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. ♪ good evening. ♪ >> on the newshour tonight, fighting intensifies around gaza city as civilians continue to bear the brunt of heavy bombardment.

one-month after the hamas attacks. >> the supreme court hears a challenge to a law presenting to messick abusers from having guns. >> as colleges and universities rework their admissions, one kentucky school stands by free tuition. >> more creative thinking is what higher ed needs right now. what people are questioning what is the return on investment in higher ed? >> major funding for "pbs newshour" has been provided by. the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and joyce smith. >> consumer cellular, how may i help you? this is a pocket dial.

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this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> welcome to the newshour. today marks one-month since the hamas attacks of october 7. in israel there were visuals of remembrance and in gaza, the fighting and killing continues. late today, president biden said he had asked israeli prime minister netanyahu for a pause in fighting. >> the israeli army has encircled gaza city as tens of thousands of terrified civilians streams toward southern gaza. a dangerous path amid ongoing israeli bombardment. once again this evening, we begin our coverage. >> along the southbound roads of the gaza strip, palestinians

flee from the north in droves. some waving white flags. many of them children, making the long walk without shoes. in the distance, smoke rises over the city left behind. his home under siege. >> we are heading south as they told us to do. we are walking and do not know where we will go purchase schools, to sleep on the streets, to sleep at people's places? god know. >> the exit is in gaza follows new evacuation orders from israel. ground forces have surrounded gaza city and the military claims it has already destroyed hamas strongholds. including those hidden underground. >> for the first time in decades, the israeli defense forces are fighting in the heart of gaza city at the heart of terrorism. this is a complex and difficult war and it also comes at a price. >> for many, leaving the city center is not an option. gaza's largest hospital has looked like this for the past

month. crammed inside and out with thousands of civilians. some of them patients. others homeless. they have nowhere else to sleep it on the floors of these hallways. >> look at our situation. is this a life that we are living? we have no food, no electricity or water. we sleep in the corridors. my daughter died last friday. she died a barter and i remain patient. >> u.s. officials said more than 400 american citizens have now been safely evacuated from the strip. the state department says that u.s. will not support any forced relocation of palestinians outside of gaza. israelis commemorated the victims of the october 7 hamas terror attacks and prayed for those still held hostage in gaza in candlelit vigils.

crowds gathered for a moment of silence earlier today. >> as far as technical pauses -- >> in an interview last night, israel xi ;s prime minister maintained his opposition to a cease-fire -- and told >> about his intentions long-term. >>i think is will will look for an indefinite period. we will have the overall security responsibility because we've seen what happens when we don't have it. when we do not have that responsibility, we have is the russian of -- what we have is the erosion of terror on a scale we cannot imagine. >> back in gaza, what happens after the war, who wins, who loses, who governs whom, is the last thing on people's minds. most urgent here is survival. this neighborhood was jolted awake by a nighttime airstrike.

he says the chances of narrowly dodging strike after strike are growing slimmer by the day. >> thank god we are safe, but i swear we are waiting for death in each moment. it is a suspended death. >> one brutal month of war, but no hope for an end in sight. in tel aviv, israel. >> last night, we brought you her interview with the palestinian authority prime minister. tonight, nick schifrin guess the perspective of the top advisor to the israeli government. >> the biden administration has been pressing israel to limit palestinian casualties, have a plan for the future of gaza, and the president confirmed the request of pausing israel's military operation. to discuss those requests we turn to our senior advisor to the israeli prime minister and a former ambassador to united kingdom. thank you.

always a pleasure. welcome back to the newshour. as i said this evening the president confirmed he had asked prime minister netanyahu for pauses in order to release hostages. the prime minister has confirmed "tactical little pauses, an hour and there," but are you willing to consider what the president is requesting, more significant pause to release hostages? >> well, as you said in your question, and tank you for having me, we are open to pauses. we've done so in the past we are willing to do so in the future. obviously, for example we had two pairs of hostages that were released. a pair of american and israeli women separately and they were released in the framework of a local and time-limited pause in operations. we did also to facilitate people moving out of harm's way, gazan civilians moving from the north and south and we have done it to

facilitate the entrance of human material to the gaza strip and food, medicine and water. we have done in the past and we can do in future. >> the pause were to allow the icrc to physically move them but this pause request is more detailed than that. we are reporting that the deal on the table is a three day pause for 10 to 15 hostages as well as a list of all of the 240 hostages. can you confirm that? >> i am not into position to confirm that. we are willing to do, of course, the number one humanitarian issue is getting hostages out. so, of course to do that we will be willing to do a pause. that is a given. >> how far are you willing to go? >> well, obviously, it is a number one priority for us. the hostages, 240 people are being held. of them, 30 children, of them, a baby nine months old, infants under the age of three. it just shows you what we are dealing with, nick.

