to the picket lines. while the president has expressed support for the workers, he has steered clear of getting too involved, including in negotiations. just one day later, former president donald trump is also expected to meet with union workers, instead of attending the second presidential debate. the former president is trying to peel off union workers to support him. for its part, the union leadership has said a second trump presidency would be a disaster. in the meantime, uaw says consumers will feel the impact of this strike expansion as the attention turns from production plants to distribution centers. workers say they are prepared for a lasting standoff. >> we will take as long as we have to.

if they are willing to negotiate, we will be ready anytime. william: turning from the auto industry to the u.s. capitol. it has been an unusual headline making day with a series of developments, including news this morning that new jersey senator bob menendez, a democrat and powerful committee chairman, has been indicted on bribery charges. our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins is covering that and more, and she joins us now. this is such a striking indictment against senator menendez. can you help us understand what the accusations are? lisa: not just against him, but also with his wife. there are three counts here. they are all bribery charges, charging that menendez and his wife in a relationship with three businessmen they knew took bribes, including money, and we will get into other things in a minute, in order to help in some cases deal with potential prosecutions of those businessmen and foreign governments.

here is what the prosecutor said about the case. >> the indictment alleges that through that elation ship, the senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for senator menendez using his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen, and to benefit the government of egypt. lisa: menendez has fired back today in a lengthy statement. he said this is a smear campaign against him. here is some of what he wrote. "prosecutors hav mr. presented the normal work of a congressional office, on top of that, not content of making false claims against me, they have attacked my wife for long-standing friendships she had long before she ever met me." let's go through some of those details because it came with photos that are significant. prosecutors allege found at menendez's home, nothing less than half $1 million in cash and gold bars. in some cases, i think two large gold bars, over $100,000 worth.

they said the dna of one of the business men in this case was found on envelopes with that cash. this is the third investigation we know of in senator menendez's career, the last one in 2015 ending in a hung jury. he was not convicted. he kept his job in the senate, as you know. but tonight, the new jersey governor is calling on mr. menendez to resign. he has, because of senate rules for democrats, step down from his chairmanship. william: striking development. another major setback that i know you are following is a major setback in the efforts to fund the government. speaker mccarthy basically let all of congress go home for the long weekend, even as we are on the precipice of a shutdown. lisa: there is much more to say, but going into the weekend, here is what i want folks to know. essentially, house republicans have given themselves not just a week, because they have gone home, but the four days that they come back -- they will come back next tuesday and wednesday -- to figure this whole mess

out. they were not able to pass or figure out a shorter-term funding deal that other republicans could agree to. instead, what are they doing? they are trying to re-create the entire appropriations process from scratch, working on the 11 different appropriations bills that are due. that is something that takes weeks, yet that is what house republicans are trying to do in an effort to try to get a more conservative spending bill in negotiations down the road with the senate. it is quite a wild idea. it is something we have never seen at this point in the process before. a lot of folks are saying, though shutdown is coming next week, why not just agree with some democrats on a clean, easy, short-term deal? speaker mccarthy was asked about that today. how about working with democrats? >> i believe we have a majority here and we can work together to solve this. this is the same place you were all asking me during the debt ceiling. you know what? it might take us a little longer, but this is important. lisa: he in other words was saying no.

i think are public and have the majority here. this will take a little longer. what does that mean? i asked rosa delauro, the reigning democrat -- ranking democrat. to do what the republicans are trying to do with these appropriations bills, get the whole thing through, minimum of six weeks. think of what is going on here right now as this. i know you have covered hurricanes before. think of a shutdown as a coming hurricane. we know it is coming. republicans instead of moving to a known shelter, getting out of the way of the hurricane, they are trying to just start building a new house from scratch. in other words, everyone is getting ready for a shutdown. they are leaning into the shutdown, unless something dramatic changes really by a legislative miracle next week. william: incredible metaphor. third development that is happening this week. there was action on something. the senate was able to confirm a few military leaders. this circumvents the block we have seen that the senator was

