geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the "newshour" tonight, special counsel jack smith files a new indictment against former president donald trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. israel rescues a hostage from a tunnel in gaza, but hope for a

larger hostage and ceasefire deal remains dim. and an american journalist freed from russian detention in the latest prisoner swap shares her harrowing experience and how she's adjusting to life back home. >> even when the darkest feelings and emotions took over sometimes, i knew the whole world was fighting for me. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour 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.

>> fostering an 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. the fallout from last month's supreme court decision on presidential immunity continues. special counsel jack smith has

filed a new indictment over trump in federal court. the charges against trump remain the same, four counts related to alleged actions he took to stay in power after the 2020 election. to explain what the new indictment means, gary johnson from npr joins us -- carrie johnson from npr joins us. tell us why this revisement was necessary. >> last month, they cut away a significant part of the special counsel case against donald trump and jack smith told the court today that he was responding to the supreme court's directives and basically tightening his case in some important respects against the former president to make it comply with the instructions the supreme court had given him. geoff: we have got this new 36 page superseding indictment and the original 45 page indictment, what are the biggest changes between the two, carrie? >> the single biggest change as

the supreme court last month told the special counsel that the president has a lot of power, a great deal of leeway when it comes to interactions with the justice department, and so, jack smith has removed a bunch of allegations from this indictment that initially charged trump with leaning on justice department officials to go along with bogus claims of voter fraud and election fraud and try to convince states to do the same thing, now, all of that is out of the indictment, as is one of the co-conspirators, amen we believe to be jeffrey clark who was elevated by donald trump inside the justice department shortly before the events of january 6, 2021, a man who appeared to have been on board with trump's strategy about the election. all of that is now gone and later in the indictment there's more language that describes trump as acting as a person seeking office, a candidate as opposed to a president, using

the formal powers of a presidency. that, too, is in line with what the supreme court had to say. geoff: what is next for this case? how might the judge received this? >> the judge has already asked both sides to confer and present her with a plan -- a plan to go forward. the justice department says it does not demand that donald trump be in court in d.c. in person to respond to the new charges so he can do that through his lawyers. the big question is the november election. if trump prevails, he is fully in line to order the justice department to drop this case against him and that would likely be legal, under the things the supreme court has said a president can do while in office, if trump does not win in november, then all this legal wrangling becomes much more important, one of the key questions moving forward is, how quickly can a trial of donald trump go forward and will the special counsel add some new defendants? some of these co-conspirators,

alleged co-conspirators, people like rudy giuliani, john eastman and others, who were working in their private capacity at the time to help donald trump cling to power. geoff: the special counsel and his team have been busy because just yesterday the appealed the out the classified documents case. how does the move today fit within the overall landscape of the special counsel's work? >> we have heard all along the special counsel team intended to keep working through the election and it has been also on the go along those lines, judge aileen cannon in florida who was appointed to the bench by trump dismissed the classified and obstruction case against him, prosecutors say that canon was wrong about the law for, 150 years the justice department has selected special prosecutors in this way -- ways like this. higher courts should reinstate the case against trump.

that, too, will partner along through the election. we might find out more about that case and whether it gets revived early next year as well. geoff: npr's carrie johnson, our deep thanks to you as always. >> thanks, geoff. ♪ geoff: we start the day's other headlines in the middle east. after 326 days in captivity, a hostage was found in the hamas tunnels underneath gaza and brought to safety by the israeli military. kayed farhan al-qadi is the eighth hostage to be rescued from gaza, but dozens more wait to be freed in a potential ceasefire deal between israel and hamas. stephanie sy has this report. reporter: the soroka medical center is an unlikely scene for a race. but a helicopter carrying a rescued hostage from hamas'

october 7 attack had landed outside, and the family of qaid farhan al-qadi had no time to waste. >> can't express my feelings. i hope my mother will be happier than us. we prayed for him, my mother prayed for him more, her prayer reached the sky. reporter: alkadi is part of the arab bedouin minority in israel and was working in a kibbutz when hamas attacked. he has a large family, including two wives and 11 children. >> we cannot go into many details of this special operation, but i can share that israeli commandos rescued kayed farhan al-qadi from an underground tunnel following accurate intelligence. reporter: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu spoke to al-qadi over the phone. >> you really did a holy work, a holy work you did. there are other people waiting. >> i want you to know that we do not forget anyone, just as we did not forget you.

