geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the news hour tonight, kamala harris and donald trump both work latino voters ahead of election day. lebanese first responders trying to rescue those struck by israeli airstrikes increasingly find themselves in the line of

fire. and we take a look at state ballot measures that could have ripple effects nationwide including boosting turnout in the presidential election. >> in this election in which vice president harris and former president trump are running close, 5, 10, 15,000 votes could be the difference. ♪ >> major funding for the pbs news hour has been provided by --

>> moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. ♪ >> the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions and friends of the newshour, including kathy and paul anderson and camilla and george smith. >> the john s and james l. night foundation. 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 news hour. two weeks from today, the final votes will be cast and polls will close in this year's presidential race. until then, the trump and harris campaigns are making their cases in battleground states across the country. laura baran lopez has this report. >> both presidential nominees made appeals to critical voting blocks. >> the level of genius entrepreneurship, energy they have, it is an incredible community. now like them and they liked me. >> former president donald trump received a warm response from latino business owners and religious leaders at his golf club in miami. he used a dark language to describe the state of the country.

>> we are a nation in decline. we are a failing nation. we are laughed at all over the world. they laugh at us. they can't believe what is happening. all they think about is transgender operations. all they think about is we want men to play in women's sports. there is a sickness going on. we have to end the sickness. >> in the final sprint to election day, republicans have poured millions of dollars into anti-trans attack ads. >> her agenda is they/them, not you. >> the former president repeated attacks on his opponent's intelligence. criticizing vice president harris for not doing any public events today. >> she is lazy as hell and she's got that reputation. and there is something wrong with her. she is slow, low iq, something, i don't know what the hell it

is. >> we are sitting here two weeks away from election night. last election, the former president declared victory before all the votes were counted. what is your plan if he does that again in two weeks? >> let me say this, we've got two weeks to go. i'm very much grounded in the present in terms of the task at hand and we will deal with election night and the days after as they come and we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well. >> so your team is ready to go? is that what you are saying? are you thinking about that is a possibility? >> of course. >> today, former president barack obama joined governor tim walz in wisconsin. as the state kicked off early in person voting. >> our team is running like everything is on the line, because everything is on the line. >> donald trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us

and them. now, for him us means the quote real americans who support him. anybody who doesn't, they are them. and he employs this strategy like politicians have for millennia because having people divided and angry boosts his chances of being elected. >> republican vice presidential nominee senator jd vance campaign in arizona. >> we have got to make sure that if this election is as tight as it could be, that we are the ones who are on the winning side and not them and the only way to do it is to work our rear ends off for the next two weeks. >> for the pbs news hour i'm laura baran lopez. ♪ stephanie: i'm stephanie sy with

news hour west. harr the late -- here are the latest headlines. secretary of state blinken is on his 11th trip to israel since the war with hamas began. he arrived this morning in a bid to revive cease-fire talks. he met with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and other officials through the day. he urged israel to use sinwar's killing to its advantage at the negotiating table. >> i believe very much that the death of sinwar does create an important opportunity to bring the hostages home, to bring the war to an end, and to ensure israel's security. we have to make sure that this is a moment of opportunity to move forward. stephanie: blinken also urged israel's leaders to allow more humanitarian aid into northern gaza amid a renewed israeli offensive there. the u.s. warned it could cut israel's access to weapons funding if it doesn't let more supplies in.

the state department said more aid trucks have entered since then, but more needs to be done. the fbi said today it is investigating an unauthorized release of classified u.s. documents that relate to israel's plans for a possible retaliatory strike on iran for its ballistic missile attack on israel earlier this month. marked top secret, the documents first appeared last week on the telegram messaging app and spread to channels popular among iranians. the white house national security spokesman john kirby says it is unclear if the documents were leaked or obtained through hacking, but officials do not expect more to be released. russian president putin welcomed world leaders to a summit of the bricks block of developing economies. that initially included brazil, russia, india, china, south africa, but it has expanded to embrace egypt, saudi arabia, and others.

