♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is on assignment. on "the newshour" tonight -- florida braces for impact as hurricane helene barrels towards the gulf coast. israel strikes hezbollah in lebanon for a third straight day, in preparation for a possible ground invasion.

kamala harris and donald trump continue campaigning in swing states with polls showing the race is as close as ever. and -- the head of the un's nuclear watchdog on the precarious and potentially catastrophic situations in iran and war-torn ukraine. ♪ >> 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. some of these pocket, with consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage with no contract. have a nice day. >> a successful business owner restores a historic jazz club with his son.

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more information at macfoun d.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. geoff: welcome to "the newshour." in the span of 24 hours, helene in the gulf of mexico has strengthened from a tropical storm into a hurricane. over the next 24 hours, it's expected to grow even stronger, and it's barreling straight towards florida. floridians have been filling sandbags, preparing to hunker down in the face of heavy rains, storm surge, and floods. earlier today, florida governor ron desantis urged residents to act now. gov. desantis: you still have time to make the preparations and put your plan in place today, but that time is running out.

this storm, i think, as you know, is basically in the area of cuba and the yucatan peninsula. it's moving past that, and then it's going to have pretty much a clear runway in the gulf of mexico. geoff: current forecasts show helene will arrive as a dangerous category 4 hurricane tomorrow. jamie rhome is the deputy director of the national hurricane center and he joins now from its headquarters in miami. thank you for being with us. where is helene right now and what will the last -- the next 24 hours look like? jamie: it's here by cancún, mexico and it is emerging on the eastern gulf of mexico where conditions are favorable for development, possibly significant development and we anticipate it to become a major hurricane before it tracks somewhere here over the florida panhandle or big bend region late thursday. geoff: what about the potential

for storm surge and flooding? jamie: unfortunately it has increased over the last 12 hours with the wind increase and the size increase we've been talking about all day, so goes the surge risk. we are looking at the potential for 15, to 20 feet, you read that right, in the big bend region with significant surge extending all the way down the florida west coast. this is going to have a big and lasting impact for much of the florida peninsula. unfortunately it is going to spread its impacts deep into the southeast especially over southern georgia. geoff: it is expected to land as a category four storm. what does that suggest in terms of when to strike? jamie: those in the path, it could be catastrophic, category four winds are capable of the

damage to all but the most sand -- a sound and secure buildings. anything that is not up to modern standards will probably sustain substantial damage. widespread power outages, trees down. in tallahassee they have a really big tree canopy. impassable roads, downed power lines. it will be a big mess for people in the path of the storm. geoff: people in the path of the storm and affected areas should heed evacuation warnings i would imagine. jamie: absolutely, those of evacuation orders are based off of the storm surge forecast from the national hurricane center. we've been on the phone with the emergency managers all day trying to assist them in that evacuation decision. it's a hard decision for them to make but it is based off the best and most reliable forecast. geoff: jamie, thank you for your time, we appreciate it.

geoff: -- ♪ ♪ geoff: israel's military said today it is preparing for a ground invasion of lebanon. u.s. officials are frantically trying to avoid all out war between israel and hezbollah after a week of unprecedented attacks on the militant group that have killed hundreds and enter thousands more. nick schifrin is here now with more. how tense is the situation on the border? nick: extremely tense, the violence continued today, israel said it had struck some 350 has below sites, including some associated with the intelligence directorate to make it more difficult for hezbollah to make an intelligence assessment. lebanese sources say they killed

50 more than the 150 reported the previous day. strikes have hit villages along the border and hezbollah launched its first listed missile in tel aviv and it was intercepted. israel went further today than it has in the past, calling up two reserve brigades to deploy them to the northern area along the lebanese border. the idf chief of staff warned today that troops need to prepare for possible entry into lebanon. >> we are preparing the process of a maneuver, which means your military boots, will enter enemy territory, enter villages that hezbollah has prepared as large military outposts. you will go in, destroy the enemy there, and decisively destroy their infrastructure. these are the things that will allow us to safely return the residents of the north afterward. nick: that is what israel says is the goal, returning the