we are committed to returning everyone, without exception. reporter: israeli officials say 108 hostages are still held in gaza. but more than 40 of those are thought to be dead. hostage families are among the many urging israel and hamas to reach a ceasefire deal, but negotiations have stretched on for months without public progress. meanwhile, israel has continued its ground and air attacks on gaza. the palestinian death toll has reached 40,000 over the course of the war. another 18 were killed overnight and today according to officials in gaza. early this morning, a missile killed six members of the same family in khan younis. >> people were sleeping, everyone woke up to the sound of the explosion. i was the first to arrive here, the father, mother, and children -- we took them all out of here in body parts. reporter: the eyewitnesses to

horror, growing in number, all while threats of expanded violence directed at israel loom. iran, still reeling over the assassination of hamas leader ismail haniyeh, has yet to exact revenge, but officials have reiterated, it's coming. for the pbs news hour, i'm stephanie sy. geoff: also today, russia launched a new wave of attacks across multiple regions in ukraine. at least five people were killed. the latest missile and drone strikes come after moscow hit ukraine's power grid, in its largest air attack of the war yet. meantime, ukraine says it's taken nearly 500 square miles of russia's kursk region and captured more russian troops since that surprise incursion started three weeks ago. as fighting there intensifies, so do concerns about a potential nuclear incident. today, the chief of the un's nuclear watchdog visited the region's power plant, which

he said is speckled with traces of drone attacks. >> pointing fingers is something that i, as director general of the iaea, must take extremely seriously. but it is obvious that you cannot separate what we have seen here from the recent military activity that we have seen. geoff: he warns that the plant is especially vulnerable to attack because it has no protective dome. any such strike, he says, would have serious consequences. to the rest of the white house. kamala harris have been -- has been off the trail this week but is keeping her presence on the airwaves. >> i know what this country needs and sadly, right now it is out of reach. geoff: in a new ad, the harris campaign highlights her plan to build three million new homes over four years to address rising housing prices. at a rally in michigan today

focused on the economy, republican vice presidential nominee jd vance took aim at harris' record. >> americans can't afford groceries because of your leadership, kamala. young people can't afford homes because of the policies that you have enacted as vice president. geoff: meantime the trump campaign says robert f. kennedy junior is joining donald trump's presidential transition team, after dropping out of the race this past friday. former presidential candidate and one-time democrat tulsi gabbard will also serve as an honorary co-chair. separately, more than 200 former republican staffers have signed an open letter endorsing harris over trump. she and her vice presidential pick tim walz will be sitting down with cnn for their first joint-interview on thursday. harris has been criticized for not making herself more available to the press, since joe biden dropped out of the race in july and endorsed her. large parts of the country are sizzling in a late-summer heatwave, with humidity pushing so-called "feels like" temperatures into the triple digits in some areas. more than 70 million people were under some form of heat alert

today. residents of the midwest and the mid-atlantic were most directly affected. that has disrupted the first week of school in detroit and philadelphia, where students were sent home early today. forecasts say the midwest will cool down tomorrow, but the heat will linger on the east coast for several more days. two workers were killed and a third was injured after an explosion at a delta air lines maintenance facility in atlanta early this morning. emergency crews were seen at the hangar near hartsfield-jackson atlanta international airport. local media has reported that a tire on a plane exploded. delta released a statement offering condolences to the families, but provided few details about what happened. the airline says it's working with local officials to investigate the incident. health authorities in new hampshire say one person has died after testing positive for the eastern equine encephalitis virus. it was the first reported infection in the state in a decade. the mosquito-borne virus can result in death or severe mental