what sort of barbarians kidnap babies? what barbarians kidnap toddlers? we are dealing with the very, very dangerous terrorist group who has no qualms whatsoever about.kidnapping children . of course, we saw how many children they killed when they invaded israel. we're dealing with difficult people. we hope we can get them -- our people out. we believe the military pressure on them at the moment will facilitate and expedite the release of hostages. >> you said the military operation you hope pressures them to release hostages. are you providing any carrots to convince them to release hostages? >> the military pressure we think is what needs to be done. there are in parallel, these -- these hopes that -- talks that qatar is conducting. they have a relationship with hamas. the hamas leadership lives there. they are hosted by the government of qatar. qatar tells the world we have a

relationship and that is good for the west. i mean, they have a relationship with people who committed the atrocities of october 7, the massacre. people who rapes, murdered and birds people alive. terrible terrible things. they are saying, the people of the government of qatar, they say this relationship serves the interest of the west. we are waiting to see. can you leverage your relationship to expedite the release of hostages? i hope they succeed. we're waiting to see if there are result. >> qatar is right and middle middle of that hostage negotiations. let's move onto to the day after. yesterday the prime minister told david muir israel plant indefinite security control over gaza. does that include controlling any territory inside gaza? >> we're not talking about any long-term israeli occupation.

we have no desire to govern the gaza strip. we have to make it a station between political control and security presence. ultimately we don't want to defeat hamas and destroy them to see another group of terrorists threaten us from the gaza strip again. so, i think, at least in the beginning and following this operation, to prevent resurgent terrorist group, we will need an israeli security presence. that doesn't necessarily have to be static. it has to be fluid. that could be going in and out as needs be to deal with possible threats. we want the people of gaza to govern themselves. >> sorry to interrupt. you just looked in almost a political presence. just to confirm, you not talking about any kind of governance offering gaza. you're only talking about security that include a buffer zone? >> yes, i believe there could be a buffer zone. there needs to be after what we

have been through, yes? hamas has been ruling the gaza strip for 16 years. they have produced nothing for the palestinians, nothing but pain, nothing but bloodshed, nothing but suffering and nothing but impoverishment. whoever comes after hamas will be better for israel because our citizens and the southern part of my country will be -- will not have to live with the fear of having their children protrude in the middle of the night by terrorists coming from across the frontier. and it ultimately will be better for the people of gaza who deserve better than this terrorist regime that does not give a hoot about the interest and the well-being of the civilian population. we see that in the way they are acting in this conflict. >> to have that peace, there will have to be governance in gaza. the u.s. has adjusted that governments can be taken over by the palestinian authority which is in charge of the west bank. the prime minister was asked by my colleague about this and he said "the p.a. will not go into gaza on an israeli military

tank and the only way they would dissipates in the governance of gaza was as part of the solution that deals with the question of palestine and deals with questions of occupation." will the israeli government consider to pursue a two state solution if that is what the pa. requires to take over gaza? >> if we are having a discussion about the p.a., we are a month after the horrific attacks of jabeur seventh and p.a. -- of october 7 and they have yet to condemn those attacks. if it was to be considered a partner in peace, one has to ask why they refuse to condemn the atrocities. why cant they condemn the rapes, the murderers, the beheadings? we've all seen the atrocities committed by hamas. if they cannot condemn that, what sort of partner are they? >> let me move to the air campaign and the ground campaign. let me show you some video. over the last few days, aftermath of an attack. on a refugee camp. the target was hamas commanders and a tunnel under that camp.