60,000-plus residents been dissed -- who have been displaced from their homes since october 8. geoff: what does de-escalation look like and what is the u.s. doing to prevent all-out war? nick: president but it admitted today that all-out war was possible and secretary blinken hold of the risk of acute. they've been scrabbling and they are in new york with the entire international community so that makes it possible for them to have meetings with partners and allies. western officials, u.s. officials tell me those partners and allies have been europeans and arabs alongside israel, and two u.s. officials confirmed to me the u.s. is proposing a temporary cease-fire along the israel-lebanon border. it's not ready to be announced yet, one official called it pretty limited in short-term. the idea would be to stop the violence temporarily in order to try and have a conversation

they've been having for months, which is a diplomatic agreement that would push hezbollah back past the river, which is about six miles north of the border, beyond the has below antitank weapons, that's what israel wants. that is prescribed by a secured council resolution, israel was already supposed to be doing that. one of the leading partners helping the u.s. with this is france, they are hosting a security council meeting right now over lebanon. the french president said today he was ensuring a diplomatic voice could be heard. >> we must not, we cannot have a war in lebanon. there cannot be a war in lebanon. this is why we urge israel to cease this escalation in lebanon and to hezbollah to cease this missile launch to israel. nick: senior u.s. officials tell me they believe hezbollah and iran do not want all-out war in lebanon.

but hezbollah has to respond in a serious way to the unprecedented attacks you mentioned, especially using the pagers hitting fighters where they are vulnerable. u.s. officials also believe israel is willing to go to war and is trying to make it clear to everyone it is with this announcement today and movement, but they are hoping prime minister netanyahu is willing to forgo invasion. it's still not clear how any step israel could take could get all of the residents back to their home. geoff: what would in israeli invasion of lebanon look like? nick: devastating to the people, the economy. take a listen to lebanon's foreign minister talking to the carnegie endowment. >> it's all destruction by destruction and nothing. and the people are hurt. most people are hurt. israelis are hurt. lebanese are hurt. why can't we find a solution? the more we think about it is

the united states is the key to our, i would say our salvation, if i could use this word. jamie: an incredible word hear from him when the u.s. is giving israel's the weapons it would be using in lebanon. bottom line is there hopes are on the u.s., on the west, trying to get some kind of deal that would push israel to withhold any kind of invasion and that would get hezbollah, who doesn't want a full-scale war but has to respond to the pager attack's, the response would be under the threshold israel needs it to be and somehow move from that to the point where residents can get home. but that's a very difficult task. geoff: thank you for that great reporting. ♪

turning our focus now to the 2024 race for president. both candidates were out on the campaign trail today, laying out their plans to tackle one of the most consequential issues of the election -- the economy. vice president kamala harris was in pennsylvania, and donald trump campaigned in north carolina, from where lisa desjardins has our report. lisa: today, two battleground states, two battling visions for america's economy. >> i intend to chart a new way forward, and grow america's middle class. donald trump intends to take america backward. lisa: vice president kamala harris's came in a speech to the economic club of pittsburgh. she played up what she calls a pragmatic approach, and pledged policies to boost domestic manufacturing. her proposals largely involve tax shifts and incentives, such as a $50,000 tax deduction for new small businesses.

other ideas, she says, will pick up where president biden's economic agenda leaves off. >> a survey of top economists by the financial times and the university of chicago found that by an overwhelming 70% to 3% margin, my plan would be better for keeping inflation low. lisa: just hours earlier -- >> they've done nothing. why didn't she do everything 3.5 years ago? lisa: donald trump outlined his economic plan at a rally in mint hill, north carolina. >> i will give you the lowest taxes, the lowest energy costs, i will cut your energy in half, the lowest regulatory burden and free access to the best and biggest market on the planet earth, but only if you make your product here in america and hire american workers for the job. lisa: it comes at a time when