among the more than 20 world leaders in attendance are a number of u.s. adversaries including the president of iran and china's xi jinping, but also u.s. allies including india's narendra modi. the summit will last three days and is seen as a chance for putin to counter the western narrative that russia has been isolated on the world stage following its invasion of ukraine. qubit struggling to get the lights back on following friday's massive power outage as part of the island deal with deadly flooding caused by hurricane oscar. many of the 2 million people living in the capital, havana, have been living in darkness for days with some using wooden stoves to cook food before it spoils. power was partially restored, but anger and frustration persist with protesters taking to the streets for a second night. [chanting] >> we had been without power for

four days. the food has spoiled, the children are struggling. we have no cold water. we have nothing. stephanie: communities in the east of the country are facing massive flooding left behind by hurricane oscar, which has killed at least seven people since making landfall sunday. cuba's president said on state tv that some areas are still hard-to-reach and that search and rescue efforts are ongoing. officials in north carolina say they over counted the number of official deaths from hurricane helene. officials in buncombe county which includes the city of asheville now say there were 42 deaths as a result of the september storm, that is down from the initial report of 72 lives being lost. and aligns with the state's overall counting of fatalities. federal health officials say an e. coli outbreak linked to

mcdonald's quarter pounders has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states. one person has died and 10 others have been hospitalized including a child. the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention says the infections were reported between september 27 and october 11. they occurred in colorado, iowa, kansas, missouri, montana, nebraska, oregon, utah, wisconsin, and wyoming. mcdonnell said today some of the illnesses may be linked to onions from a single supplier. the company has stopped distribution of those onions to the affected areas. federal agents affect -- arrested the former ceo of abercrombie and fitch on charges that he ran a sex trafficking and prostitution operation from 2008-2015. the indictment alleges mike jeffries lured young men with promises of modeling work and coerced them into sex acts. two alleged co-conspirators

including his romantic partner were also arrested. he helped revitalize the struggling retailer during his two decade tenure in which it became known for its sexualized marketing. he stepped down in 2014. prosecutors said the charges are proof that powerful people in the industry can no longer take advantage of those most vulnerable. >> to anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called casting couch system, this case should serve as a warning. prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison. stephanie: a lawyer for jeffrey says he will respond to the charges in court. and thelma mother should ware has died, one of the little rock nine who integrated an arkansas high school in 1957. the supreme court had declared segregated classrooms unconstitutional three years

prior, but the governor of arkansas had ordered the national guard to block the students from enrolling at little rock central high school. she and her eight classmates had to be escorted in by federal troops. in 1999, they were awarded the congressional gold medal by then-president bill clinton. she died this past weekend in little rock at 83 years old. still to come, we report from new york state on the races that could decide control of congress. the federal government works to make it easier for people to unsubscribe. and author richard esposito discusses his new book on the late crime reporter jimmy breslin. >> this is the pbs news hour from the david and rubenstein studio at weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

geoff: tossup races in two of the country's bluest states could swing control of the house of representatives next year. lisa explores the unusual dynamics playing out in one of those states, new york. lisa: the temperatures are dropping in new york's hudson valley. it is campaign season. and in a parking lot, a group of republicans finish their coffee and get ready to fan out. >> thank you, everybody for coming today. lisa: bonnie with the local gop is organizing this door-to-door effort centered on a bright red area in a deep blue county. >> throughout the state, new york republicans and conservatives are fighting very hard. lisa: how republicans do here and in other democratic strongholds will likely determine who controls the house of representatives. for democrats to retake the chamber, they need to gain just four seats nationally. in the two biggest blue states,

california and new york, there are nine highly competitive house races where democrats could flip a republican seat. that includes this district in the hudson valley. freshman congressman and republican michael lawler faces a former congressman. lawler is known as a hard worker, he needs to be. the district voted for joe biden by 10 points. the area has a history of bipartisanship, but as we heard, things have become more acute. >> i think this is the most important election of our lifetime. i know every election is important, but i think this year it is not even republicans versus democrats, i think it is good versus evil. >> you think the democrats are evil? >> not the democrats, but a lot of the philosophies i do not agree with. >> the district is highly educated and home to age population of former and current law enforcement.