when the tunnel collapse, an entire city block collapsed, an unknown number. let me ask you, how many gazans are willing to kill inadvertently in order to kill hamas leaders and collapse that tunnel? >> so, we've been calling, as you have reported on -- for weeks now, we have been urging palestinians in the northern gaza strip to relocate south. because we knew there would be intense fighting in the north. and we asked people, please, move out of danger. we don't want to see you caught up in the crossfire between us, the israel defense forces, and the hamas terrorist, and the truth is the overwhelming majority of the population did move south, they did vote with their feet. and they exited the area. hamas tried to stop them. hamas ordered people to stay. hamas actually presented greater physical barriers and at gunpoint kept people in. our goal was to get most people out of the combat area to keep them safe.

and most of them did leave. >> but as you know, there still, sorry to interrupt but there still 200,000, 300,000 people in northern gaza. if israel could kill one hamas commander or take out one tunnel and for example more than 100 civilians would be killed, would you take that shot? >> first of all, we don't know that 100 civilians were killed, yes? let's be clear. i sigh some of those pictures. they all looked le men of military age. and of course you know that the hamas terrorist or not wear uniforms. and we have to understand that. it also has to be said all the information coming out of gaza i supplied by the hamas controlled ministry of health and they are giving out hamas's numbers and they have to be taken with a grain of salt and i daresay that even the pictures coming out of gaza are controlled byh. we have not seen and i challenge you, have we seen a single picture of one hamas terrorists killed by the israelis? no.

they only show you pictures of civilians. either you can presume that we are only killing civilians which is a logic or that hamas is controlling the pictures. >> but of course they are women and children died. i only have 30 seconds. let me ask this question. do you worry that israel is creating a new generation of palestinians who will join hamas or whatever comes after with these bombings or do you worry these bombings will create more pressure on your campaign before it is finally over before you can get your goals completed? >> nick, i hope that at the end of this operation, first of all, that hamas will be gone and they will be gone. we will succeed in doing that. but i think we will have discredited the sort of extremism, the sort of fanaticism and the sort of barbarism that hamas has shown. palestinians need to understand that hamas is a dead end. hamas only promises of future of blood and suffering. while the path of cooperation,

the path of negotiation, of living with israel in peace, offer so much more. the arab world has opened up to israel in ways like never before. we've seen new relationships formed with countries across the gulf. just before this crisis there was talk of israel and saudi arabia normalizing ties. it is time the palestinians also join the circle of peace. >> we have to finish it there are the senior advisor to the prime minister of israel. thank you very much. >> thanks for having me. >> the israeli community was attacked on october 7 were seen as extreme horror and inhumanity. now our team were granted access to -- that suffered the most grievously. a warning that some images and accounts of the story are disturbing. [laughs] >> which is my home. i'm sitting in my backyard. my home is three minutes from the gaza strip. >> on the seventh of october,

74-year-old peace activist vivian was kidnapped by hamas terrorists. along with her neighbors, young and old. many more were slaughtered in their homes. this once peaceful agricultural commune has now become a makeshift military base. >> we still see bullets all over the floor here. combat officers used to work at tel aviv's art museum. for the past month, he has been running operation to clear the devastation here. >> we are still finding bert's bodies -- burnt bodies. ttwo days ago, we found the hand in the jaw of a person. >> first date attack terms of handy grades, and gunfire. then they set them ablaze, hoping to smoke out families hiding inside. many were burned alive. >> this is one house, but there

is 30 like it, only in this neighborhood. >> in homes that were not set ablaze, the full horror remains. >> an entire family was murdered in this house in this bedroom, bullet holes across the wall and the mattress covered in blood where one member was killed and their bed. everyday tools that became weapons of slaughter. behind it, signs of a struggle, a desperate attempt to escape. dark red footprints lead from a pool of blood. the knife lying where it fell. hamas wrought some of its worst destruction here. the largest village along the gaza border. more than 100 killed, dozens kidnapped, some of their fates still unknown. it is almost unimaginable that people could still want to live here after the horrors. but a small group are determined to try. a dozen young residents have

returned, armed and assisted by the soldiers stationed here. they're here to try to rebuild, to help grieving families retrieve mementos. to protect what is left of the streets they grew up on. roy moved to tel aviv six months ago. on october 7, he watched in disbelief as his childhood home was destroyed. >> it was terrifying. above all my nightmares as a child living next to the gaza strip. >> no army came to help. no police. a few locals did their best with the weapons they had. hours away, roy could do nothing. >> it was like 12, 11 guys. they fought against 300 terrorists. i was useless. i felt useless. no -- you see in the news and the pho nes, and the local group, like people are saying they're

