geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the "newshour" tonight,

israeli forces target a high-ranking hezbollah military leader, raising fierce of an escalated conflict in the region. vice president kamala harris campaigns in georgia, a state that's now even more hotly contested than expected. and congress advances a bill aimed at protecting children online. but critics warn it could lead to censorship. >> major funding for the pbz "newshour" has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the "newshour." including kathy and paul anderson. and camila and george smith. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation, fostering informed and engaged

communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the "newshour." israel says it has killed one of hezbollah's most senior military officials in the southern suburbs of beirut tonight. nick schifrin is watching this and is here with us now.

nick? nick: u.s. officials have no independent confirm of the death but israel blames him for this past weekend's strike that killed a dozen children and he's long been on the u.s. east most wanted list. tonight his possible death is sparking feefers and escalating regional war. it was a strike in hezbollah's stronghold. an israeli missile destroyed an apartment building and rained debris into the middle of a residential neighborhood. the target, confirmed by an israeli official, u.s. specially designated global terrorist, known as al-had mosi. he was held responsible for last week's attack on a soccer field that killed a dozen teenagers and children, an attack that israel's minister said today crossed a red line. israel's official called him the head of hezbollah's wing, one of the most senior military commanders. he's also a wanted man in the u.s. for playing a, quote,

central role in the october, 1983, bombing of the u.s. marine core baraks in beirut that killed 241 service members. vice president harris said after arriving in atlanta today the support -- that she supported israel and wanted a diplomatic solution. >> they have the right to defend against a terrorist organization, which is what hezbollah is. but we need to continue to work on a diplomatic solution and will continue to do that work. nick: senior officials have visited the area, and are trying to continue a diplomatic agreement. the two sides have traded fire for 10 months since hezbollah started launching rockets on october 8. hezbollah will consider the seniority and location of today's strike to require a strike. tonight a senior official tells me israel wanted to send a,

quote, very clear message -- we will not tolerate harm to civilians. but we don't want to see this escalating into a wider war and whether it does is in the hands of hezbollah. to discuss today's attack, we turn to ron, the director of conflict resolution at the middle east institute. rhonda celine welcome back to the "newshour." how important was this person and what impact will his death have, if he's in fact dead. >> assuming he's dead, because they have not confirmed his dead, he is a senior commander. he's a member of hezbollah's elite jihad dee council, a grouw men who are in charge of all military affairs of hezbollah. she -- he is part of the first cohort of hezbollah fighters in the early 1980's. rose through the ranks to become a senior commander and now a member of the elite jihad dee

council. as such he's -- he works in close coordination with iran's -- iranian revolutionary guard force. >> as you said, hezbollah has not confirmed his death. has hezbollah denied he's dead? >> they have not denied his death. i think the news out of hezbollah's headquarter is that he was hurt. he was injured. but they did not deny his death. now his loss is definitely going to hurt hezbollah. and the fact that until now they have not issued a statement, for me it's an indication of a state of disarray inside the leadership, to decide what kind of statement they will issue and how they're going to respond. >> as i just mentioned, an israeli senior official told me tonight basically that they don't want to see escalation after this. that they see this event as the end of the back and forth that

they say is the attack in israel-controlled golan heights. how is hezbollah likely to take that message and how is it lookly to respend if he is in fact dead? >> in one of his recent speeches, he said that the war of support of palestinians, that they have long -- on october 8, on the board we are israel is conducted according to a careful balance equation. the way he put it, a careful balancing equation. and what he meant by that, it is a proportional tit for tat pattern. if we are going to follow this logic and apply it to this strike, the israeli strike took place in a major city, the capital of the country. and took out a highly valued asset for hezbollah. this is not the commander, hezbollah commander who has been killed. until now, israel has targeted

more than 300 hezbollah commanders. but none of them is of the seniority of the rank that he is. so taking that pattern of proportionality we should expect hezbollah's response to follow that same pattern in terms of maybe hitting a major city and maybe hitting a high value target. >> and talk about that a little bit more. after the attack, israel made it clear hezbollah would pay a price that, quote, it hadn't paid before. israel had multiple options for how to respond. how do you rate its decision to respond in this way? >> it's a major escalation. the israeli minister of defense said hezbollah crossed a red line when the rock hit that area. i think hezbollah will look at today's strike as israel crossing a mange red line for them. so i think we are now really on