holding up on this. what does that mean? lisa: this was significant. these are major military posts, two of which have been open for weeks and sometimes months. let's look at who was confirmed this week so people understand the gravity. nothing le than the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff nominee, the army's chief of staff, the commandant of the marine corps. those two offices on the right have been opened and filled in acting ways until the confirmations. these are the top military officers waiting for a single senator to allow them to proceed. it is significant. but what happened is chuck schumer, the demo critic leader, essentially moved around the block of senator tommy tuberville of alabama. it is not a long time breakthrough. tupper ville is holding up hundreds of military nominations because he objects to the military policy helping to fund abortion and reproductive travel for people who are in the military and unable to get that

care where they live. what is going on now? tuberville still says he is not going to allow these larger blocks of military nominations to move. he is still daring chuck schumer to do them like he did this week , one by one by one. but i will tell you, tuberville did allow these nominations through a little more quickly than he could have. it is a senate process thing, but it was notable. it was the first crack we have seen. i know from behind the scenes, republicans are telling him, it is time to end this. i know in the military, it is also something we hear a lot about from those colonels at all levels waiting for promotions in waiting to take command. william: lisa desjardins, as always, thank you so much getting us through all this. lisa: you're welcome. william: in the day's other headlines, tropical storm ophelia is barreling towards the east coast, raising the risk of flooding and tornadoes.

it's expected to strengthen before making landfall saturday morning in north carolina, and then move north through the mid-atlantic. authorities are warning of life-threatening storm surge and dangerous rip currents. a judge at guantanamo bay has declared one of the defendants in the 9/11 attacks case unfit for trial. a military medical panel found that years of cia torture has rendered ramzi bin al-shibh lastingly psychotic. the prosecution will continue for the other four co-defendants. no trial date has been set. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israel is close to a historic peace agreement with saudi arabia. it would be the fifth arab nation to normalize ties with israel since the signing of the so-called abraham accords in 2020. netanyahu made the announcement at the u.n. general assembly today, where he spoke optimistically about the future of the region. >> today, i bring this marker to

show a great blessing, the blessing of a new middle east between israel, saudi arabia, and other neighbors. we will not only bring down barriers between israel and our neighbors, we will build a new corridor of peace and prosperity. william: there are still several obstacles to the agreement that israel has not publicly addressed, including saudi arabia's demand for progress creating a palestinian state. russia's defense ministry said armenian forces in the breakaway nagorno-karabakh region have started handing over their weapons to russian peacekeepers. there have been several cease-fire violations but no deaths since azerbaijan recaptured the region this week. meanwhile in armenia, protests erupted in the capital of yerevan. dozens of demonstrators were arrested after demanding their prime minister step down over the offensive. pope francis is denouncing what he calls the "fanaticism of

indifference" that greets migrants who are searching for a better life in europe. he did so while in france, visiting the mediterranean port of marseille, amid a huge influx of migrants from africa. the pontiff spoke at a memorial to migrants and sailors lost at sea. >> before us is the sea, a source of life, yet this place evokes the tragedy of shipwrecks, which cause death. let us not get used to seeing disasters at sea as mere news stories and those dying at sea as numbers. no, they are names and surnames. they are faces and stories. they are broken lives and shattered dreams. william: the pope's visit comes days after nearly 7000 migrants overwhelmed the small italian island of la produce a in one day. and wall street wrapped up its worst week in six months by adding to its losses. the dow jones industrial average slid 106 points to close at 33,964.