killing us, they are burning us alive. >> roy lost his faith in humanity that day. he has given up his job. his only mission for now he says is to be here. >> roy's friend was here that morning. at 7 a.m. he was taking shelter from incoming rocket fire. not unusual so close to gaza. but a sudden call from his parents told him something was very wrong. at his 18-year-old sister was all alone. then she messaged ,i'm afraid. terrorist have got in. >> so, i grabbed my bike and rode to my parents house nearby. there were already terrorists roaming around the kibbutz's. i did not know that. all i wanted was to save my sister. >> take the gun from here, and i save my sister -- see my sister in this room. >> the army did not come, nobody came, we heard gunshots, it was chaos across the whole kibbutz.

there were hundreds of terrorists. >> over and over again, the terrorist came back. he held the door for nearly 12 hours. >> i see my life is over, yeah. >> my little sister started crying, troubng. she said, do something. they were very close to opening the shelter door at the last second, i managed to pull it close to get. at last they fled. apparently due to the gunfire from the idf. at around 7 p.m., the army arrived and rescued us. >> now like most of the survivors here, she has been evacuated to safety on the border with jordan. but he isn't going anywhere. >> our vision together with the young members of the kibbutz is rebuild it. we heal ourselves by being here and fighting for our home. >> a way of life has been

shattered here. many survivors say they can never go home again. but for those who dol,ife in -- life here will never be the same. on the israel-gaza border. >> here are the latest headlines. major races are being decided on this off year election day. governors contests are the marquee matchups. in kentucky, andy beshear has defeated republican daniel cameron. mississippi's governor republican tate reeves is looking to defend his seat against brandon presley, as votes continue to be tallied. in ohio, voters have decided to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right. in control of the virginia

legislature is at stake. the special prosecutor investigating hunter biden denied any political interference in his probe today. david y sapir before the house judiciary committee, the first time a special counsel has done so during an investigation. in prepared remarks behind closed doors, weiss said "political considerations played no part in our decision-making." weiss testified to address concerns raised by house republicans about the pace of the investigation. in germany, chancellor scholz and 16 state governors reached agreement today on curbing a surge migrants. that came as shelters have filled up in applications for asylum have jumped 70% over last year. sholtz had come under growing pressure to take action and announce the agreement at a news conference in berlin. >> [speaking german] >> i believe this is an historic

moment. in light of an unquestionably huge challenge, a very large numbers of migrants. all levels of the state have managed to closely cooperate. people expect this of us. >> bangladesh will raise its minimum wage for garment workers by 56% tyo $113 a month. the country is the second largest garment producer in the world. today's decision followed weeks of protests and clashes with police that killed two workers and wounded dozens but some groups said the hike is not enough. still to come, a conversation with robert f. kennedy jr. about his presidential bid. also, we examine what a potential president trump's second term would look like. as universities rework admissions policies, one kentucky school stands behind free tuition.

>> this is "pbs newshour." from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. >> u.s. supreme court heard arguments today in a major case looking at whether people with domestic violence court orders should be barred by federal law from owning guns. the case u.s. versus where heb is the first involving gun rights to come before the nation's highest court since the ruling at issue last year loosening gun restrictions. demonstrators gathered outside the court today stressing the impact the ruling could have on protections for victims of domestic abuse. we're joined by our supreme court legal analyst, marcia coyle. the justices talked about the history and tradition of gun rights. how did the two sides navigate that test during the arguments today? >> as you recall, in 2022, the court, the conservative majority not only ok'd open carry but did announce a new test in the test

says that in order to become -- to be constitution, gun regulations have to be consistent with the historical tradition of gun regulation. they are really looking at pre-1904 either a comparable regulation, does not have to be a twin, or a regulation that that is a close analog to the regulation that is being challenged. >> before the 1900's. >> history and tradition, yes, so we heard a lot about the history and tradition today. the biden administration has brought this appeal because they lost in the lower court. the solicitor general of the united states argued that history and tradition supports the government disarming individuals who are dangerous. although she first used a broader term, supports disarming of individuals who are, uh, not responsible or not law abiding. as she was pressed on the meaning of responsible because she says that is what is at issue.