the brink, you know. of maybe make escalation scenario. hopefully the two sides, who remain interested in containing this war, will step away from the brink and you know prevent this all-out war everybody is afraid of. >> the u.s. officials i tailbacked to are afraid of that as we heard this afternoon. vice president harris saying that she wanted diplomacy to work. will hezbollah listen to the messages they are going to receive from americans from the region, and not escalate further? >> i think that we are in a new chapter here of warfare between hezbollah and israel. all the red lines having been violated. new rules will start taking shape and taking place. i think in this new chapter the outside parties, be it u.s. or iran as far as hezbollah is concerned, are going to have limited impact on affecting the

party, the two belligerents, post benefit calculations about calculation. at this point, it's going to really be up to hezbollah's post benefit calculus. >> the wisdom about that calculus recently has been that neither israel nor hezbollah nor iran would want this to escalate into a further war, given the risk to israel that rockets pose, or given the risk to the area. is that conventional wisdom right? is it still the case that neither side wants war? >> i think it's still the case that neither side wants war but also as we have seen, maybe mistakes got committed. and then you had an escalation. now you might have a counterescalation. but still i think both israel and hezbollah as well as, you

know, the u.s. and iran are interested in containing this crisis. and hoping that we will get to this ceasefire deal, which will then ensure total cessation of hostile thoins lebanon-israel border. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. geoff: the day's other headlines begin in california where the rapidly spreading park fire is now the fifth large nest state history. firefighters battled its flames overnight as they were fanned by gusty winds. as of today the blaze had scorched nearly 600 square miles. at a briefing this morning, governor gavin newsom said this summer's fire activity is already well above average. and he urged residents to heed

official warnings. >> this is the beginning of season, we're seeing significantly more intense activity. so i pray that people are mindful of these evacuation orders. they take them seriously. you can replace a home. you can't replace a life. geoff: dozens of other large fires are burning in the west amid hot, dry conditions. that's in stork contrast to the northeast where t torrential ras soaked northern vermont again today. rivers washed out roads and authorities -- authorities had to rescue some two dozen people in. southern india, landslides have killed at least 106 people and many more are believed to be trapped under debris. heavy rainssen mud and water through the hills of karala state. rescuers used zip lierches rushing water to search for survivor. many victims were employees of the area's tea farms an estates and their families.

>> all the victims were sleeping yesterday night when the disaster struck. victims including children were buried in the landslide before sun reis. >> karala is one of india's most popular tourist destinations and is prone to heavy rains. tuesday's lan sliedz are the worst disaster there since flooding in 2018 killed nearly 500 people. international pressure is growing on venezuela following that country's disputed presidential election which gave maduro another six years in office. the u.s. state department called for a tabulation of the results say the election was, quote, undermined by anti-democratic actions, political repression an electoral manipulation. while in caracas, supporters of the opposition held a peaceful protest today to voice their anger at the official result. opposition leaders say they have proof their candidate, edmundo gonzalez, defeated maduro in a landslide in sunday's vote.

protesters said the nation is ready for a change. >> we must find a way to have elections be respected. the people of venezuela spoke. it wants a political change. it wants a change from what we've lived these last 25 years. geoff: also today, venezuela's attorney general announced more than 700 people had been detained in protests that took place on monday. he said some will be charged with terrorism offenses. an investigation into historical abuse at u.s. government run boarding schools -- schools found that nearly twice as many native american children died as priestly thought. at least 973 children are now known to have perished over a 150-year period that ended in 1969. an initial report two years ago estimated that more than 500 children had died. the finding cited sickness and abuse at schools that were set up to alimb late native american children into white society. the investigation was

commissioned by interior secretary deb haaland and led to calls for the government to apologize to victims of the abuse. stocks finished mixed on wall street today as investors wait for tomorrow's federal reserve meeting and any clues on interest rates. the dow jones industrial average gained 200 points on the day, the nasdaq dropped more than 200 points. amid caution over some big tech earnings. the s&p500 also ended lower, fall big half a percent. william callie, the u.s. army lieutenant who led his troops in carrying out the massacre in vietnam, has die. he passed away in april but media reports only confirmed his death this week. he was the only officer convicted for his role in the atrocity. the most notorious war crime in modern american history. in 1968, he and his soldiers slaughtered an estimated 500 unarmed women, children and elderly with machine gun, grenades and bayonets. their actions were covered up in