the nasdaq fell 12 points. the s&p 500 slipped 10. still to come on the newshour, the white house announces the first ever federal office of gun violence prevention. new ethics allegations are brought against supreme court justice clarence thomas. david brooks and jonathan capehart weigh in on the weeks political headlines. and a husband and wife duo behind the blues rock band reflect on their career. >> 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. william: president biden today announced a creation of the first ever federal office of gun violence prevention. it aims to curb the epidemic of firearm violence in america. so far this year, there have been more than 500 mass

shootings in this country and some 2500 people have died because of guns. that is roughly 118 deaths per day, according to the gun violence archive. the president said that toll is far too high. pres. biden: i'm determined to send a message about how important this issue is to me, and to the country. after every mass shooting, we hear a simple message, the same message all over the country, and i've been to every mass shooting. do something. well, my administration has been working relentlessly to do something. william: our white house correspondent laura barron lopez joins us now to break down what we can expect from this new office. the number of dead from guns in america is just horrendous. what is this, new office hoping, intending to do? laura: this new office is going to be a central hub essentially for enforcement, coordination, public outreach. as you well know, last year, the president signed into law a

bipartisan bill that cracked down on background checks, essentially trying to enhance background checks. they will be cordoned aiding aggressively with states to make sure that is enforced. there were billions of dollars allocated in that bill to tackle gun violence prevention, mental health, school safety. a lot of the people i have spoken to, including the white house, say this office is going to make sure all of that is enforced and implemented, that those communities realize there is that money there for them to use. william: vice president kamala harris will oversee this. laura: that is correct. harris will oversee this. there will be a specific director that is also named. they brought in two people who worked for a long time as gun safety advocates on the legal side, as community organizers, also into this office. but the vice president brings a lot of visibility to it that necessarily would not have been there if they had just appointed

other civil servants, or brought in lower level people. this is a part of her larger effort to really reach young voters and to show that the administration is focused on this issue. william: as you well know, gun violence prevention experts have been arguing there needs to be a federal office like this for years. so, why is the white house doing this now? laura: good gun safety advocates i was talking to today said as recently as march, the white house was not going to appoint any director or create this new office at all, but they feel as though the election is around the corner, and at the very public campaign they waged to get the white house to do this, that essentially the president, the vice president came around because they had been talking to a lot of voters. i did speak to the newtown alliance0 the executive director. she said she wants to make sure this new office talks much more frequently to survivors of gun violence, to young people who

have experienced it in some way, as well as making sure law-enforcement is doing what they need to do to crackdown on guns. william: the white house and democrats also think this is an electoral strategy? laura: they do. the white house very much sees guns as one of the big defining issues heading into the 2024 election cycle. i spoke with senator chris murphy today of connecticut. as you know, that is where the sandy hook mass shooting took place. he told me that my party got it wrong for 20 years. after 1994, democrats stopped talking about guns and gun laws, and that was a huge mista. you cannot win in the suburbs or cities if you have no answers to the gun violence mass shooting epidemic. and other sources i spoke to told me that internal democratic party polling shows guns is the second top issue for young voters, right behind student debt. william: where does this effort fit in with president biden's

other efforts on guns? laura: there was the big crackdown on those guns, the kits sold online that do not have serial numbers or background checks, but that regulation that is currently in place changed that. biden pushed for that. as well as right now around the corner, the justice department regulation is likely soon to be finalized. what that does is expand who actually is defined as a firearms dealer. in effect, once that is finalized, it would also expand background checks. the one thing democrats and a number of gun advocates still want to see from the administration is there could be executive actions on changing who has oversight of the export of firearms from commerce department, which is where it currently is, over to the state department. they also think the defense department could issue a rule or a memo essentially saying they

only want to buy firearms for manufacturers who sell to the military and not civilians. william: laura brown lopez, think is much. laura: thank you. william: for years, the influential koch network, the conservative political organization founded by billionaires charles and david koch, has held a fundraiser in palm springs. it attracts wealthy conservative donors from around the country. in 2018, justice clarence thomas attended this fundraiser, one of several he allegedly attended over the years. that is according to another new investigation by pro publica. like their previous reports, this raises serious questions over justice thomas' undisclosed connections to powerful people who have brought cases before the supreme court, including one of the most watched cases in the