the economy consistently tops the polls as one of the most important issues for voters. >> 41 days from now we are going to win the state of north carolina. lisa: the location is politically powerful. near the bottom of the state, mint hill is a suburb of charlotte, between two powerhouse counties, mecklenburg, a population center that voted 67 percent for biden in 2020. but next-door is union, the largest county that trump won in 2020. it voted for him 61%. both counties are fast-growing and business centers and industrial parks keep popping up. colin hughes and his wife opened this coffee shop in mint hill over a year ago a risk that has paid off. >> we have been in business for a little over a year, year and a half, and we haven't gone down yet in a month. so for us, i can really speak on how we're doing here and how our friends are doing up and down the strip. and yeah, things are going really well for us. lisa: but the economy here has

not been as bright for everyone this woman is a trump supporter. >> i lost my job during covid and things were getting really good when trump was in. but right after he went out, it's like, you know, everything started going south. and my company that had been in business for 80 years went under. so i'd been at my job 25 years and lost my job after all that. lisa: she now works at a chik-fil-a where she has seen customers cut back, adults buying kids meals to save money. she is all-in on trump because she thinks the country is on a downward track. we also asked nina about the republican candidate for governor, mark robinson, and the bombshell report last week from cnn asserting that he previously posted a litany of offensive comments on a porn site, including that he was a nazi, that slavery should return and that he enjoyed watching transgender porn. as a candidate, robinson has

adamantly opposed transgender rights. he maintains the cnn report is false and these are not his words. despite pressure and resignations from top staff, robinson has stayed in the race. a candidate trump has vigorously embraced in the past, now the trump-vance campaign avoids talking about robinson and he was not at the event today. so far, the robinson story has not impacted either nina's vote for trump or him. >> i mean, from just a little bit that i know to be able to bring up a past from probably ten years ago. and, you know, it's not like i know if all that stuff is true or not. lisa: but at the coffee shop, after our interview, she did confront a different doubt about trump from someone sitting nearby. >> i don't see trump sacrificing anything that he has for his country. lisa: madisyn belk sees trump's relationship with the economy differently that he is a , billionaire who wants to continue tax cuts for the wealthy. >> he was born rich, and he's for the rich.

geoff: lisa joins us now from charlotte, north carolina. based on reporting, how is donald trump's economic plan being received so far? lisa: republicans like a lot in the plan, lower taxes, most people like lower taxes. there are some that you heard in the pews, mostly democrats, who says he gives away too much to the wealthy. something has happened to a key part of donald trump's plan and that is tariffs, more and more conservative groups are saying they have concerns publicly. mitch mcconnell came out and said he's not a fan of tariffs and he went farther inside tariffs at a cost to american consumers, the opposite of what donald trump has been saying about his tariff plan. mitch mcconnell is someone trump supporters don't pay a lot of attention to but they may be paying attention to someone else, the wall street journal

editorial board came out with a strong statement about trump's tariff policy, they rode hard to believe but donald trump is giving u.s. companies a reason to think that kamala harris might be better for their business. the wall street journal talking about the idea that trump would penalize businesses moving overseas with tariffs somehow. as someone told me this morning, if donald trump has a problem with the wall street journal on the economy, he has a very big problem indeed. geoff: let's talk about north carolina, a battleground state. how much does the scandal involving the gop candidate for governor mark robinson, how much did it hurt his chances of winning? lisa: it's a hot topic of conversation down here but people are having it in quiet ways in their home. when you talk to republican officials, they tell you on or off the record they are trying not to be concerned but you can feel trepidation. one republican official told me they think ultimately no one can hurt donald trump, including donald trump.

that his fan base is so loyal they are not worried about mark robinson taking him down. on the other hand some are concerned and part of it has to do with voters. i talked to one of the voters at the trump event today, someone who says they are still voting for mark robinson, here is what she said. >> i think mark robinson is going through a lot right now and i think these are just allegations and i believe there is a lot people can do with ai these days and we need to be careful what we believe. we leave and trust in jesus christ and we pray for our politicians and hope donald trump and mark robinson are on that path with us. lisa: i heard that from a number of people, thinking this couldn't be something that happened with mark robinson, they don't trust the cnn reporting and they think it is ai and there is no reason to think it is ai, but some republican officials say that is a problem, that there is a basis supporting mark robinson when they want him to drop out. they think as long as he is on