military reports for over a year. he was court-martialed and received a life sentence but only served three years under house arrest. he had long maintained that he had just been following orders. he was 80 years old. shifting our focus now to the olympics in paris. spoiler alert, we have some results to bring you. the women of u.s. gymnastics reclaimed their olympic title. simone biles powered through the pressure and a tweaked calf from earlier competition to lead a squad pack with olympic veterans to gold in. rugby, u.s. women defeated australia for their first ever medal, a bronze. u.s. men's soccer is through to the quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years. finishing second in their group after a win against guinea. but in tennis the number two seed, coco gauff south of the singles competition after an emotional match that included a controversial line call. as of this evening the u.s. leads the total medal count,

four of them gold. franz and china are positioned in second and third place. still to come on the "newshour," we examine the impact of the changing race for the white house on many critical down-ballot races. senators question the actinged of the secret service about the assassination attempt on former president donald trump. and a former hong kong bookstore begins a new chapter in upstate new york. >> 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. geoff: vice president kamala harris is hitting the campaign trail in the battleground state of georgia today, her first visit since gaining commitments for the necessary delegate votes to win the nomination. she plans to visit several swing states not coming weeks ad of the chicago democratic convention. our laura barron-lopez joins us

now on the ground in atlanta. at least 10,000 people have registered for that rally tonight where you are. i know you've been talking to folks as they make their way into the stadium. what have they been telling you in how are they feeling? laura: people have been lined up out here, jeff, since before -- geoff, since before 10:00 a.m at this venue in atlanta. a lot of voters are incredibly excited. for some it's the first time they've come to a big political rally. i sat down with three black women voters earlier today to talk to them about the election cycle and those voters, i asked them how they feel about all the big change that was occurred in this election just in the last week. >> prior to president biden dropping out of the race, how would you describe how you felt about the election in one word? >> i hate to say it but i really felt this sense of doom. and dread. >> nervous.

>> i felt scared. laura: how do you feel now? >> rejuvenated. >> hopeful. >> optimistic. laura: that matches the mood of voters waiting to see harris, they feel much better now about democrat's chances in the presidential race than they did before. geoff: the vice president's speech tonight, as i understand it, is expected to have a sharp focus on reproductive rights. how important of an issue is that for the voters with whom you spoke earlier? laura: it's an incredibly important issue, geoff. vice president harriries hack the face of -- vice president harris has been the face of the white house's messaging on abortion since the fall of roe v. wade. the vice president herself went in march to an abortion clinic. she was the first vice president or president in that office that had ever visited an abortion clinic at the time. and one of the voters that i spoke to today, rachel mitchum,

said she believes harris will be a much better messenger on abortion rights than president biden. >> if the president of the united states is a woman who is speaking for women's rights, and women's reproductive rights, i think that that will sway some people more than even if president biden was saying the same thing. i think president harris, president harry, saying the same thing will have a different impact. laura: rachel as well as the other black women voters i spoke to said abortion is still one of their top issues. and they think it's salient for voters here in georgia. geoff: v.p. harris has been the likely democratic nominee for a little more than a week now. how is her campaign strategy taking shape? laura: vice president harris, as well as former president donald trump are out with new ad buys today, geoff, trying to both define kamala harris. and kamala harris' campaign

launched a $50 million ad buy and that $50 million ad buy is trying to define the vice president. essentially looking back to her time as prosecutor, as attorney general in california, and they also are attempting to attack donald trump in that ad that is going to be playing across battleground states. specifically going at him on his attacks on the affordable care act. and the harris campaign essentially says that they believe that now they have more than one pathway to 270 electoral votes. so that's ultimately -- they are focusing on states like georgia as well as the sun belt, much more than just the blue wall states. geoff: lastly, we're expecting the vice president to name her running mate in a matter of days. how is the vetting proses shaping up? laura: vice president harris was asked on her way here if she had picked her running mate yet. she said not yet but that decision is going to be coming

very soon. because by august 7, kamala harris will be likely named the democratic nominee. so she has to pick her vice president by roughly august 6. and the people that sources close to the campaign tell me she's still considering include minnesota governor tim wawldz, kentucky governor andy beshear, pennsylvania governor josh shapiro, as well as arizona senator mark kelly. that decision is going to be coming very soon. sources close to the campaign tell me that as early as next week, harris is going to be out on the campaign trail with whoever she picks as her running mate. geoff: laura barron-lopez reporting from a kamala harris rally in atlanta, georgia. thanks so much. in the 10 days since kamala harris launched her presidential campaign she's wracked up endorsements from usual suspects, former democratic presidents, leads for the congress and won the support of