court's upcoming term. we're joined now by one of the reporters who helped uncover this story, pro publica's joshua kaplan. very good to have you back on the newshour. before we get to thomas and his role here, can you tell us more about the coke network -- koch network and its aims? joshua: it was founded by billionaire industrialists charles and david koch to push america towards its libertarian vision of the country. it is one of the most powerful and influential groups of the half-century. to name a couple things, they helped cultivate the tea party movement in the obama years. they are credited with helping stamp out gop support for combating climate change. behind that influence is a huge fundraising operation. the marquee fundraising event

is this annual donor summit they have in palm springs, which is what thomas attended. to score an invite to that event, donors have to give at least $100,0 aear,ndany give a lot more than that. william: so, you report in your new investigation that justice thomas flew on a private jet to this fundraiser. he didn't disclose that. we don't know who paid for that jet. beyond that, what else is the conflict here for the justice? are there members of the coke network -- koch network who had business before the court? joshua: they have had multiple. it is a pretty extraordinary position he has been in, serving as a fundraising draw for this network. judges sit in a unique position of public trust. the judiciary has very lofty ethics rules to govern, to protect their independence and

impartiality. political activity is banned. so is participation in fundraising. we talked to one former federal judge appointed by george bush, who told us he couldn't imagine thomas would think it was appropriate to go to koch donor summit, that it took his breath away. he said if he had to him the same thing as a lower court judge, he would have gotten a letter starting the disciplinary process. but those ethics rules only apply to the lower courts. at the supreme court, the justices decide what is appropriate for themselves. william: there was a spokesperson for koch's group, known as stand together. they sent us a similar statement. their statement said, in part, "there is a long tradition of public officials, including supreme court justices, sharing their experiences, ideas, and judicial philosophy with members of the public at dinners and other events. our events are no different."

how accurate is that? is there a distinction to be made here? joshua: yes. i think there is a distinction to be made. this is a political organization. like i said, to other judges we talked to, this was shocking. yes, as they said, many justices and judges give speeches. they go on book tours. but i'm not sure -- certainly the experts and judges we talked to, the judiciary rules themselves, consider that very different than attending an event for political donors. william: we heard today that, again, similar calls coming out of congress that you are reporting, has further incensed the democratic party in particar, saying there needs to be any reform. do you have any sense the supreme court will changes

ethics guidelines, or that congress or the senate will do anything about this? joshua: for the supreme court, it is hard to say from the outside. but john roberts and brett kavanaugh have both said they hope the court will take concrete steps at some point in the near future. members of the court have been publicly saying that the court will adopt a code of ethics for four or five years now. at least, it hasn't happened yet. there's potentially challenges with, do they need unanimity, and how does one get that consensus? in terms of congress, there has been a bill advance out of the judiciary senate committee that will require the supreme court to adopt a code of conduct and implement some other ethics rules. that so far is not going anywhere.

senator schumer has said he thinks it would be filibustered, so he is not advancing it to the floor. william: joshua kaplan of propublica, thank you so much for being here. joshua: thank you so much for having me. william: one day after visiting washington, ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky met today with canadian prime minister justin trudeau. and ukraine claimed responsibility for another attack in russian-occupied crimea, hitting the headquarters of russia's black sea naval fleet. today, nick schifrin sat down with ukraine's national security advisor in kyiv to discuss the possibility that congress will not approve a vital aid package, and the course of ukraine's counteroffensive to liberate occupied territory. nick: outside bakhmut, soldiers

advanced through a moonscape. they won this battle in what was once a village. and in southern ukraine, they push through some russian defenses. but the counteroffensive's cost and challenge are great, says ukraine's national security and defense counsel secretary. how do you think the counteroffensive is going? >> difficult. hard. but every day we are inching forward. what i mean is that, unfortunately, it is not only up to us when it comes to the fighting. a lot depends on other factors, which we have no control over. pres. biden: mr. president, welcome back to the white house. nick: that is a reference to ukraine's partners, particularly the white house. president zelenskyy received a warm welcome yesterday at the white house, but he also walked through a congress fighting over the administration's next ukraine aid passage.