in this case, and she equated it with dangerousness. the court did seem to be open to that. because she was able to give some examples from history and tradition of the disarming of people who were mentally ill and committed to institutions, even intoxicated individuals who could be dangerous. so, i think in general my sense is after the arguments and the justices comments is that they will uphold the federal law, the federal ban here, and there will be a focus on dangerousness. the government doing able to prove the individual is dangerous. but you're not going to see a rewriting of the new test. they seem to, the six conservatives still seem beholding to it. so, i think it will be very important exactly what the court says when it writes the opinion as to the effect on their gun laws and on court cases in the pipeline. >> one concern the conservative

justices raised was whether the process of determining whether someone is dangerous, whether that process is fair. our team spoke with clark neely, the cato institute, libertarian think tank, and he wrote an amicus brief. >> of course somebody who really is a domestic abuser should be, half there, not only their guns taken away but beat kept away from their victim. no question but this law was poorly written or the federal law that is being challenged in this case allows the federal government to suspend somebody's fundamental right of self-defense without any showing of ever having actually been made, they are in fact dangerous. and i think that is a problem. >> how did the two sides navigate that specific question? >> well, the, the government says that you can show dangerousness. justice barrett astor, how do you prove it?

one of the ways is the court order. a judge, judicial court order. or there is a legislature. they have passed laws that the define categories of people who should not have guns. and consensus. 48 states and territories to have these laws. what professor neely was talking about, also goes to the issue of fairness and due process. some of the justices had questions about the protective orders themselves. did they, were they really temporary? and rahimi's lawyer said they are often permanent by default. what do you do if you have a he said/c shed situation or mutual protection orders? those comments were going to the due process issue -- fairness and notice. and really that is not at issue

in this particular case. although, rahimi's lawyer says it important to keep that in mind because his argument is one, there is nothing in history and tradition like this federal ban. and two, he said what congress did here is it bootstrapped a one sided process, the protective orders, onto a complete denial of a constitutional right. >> the consequences, justice kavanaugh pointed out that background checks do consider protective orders and he noted that in one of the friend of the court briefs it was pointed out that over 25 years, 75,000 licenses were denied because of the protective order in the background check. the solicitor general also said to the court, we have got to be careful with the language here because, there are courts below that have already struck down the federal ban on possession of guns b felonsy and the

possession of guns that have no serial numbers. so, there is a lot going on in the lower courts that will eventually come to the supreme court. >> thank you for your insights. we appreciate it. >> pleasure. >> this election season we have seen a handful of outsiders seeking to challenge president biden and his likely opponent former president donald trump as third party or independents. one is robert f. kennedy jr. son of former attorney general robert kennedy and a longtime environmental lawyer. a recent national poll shows a three-way matchup with biden and trump kennedy has support from 22% of voters. i sat down with him to discuss his campaign and i asked him why he thinks he is connecting with voters. >> i think people our ready to, people are tired of the vitriol,

tired of the polarization. we've made a big effort at trying to talk about issues, about the values that americans hold in common, rather than the culture war issues that drive everybody apart. you know, i have been focused on being civil, but i think most important people want to hear the truth. they want to hear the truth about a lot of different issues and they feel, americans feel that they are being lied to. by the media, by government agencies, that are supposed to be honest with the american people. and they're feeling that this -- the system is rigged against them. the middle class is disintegrating, and that nobody is hearing them, that they are not, that is a government and the system are rigged against them. >> how do you translate that polling support, just to be clear, year out, a lot can happen in the next year, how do you translate that into

electoral support? because independent campaigns, especially ones as large as yours, face legal challenges, external pressure, you look at ralph nader in 2004. what is your path to 270? are you targeting specific states? >> we're targeting specific states. and you are right. >> which states are you targeting? >> all of the traditional battleground states are states we think we can do really well in. all i need to do -- >> wisconsin, pennsylvania. >> all i need to do in those states, arizona. michigan, ohio, georgia. all i need to do in those states is get 34% of the vote and i can walk away with 270 electors. because it is -- the electors are winner take all. and signed by a plurality rather than a majority. >> are you at 34 in any of the states? >> i am at 22 a year out. >> that is nationally, right?