and physical disabilities. there are no anti-viral treatments or vaccines. several massachusetts towns have urged people to stay indoors at night because of encephalitis concerns. on wall street, stocks eked out tiny gains across the board today. the dow jones industrial average inched up to another record close, adding just 10 points. the nasdaq rose, too, tacking on 29 points. the s&p also climbed just slightly higher on the day. and "the great wait is over." with those words, the british pop group oasis announced a reunion tour set for next year. it comes after more than a decade of feuding between the band's two brothers, liam and noel gallagher. >> ♪ and, after all, you're my wonderwall ♪ ♪ geoff: songs like "wonderwall" and "don't look back in anger" made oasis one of the superstar acts of the 1990's. they were compared to the beatles and topped the pop

charts. but their off-stage dramas often overshadowed their musical triumphs. the band has announced a 14-date tour across the u.k. and ireland next summer. still to come on the "newshour" -- legal fights brew over states' new voting rules that could influence the outcome of this year's elections. a judge's ruling places a half million undocumented spouses of u.s. citizens in limbo. and a look at the extra hurdles people with disabilities face amid a national housing shortage. ♪ >> this is the pbs news hour from weta studios in washington and from the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism. geoff: as we wind our way to the november elections, some key states are still debating and battling over brand new election rule changes. as our lisa desjardins explains, in some prominent cases, these

are republican-led and pushed by former president donald trump himself. reporter: in just the past few weeks, the georgia election board has passed changes that could affect this year's election results. among them, local officials could launch an investigation after results are in, and each local official could demand to examine all election documents, presumably including each ballot. if there is a discrepancy in ballot and voter counts, no vote from such a precinct can count. former president donald trump has recently praised by name the three board members who passed those rules as fighting for honesty and victory. this week, the national and state democratic parties filed a lawsuit citing current georgia law and writing, "election officials are free to voice concerns at the time of certification, but they may not point to those election irregularities or anything else as a basis for delaying certification or denying it entirely." to look at this and voting law changes in other states, i'm joined by jessica huseman of votebeat.

let's start right there in georgia. a hotly contested state. we see vice president harris there this week. what do we know about what georgia election law says about certification and can these rules stand? >> i have a really difficult time seeing how they could. but i'm not an attorney. the law in georgia does say local boards shall certify the election by a given date. it does not give them any room to not do that. essentially accepts it as a predetermined conclusion. i think the law in georgia is very clear as to what they need to do. and if they behave accordingly, they will do the same thing they did last year. reporter: this comes from a newly configured election board, the georgia legislature changed the law to change the board, no longer sitting on this board as the secretary of state, brad

raffensperger, someone who viewers might remember was on the phone call with former president trump, who wanted him to find some votes, brad raffensperger refused. he has called out what he sees happening on the election board, saying it is a mess and saying it is misguided attempts by the state election board that will delay election results and undermine jane of custody -- chain of custody safeguards. i know you are saying what the law looks like but can the board move through this quickly enough or is it possible there will be confusion about this on election day? >> there's certainly a possibility they could move quickly enough. courts tend to move very quickly ahead of elections because they don't want to affect things to close -- too close to the day of the election by the amount of time the court considers too close is getting shorter and shorter every year so there could definitely be some confusion here.

if it gets even into the middle of september, we will start seeing some antsy feelings on the part of georgia democrats especially. but ultimately the courts to have it in their power to fix this. reporter: if this is allowed to stay in place close to election day, do you think any of these counties are ready to use these kinds of powers and exactly for what? >> i'm sure that they are. there are a lot of very red counties across the country that have been sort of playing with the idea of refusing to certify your local election result. but in the past, that has not been successful basically anywhere that has been tried -- i don't see why it would be different in georgia. local boards are under a lot of pressure to certify from the people who live in the community. you can only certify your own election. if you choose not to certify your local results, you are preventing local candidates from taking office, and any of those people could sue -- could sue.