he says the problem runs deeper. >> you see, the west has not come to a consensus on what would be a ukrainian victory. they talk about assistance, but not victory. these are two different things. if we do not have victory, the very existence of our country, and the war our children and grandchildren would have to fight, is only a matter of time. that is why we need victory. nick: yesterday, president zelenskyy told senators, if we do not get the next u.s. aid package, we will lose the war. can you explain that? why would you lose the war if you don't get the next u.s. aid package? >> keep in mind that it is very difficult to review reports we receive every morning on how many of our boys and girls have died. if we had the capability to end this war as quickly as possible, i mean military capabilities, they would still be alive. nick: what did it mean? >> it means we need help. nick: so far, the u.s. has sent weapons, vehicles, and any

minute -- ammunition. he suggested if the american well runs dry, there is no backup. what are you doing to prepare for the possibility of not having as many american weapons systems and ammunition as you have been using? is there a plan b? >> we cannot say we have some sort of separate discussions about some plan b. we have no desire to engage in sidetracked discussions. nick: yesterday after an expanded meeting with zelenskyy's team, president biden went even further. pres. biden: i am counting on the judgment of the united states congress. there is no alternative. >> danilov showed me an interactive map that tracks historic russian airstrikes and today's front line in the most critical direction toward crimea. are you trying to move further down in this area to be able to threaten russian supply lines? >> it is very simple.

we have to go to the sea. nick: today, ukrainian cruise missiles struck russia's black sea navy headquarters. ukraine appears to have increased its attacks in occupied crimea, including on russian warships last week. >> well, starting from february 24, 2022, we are constantly trying to destroy the military potential and the temporarily occupied territory of our crimea. we have obstructed the bridge. we have achieved results in attacking russian warships that fire missiles into our territory. nick: ukraine has also increased attacks deep inside russia, including an airbase that hosts specialist military aircraft and vip transport planes. >> these airfields house support planes for missile launch jets that fire rockets into our cities. so, why should we not destroy them?

we have been attacking them and we will continue doing that until putin withdraws his troops from our territory. nick: as for the counteroffensive, the days ahead might be dark, but he remains determined. >> sooner or later, it will end, and i am more than sure that we will win.it will be a happy ending for our country. it cannot be otherwise because if the darkness keeps winning, rest assured that our country will be first and yours will be next. nick: thank you very much. william: washington is bracing for busy days ahead as the deadline for a government shutdown quickly approaches. to discuss that and more, we turn to the analysis of brooks and capehart. that's new york times columnist david brooks, and jonathan capehart, associate editor for the washington post.

gentlemen, welcome. so nice to see you. david, congress has left for the long weekend. i guess they think it is a good time to take a break. but we are awfully close to this government shutdown. how close do you think we really are? david: quite close. in time terms, it is basically a week. in probability terms, there is a very high probability they will shut down and we will be where we were before. the car because is there is a group of members of congress who are not interested in practical governance. they are right that our deficits are too big on the far right of the republican party, but they have no strategy to get there. they are ves basically nihilistc performance artists. william: that looks great on a business card. [laughter] david: that was my nickname in high school. [laughter] speaker mccarthy was asked what to do. the simple truth should be, we don't allow performance artists to have power. he is giving them a lot of power

because he is refusing or is unable or unwilling to cut a deal with the democrats to freeze out the people on the right. in my view, he should take them on right now because his power will wane and he will lose his job as speaker. if he wants to keep this speaker job, he will be weaker in two weeks, three weeks when everyone is upset about a government shutdown than he is right now. in my view, he should try to cut some sort of deal, or stick to the deal he took with joe biden. william: david is describing the idea that mccarthy still has some agency in all of this. but it seems like in the last few weeks and days, it seems like he has lost control of his own caucus. jonathan: that is assuming he had any control to begin with. let's not forget, and it is now a mantra, it took 15 ballots for him to get the speaker's gavel to begin with. but i agree with david. the speaker needs to exert some control. he has a five seat majority.