the ballot there may be some republican voters that don't show up at all and they think that could hurt donald trump. geoff: as you been speaking with voters across north carolina, what is your sense of where folks might be leaning? lisa: i got a strong sense of place in that community, mint hill. the factory donald trump was at has grown in the last year, this is a place where the economy is good and feelings are generally good. prices are the problem for harris here. this is a community that are dealing with their divide together in a more dental and civil way -- gentle and civil way than i've seen other places. a lot of people say they don't like either candidate, they are not comfortable yet with harris. when i asked the more i heard a lot of people tell me they are less comfortable with donald trump. more people tell me i can't vote for him. not sure about her but i can't vote for him. that's why democrats have so much hope in this state.

the ground game and turn it will matter but it is anyone's ballgame in north carolina. geoff: lisa reporting from charlotte, north carolina, thank you. stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with newshour west. here are the latest headlines. at the united nations general assembly today, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy sought to keep the world's attention on his country's war against russia. he warned neighboring countries in europe and central asia that the war could come for them as well. and zelenskyy urged world leaders not to accept any peace proposals from russia or its allies to end the conflict. >> when some propose alternatives, half-hearted settlement plans, so-called sets of principles, it not only ignores reality, but also gives putin the political space to continue the war, and pressure

the world to bring more nations under control. stephanie: shortly before zelenskyy took the stage, a russian strike hit the town of kramatorsk according to local officials. at least two people were killed and a dozen more injured including children. tomorrow, zelenskyy is set to meet with president biden in washington to lay out what he's calling a victory plan. a bipartisan senate investigation detailed secret service failures during the july assassination attempt on former president donald trump. the interim report from the senate homeland security committee found mistakes in planning, communications, and the use of resources. the report also found that the secret service was notified about an individual on a nearby roof about two minutes before the gunman opened fire. and 22 seconds before the shooting, a local officer sent a radio alert that was not relayed to vital secret service personnel. trump was wounded in the ear in

the july 13th shooting. one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured. congress has passed a temporary measure to keep the government funded, ahead of next week's deadline. this evening's vote in the senate was 78-18. earlier in the day, the measure passed the house, with republican speaker mike johnson relying on the support of democrats to supply a large number of the votes. the bill funds most agencies at current levels through december 20th, avoiding a pre-election shutdown. the bill also includes more than $200 million to bolster the secret service. president biden is expected to sign it. a federal judge has approved a $600 million settlement for residents of east palestine, ohio. a freight train derailed there last year, releasing plumes of toxic smoke and chemicals. people who lived within 20 miles of the disaster site are entitled to compensation. those who lived within two miles of the derailment can get up to

$70,000 per household for property damage and $25,000 per person for health problems. compensation decreases for people farther from the scene of the accident. roughly 55,000 claims were filed. in los angeles, a gunman hijacked a city bus, leaving one passenger dead. the driver was held at gunpoint and forced to drive through downtown l.a. in the early hours of the morning. police trailed the bus for an hour before it stopped and the suspect surrendered. also in california, an explosion injured six people at the santa maria courthouse today. authorities detained one suspect, and said they believe the explosion was intentional. the court complex was closed for the day. still to come on the news hour -- one family's journey to access gender-affirming care after their state banned it for trans youth. why missouri executed a prisoner even though the victim's family said his life should be spared. and a new book takes a hopeful

view of the climate crisis, asking what if we get it right? >> this is the pbs news hour from w eta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite center at asu university. geoff: it was warned that russia is planning to attack ukraine's nuclear plants. nick schifrin is back to speak with an official who is central to these challenges nick: because the international atomic energy agency is responsible for monitoring and ensuring the safe use of nuclear power around the world. and for inspecting countries nuclear programs. the director general of the iaea is with me now. welcome back to the news hour.

at the u.n. general assembly, president zelenskyy accused russia of planning attacks on nuclear power plants and infrastructure. do you have any corroboration for that accusation? >> thank you, as always, a pleasure to talk to you. we don't have that information, we are aware of the statement. let me say we have said at the u.s. security council and elsewhere that nuclear power plants should never be attacked, wherever they are. let me also say, as you may remember, the iaea has personally deployed not only at the separation of power plant but every other nuclear power plant in ukraine. including chernobyl.