that's what happened in the past. there probably will be a few counties in georgia that push their luck here but probably reverse course quickly. reporter: do you have a sense of how much of this for the election board members will really have not spoken out much outside of their meetings, how much of this is about their concerns over election security? how much of this could be what we hear from donald trump, trying to set up a scenario where there is doubt if he loses? >> it is hard to say. i think the republican party has gone all in with donald trump on these claims of voter fraud and non-citizen voting and voter rules that are not true but because they have thrown themselves so far behind him, it's hard to say whether or not this is something they actually believe or a partyline, at the end of the day i'm not sure that it makes much of a difference. this is a political determination and it's definitely going to impact the

efficacy of a vote. reporter: you mentioned questions about noncitizen voting and we know just this week or in the past week the supreme court has ruled in on arizona law and given arizona republicans a partial victory saying they can enforce some of the arizona election law, which basically would mean, if i have this right, that people without an id at the ballot box would have to fill out a special federal form to vote in the presidential election -- that is something a lot of republicans are saying was a victory for them. do you think that's going to make a difference at the polls or not in november? >> it is hard to say. past examples of voters having to fill out forms at polls do not suggest that voters will be tremendously dissuaded from voting as a result of that. in texas, if you do not have an id, you have to fill out a reasonable impediment declaration here, that does not

seem to have been a there rear in recent election -- a barrier in recent elections. that should be pretty seamless. reporter: perhaps there are too many people voting is an idea raised. on the left, the concern is sometimes about too few, and purging voter rules. texas and ulster have been a -- texas has announced there have been a one million purged. is this something to be concerned about or is this standard procedure? >> so removing people from the voter roll is very well controlled. federal laws dictate when and how someone can be removed from the roll and what kind of notice they have to give to the people they are attempting to remove. none of those things have changed the last few years. that federal law has remained the same. we are currently within the window those federal laws allow

such that no one can be removed from the rules at this point from now until the election. if you are on them now, you will stay on the rolls to the end of the election and that will not change. but i think it's important for people to know that there's a universe of federal law that does apply to this that dictates when someone is made inactive and how long they must be an active and how much notice they need to be given in the mail to remove that person from the rolls, this is not an overnight process and it's a process very tightly controlled. reporter: a big look at some great concerns. we appreciate you. >> thank you. ♪ geoff: a federal judge in texas has temporarily blocked a biden administration program that could offer legal status to undocumented immigrants married to u.s. citizens. our white house correspondent,

laura barron-lopez, has been covering this. thanks for being here. who is behind the lawsuit and how has the biden white house responded to this? >> this is a lawsuit not based on merit, but a pause as litigation lays out. it was filed by 16 a publican -- by 16 republican-led states. it would have rewarded more than one million illegal aliens the opportunity for citizenship after breaking laws and incentivize countless more, republican that states claim, the administration's actions would cause financial harm to their states because they would have to pay for services like education, health care, drivers licenses for these undocumented migrants. the states were assisted by america first legal which is founded by stephen miller, a longtime trump advisor and architect of many of his immigration policies, a part of

this lawsuit. the administration says they are going to defend this policy known as the keeping families together policy and president biden today said nothing i did change the requirements people have to meet to adjust status under immigration law, all i did was make it possible for these longtime residents to file the paperwork here together with their families meaning that they would not have to leave the country for years on end in order to get this legal status. geoff: what does the pause mean for the people who would have benefited from this program? >> undocumented spouses married to u.s. citizens who meet clear parameters like living in the u.s. for more than 10 years and had no felonies. it would've qualified for parole in place which is a longtime program offered by the u.s. without having to leave. based on the administration's estimates of who would have been eligible, those infected are going to be some 500,000

undocumented spouses of u.s. citizens, impacted by this court ruling, 50,000 children under the age of 21 who have a u.s. citizen stepparent. i spoke to todd, the president of the pro-immigration and rights group. he says this will have a significant impact on whiplash for the families. >> for people who have put in an application and have paid a fee, worked with an attorney and waited decades, that is devastating for their families. i talk to someone who came during the reagan administration. this was her best chance to have a little bit more certainty in her life. reporter: groups like this are going to be fighting this but they are very concerned for what this means for these undocumented spouses. geoff: can the undocumented immigrants who are eligible for the program still apply? >> they can still apply but things could potentially change. the department of homeland security said today that when it