i get it, totally understand it. speaker pelosi also had a similar majority, and she got a lot done. and why? because she exercised the power of the office. speaker mccarthy should tell this faction within his majority to go stuff it. i have governing to do, we have governing to do. we cannot allow the government to shut down. this is the fork in the road the speaker is facing. unfortunately, i have no confidence that the speaker wi l l not shoes holding onto the gavel rather than showing real governance, passing acr, getting these bills passed. he will keep that speaker's gavel at all cost. and we will pay for it. william: david, you mentioned this idea the republicans have to reach out to the democrats to get this done. do you think the democrats will do that, and at what price might

they want to extract from him? david: i think the price they should ask for is, we already did this deal. joe biden and mccarthy did this deal. that is our price. let's stick to the deal. the problem for mccarthy as there are a lot of people who really do care about snding. so they want something with less spending. that is probably a political nonstarter. if you really want to cut spending, let's throw everything on the table. let's start our -- let's start with tax hikes on the table. they are just not serious. i sympathize with the idea that our deficits are too big, but they are not serious. william: jonathan, do you think the democrats in offering this potential want to see mccarthy twist in the wind more than they want to see the government shutdown? jonathan: both are happening. he is twisting in the wind right now, and i firmly believe as i

sit here right now that the government is going to shut down, and it is going to shut down because speaker mccarthy is going to be unwilling to work with democrats. there is an easy solution to this. work with democrats, come up with a bill, and have that bill passed out of the house with huge numbers, thereby sending a signal to the senate and the country that you know how to do the job you were entrusted with. william: i want to turn to ukraine. we saw president zelenskyy here again pleading with america's leaders to come forward with more aid. he is arguing that this war hinges on our morale, which he says they have plenty and supply, but western aid. we psaki got a frosty reaction from republicans -- we saw he got a frosty reaction from republicans. is this skepticism really growing? david: tremendously. if you had told me a year ago

that the ukrainians would still be in it and western europe would be strongly supportive, no wavering, and the wavering would be in the u.s. and the republican party, i probably would not have believed it. there has always been people in the party who just don't want support. they don't think ukraine is a strategic country. they have their reasons. that number is may be doubling, maybe going up by 50%. it is significantly eroding. at the same time on the democratic side, there is an important debate. should we admit ukraine into nato? the hope is if we admit ukraine into nato, food and will not want to attack a nato country, and that will prevent a forever war. the republicans are just walking away and some democrats are saying, we need to get more involved in ukraine politically and give them this alliance so they can stand up to putin. william: how do you see that unfolding?

jonathan: i want to go back to the idea that the speaker of the house would not even allow himself to be photographed with a wartime president. william: what do you attribute that to? jonathan: fear of the far right in his caucus that are clamoring for defunding ukraine, along with other things they want to do. it all goes back to the shutdown. but the other thing, why i find that move so galling, as speaker, he is number three in line to the presidency, which automatically makes him a statesman. you have a wartime president coming to this country, begging for our help and our continued support, and he won't even show him that. thankfully, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell and majority leader schumer and the president showed him america's resolve. but i am with david. i am astounded. i am old enough to remember when

the republican party was about standing with allies, bolstering the western alliance, and particularly a country where the battle is between democracy and autocracy. and if they lose, the whole enterprise, the whole experiment that is democracy would be on its last leg. william: do you see it that way as well? that the graybeards in the republican party will prevail and keep america funding? david: i think so, but if you are vladimir putin, you are thinking, i am going to keep fighting because they are weakening over there. then i am thinking, i will definitely keep fighting until november 20's when he for because that is his best hope of victory, nothing that happens on the battlefield of ukraine, but donald trump getting elected, in which case he will do very well in this war. in both of these issues, the budget deal and ukraine, donald trump is the four-time indicted elephant in the room.