that sharpens the larger debate over criminal justice and crime here. a key attack point for republicans. >> we need to end mass incarceration and defund the police. >> he said that once in 2020 after the murder of george floyd but has since reversed it. as he told us in an online interview. >> to be very clear, those words were very stupid, they were used in a very emotional time not just for me as a black man, but for the nation. and i think history has recorded my strong support of law enforcement from my time in congress, which is what matters. >> republicans in congress have crippled abortion rights. lisa: as the storm of campaign ads shows. >> they spent money faster than they could print it. lisa: all the national issues are swirling here, the economy, abortion, immigration, israel, and parental and lgbtq rights. but overall, negatives dominate.

as seen in a recent debate. >> my opponent is part of a congress that is defined by chaos. >> you are the one who chose to lee this district and pack it up to brooklyn. lisa: lawler confronted his past, a photo of him in blackface in a michael jackson costume. >> what i do this today? absolutely not. i recognize what people are offended or upset or hurt. in no way was i ever dressing up to demean or belittle or make fun of black americans. >> is a net and race. -- it is a neck and neck race. lisa: a republican and former sheriff's deputy points to a larger partisan tension, the presidential race. he will probably vote for lawler, but he is unhappy with kamala harris and donald trump, thinking of his felonies in january 6. >> my god, how many trials and convictions? and then he is going to release all of the people that entered the capitol? that is wrong.

>> michael lawler with donald trump. lisa: that is a key democratic point of attack. at a nearby diner i ask him about trump, candidate his district would most likely reject, but his policies he backs. >> he is who he is, he is 78 years old. he is not changing who he is at this point. lisa: you support him? >> i will be voting for him. the choice is between donald trump and kamala harris. >> when it comes down to it, he's got to support trump or he won't have his job and i feel it is dangerous. lisa: tom stein is a democrat we saw putting up signs. he says jones and his rates are critical to opposing trump and the impact that he has personally seen, including on a local level. what is the atmosphere? >> it is an angrier atmosphere. you know, i think it comes from donald trump's rhetoric. lisa: the area is a collage of

dynamics. the longtime population is aging and new groups are moving in. an influx from new york city, some progressive, some conservative, as well as recent generations of immigrants, including a host of hispanic communities. gisele martinez is the first generation in her family to vote and at 22, she ran for and won a seat on the newburgh city council. it is one of hudson valley's urban centers, a democratic stronghold, where a different democratic congressman is more clearly out in front. but the issues here are areawide, including a rise in migrants, some undocumented, some legally and now voting citizens. the battle for groups of latinos is key to the valley's future and its present. why giselle and other latinas are doing their own door-to-door and she has noticed something. >> we have seen a shift where

specifically latino men tend to lean more conservative and tend to vote more republican. lisa: republican policies are harmful to giselle and bipartisanship is not the answer. i told her how republican organizer bonnie sees this year as a fight between good and evil. >> i would agree with her actually. this is an election between good and evil. and i say that because unfortunately there has been very xenophobic and hateful rhetoric that has been thrown out about specific communities. specifically the immigrant community. lisa: attention here reflects national issues and stakes. but new york is not a swing state and the hudson valley is really more blue than purple. republicans have made this landscape competitive, it is a big test for democrats in a big year. can they win in their own territory? that will determine the fate of

the house. i'm lisa desjardins for the pbs news hour. ♪ geoff: voters across the country will decide the fate of 150 ballot measures this fall, the outcomes of those elections could have profound effects on people's everyday lives. from abortion access to criminal justice to the way people vote. one of the states deciding how future elections will work is montana and that is where we start with this report from stan parker at montana pbs. stan: this november, voters in montana will decide on two ballot measures that will change voting in the state if they pass. >> vote yes and you will be able to vote for a person and not just a party. stan: this former state lawmaker is a retired police chief. now, he is helping lead montanans for election reform, the bipartisan group behind the initiatives. >> if you wonder why we have