new delegates to clinch the nomination. but yesterday the harris campaign announced the support of more than a dozen mayor in the critical battleground state of arizona. one standout name on the list was republican john giles of mesa. he wrote in the arizona republic, quote, too much is at stake to vote republican at the top of the ticket. mesa mayor john giles joins us. thanks for being with us. john thank thank you for the john: thank you for the invitation. geoff: why are you supporting harris? john: as you mentioned i'm a republican, so it came with a lot of thought. and i'm elected in a nonpartisan role as mayor. i try not to inject myself into politics when i can avoid it. every so often there are compelling issues i feel like i -- silence is not an option. silence would be acquiescence. this is one of those important elections.

i felt similarly four years ago. i wanted to vote against donald trump. as much or more than i wanted to vote for president biden. and this time around, similar position. i -- it's important to me that we not go through the chaos of another trump presidency. but i am genuinely excited about the prospect of kamala harris being our president. geoff: as you mention, you vetted for president biden in 2020 but hadn't ebb coursed him before he exited the race. why does vice president harris get your public support now when president biden hadn't? john: i think ultimately i probably would have given my support to president biden but i am very excited with the vice president's entry into the campaign. it's been fun to see the energy that she's brought. i think arizona is very much in play, where i'm not sure it was before.

and that's even before we discuss the possibility of senator kelly joining the ticket. so there's genuinely a lot of excitement around the harris campaign. now she -- again, she's a democrat. so there are absolutely some polity issues she and i differ on. but in spite of that, what i do know about her is that the top item on her agenda is doing what's best for the united states. i honestly cannot say that about mr. trump. >> immigration is a big issue in this election. what's your assessment of her record on immigration? and what's the situation on the ground in arizona right now? >> i wouldn't say that's an issue. that's the issue in arizona. so that's an issue that the vice president is going to have to come to arizona and convince the people here that she has good policy. and that she's going to work, treating it as a problem to be solved as opposed to president trump's approach which is to treat it as an issue to be exploited.

republicans are attempting to blame her for the surges and the chaos at the border. i think there's blame to be passed all around. going back multiple presidential administrations. but in particular, i'm disappointed with president trump's decision to kill the bipartisan immigration act that senator sinema and others worked on so hard. that would have been a tremendous help at the border. so again vice president harris is going to have to address this issue head on, especially in border states like arizona. but i think when all the facts are on the table, the majority of the blame for the problem there is going to go to president trump's attempts to derail a lot of work that has gone into trying to solve that problem. geoff: president biden won arizona in 2020 by fewer than 11,000 votes. he was the first democrat to win that state in over two decades. emmerson college poll out this

past week had v.p. harris trailing donald trump by five points there. can kamala harris win arizona in this psych snl what more does she need to do? john: she can. i think she needs to remind people like me who four years ago, maybe we were republicans or moderate democrat we need to remind people how chaotic four years of donald trump was. we truly were referring to it as our national nightmare. people seem to have, for some reason, forgotten that experience. so i think if she presents herself as a -- as a moderate person many arizona, someone who maybe has evolved on some of the issues that she was such a vigorous advocate for when she was -- early on in her political life, and the contrast between her and president trump is stark. and he does not compare well. geoff: may so -- mesa mayor john

giles, a republican supporting kamala harris in this presidential election. thank you for your time, mr. mayor. we appreciate it. john: thank you. geoff: the dramatic changes in the presidential race could have implications for control of the house and senate. both chambers are up for grabs with democrats hopeful about flipping the house. our lisa dejordin has more with the lawmaker overseeing that effort. lisa: suzan delbene represents a long stretch of washington state in congress and two years ago became chairwoman of the democratic national campaign committee, the dccc for short. she joins me now. thank you for joining us. your colleagues, i've been speaking to them, as have many reporters over the last few weeks. they were for the souse about biden when he was the nominee. many house democrats felt he