comes to the application process, people can continue to accept applications but pending or new applications that have been submitted since this ruling will not be approved, they will basically be in limbo. the parole applications that were already approved will not be affected. geoff: when -- where does the case or litigation go next? >> this paused by the judge puts a program on hold for at least 14 days but it could be extended. right now immigration lawyers and the administration are fighting to make sure that this pause is stopped after 14 days and the program ultimately can proceed as litigation continues. but again it creates a lot of fear, depression and anxiety for undocumented migrants. one man has been in the country for more than 20 years and he said when he found out, heard the news, he was playing with his 1-year-old son, that it drove his wife to tears, and his

ultimate message is, this is not just targeting undocumented migrants like himself who work in the u.s. and created a life here but all of his family members who are u.s. citizens, his wife, his mother, he said texas is targeting not just one undocumented migrant but five united states citizens with their ruling. geoff: laura, thank you, laura barron lopez. ♪ geoff: earlier this month, and extra mary prisoner swap with russia brought back three americans home. among them was russian-american journalist alsu kurmasheva, who was sentenced to 6.5 years for spreading false information about the russian army. that was alsu holding her daughters and husband tight, a terful, joyous reunion. today, she joins me here with

her husband, pavel butorin. alsu, pavel, welcome to the newshour. thank you for being here. >> thank you for having us. geoff: that moment you were embracing your loved ones after nearly a year being separated from them, what was that like? >> i lived the happiest moments of my life. it was exactly as i was dreaming of months and months when i was in prison. i had the same dream, how i would be greeting them and hugging them several times. so it was exactly the dream coming true. geoff: how has this past month for your readjusting to freedom and reclaiming your life as you know it? >> it has been extraordinary. my doors are finally open after more than nine months behind closed doors in a cell without a window. i finally can see colors, i see trees, plants, people, i

see them, talk to them, hug them. it's been amazing. it's been exhausting, as i review of the scale of the campaign which was going on on my behalf. but positively exhausting. i am happy. geoff: exhausting in the best way. your family is whole again, your daughters, how are they doing? how are you doing, pavel? >> finally more relaxed. after more than a year without alsu, while she was held in a russian prison cell, we are overjoyed to have alsu back. this is going to be a process, adjusting to living in the free world again. we are helping her re-program from a culture of fear and distrust t the free worldo where she can publish and say whatever she wants -- to the free world where she can publish and say whatever she wants. geoff: did you have any sense of

the kind of advocacy work that your husband was doing to secure your release? >> i only believed and hoped that something like that might be happening. but i clearly did not have a sense of the scale of the advocacy campaign -- there is a long list i want to say thanks to, i am thankful for ever to my colleagues. they were opening my doors here in d.c. this is how we work together without me knowing what was happening. all the efforts were brought to a happy end. of course the tremendous support of the u.s. government and president biden's administration and members of congress, the republicans and democrats. i just learned recently, after my release, that the efforts were bipartisan. there was a union. everybody united to bring me

home as an american mother and american journalist because clearly that is why i was detained and arrested for being an american journalist. geoff: what did you experience while detained? >> it was endless days, meaningless days of constant humiliation and intimidation, and small things. i have not witnessed physical violence in the cell that i was kept in. but it is moral pressure and continued humiliation. people did not realize even that it's not a life to live in. it's overwhelming fear of each other, your own thoughts. what you hear on tv. society has been put under survival mode. that's what i sensed. geoff: you have three colleagues

being detent. what is your message to them? >> celebrations are bittersweet because of that. i cannot stop thinking about them. because i know what they and their families are going through right now. i can sense it. and i want to tell them, you are in our thoughts and prayers and we will do everything to release you and to bring that moment to you, reuniting with their families. >> one of them was detained in russia occupied crimea. i met his wife and daughter. no family should go through this. journalists do not deserve to be detained or imprisoned. we will not stop our fight. geoff: there are those who say, while that is wonderful that you are home, that the u.s. cannot keep doing these deals where the u.s. exchanges terrorists and

criminals for reporters and dissidents. it only encourages the likes of a vladimir putin and leads to more unjust attainments. what do you say to that? >> and perhaps the wrong person to ask. because all i wanted was alsu to get back to her family. i think, in this trade, the u.s. government and allies showed that the free world places a higher value on human life. even if it means exchanging real criminals and spies for innocent americans. i know it is a complicated moral dilemma. but i think we in the free world need to have moral courage to make these efforts. >> after the trade, i realized the choice -- the decision that was made by western governments and the u.s. government was a