polarization where we have division, why we can solve hard problems, it has to do with the system we use to hire people for the important job of governing. stan: if the measures pass, the state would have a nonpartisan primary and a majority when a requirement for future general elections. not everyone is on board, including fellow republicans like the state party chairman. >> we have a great system right now. if it isn't broke, don't fix it. stan: for more than 100 years, montana has held separate primary contests for each party, but under one of the proposed amendments, everyone running for office would go on the same primary ballot. the top four vote race, no matter -- no matter the party, go on to the general election. implementing a top four system likely wouldn't diminish republicans' strength, but it would incentivize candidates to appeal to all voters, not just

traditional primary voters who skew more partisan. >> i can't just pay attention as a candidate to just the primary voter or just what happens in the primary. i have to worry about the general election because of competition. i have to govern more broadly and talk to more people. stan: but what if three republicans and one democrat were running in a deep red district and the democrat won because the conservative vote split three ways? that is part of why there is a second initiative that would require a majority winner in the general election. >> we believe that is important because it causes our representatives to have to build coalitions, govern more broadly, and to be able to say they enjoy the support of a majority of people. stan: what is left undecided for now, exactly how to implement the change, whether this could result in runoff elections or rank-choice voting, as some other states have done. at the heart of these reforms is an attempt to lessen the role of

plitical parties and elections and allow independent voters to have a greater voice in the process. >> you have 40% of montanans that don't identify with the party. those people feel completely disaffected by our current voting system. stan: critics want to see the party system stay. >> the republican party has a platform, the democrats have their platform, the libertarians have their platform. i think all of us need to look at which one do we mostly identify with? and that has been a system that has worked very well in our state and we have had great representation. stan: the state democratic party hasn't taken an official state -- stance on the ballot initiatives. a former lawmaker sees them as a misguided attempt to change voter behavior. >> i think they are a substitute for the hard work of what needs to be done. it would be easy for us to vote for that and say, took care of that, onto the next thing and

leave it up to somebody else to implement it and not pay attention to the details. stan: gartner recognizes the reforms will not be a cure-all, but thinks they are a needed first step. >> as much good as these will do, they aren't going to solve every problem, right? we still have to have good people run. we still have to work together to find solutions. right now, we have a system that incentivizes the wrong behavior and we have to change that fundamentally. stan: for the pbs news hour, stan parker in billings, montana. geoff: for more on how those fit into the national landscape, we are joined by the founder and editor of a digital media outlet tracking public policy in the states. great to have you here. >> thanks for having me. geoff: montana is considering a nonpartisan primary. what else are voters considering? >> we are seeing a lot of ballot initiatives that have to do with rank-choice voting. instead of choosing just one candidate, you can rank your best choices.

thinking is that voters will be able to prioritize the candidates who build the broadest coalition and therefore will have fewer extremists from the right or left and more people who work toward consensus and building big coalitions. we will see those ballot measures in colorado, washington, dc, idaho, nevada, and oregon. interestingly in alaska, voters , will decide whether or not to repeal their rank-choice voting. it is not something everybody loves, but this is the highest number of these ballot initiatives we have ever seen on a single ballot. geoff: we have heard donald trump and republicans warn against noncitizens voting in the election, which we can say is already forbidden in federal elections. now several states are considering ballot measures to prohibit what is already illegal? >> not necessarily. there are ballot initiatives in eight states controlled by republican state legislatures who effectively want people to

be thinking about illegal immigration when they walk into the polling place. federal voting by noncitizens is already illegal. these states would make state and local elections off-limits to noncitizens as well. there are a very small number of places in california, vermont, maryland that allow noncitizens to vote on school board races or city council races. these would preempt all of those in those particular states, but as you point out in those states, there are no cities that allow noncitizens to vote. geoff: another major issue is reproductive rights and this year continues a trend since the fall of roe v. wade where states are voting on abortion access. what are you watching? >> there are 10 states across the country where abortion rights are on the ballot. they range from pretty red states like missouri and nebraska to swing presidential states like arizona and nevada and maybe florida is on that swing list. in every election since roe v. wade fell, when an