he has been saying, don't cut a deal, and we have to get out of ukraine. william: i want to ask you about this tweet you put out this week where -- and we can put this up on screen -- you posted this tweet that showed a dinner you are having at an airport that cost. $78 you said, this is why the american people think the economy is terrible. you got roughed up online about this, but i am curious more about what you were trying to convey with that? david: first, it started out hatched in my mind as a joke.if you look at what i was eating, it was bourbon and a hamburger and fries. i cannot afford to make bad lifestyle traces his. -- lifestyle choices. but the problem with the tweet was it made it seem like i was oblivious to something obvious, that an upper-middle-class journalist having a bourbon and an airport is different from a family living paycheck-to-paycheck. when i am getting sticker shock,

it is an inconvenience. when they are getting sticker shock, it is a disaster. i was insensitive, i screwed up, i should not have written that tweet. i should not write any tweets. william: that is advice we should all be taking. david: i made a mistake. it was stupid. but the one thing that can be drawn, if anything can be drawn, you can experience inflation as a downward slope, inflation coming down. but the way we experience it is that moment of sticker shock. you are in the grocery store, the gas station, and something costs way more than you anticipated. for people who are less fortunate than i am, that is a disaster. we have to understand why we say inflation is going down, but for people living and seeing those sticker shock moments, it doesn't feel tt way. william: david brooks, jonathan capehart, so nice to see you both. have a good weekend.

william: while the covid pandemic caused heartbreak for millions, it also provided a chance for some artists to reset. i recently spent time with the musicians behind the tedeschi-trucks band, who credit their time in lockdown, plus a centuries-old poem, with not only opening new creative paths, but with fusing their band even more tightly. it's part of our arts and culture series, "canvas." ♪ william: in the world of musical marriages, there's none quite like this one -- susan tedeschi and derek trucks. as the creative duo behind the 12-member tedeschi-trucks band, this husband and wife have been

called “two of the best roots musicians of their generation.” ♪ william: but before joining together, musically, they each had successful solo careers. ♪ william: susan's first major label record, “just won't burn”" now being reissued for its 25th anniversary, went gold, rare for a debut blues album. with her soulful voice and guitar, she got five grammy nominations and toured with some of the greats -- buddy guy, b.b. king, bob dylan, and the rolling stones. ♪ william: derek is considered one of the greatest living blues guitarists. he began touring at age 12, a sneaker-clad prodigy talented enough to take on eric clapton's "layla."

at 20, he joined the legendary allman brothers and played with them for over a decade. indian styles made him the youngest player named to rolling stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists, at number 16. >> so, there's an osprey nest over there. william: so, after years of passing each other on the road, these two solo artists met, fell in love, and started a life together. >> yeah, we did it all out of order. it was a pregnancy, marriage -- >> well, we bought the house first. >> house -- >> we bought the house first -- >> pregnancy, marriage -- >> then we got pregnant. >> then we got about 10 years in >> we got married -- >> we thought, we're ready to put a band tether. >> then we did a band. william: wow, that is a really scrambled set of sequence. >> yeah. well, you do what you can because, you know, we weren't -- we don't have a normal life

schedule. william: their 2010 debut, “revelator,” went gold, won the grammy for best blues record, and launched a new chapter. their band, including horns, double drummers, and keyboards, recorded a string of records, and spent 10 long years touring the globe. by any measure, they were a success. but it was draining. then, when beloved band member kofi burbridge died of a heart condition, they began to reassess. >> the main story we are following, and that is the coronavirus pandemic. william: and then came the pandemic and subsequent lockdown that brought life to a standstill. >> for us in a lot of ways, the pandemic kind of saved our band. we were really at a point of we were about to take time off to kind of to -- >> -- deal with the loss. >> to deal with the loss of kofi. and reset and think about what we want to do and what is this thing?