would hurt them down ballot. now with harris as the presumptive nominee has anything changed? what should she do for the down-ballot races you care about so much? >> we have incredible candidates across the country who are unique voices for their districts and they have been running strong. there's heightened energy and enthusiasm all across the country. folks are excited. this election is a huge contrast. it's about folks who are standing up for our rights, our freedom, our democracy, our future. and our democratic candidates out there. and folks who want to undermine all of that. take away our rights. and undermine our democracy. so there's a lot at take. people see that. they're very motivated and engaged and involved. all across the country. and so we know when we can get our message out to voters and talk to them about standing up for reproductive freedom, making sure that we build an economy

that works for everyone in this country. grow the middle class. we win. and we're continuing to get that message out. and obviously the enthusiasm will be really helpful. >> after the harris announcement and biden stepping down, the harris campaign saw a massive surge in fundraising. you also had a one day record right after that. but has that continued? what is the money and sort of activism look like on your end? >> we've been outraidsing our republican counterparts all this cycle. the dccc, our committee has been outraising our republican counterpart by a lot. and we have our candidates and our incumbents in tough elections have been outraising their opponents. we did see a big uptick when vice president harris was announced as the new candidate. and had our biggest online fundraising day. but we've continued to see strong support. and those resources are important. we have a lot of races across the country in the house and we need to make sure folks know who

our candidates are. what they stand for. fight the misinformation and disinformation that'll be out there. when we get that information out there, we'll win. >> the house was favorite for the close margin the republicans were running by which caused them problems in their leadership repeatedly. you have to flip a handful of seats around the country in order to take the house. now, looking at the political report, they rate right now, there's about 22 tossup races. of those, you know, 11 are democratic held right now. 11 are republican held if you look at the ones you all hold, i notice the majority of those are in places like ohio, pell, michigan. manufacturing types of states. why is it that democrats are now defending in those areas where there used to be such a core constituency of working class americans democrats could count on? >> i think the reason that we have those seats and will keep those seats is because our focus always has been on growing and

strengthening the middle class. talking to people about the issues they're facing in their communities. making sure we're addressing affordability. the cost of housing. of food. childcare. and making sure that we're focused on opportunities for workers. not tax breaks for the wealthy and well connected which seems to be a top priority of republicans. that's been part of our message of making sure that folks get things done in our communities. when we do that folks see our authentic candidates who are fighting for theming their continue to support them. and these are purple districts. >> some voters hold you responsible and the biden administration for increased grocery places. they've gotten rough right now. and housing prices. what's your message to them to say no, we're going to make it better. we're not the ones to blame. >> i think this is about who is actually fighting for an economy that works for everyone. and we absolutely have been if you look at policy, the ongoing work going on, there's more to do. we're talking about addressing a affordable housing across this

country. we need more housing in every part of our country. we need -- when we're talking about addressing costs or etch looking at tax policy it's about putting working families first. republicans have been all about tax breaks for the wealthy and well connected. and kind of their idea that it's trickle down. that never works. we have been supporting policies to help families like the expanded child tax credit that have helped families pay bills. pay for child care. pay for rent. and policies that help reduce childhood poverty across our country almost in half. we can do much more to build on policies like that that help family. we are talking about that and the work that will make a difference on the ground. but first, you've got to have folks willing to govern. republicans have been chaotic, dysfunctional, extreme, this entire congress, we got sent home early because they don't know how to pass any legislation. so having folks who are going to be focused on governing is so important turnover part of the

country that i've been to. and we've got folks who want to govern. >> in 30 seconds, wile vice president harris is now the presumptive nominee, the republicans have someone new as well, senator j.d. vance. their vice-presidential nominee. some democrats think that's good for you guy. s. do you think he helps democrats? >> i think if you listen to what he's been saying when he's been on the road, he continues to parrot the talking points of republicans putting in place a nationwide abortion ban, taking away reproductive freedom. taking away our rights, undermining our democracy he continues to talk about that. that's part of the republican platform. we're going to stand up for our rights, our freedoms, our democracy and build a strong future. >> congresswoman suzanne delbene, thank you so much. we have reached out to the republican campaign committee as well to request a similar interview with them.