abortion-rights measure has been on the ballot, the pro-abortion rights position has passed. not just in blue states like california and vermont, but in formerly swing states like ohio and even conservative states like kentucky and kansas. i expect most of these abortion measures to pass. the wrinkle comes in florida where the constitutional amendment must get 60% of the vote. all the polls are showing that amendment right at 60. it is a really high hurdle, but the pro-abortion rights side has raised more than $90 million to advance their cause. that is nine times what opponents have raised. they've got the money. let's see if they can find the votes. geoff: democrats are hoping having abortion-rights on the ballot will boost turnout. is that expectation justified based on your reporting? >> yes and no. there are a few examples where a ballot initiative brings enough people to the polls in a presidential election which is going to be a high turnout election to swing it to make a difference.

the one real time when academic study this was back in 2004 when anti-same-sex marriage bands were on the ballot. they might have pulled out 10, 15,000 votes in swing states. george w. bush beat john kerry in ohio just a few tens of thousands but not many votes. 15,000 votes could be the difference in the selection. geoff: great to have you here. >> thanks so much. ♪ geoff: the israeli military said it killed a man set to succeed hezbollah's longtime leader who was also assassinated by israel in late september. the idf confirmed he was killed along with other top leaders of the militant group in an early october beirut airstrike.

hezbollah fired at least 80 rockets on northern israel today. summer intercept others left is raley's wounded. as the war expands, its toll on civilians in lebanon is only worsening. israeli airstrikes have increasingly targeted health care facilities and health care workers. >> an 11-story apartment block leveled in less than a second. dozens of homes and lives demolished. this missile strike came with a warning, so residents grabbed with a code and fled. -- grabbed what they could and fled. each night, the streets of beirut fill with panic as residents run from their home under threat but often there is no warning at all. and now, hospitals as well as homes are under attack. yesterday, israel authorities said they believed a hezbollah cash trove

sat outsidethe hospital, but said they would not strike it. instead, they hit a different one. just before midnight, and airstrike was launched. flattening four buildings in front of it. this is the main hospital. children injured in the bombing are receiving surgery. rescuers dug for hours through the mangled carcass of concrete and iron searching for survivors. by morning, 18 were dead and 60 injured. >> i have a brother who was still under the rubble. his mobile phone is ringing. we are trying to search for him but there is no way for a machine to get here. no one can help us pull him out. i don't know if he is dead or still alive. >> is not the first time health care has come under attack in this increasingly hostile war. more than 100 medics of killed working in the past month. at least 50 health facilities have been targeted. in spite of the risks, lebanon's medics and rescue workers who are all volunteers in donation funded ambulances continue to respond to distress calls.

he and his team have worked nonstop for weeks. hours before we joined his crew, five of his friends were killed when the church they were sleeping in while running rescue operations was bombed. >> it is heartbreaking what happened yesterday. we have appealed to international organizations that targeting them as unlawful, but no one has helped. >> these volunteers have full-time jobs, but they put everything on hold to respond to the crisis. >> even if there is danger, we rush to help. our only goal is to save a life and assist someone in need. yes, there is risk, but honestly, sometimes we don't even think about the danger when we see an injured child or someone else in distress. >> when this team responded to a strike on an apartment complex in a town nearby, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

>> the scene was terrifying and heartbreaking. there were pieces of children. i will never forget one child. i was able to recover the head and arm, but the rest of the body was never found. just small fragments less than an inch in size. we were picking up the pieces. it was a massacre in every sense of the word. >> the sheer scale of the destruction was overwhelming, they worked for 72 hours pulling bodies from the rubble. >> we try to hold ourselves together as much as possible, but it is tough. one experience really stayed with me. while we were clearing the rubble and retrieving the dead, we found an older man and a woman wrapped together trying to protect each other, both dead, both scared. together in their final moments beneath the rubble. >> he knows what he is risking. >> we receive many threats and are constantly exposed to

airstrikes. they don't differentiate at all between military personnel, civilians, and paramedics. anyone trying to do their duty is at risk. >> he has lost 18 of his volunteers in a month. hasan was the first to die, he was not just a colleague, but a friend. >> he rescued two children and the rubble fell on him as the building was collapsing. he got injured, but he never took time to rest. he insisted on staying, he worked through the whole night. i left him at 8:00 a.m. at 8:30, they called me from the site, telling me he had suffocated. >> he died under the rubble having saved dozens of lives. he says each member of his team would do the same. >> it is normal to be afraid. we wouldn't be human if we weren't, but determination, strength and believing in this humanitarian work makes us fearless.