and it was a hard reset for us. william: longtime band member mike mattison says it was a rough period. >> the tank was pretty low. i mean, we had been touring pretty hard for over a decade and we had achieved what we wanted to achieve. but i think what we realized, in going down this wormhole, is that we hadn't said what we wanted to say, really. ♪ william: so mattison had an idea -- during lockdown, everyone in the band would read a 12th century persian poem, known as "layla and majnun." it's an arab romeo and juliet story about two lovers held apart by a male-dominated society. heartbroken majnun wanders the wilderness, going mad. layla gets locked in a tower and forced to marry another man. that poem inspired eric clapton's derek and the dominos record, "layla," a record that

tedeschi-trucks had recently recorded live but mattison wanted to go back to the centuries-old source, all 258 pages of it. >> the thing i was most concerned about is that i would be just shunned for being a nerd. [laughter] now we have homework. william: exactly. >> mike's original thought was, let's just all read this poem and then just flip the perspective. instead of the "layla" album is just this lovesick man that can't have this thing he desires. and his was, what does she think about this? like, what was her perspective? well, that's perfect. william: so mid-pandemic, the band gathered at tedeschi's and trucks' home and began writing. an enormous number of songs poured out. multiple band members contributed ideas. ♪ william: some, but not all, of the songs touched on themes from the poem.

>> i like when the music comes like that. william: it sounds like a pretty beautiful experience. >> yeah. because you really don't have any control over it. it is more like if the muse is there that day and it just pours out of you, and you're in the moment where you can be receptive and write it down or feel it or play off of your bandmates or whatever. william: did you have any reluctance or hesitancy looking at a book that was principally about the man and the woman at the center of this story, that's basically you guys, and have everybody in the group reading about this central relationship? >> you know, there's a little bit of that. there were times the songs would come in, and i'm like, hmm. [laughter] william: that's a little on the nose. >> hmm, yeah, wait a minute. but, you know, one of the big takeaways from me in reading that story was, and mike alludes to this and now a few of the tunes he wrote is, when you're

in a relationship, what's going on doesn't just affect the two people in the relationship. it can really spill out in positive ways or negative ways . and we see in our situation. that's absolutely true. >> it's not just about a guy in the wilderness, pining. you know, there's so much more going on in the poem. you hear from layla, and she has very specific things to say about how she feels about this guy. and not all of them are great. and also her treatment at the hands of her father and the world. i think she definitely picked up on that. i think a lot of that very much resonated with her, especially being in the business she's in and the genre that we do. >> i see, as a woman, and all the things going on in the world, as women, and women really trying to stand up and have a voice in a different way, even though women are more vocal, that doesn't mean our

rights are more equal. it's kind of interesting. there's a lot of things that really haven't changed. i mean, obviously in america, we're much better off. but there are plenty of countries in the world that are just like that. ♪ william: it was a remarkably fruitful period. the band recorded four albums and released them sequentially -- "i am the moon," volumes 1 through 4, each with accompanying films by director alix lambert. ♪ william: the tedeschi-trucks band continues their tour, a community on-stage, 12 members strong. they are playing music inspired by a centuries-old poem but, in this telling, the star-crossed couple made it, and the woman's not locked away in a tower, but commands center stage. ♪

william: later this evening on pbs, american masters presents a film about legendary attorney floyd abrams. the documentary focuses on the groundbreaking career of the first amendment lawyer who helped define free speech as it is known today. "floyd abrams: speaking freely" premieres tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. check your local listings. for more on the republican infighting and the looming government shutdown, don't forget to watch jeffrey goldberg and his panel tonight on "washington week" with the atlantic. and tomorrow on pbs news weekend, driverless taxis. are they the way of the future or a dangerous venture? and that is the newshour for tonight. i'm william brangham. thanks for spending part of your evening with us. good night.

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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. : suspense weapons chip rinse. is that a sign that supports ukraine's counteroffensive is waning among its fierce its allies. i asked the former u.s. ambassador. ukrainian president appealing to world leaders at the un and is in washington to shore up support for aid from congress. i spoke to the acting deputy secrety