gyp one week after the resignation of secret service director kimberly cheadle, her acting successor, ronald roe, spent this morning acknowledging the agency's failures and trying to reassure congress in a hearing that the secret service is capable and accountable. he was joined at the hearing of the senate judiciary and homeland security committees by the deputy director of the f.b.i., paul abate. >> do you swear the testimony you will give -- geoff: for the second time in just eight days -- >> somebody has to be fired. geoff: members of congress grilled the head of the secret service of the security failures leading up to the assassination attempt of former president donald trump earlier this month. >> how could they not see? they're in an elevated position. they're checking rooftops. they're looking around. there's two government snipers. how could they not see him? geoff: this time under oath, acting director ronald ro wervetion a week into his tenure

calling the efforts to protect mr. trump a, quote, failure on multiple levels. >> i went to the roof though building where the assailant fired shots. i laid in a prone position to evaluate his line of sight. what i saw made me ashamed. as a career law enforcement officer and a 25-year veteran with the secret service, i can in the defend why that roof was not better secured. >> he was at times more direct in his testimony than his 3red sesdzor kimberly cheadle but he pushed back even harder, leading to heated exchanges with some republican senators including the missouri senator. >> why don't you relieve everybody of duty. i'm trying to find somebody accountable here. the former president was shot. >> sir, this could have been our texas schoolbook depository. i have lost sleep over there for the last 17 days. >> then fire somebody. >> i will tell you, senator,

that i will not rush to judgment, that people will be held accountable, and i will do so with integrity. and not rush to judgment and put people unfairly -- >> i can't believe -- geoff: texas republican senator ted cruz lit into rowe over reports the secret service denied requests for additional protection and whether there was adequate staffing at the time of the shooting. >> is it your testimony that in butler, pennsylvania, donald trump had the same number of agents protecting him that joe biden has at a comparable event? >> i'm telling you the shift, the close protection shift sur rowbing him, you asked me and i'm trying to answer it. >> you are not answering it. is it the same number of agent srs not? >> there's a difference between the sitting president of the united states. >> then what's the difference? >> the difference >> two x, three x. >> national command authority to launch a nuclear strike and other assets. >> i'm not asking why you assign

more to joe biden. i'm asking is it two x, three x, five x, sit 10x? >> i will get you that number so you can see it with your own eyes. >> f.b.i. deputy director paul abate laid out the most comprehensive account of the shooting yet, detailing several missed chances and lapses in communication between local law enforcement and the secret service. >> the first reported sighting by local law enforcement was approximately 4:26 p.m. geoff: but he said nrn 90 minutes secret service snipers were unaware of the threat posed by the gunman despite officers trying to track him. >> officers lost sight of him from 6:02 p.m. to 6:08 p.m. at approximately 6:08 p.m. the suspect was observed on the roof by local law enforcement. at approximately 6:11 p.m., a local police officer was lifted to the roof, saw he shooter and

radioed he was armed with, yet, a long gun. within approximately the next 30 seconds, the shots were fired. geoff: rowe called into question the performance of local law enforcement who he said had a better view of the gunman. >> this is if the second view of the a.g.r. building this. point of view is the point of view where the countersniper team locally was posted. the gold arrow indicates where the shooter fired from. looking left, why was the assailant not seeing him? we made an assumption that there was going to be uniform presence out there that there would be sufficient eyes to cover that, that there was going to be countersniper teams in the a.g.r. building. and i can assure you that we're not going to make that mistake again. geoff: he said the f.b.i. was still searching for a motive but uncovered a social media account potentially linked to the gunman. >> there were over 700 comments

posted from this account. some of those comments if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to reflect anti-semitic an anne immigration themes to espouse political violence, and are described as extreme in nature. geoff: a number of senators urged rowe to ask for more resources and personnel. former president trump is set to be interviewed by the f.b.i. about the shooting late they are week. geoff: the u.s. senate today passed the kids on loin safety act by a vote of 91-3. the bill passes the house it'll mark the first time in 5 years that congress has passed a bill aimed at better protecting children from dangers online. >> in a 2023 survey, 65% of kids

in the u.s. reported experiencing an online risk, rain onlying from misinformation and graphic violence to hate speech. among other thing, the act, dubbed cosa, establishes duty of care. that's a legal term requiring social media companies and other platforms like gaming sites to reasonably mitigate harm. companies would have to disable addictive content and limit features that extend the time spent on platforms. it allows kids to opt out of personalized algorithm recommendations and limits others from communicating directly with children. but some are concerned the bill violates first amendment freedoms, could lead to censorship, and could prevent marginalized individuals from getting important information. far closer look i'm joined by ava smithing of the young people's alliance which supported cosa's passing. thank you for being on the "newshour." there are a wide range of