we are present at all of these sites. nick: the context is russia's occupation at a power plant which you visited a few weeks ago, and your presence as you said, other nuclear power plant's, and ukraine and you have pointed out that for these nuclear power plants safe, they need to have electricity. russia has deliberately targeted ukraine's electricity infrastructure. is there a higher concern today that the electricity these plants need to maintain their safety could be cut off? >> this is a permanent ccern of ours. in reality there have been eight complete blackouts at the power plant. of course, we are aware of the events and incidents on other parts of the electric grid and

infrastructure. we are also monitoring that and we've established an additional measure. a system to assess and analyze critical substations to the nuclear power plant's, from the perspective of nuclear safety in all of them. nick: this week you met iran's foreign minister, who is well known to you, and you said you see a "expressed willingness to reengage with us in a more meaningful fashion." why do you say that and what does that translate to? >> because i was told so, so i heard the foreign minister who said that. i also got a letter from the president over the summer indicating his willingness to meet with me and one of the things we were doing with the

foreign minister, who i know very well and has a lot of experience in nuclear matters, we are preparing the ground for that meeting, which should be in their own interpretation, should mark a clear progress and turning point. i have to see if there are lots of things to discuss and we are preparing for that. nick: among the things you need to discuss is a problem you had for years, which is that iran has failed to ask lane uranium traces at undeclared sites. do you believe they are interested in finally providing those explanations? >> i have to continue, i should never give up. i am hearing a high official of a member state of the iaea. of course there is history and we always have that in mind.

we trust but verify. we hope this will be the case and we will be able at long last, like you said this has been going on a long time, to move to a better place. nick: what about restrictions on some of your inspectors that iran has placed, do you believe they will lift those? >> they won't do that, they indicated unfortunately that the inspectors they have taken out of our roster of inspectors visiting different facilities and iran, which have been taken out of the list, will not be restored to it. i am friendly frustrated about this. as i said to one of your critics, the ship has sailed and we will do the best we can and certainly do. nick: the context for this is

what you called the turbocharging of iran's nuclear program, enriching uranium up to 62%. he last month. the iaea -- uranium up to 60%. the iaea, do you understand the baseline of the nuclear program and that they will enter negotiations? >> that's what we want to do, we want to reestablish a credible baseline with records to the material, with regards to the production capacity, in terms of centrifuges and other things. which are truly indispensable to prepare wide-ranging preparing the ground scared the iaea doesn't have the ability to say what is there, what is present.

the basic foundations for sound negotiation are missing and i believe my iranian can a parts understand this. let's hope this re-engagement, reestablishment of contact of my upcoming visit of tehran will be a positive one. nick: thank you very much. >> my pleasure. ♪ geoff: the political battles over the rights of transgender americans have led to difficult decisions for a number of families, especially those living in states with restrictions on transition-related medical care for minors. laura barron lopez has this story about one family's journey to access that care.

laura: 14 year old rhyan and his single mom mia have waited over a year for this day. they're getting ready for a doctor's appointment. but that appointment is in albuquerque, new mexico, more than 600 miles from their home here in austin, texas. it's a journey they are making because rhyan is trans. this is something that you didn't just decide one day. you felt this for a long time? >> yeah. i was really young. i was like, i was six, and i knew for sure that i was not a girl. >> he was always a little dude. before he came out, he cut his hair and looking back on it now, like, cutting all those curls off and everything -- like, i can see how he was starting to align. and just in hindsight, makes it way more clear than it was at the time. but, yeah, he's always been who he's been. laura: rhyan saw doctors and therapists for years, before starting medication around the

age of 10, to temporarily pause the effects of puberty. a few years later, he began testosterone treatments, which can lead to things like hair growth and a deeper voice. all those steps fall within guidelines for gender-affirming care, which is supported by major u.s. medical associations, including the american academy of pediatrics. but around the globe, medical experts and government health officials haven't been in complete agreement. gender-affirming medical care for minors has come under increased scrutiny. >> if they really feel their best choice is to mutilate themselves, they better wait until they are an adult. laura: as conservatives from , local lawmakers to the republican presidential nominee, have used it to mobilize their base. >> can you imagine you're a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, jimmy, i love you so much. go have a good day in school, and your son comes back with a