>> nobody has ever been in, in, in that i know of in history, has ever been in, except for torch washington, the last independent president, has ever been this high in the polls this far out. particularly among key constituencies, young people and independents. i don't know what will happen, i am not a good spin person but i feel pretty good about where i am today. i think i would rather be in my position than i would in president trump's position or president biden. >> can ask another question about your candidacy, because a number of your own family members have spoken out against it. four of your siblings issued a statement announcing your candidacy saying it is dangerous for the country and they wrote bobby might share the same name as our father he does not share the same vision or judgment. your family are icons. they do not typically speak out against their own, but they are in this case. why?

>> well, i have 105 family members, living family members. a lot of them are supporting ep let me ask you this. -- let me ask you this. does your family always agree with everything? >> i think they would vote for me if i ran for president. >> some of them will vote for me but not all of them. >> your siblings, who know you better. >> listen, my family has a long history with president biden. there's five members of my family working for the administration. and president biden has a bust of my father behind him in the oval office. i've know president biden for my entire life. all of the people in my family or many of the people including all of the people that you mentioned, the four members of the my family, you mention, had been strong, long friendship with president biden. and i understand -- they are disappointed with the fact that i would run against him. >> they are more than disappointed, sir.

they are saying it. >-- is dangerous for the country. >> you can have them on the show and asked them why they would say that. my understanding is that, and i think this one of the problems -- with the democratic party right now is that nobody is saying about president biden that we want him for president because he is going to give us a vigorous leadership. that he has the energy, that he has the cognitive ability. to inspire americans. instead, what they are saying is you got to vote for him, despite all of the defects that are clear to everybody because if you d't, somebody worse is going to get in. and that is what they mean by the word dangerous. i think the democratic party has to offer americans a better, more positive vision for this country than just do what we say or president trump is going to endanger our democracy. we should be able to do more

than that. we should be able to inspire people. and i think that is why so many young people and independents are supporting me because they are tired of the fear tactics. tired of being manipulated through orchestrated fear. >> let me ask you -- let me ask you, if i may. a specific concern your family has expressed, your controversial views on vaccines, and being part of the anti-vaccine movement. you said previously that no vaccine is safe or effective. >> i never say that. >> you did say that. and a podcast interview in july you did say that. there are quotes. >> you are wrong. and you're making something up. >> on fox news you said you still believe in this idea that vaccines can cause autism, which has long been debunked. >> you are changing the subject. >> sir, i am asking about your views on vaccines. >> that's why i'm happy, my views are that vaccines should

be tested by-- they should have placebo-controlled trials prior to licensure. it's the only medical product, the only medical product or medical device that is allowed to get a license without engaging in safety tests. >> so you do not believe a statement that no vaccine is safe and effective? >> i never said that. >> according to these reports and the podcast until i. >> that is a problem, if you're reading reports about me in the mainstream media, including this network, there almost all in accurate. i'm not anti-vax. >> you just spoke before one of the largest anti-vaccine groups a few days ago. >> that is not what they called himself. >> that is not what they call themselves but that is what they advocate. >> i speak to a lot of people, and i do not agree -- don't pretend to agree with everything that everybody in the audience says. i don't agree -- i have said

from the beat, listen, i fought against mercury in fish for 40 years. nobody called me any fish. i like the idea that we have seatbelts in cars. nobody calls me anti-automobile. i want vaccines that are safe, and are adequately tested. it does not mean i am anti-vaccine. i'm sensible and i've got -- i have common sense and most americans if they understood like, my real views about the distortions of my views and mischaracterizations, that they hear from the mainstream meeting including this network, that they would agree with me. >> i will say there is evidence of the statements on the record. >> show me a statement. >> i would be happy to. let me ask you about -- >> show me what, what you call evidence of the statement. >> let me ask you about 2024 at a year away from the day that people will cast ballots. we know that mr. trump and mr.