threats to kids wefer covered on this program from sextortion to harmful content. how much can we expect this bill to do to protect kids online? >> there's a couple of reasons i think this bill will be incredibly effective. the first is when you mentioned, the duty of care, that would place the onus on the tech dpeens design and implement features that are healthy for the kids. the second thing is a risk assessment and audit we all have our taxes audited annually and in every other industry, before we paw product out, we make sure that that product is safe for the consumption by minors and for minors. that is another thing that this act set up to ensure there's a third party app audit and risk assessment on social media companies so they're designed and implemented in a safer way. >> what kind of accountable for tech companies does this bill include? for example, does it hold a social media company legally liable for content that reaches kids? >> no.

social media companies are not held legally liable for content that reaches children. this is a protection gifted to them -- or this is a protection they received under section 230 of the communications decency act. this bill says that internetter service providers such as media companies can't be held liable for content on their platforms. this bill does not interfere with the way content is looked at on social media platforms but rather the design features. it's making sure the f.t.c. can have guidelines on how to safely design social media platforms. think about things like the endless scroll, that's a design feature which encourages addiction like behavior which is something they'd be held accountable for. >> as you know there are some concerns about this bill from some advocacy groups. i want to play what the head of transohio told us. >> what concerns me most about the cosa bill and bills generally seeking to limit the scope of what is accessible on

the internet is who decides what should be accessible and how it's accessible. being the head of a transorganization in a state where we've had legislatures tell us they'd like to see our website and the services we provide to youth and adults across the state restricted, it's not a leap and a bound and it's anything but hi perabo lee to see how a bill like cosa could lead to our website and other websites being limited in their access to the internet. >> what do you think about that? do you see how this law could be weaponized against certain community, in particular the trans community? >> when i initially moved to d.c. and started advocating on behalf of social media reform me and my organization did not endorse the kids online safety act because we had similar fears that is organization does. but in february a new version of the bill came out that not only limited the state attorneys

general' ability to enforce dawt of care, it's a federal thing, different states cannot do as they please with the bill but also added the word design feature into the duty of care which says companies need to exercise reasonable care through the implementation of design features. further proving the bill is not about content but rather about that the design of these platforms. >> there's also some concern about the data collection and age verification requirements of the bill. i want to play for you what the electronic frontier foundation has had to say. >> platforms will have to start collecting a lot more information on all of their users to determine which of their users are entitled that special protection or legally required to have this special protection. so one of the things we have seen in our privacy work is that any time plt forms collect that type of information personally identifiable information at scale, and have to hold on to it for legal reasons, that becomes

a target for theft. for identity theft. >> do you agree with that? does the law leave data and privacy vu initial at small >> there's a couple of things to address there. first the standard has changed to anything that did not exist in laws which came before it. the second thing is as it relates to the data these companies already collect. all these companies already know how old you are, what you do, who you are, where you go, who you follow. everything about you. they utilize that to target you with advertisements. this is no more data than they collect in the reasonable course of business. and now with the kids online safety act, addresses those privacy concerns by limiting the amount of data that companies are allowed to collect on young people in the first place. >> you were on social media as teenager and i understand it negatively affected you. can you talk a little bit about that and how you think having a

law like this in place would have changed your online experience and maybe even your childhood? >> yes. it would have changed my dhieldhood -- childhood. when i was a young person, about 11 or 12, i downloaded instagram and brought from by kino advertisements to diet culture posts to eating disorder posts because the algorithms understood what i engage with most is what i'd look at most and what they could make money from me on if a law like this i would have only interacted with content i deliberately searched for as opposed to content they knew would keep me hooked at the cost of my well being. i'm incredibly excited about the kids online safety act and the possibility it has to protect many other young people from being brought down that rabbit hole to extremism in whatever content they're looking at. >> ava smithing with the young people's alliance. thank you for coming on an offering your perspective >> thank you for having mevment

me. geoff: two years ago, hong kong saw its biggest annual population drop since its recordkeeping started. toafns thousands of residents left the asian financial hub because of its strict covid-19 policies and a crackdown on civil liberties by beijing. special correspondent christopher booker spent some time in new york's finger lakes district with one american couple who were part of this exodus. his report is part of our arts and culture series, canvas. kroif: on the main -- christopher: on the main street of hown neeoye village. he dreams of a life a continent away. >> this is where i used to sit to do my work. >> from the mural overhead to the art on the wall, owners