difficult one. and i really appreciate that. geoff: you flew home with wall street journal reporter evan gershkovich and paul whelan, did you share stories on top? >> we did talk a lot and share stories. pavel said he really enjoyed listening to us. >> i picked up on some jargon there. which was interesting. i had no idea of those words. >> we were all wrongfully detained. and unjustly held in prison in russia. our stories were very different. our prisons were very different in russia. we were all kept in different conditions. it was interesting to share. >> it was important for us to be able to somehow communicate with alsu, our communication was quite limited. but every opportunity we had, we tried to communicate to her that

the world stood by her side. her family. >> it kept me going always. even when the darkest feelings and emotions took over sometimes, i knew the whole world was fighting for me, my colleagues, human rights organizations, journalists, everybody was fighting for me, and that kept me going. >> the way we try to keep her connected to the outside world was -- i think at some point we even snuck in a delivery of taylor swift songs. so she could keep up with culture. >> the release of the new album, i was in prison so i have not heard the songs. i was fantasizing about how they might sound. . i heard them when i came home. geoff: now that you mentioned it, you were on this program some weeks ago, my colleague said you and your daughter were supposed to be attending a taylor swift concert the night that alsu came home, were you

able to reschedule the concert? >> not yet. we are working on it. but what were the odds? this was something that we had plans for a year. a year ahead of time. >> before i was arrested. >> had four vip tickets. taylor swift, they are not just fans of taylor swift, taylor swift as their world that gave them solace and comfort in those darkest times. and the girls made i think 70 friendship bracelets for the show. they played taylor songs on the guitar every day. they watched the streams of surprise songs from the errors -- the eras tour. those dreams were shattered. it was a trade but it was worth it obviously. but we are not losing hope. we are hoping to see taylor this year. geoff: we are so glad that this

story has a happy ending. thanks so much for being with us. we appreciate it. >> thank you very much. ♪ geoff: stay with us for a look at how some companies are scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives amid conservative backlash. ♪ but first, to the nation's affordable housing shortage. millions of americans are priced out of homes and apartments,and for people with disabilities, finding an accessible place they can afford can be even more challenging. judy woodruff reports as part of our series, "disability reframed." reporter: 34-year-old jensen caraballo considered himself lucky when he moved into this apartment more than a decade ago. after searching for two years, he found a one-bedroom in rochester, new york, where he

lives with 24/7 care from in-home attendants like luis. jensen: i'll be honest, i settled for less than what i needed. i needed a two bedroom apartment that was affordable and accessible, and this place was neither, but it was the only way that i could live independently. so i settled for less. reporter: caraballo has spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disability, and has used a wheelchair since he was a child. at 15 years old, he moved into a nursing home. >> i remember feeling neglected. living in a nursing home as a teenager was very challenging,

and, honestly, traumatic. i felt stripped of my autonomy. reporter: but his apartment is far from ideal -- the bathroom is too small for him to close the door, and almost everything in his kitchen is inaccessible. you have to back in, in order to use the refrigerator. jensen: yes. reporter: and then what about the sink? jensen: i have no access. reporter: he says he moved in because there were no other options in his budget. caraballo receives supplemental security income, or ssi, a monthly benefit program many people with disabilities rely on. he uses the ssi payment and a housing voucher to help cover his rent, but says it isn't enough to pay for the apartment and all of his other monthly expenses. jensen: sometimes, there's a bill that doesn't get paid.

sometimes i'm in the negative in my bank account. i ask for family and friends to chip in, if they are able to. that takes a lot out of me, to have to ask for help. this is my story. but this is not just my story. it's an issue that has impacted the disabilty community for a very long time. reporter: more than four million people with disabilities who receive ssi can't afford rent in any u.s. housing market. the maximum ssi payment for one person is about $950 a month. it's the sole source of income for many who receive it, and it's used to pay for everything