brutal operation? can you even imagine this? laura: lies spread by former president donald trump and others in his party about things like surgeries on minors have helped fuel a wave of state legislation. in 2021, arkansas became the first state to ban transition-related medical care for those under 18. since then, restrictions have passed in 25 more states, home to 40% of the nations trans youth, including texas. its law went into effect last september. it revokes the licenses of doctors who provide gender-affirming medical care to minors, and requires anyone on treatment to be weaned off. >> it was terrifying. like it was, immobilizing. immobilizing. i pounded the pavement. i knocked on doors, like, i did my best as, like a mom and as a constituent to plea my case and plead our family's case. i watched experts get

disregarded and dismissed. i watched facts and evidence be ignored. and they voted for it anyways. >> what is your message to the lawmakers that passed the ban? >> you don't know the people you're affecting. you don't know how much of a like impact it has on them. how dangerous it is. laura: as the measure moved through the texas legislature, rhyan and mia were told his doctor couldn't see him anymore. they lost access to his prescriptions and had to stretch the medicine they did have as long as possible. mia started looking for care in other states. but between the cost of travel, the appointment, and the medicine, they couldn't afford it. >> there's no way. i'm already, like, barely, barely scraping by. i don't have -- if my car breaks down, extra funds. and there's days where i have to choose between gas or food

and there are days i went hungry so my kid could eat. laura: she ultimately connected with the campaign for southern equality, a nonprofit focused on lgbtq rights. its trans youth emergency project helps families cover the costs of travel for out of state treatment. mia got rhyan an appointment at a university of new mexico clinic in albuquerque. but she still didn't have enough money to cover the entire cost of the trip. enter elevated access, whose volunteer pilots fly patients living in places with abortion or gender-affirming care bans, to out-of-state appointments for free. a pilot we're just calling clyde to protect his identity volunteered to fly rhyan and mia from austin to albuquerque in his cessna. >> the biggest surprise for me is how i reacted emotionally, to this need it just seems so political, so ridiculous because

it was political. >> i think it's stupid. we shouldn't have to take a private plane to go to a fully different state for some little vials of medicine, a shot. and i don't think old men should be making laws about something that doesn't affect them at all. >> our pilot and the people that go out of their way to risk it. that are risking their livelihoods or putting themselves at risk for no reason. they are kind, and they understand what's at stake. and that's the part that gets to me. it gets me in my heart strings. >> i will see you tomorrow. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> you are hero. laura: the next morning, rhyan and mia arrived for their appointment with dr. michele hutchison, a pediatric

endocrinologist. about half her patients are now from texas. i hate that this is happening to >> my families. being transgender is hard. transitioning is hard. and then you're doing all of this in the background of everybody coming at you and telling you that it's wrong. how would you not have anxiety? how would you not have depression? this is, it's just a mountain to overcome. laura: and there are new obstacles. texas' attorney general has tried to access medical records of trans patients getting care out of state. trans texans can no longer change their gender on birth certificates or driver's licenses. meanwhile, the u.s. supreme court is set to decide whether bans like the one in texas are constitutional. >> transgender insanity out of our schools. laura: and mia says that if former president trump is re-elected she'll move her family out of the country. >> the stakes are that high, it is that scary. yeah, no, i wouldn't stay. how could i do that in good

faith and be a good parent? laura: but for now, rhyan's care moves forward. dr. hutchison said rhyan was handling his treatment well, gave him a new testosterone prescription and scheduled a follow-up appointment for 6 months. >> i'm excited. now we have this plan set in place, and, like, resources available, i am happy. >> i love you. today's a good day. i've been emotional all morning. but it's a good day. this is happy tears. i'm just, i'm overwhelmed with gratitude. laura: they went to a pharmacy nearby to fill the prescription. a moment of relief amid near-constant struggle. for the pbs news hour, i'm laura barron lopez. ♪