biden are still leading by wide margins, regardless of how high you are pulling. the latest numbers show 64% of republicans supporting mr. trump . 77% supporting mr. biden. if those numbers do not shift, how do you decide if and when you should and your candidacy? -- end your candidacy? >> i have no intent is the -- no intention of ending my candidacy. i am the most independent candidate and i intend to win the election. >> robert f. kennedy jr., candidate for president we thank you for coming by. >> thank you for having me. >> you can watch more of our interview with mr. kenndy, on her website including questions on immigration and abortion. >> the presidential election is

still your way. former president and current republican front runner donald trump is already preparing for what he would do if he returns to the white house. the washington post reports donald trump has -- is drafting plans to potentially deploy the military against domestic protesters. and use the department of justice to investigate and punish his credits. devin wynn barrett is one of the reporters looking into this. and he joins us in the studio. you report that much of the planning for a second trump term has been outsourced to this group of right wing think tanks dubbed project 2025. what are they claiming? >> it is dozens of groups and they are all lending a certain number folks to map out what a second trump administration would look like, from the legal perspective. what legal goals would you have for a second trump? administration? a lot of what they are talking about is ways to consolidate control and authority and power

of the entire federal government within the white house. so, essentially reducing the independence of cabinet secretary and increasing the ability of people around trump and his inner circle to control those agencies. >> i talk to people close to donald trump who say that he says in a second term he wants lawyers who are more loyal. and what he means by that is that he's looking for lawyers who will push the boundaries of the, sort of, acceptable understanding of the law. your reporting goes beyond that to say that he is also looking to harness the power of the doj to punish his perceived enemies and critics. >> so, he has talked privately, as reported in this story, about going after the people who have criticized him. and that is not really, let's be honest, that is not a new behavior for donald trump. but i think what is really telling about the people he tends to talk about now in terms of the ones he wants to punish via the justice department, they are his own former aides, people

like bill barr, his former attorney general. ty cobb, his former white house lawyer. john kelly, the former chief of staff. these are folks who worked very closely with him and for him that he once had confidence in and now he views them as having betrayed him and he wants a justice department to go after them. >> your team talked to john kelly and ty cobb. >> they, obviously they're public critics of donald trump. this is why he should not be the next president. but one of the things they said is that john kelly in particular made the argument that a second trump administration is not quite have people like john kelly in it, because people like john kelly would say no to donald trump and a second demonstration is much more likely to people to the say -- who say no matter what the ask is. >> let's talk about that. what would a second term look like as compared to the first

now that donald trump knows how to utilize the levers of power available to him? >> one of the things that came out in our reporting is that one of the lessons trump took from his first administration is that he had too many people he often uses the expression federalist society lawyers to refer to a type of conservative lawyer who would not go as far she wanted them to go. >> the federalist society is not conservative enough for donald trump. >> that is the point. and almost more importantly, they would not do enough of what he wanted them to do. i think, to the point you made early, so much of this conversation -- and this is an early-stage's conversation, and a lot of people kicking around ideas in private, that so much of those conversations are about how to get people to do everything or is close to everything that you can that the president wants them to do? >> to include invoking the insurrection act to put down protests on inauguration day if elected. >> the insurrection act became

this kind of fantasy scenario fo r a lot of trump supporters in 2020. what you're seeing now and some of these private conversations about project 2025 is there is a group of people who are talking about, can we invoke the insurrection act right out of the gate to essentially put down any protests? and that is very alarming to a different sort of group of conservative lawyers, who hear that and think that is not a great idea. >> how is any of this different than what donald trump would say it to rally? is what's different is that people are putting plans together? >> two things are different. one, he does talk in general terms at rallies about how he wants to get even, how he wants to take control, and how he wants to sort of quell any sort of dissent even within his own

government, should he become elected president. i think what is different is that they are working on more specific concepts and more specific actions. for example, a host of executive orders, which is something he has always believed in and like the idea of an executive order, even if it is oftentimes a little more show than substance. i think you're seeing those conversations happen because what's going on and a lot of the circles in these conversations is that there is a growing realization among conservative lawyers that donald trump could almost certainly be the gop nominee. if that is going to be true, all of these conservative groups, all of these activists, all of these conservative lawyers are making decisions about where they want to fit in into that picture if he becomes president. >> such an important reporter. great speaking with you. >> thank you. >> we have brought you stories

over the past several weeks on how schools are adapting to changing admissions policies. tonight, we focus on a college that is thinking differently about who is admitted and their family income levels. special correspondent -- we reports on the school in kentucky works which is free for our series iii thinking college. >> these students are weaving, woodworking, and making brooms. it is part of the labor program at berria college, something every student must participate in. >> we're expected part of our labor program is working 10 hours a week. >> the crestor are strolled at local stores and online, each students works with throughout their four years at the college. every office in every department on campus has the student working there. >> brittany and -- run the labor program. >> it is the work, it is a learning and the service, and it is when you combine those things together that we get the unique program that we have here.