from housing, to food and transportation. even in america's cheapest rental market, dallas county, missouri, rent for a one bedroom would require 64% of a monthly ssi payment. >> we've set up a situation where millions of people with disabilities can't afford to live anywhere in the united states. reporter: erin nguyen neff is a staff attorney at the disability rights education and defense fund and represents people in court cases involving housing discrimination. nguyen neff says, even when people with disabilities do find affordable housing, ensuring their space is accessible can be daunting. >> a person with a disability might need a home health aide to live in with them. this could technically be a violation of your lease, there might be some limitation on how many people, can be in that -- on how many people can be in that apartment and for what period of time. another classic example is

having basic modifications to your home, like having bars in the bathroom. so if you have a mobility disability, it's easier for you to use a shower or to use a toilet. reporter: in 1988, former president ronald raegan signed an extension of the fair housing act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability. but nguyen neff says all too often, landlords ignore tenants with disabilities or deny requests for reasonable accommodation. last year, more than half of all housing complaints filed nationwide were disability-related. nguyen neff says that reality and a shortage of in-home support services like direct care workers gives some people with disabilities no option but to live in nursing homes or other institutions. >> if we can make some changes to society, provide some more support and services, a person with a disability can live independently and can do a lot of the same things people without disabilities can. reporter: just off a light rail station stop in san jose,

california, a new apartment building offers an alternative. the kelsey ayer station is home to people with and without disabilities across various income levels. >> whether you're a person with disabilities, who ssi is your sole source of income and you have almost no money to pay rent, or you're middle income making $100,000 a year, that this community meets that diverse level of affordability. reporter: micaela connery is co-founder and ceo of the kelsey, the non-profit that co-developed the building. she started it with her cousin kelsey, who had multiple disabilities and was an advocate for inclusion. she says what makes the building unique is its focus on fostering community, with resident outings and monthly meetings led by so-called inclusion concierges who connect residents to services. >> from, you know, i need a transit pass, and how do i get there, to, you know, i'm in a crisis and i need my service and

case manager to all come together and help me get through this crisis to, you know, i'm looking for a social group to be involved in that's around the arts. do you have any suggestions? reporter: and from the beginning, people with and without disabilities took part in workshops to decide what the building's design and services should look like. including 33-year-old isaac haney-owens, who has autism. he showed us around the kelsey's sensory garden. >> it gives people a place to be able to wind down and also and be able to decompress if they need to get away from the stimulation going on in the building. we want to show the world that people with and without disabilities can live together and not be separated from each other when it comes to housing. reporter: 25% of the building's units are reserved for people with disabilities. they include kitchens and bathrooms with removable cabinets for wheelchair users and dimmable lighting for people with light sensitivity. floors are coded by number, color, and symbol to help with wayfinding.

39-year-old trevor lucken moved to the kelsey in june. he loves being in the kitchen and dreams of starting his own cooking show. >> i put the butter in and then the egg in after. and then i take my bagel seasoning right on top. reporter: lucken has down syndrome, and says he enjoys using the building's gym and having his own space. having your own room, where you can do what you want to do. what does that mean to you? >> it's more comfortable. i just like it, because i can get my own privacy. and i just like to be on my own. reporter: the building project was financed with a combination of government funding, philanthropy, low income tax credits, and loans. connery says she hopes to expand the housing model to more states, but the biggest challenge is funding. >> having that either philanthropic or public subsidy to bring into these is is crucial to make sure you serve the deepest need.

because affordability is so critical, and having units available for folks with disabilities who have no familial support and no other funding available, if we only wanted to serve people who were middle and high income, then maybe you could explore a for profit model. reporter: and attorney nguyen neff says making housing affordable and accessible nationwide starts with policy - -- >> having adequate rent regulation or rent control to help keep rents regulated and low for people with disabilities and for low income people. increasing funding so that people with disabilities have greater access to housing, but also changing the way we look at housing to remove the profit motive and center the people living there. reporter: back in rochester, jensen caraballo says ultimately, changing the status quo around housing starts with shifting how others think about disability. >> i think we often feel shame and embarrassment when it comes

to disability. there's this narrative that you're better off dead than disabled, and we have to change that. disability is a natural and normal thing. it's a part of life, and it can affect any of us at any time. reporter: he says he's hopeful he will one day find a new place he can call home. for the pbs newshour, i'm judy woodruff in rochester, new york. geoff: diversity, equity, and inclusion or dei programs are under attack by conservative