geoff: last night, the state of missouri executed 55-year-old marcellus williams, over the objections of the local prosecutor, and against the wishes of the murdered victim's spouse. williams was convicted of the 1998 murder of felicia gayle, who was stabbed more than 40 times in her home in suburban st. louis. as william brangham explains, he maintained his innocence throughout decades of incarceration. william: no physical evidence ever linked williams to the crime scene and there was only one black person on the jury that convicted him. early this year, the county prosecutor filed a motion to overturn the conviction, calling it a manifest injustice. it cited a lack of credible evidence, ineffective counsel and racial discrimination in jury selection. for more on this case we are joined by jonathan potts, who was williams's lead trial

lawyer. thank you so much for being here, i know this has got to be an awful day for you all. i wonder how you are doing, how is the defense team doing, how is the family doing? jonathan: thank you. as you can imagine, everyone is devastated right now. it's been an emotionally draining test 72 hours. there's been a lot of effort and support to keep mr. williams alive but obviously we failed last night and when that failure happens, you take it personally at heart. william: do you believe in your heart of hearts that the state executed an innocent man yesterday? jonathan: yes, of course i do. we don't take these cases unless we believe in our clients and that's what we fought for for years. william: i know even on monday you were arguing his appeal in front of the state supreme court

in one of the things you were arguing about was the dna that was found on the murder weapon in this case. can you tell us what was going on? jonathan: yeah. years ago we found dna on the murder weapon, which was a bloody kitchen knife and that led one of the prior governors of missouri to halt mr. williams execution in 2017. it's always been believedy us that the dna would belong to the true killer. as we were systematically excluding everyone what we found out was the dna on the murder weapon belonged to the original trial prosecutor. at a hearing last month, the prosecutor admitted he'd been handling the knife without gloves before trial, contaminating the evidence. william: how do you make sense of this? despite the objections of the current occupant of the prosecutor's office who didn't want this to go forward,

how do you explain that this execution still took place? jonathan: i think you have to look to leadership that's not being responsive to the communities they are supposed to be serving. to be clear, as you said, the local prosecutor's office recognized this was not a fair trial. they were the ones who filed the motion asking the court to throw out mr. williams's conviction death sentence. we were locked arm in arm. what the family had is they never wanted a death sentence in the first place. here they were 20 years over and still dealing with this. the victim didn't believe in the death penalty, the victim's husband didn't want mr. williams to be executed. the rest of her family didn't want him executed. it was a state level leaders pushing this through despite public concerns. william: the current governor of

the misery, supported the states action and was encouraging this motion go forward. he put out a statement yesterday. he wrote mr. williams has exhausted due process and every judicial avenue including over 15 hearings attempting to argue his innocence and overturn his conviction. no jury nor court, including at the trial, appellate and supreme court levels have ever found merit in mr. williams's innocence claims. what do you say to the governor's response? jonathan: i say he didn't receive due process and that's exactly why the prosecuting attorney's office was trying to correct this. there was an execution set a few months ago and everyone was scrambling to stop this. and hearing that occurred just a few weeks ago, we heard for the first time from the original trial prosecutor from over 20 years ago where he admitted he had removed at least one black juror from the jury because that

person was black. you can talk about 20 years of due process. we didn't hear about that until a month ago. william: every year, apart from this particular case, every year on average, i think it is four cases where someone was on death row is found innocent, is exonerated and set free. i'm curious what you think this case reveals about the broader system in our country to execute people when the evidence can be questioned. jonathan: i think the important message that i hope people take away from this is the public knows the justice system isn't perfect. all those exonerations you're talking about, the public sees and accepts that. with the public wants to hear is when the system makes a mistake, it's going to admit that mistake