>> students receive a small salary which typically goes towards room and board. no fancy dorms here. >> how does your football team do? how about the stadium for your best ballplayers? >> we do not have a football team or a stadium. >> that is the president cheryl nixon. what they do have is free laptops for every incoming student, with medical and dental care on campus. and most important link, free tuition. cheryl nixon says that while they are unique, that should not be. >> i think more innovative, creative thinking is what higher ed needs right now when people are really questioning what is the return on investment in higher ed. i think, again berria, become a very innovation, founding -- innovative founding vision we have been working on this model for over 106 to five years. have come up with pieces that come together, that allow us to say we can take students that

cannot afford college and we can find it for them. >> the roots of free tuition in the labor crime go back to their inception. an abolitionist minister founded it in 1865, to give all people opportunities to educate male and female student, black and white, altogether. >> we are very lucky that we have a very, i would call it a great history behind us. pre civil war when kentucky was still a slave owning state. that emerged and was successful and also said we need to serve. students in the region. >> in 1984, integration was outlawed. >> we fought the battle to the supreme court and we lost. we had to remain segregated. fortunately, when brown v. board of education was won, we were able to reintegrate and then become what we are today, which is an integrated institution

like much of higher ed. >> but higher ed cost money. they are able to often add to education without burdening students or their families with the costs. >> there are no tuition promised -- our no tuition promised would be a promise that you will have a for your job on campus, receiving income that well then, you can use that to help defray your costs. so, our students can graduate debt free. >> what percentage of your students today are eligible for pell grants? >> around 95%. >> they topped a list of the recent new york times college access index, with the highest number of students receiving pell grants, which are federal grants earmarked for lower income students. >> is the financial criteria of before you even apply to say, you might be too rich to apply? >> absolutely. we turn students away every year because their families financial picture is greater than what we would consider eligible to attend. >> he's the associate vice

president of admission and a 2002 graduate. >> we see students every year who fall into our applicant pool, and we introduce the financial eligibility requirement. they become highly disappointed because they saw this as a great opportunity, and great things to pursue, but financially we are not able to do -- to consider their application. >> wilder family income maybe low, the grade point average may not. >> the average income of our student body is $32,000 here. from an academic standpoint, most of our students on average will have around 3.5 high school gpa. >> he says they also look for a candidate's grit. >> grit is often time these academic readiness, the core about that student, the ability to be successful in a rigorous academic setting we offer. >> what kind of degrees do you offer? >> when you think of a private institution like us, categorized as liberal arts institution, you

make the assumptions, they are not going to offer professional degrees like nursing or business or computer science. but we do. on the flip of that, you've got your traditional liberal arts and lang which is. -- and languages. >> it also offers classes on health care in appalachia. >> i'll give you guys a set of timers for five minutes, talk to your groups. >> patience just graduated here and fulfill her dream of going overseas. >> in costa rica. >> she's the first person to graduate high school in her family and her horizons are wider now. >> i'm adjusted in public policy analysis. >> if she had to pay tuition, grad school would have been unlikely. >> i am not sure what that would've looked like. it would've been loans on top of loans.. >> a a critical component of their model is giving back. although students to come from oliver, 67% are from appalachia. >> we have students work in the

new community, with some of the local schools, we have students working in nursing homes, the service piece is about serving the greater community, something bigger than you. >> while there might be an emphasis on them honoring their ties to the region, cheryl nixon thinks the school can be an example for others around the country. >> if higher ed could be a bit brave, it could take pieces of this model and replicate it.a gain, looking at how it spends its endowment and putting more of that towards student care and student support. >> support that helps students get an education in music or the arts or the scienes, all without going into debt. ♪ >> and that is the newshour for tonight. i am on none of us. >> thanks for spending part of your evening with us.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by. >> pediatric surgeon, volunteer, topiary artist, raymondjames financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. >> carnegie corporation of new york, supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security at carnegie.org. and with the ongoing support of these 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. ♪

>> this is pbs newshour west from weta studios in washington and from our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] ♪

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