lawmakers and activists. from college campuses, to corporate america, the fear of legal liability and political backlash is leading some to backtrack or rebrand their diversity initiatives. in the last few weeks, there have been a number of high profile companies announcing changes. the latest, home improvement retailer lowe's. that follows similar moves by harley davidson, john deere, and the maker of jack daniel's whiskey. for a closer look, i'm joined by simone foxman, who is covering this all for bloomberg news. thanks for being here. let's start with a definition of what dei is, how do the efforts differ from long-standing efforts to diversify and increase the talent pool at the workplace? >> well, in the workplace, people who oversee dei efforts, a variety of d&i -- adjustments to diversify the workplace.

exactly what it means is different from company to company and eight dei professionals and from one ceo to another. that is why it is a controversial term recently. geoff: what is driving the backlash? >> part of it is this woke/ anti-woke culture were idea. a lot of these dei programs were ramped up or put into place after the murder of george floyd back in 2020. companies said, we want more diverse people in our workforce and in diverse communities. chief lee people of color. that also started to change around the time we saw the backlash around esg, environmental, social and governance. it's one of these buzzwords that has to do with investing

but has become this culture war topic. so the dei piece is what's really come under fire. especially since the supreme court ruled back affirmative action in 2023. geoff: as we mentioned, lowe's joins tractor supply, harley davidson, jack daniels in scaling back dei programs. where these companies in particular scaling back? >> these companies have all been targeted by a social media influence or by the name of ro bby starbucks -- robbie starbuck. he is the guy online bringing attention to what he calls woke policies and retailers or companies that have a lot of consumer interest, he believes those consumers do not want the companies to be adopting those policies. for example, if you go out into middle america, you're

likely to have a higher number of conservative people that might not be as interested in seeing trans workers being provided with health care, he is trying to blend the potential conservative impulses of certain groups of people with what their corporate policies are doing and saying, there is a disconnect here. it's been extremely effective. the campaigns, in the last 2-3 months, early june, we have seen a lot of movement in the corporate front. ne thing we have to ask ourselves is whether or not these companies were ever really as committed to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts -- the same efforts they are rolling back now -- as they said they were. geoff: looking at the data, white men still control about 60% of the top leadership roles or making up 30% of the

u.s. workforce according to federal workplace data. that raises two questions, is the concern among these conservative activists misplaced? but the question to you is, are these dei initiatives actually working? >> we have seen limited movements with respect to people of color and women in positions of senior leadership. actually white women have been the key beneficiaries of dei policies to date. talking about whether or not this has filtered down to all communities of color, women of color perhaps, i think it is harder to see the dramatic movement. the hope was especially with the policies that came into place after the murder of george floyd -- if we put all her efforts into trying to diversify our workforces, we will see more movement than we have. . we have seen some movement, the numbers are small, 9% of senior

leadership roles are held by like people where they make up 14% of the population and it is small, like 7% to 9%, something like that. geoff: setting aside the political aspect and culture were aspect of all this, there are advocates for diversity who so you can make a good business case for it -- that having a workplace that has a diversity of views in the room usually makes for better business. >> that is something frankly even opponents of dei -- some of them to say that. there are three groups of people, the pro-dei folks pushing some of these policies, often special programs for people of color or women to help them get ahead in ways they have not before. there's a middle group i think that says we respect the idea of

diversity in our boardroom and workplace but don't think those policies are necessary. then you have a group of people who say we are white men and we want to hold onto the power we have in our society and that is a different group of people. frankly no one -- there's crossover between the two groups i mentioned. no one is speaking to the intersection of them which is why activists on all sides are so loud and dominating the conversation. geoff: thanks for being here. appreciate it. remeber there is much more more online, including a report on how oklahoma schools are incorporating the bible into lesson plans because of a mandate from top education officials. that's at pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us.

have a good night. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, this is sam. how may i help you? >> this is pocket dial, somebody's pocket. you get nationwide coverage with no contract with consumer cellular. that's kind of our thing. 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 contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪

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