albert wan and jenny smith pay tribute to the bookstore's original hong kong location. >> we tried to bring hong kong with us. we didn't want to leave. >> it's an extension of our home and a sign of respect, all the people who have supported the book shop. >> the journey began in 2016 when they said good-bye to their home in atlanta. smith had a job waiting for her at a hong kong university. wan, a former attorney, decided to change careers. >> the goal was to have a viable business as a book shop. and serve and grow a community of readers. >> the store's name, break house books, comes from a charles dickens novel by the same total about a long court case and is rae mind ore they have legal career he lost behind. once he had a name he had to find a space for the business in hong kong's notoriously cramp and expensive real estate market. >> we end p up renting an 800

square feet space in an office building on the 27th floor in a semiindustrial area. >> it was slow at first. >> we specialized in english language books. i felt it was a mark we had to cultivate. >> word of break house books began to spread on facebook and instagram. the little shop on the 27th floor developed a loyal following including writer and editor tammy >> when you walk into the book shop you will see books, old and new. you will always find something that you did not expect to find. >> she says the store became the perfect venue for her literary journal's readings and talks. >> it's an unusual place and space in hong kong where so many different writers can meet and readers as well. >> but as the store's community was grow, so too was beijing's

influence over hong kong. through economic and political pressure, the chinese communist party was stepping up efforts to erode the city's civil liberties. when did you first notice the change? >> i think it happened gradually of it was never like a turning point. >> before a talk commemorating a writer and prominent critic of one-party rule in china, wan was warned it may put him and his family in danger. >> i never envisioned that i would have to deal with that sort of feedback or commentary just for having an event at a book shop for a well-known wriert. >> in 2019, political tensions erupted. hong kong's government introduced a law that would allow to it extradite hong kongers to mainland china. sparking off the largest demonstrations in the city's history. bleak house books became known for its support of the democracy movement. >> it was an amazing way to

connect with readers who came in. it was meaningful to be part of that. >> then came the pandemic. and the chinese national security law which ushered in an a unprecedented crackdown on free speech, the free press and free association. but through the upheaval, bleak house books stayed open. it was one of a few places in hong kong that conned to sell books that were considered politically sensitive. >> for example, this protest book. you know, documents of protest. wouldn't be able to buy it. >> in the summer of 2021, even though their store was doing better than ever, wan and smith can to reassess their future. >> they're not cracking down on book shops now but they are cracking down on these free-wheeling newspapers and things like. that freedom of the press is not going to be the same thing from here on out. bookstores will come. they might not be next but they'll be soon. >> that fall, they made the difficult decision to leave hong kong. >> wouldn't help the kids if i ended up getting arrested.

>> did you feel like you were letting people down by closing? >> it was really a matter of priorities. our family comes first. >> the couple eventually moved their family to new york's finger lakes district. >> was the idea when you got here, we're going to open up a 2.0? >> yes. there was never any doubt. >> it was something we had todo. it just felt like if we didn't dry trie to reopen it would be like they had won. >> so wan and smith renovated this long empty shop front and like house books reopened its doors last june. while business can often be quiet, the store has brought new life to downtown honeoye falls which was decimated by the pandemic. the day we visited, evan drove 45 minutes to pick up a book he ordered through the store. >> what do you get from an

independent bookstore? >> this is a cultural and community asset. i can't claim to be a knowledgeable citizen about supporting this kind of business. >> as bleak house books slowly grows a new community, hong kong and its people remain central to the store's mission. >> we're part of a diaspora now of people who, you know, are trying to make a difference from outside the country. >> do you see a world where books help to provide an antidote to those forces? >> books matter. if they haven't important then there's no point in censoring them, right? >> it's now almost 8,000 miles away from where it started, that's a belief bleak house books continues to embody in its second chapter. i'm christopher booker in new york. geoff: there's a lot more online. our lisa desjardins spoke with a

number of voters both before an after vice president harris replaced president biden atop the democratic presidential ticket. read what they had to say at pbs.org/newshour. i'm geoff bennett. for all of us here at the "newshour," thank you for spending your evening with us. >> major funding for the "pbs newshour" has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, this is sam. how may i help you. this is a pocket dial. somebody's pocket, i thought i'd let you know, with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. have a nice day. >> carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy and peace. more information 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.

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