we won't abandon our people no matter how bad the bombing and destruction gets. >> attacking medical workers and striking health care facilities are war crimes, but as the redlines of international law have blurred, so has accountability from the international community. the u.n. and ngo's are crying out for tighter restrictions to stall the use of u.s. supplied weapons on civilian supplied infrastructure. few believe israel's american allies will take action. ♪ geoff: a newly proposed rule from the federal trade commission aims to let consumers easily cancel unwanted subscriptions. many businesses argue the move is unnecessary meddling that will harm consumers. william brangham joins us with more.

william: we have all had this experience, you sign up for a subscription or ongoing membership, but then when you are done with it, undoing that subscription is a complex, difficult, multi step process. the ftc's new rule would require that getting out of those plans would be as easy as it was getting in. aaron whitty is the director of consumer protection for the consumer federation of america and a supporter of this rule. thank you so much for being here. they call this new rule click to cancel. can you tell us in practicality how would it roll out? >> the purpose of this rule is to really align the interests of consumers and businesses by making businesses rely on affirmative consumer choice rather than trapping them in a subscription. the click to cancel part of the rule simply says that if a consumer is in a subscription, it should be as easy to get out as it was to get in.

by making it easier to cancel subscriptions, the federal trade commission is making sure that consumers are able to get and keep the products they really want and break up with the ones they don't. it also gives businesses a clear standard for what it means to have a simple cancellation process. >> what is the rationale for this? it can be complex and burdensome to do it, but what is the harm that is being addressed here? >> we have seen a number of complaints to federal and state government agencies. the federal trade commission estimates they receive about 70 complaints per day about illegal and deceptive subscription traps. we have seen federal class actions that talk about this and i think that what it really removes from the process is the affirmative consumer choice. consumers end up paying for things they might not want anymore and that might just be a product of inertia. they may have forgotten about it or they may have just relented because they weren't able to actually get out of the

subscription because the company designed it to be that way. the company designed the subscription to be difficult to cancel to trap somebody in it and keep billing them over and over and over for the product. >> you mentioned this is streamlining the process for businesses as well, but a lot of businesses as you know don't like this rule, they argue that it is just governmental meddling. neil bradley of the u.s. chamber of commerce was one of those critics. he said this, not only will this rule deter businesses from providing sensible consumer friendly subscriptions, but will leave americans with fewer options, higher prices, and more headaches. as a proponent of this rule, what would you say to that critique? william: i'm not surprised to see critiques because businesses can make a lot of money off consumers that just forget to cancel a subscription. they can really for light on -- rely on this phenomenon called inertia. a group of researchers from stanford university studied this and said they looked at data in

credit card activity and evaluated when consumers have their card canceled. they had to actually actively opt back into that subscription, they were about four times more likely to cancel and not continue that subscription. when consumers are making affirmative choices, we can see they don't want the subscriptions quite as often and frankly this doesn't make subscription practices illegal, it makes them fair. it makes sure consumers have the freedom to break up with the product they no longer want rather than being trapped by a business's dark pattern of design that keeps billing them over and over for something they might not really want. william: as you know, we are in the middle of an election season. could be a brand-new administration coming in. is this the kind of thing that a potential trump administration as opposed to a biden administration could undo when they get into office? >> well, i won't be surprised at all to see a legal challenge to the rule trying to strike it or render it ineffective. a new administration could