, it's going to fix it and promised to be better. that's not what happened here. this is a typical scenario where there is a fear about admitting you were wrong because you think it's going to undermine public trust but it's really that resistance that is undermining the public trust. william: that is jonathan potts, thank you for talking with us. jonathan: thank you. ♪ geoff: one of the global problems being addressed at this week's u.n. general assembly -- the climate crisis. multiple wars and other geopolitical tensions have cast a particularly sobering shadow over whether nations can meet meaningful pledges they have made. but tonight, a more optimistic conversation about what individuals can do. amna nawaz recently spoke with marine biologist ayana elizabeth

johnson about her new book, what if we get it right? amna: welcome to the news hour, thank you for joining us. the title itself of your book reframes the entire conversation around climate change and forces us to imagine success instead of failure. why frame it that way? ayana: i don't know if you do is success so much as possibility. it has a question mark at the end of it and i think at the least we should not assume failure and acknowledge that getting it as right as possible absolutely matters. this is not apocalypse or paradise, it is how close can we get to paradise? amna: you start with the question, you say you are most often asked at parties when people find out what you do, the question is basically how screwed our week -- are we? ayana: we are pretty screwed

unless we do something. where i learned to swim, the waters of southern 40, reached 100 degrees fahrenheit last year. coral reef cannot survive at. species on this planet have a narrow range of temperature, salinity, humidity comfort zones. we are getting out of the comfort zone of current modern life on earth, including humans. there are places it is too hot for normal human life now. we have to figure out how to adapt to be more resilient to things and so getting it right is not just about stopping things from getting worse, it's about how do we adapt to the world that is already changed and will continue to change? amna: there's a short passage from your book that captures your approach, you write "humans have evolved to not leap into a void, that is dangerous, so we

need something firm to aim for, something with love and joy and it. it we need the gumption that emerges from an effervescent sense of possibility." when you talk about getting it right and those possibilities, what are the possibilities, what is the something firm to aim for? ayana: it's important to understand we basically have all the solutions we need. we already know how to make energy that is clean and renewable, we already know how to build green buildings and be more efficient with energy, we know how to do public transit and high-speed rail would be amazing to have in the u.s., wouldn't it? composting and bike lanes and regenerative agriculture and protecting and restoring ecosystems. i just want people to understand we have the solutions we need, it is the implementation of those solutions that is not up to the pace we need. there is a lack of political will holding us back, there is some cultural change that needs to happen to shift the status quo.

but it really is possible. there are some any possible futures that are better than the trajectory we are currently on. i love that word gumption. possibility is the thing i hold onto even though i'm not an optimist, per se, i am a scientist and a realist. i know there's a lot we could each be doing to make sure we have the best possible future. amna: can i ask you more about the lack of political will because that's often where the finger-pointing goes. there's political divisions that fuel a lack of action, enough people that don't believe climate change is real or that human action could change the directions right now. how do you look at that? ayana: first i find it most jarring when you learned that a lot of those politicians are just pretending you don't believe it because it's politically expedient. they know the science israel. it is just a game, and to play the game with the future of life

on earth is unforgivably reckless. i think the opportunity is that we don't even have to talk about the climate crisis to agree on the solutions. for example, iowa and texas have the most wind energy in the united states. that's not because there are a bunch of hippies running around, it's because it makes economic sense and they are good jobs. the same with the economic act, mostly red states benefiting. batteries for electric cars and things like that. amna: what about at the individual level? from all the conversations you feature in your book, what do you take away in terms of what is standing in the way of people acting at an individual level to do what they think they need to to address climate change? ayana: i think some people think they're part of it doesn't matter. i think some people don't know where to start.

i would say it absolutely matters. our actions add up, we are voting with dollars and time and how we spread the word and use whatever influence we have. more broadly, i have sketched out something i call a climate action then diagram. -- venn diagram, and its three circles. the first, what are you good at, what can you bring to the table? the second is what is the work that needs doing? there are hundreds of climate and justice solutions so pick one and get moving. the third circle is what brings you joy or satisfaction? what get you out of bed in the morning? finding each of us that sweet spot in the center, that's what we should be doing. amna: the book is called ", what if we get it right" thank you so much for joining us. ayana: thank you.

♪ geoff: and that is 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. >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> on an american cruise lines journey, travelers experience the maritime heritage and culture of the maine coast and new england islands. our fleet of small cruise ships explore american landscapes, see villages, and historic harbors, where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines, proud sponsor of pbs news hour. >> at bdo i feel like a true individual, peoplevalue me for me and care about what i want, my needs, my career path.

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our bureau at the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.]

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