certainly slow down the process, but this should not be a partisan issue. we have seen republicans support legislation that goes further than what the ftc's final rule did in making subscriptions easier to cancel and frankly a survey of voters said that many of those voters supported the ftc efforts to rein in deceptive subscription practices including 80% of the republican voters that responded. they should not be a partisan issue. republican should get on board and consider this a win because it is clear consumers want and desperately need this common sense change. william: this is just one of several of what people would argue is an activist moved by the ftc. how does this fit into the broader mission as elucidated by chairman lena con? >> i think chair kahn is paying attention to what really harms consumers and what consumers are complaining about and where they are having money siphoned out of their pockets, if not necessarily with their consent. i think this is a very common

sense solution to a pervasive problem that everyone can relate to. the chair has had a phenomenal record to responding to everyday problems that hurt the pocketbooks of americans. what she is trying to do is what she has done with other consumer protection rule makings, enforcement efforts, and statements like policy statements and guidance, which is to give consumers freedom to make the choices that they want to engage with the product that they choose. william: all right, erin whitty, thank you so much for being here. >> thank you for having me. ♪ geoff: from john f. kennedy's assassination to the son of sam murders, jimmy breslin famously covered the major events of the 20th century as a columnist for the new york daily news. whether working is a copy or

later making pulitzer prize commentary, he offered readers a poetic and blunt perspective on the issues that mattered most. jimmy breslin: the man who told the truth is the first biography of the legendary writer and a revealing portrait of a complex news man. i spoke recently to author richard esposito. >> it is great to be here. geoff: jimmy breslin had such a unique way of telling stories from the perspective of ordinary people, as some might remember when he covered the funeral services of john f. kennedy, he tracked down the man who dug jfk's grave and wrote the column about him. what influenced his approach. richard: anybody could stand next to everybody else until -- and tell that part of a story. he said i'm not standing with 10,000 people scribbling notes and taking down pictures. i will find a story. he went to his house and watched him eat his breakfast. he put on his coveralls and went to arlington cemetery to dig the grave. what does that approach do?

it puts you in a story. now you are capturing pain and loss through the eyes of the man digging the grave. as you are reading it, you realize you were learning everything you need to know about the children without a father and most importantly he captures america's hope. essentially going into that hole. that is his approach. geoff: why write a biography of jimmy breslin? richard: i got asked that a few times. i felt a voice that big, his story needed to be told. for 50 years, he told stories about america, selma, alabama, he was there. the death of martin luther king, he was there. rfk, he traveled with him to california and was there as he got shot. when new york city was in the throes of violence, he wrote about young people getting killed for their coats. when jimmy carter promised to

revive charlotte street in the south bronx which had been burned down, he followed that story. i felt someone who stood for people for 50 years was worth telling the story because he also stood for you and me because we got to learn from that, how to tell stories, that's why i do it. geoff: his writing was equal parts profane and profound at times. richard: great way to put it. plain english turned into poetry. someone described him as a cabdriver who wrote like yates. short and simple sentences that people could read on the subway. 1000 word short story that when you got off the train, you felt something of beauty in it. even when he told a story with pain, he remembered to give you a little humor. that humor is something you could walk on your way to work and have a little smile as well.

that was his gift. geoff: one of the most notable moments was when jimmy breslin received letters from the son of sam during those murders. how did he handle that morally and professionally? richard: those are two of the best questions because that was the mix of selling newspapers, they sold millions of copies and son of sam, his boss said, if we could have put the postage stamp in the paper to sell another 20, we would have. this is a guy who went to cornell and was a gifted reporter himself. jimmy normally had hours to write, but son of sam, he had days to think about that letter. what he wrote, he wrote to son of sam. he was responding to the letter. that was professional and profound.

and then there was, turn yourself in to me. that was the buffoon and the comedian. you read that and you go, this is what people say tabloids are bad. what he was saying is people say this is why tabloids are good. we are telling stories to working people. he was a mix of the professional, the profane, and sometimes the buffoon. he was larger than life. someone once said, jimmy breslin was in a movie produced by jimmy breslin, starring jimmy breslin, and the rest of us were just characters in the movie. that is how he viewed the world. [laughter] geoff: what do you think you would make of today's media landscape and the ways in which journalism is practiced today? richard: that is a question you and i probably ask ourselves every day, what do we make of this landscape? he felt when the internet started, he called me one day and said, this is a gale coming and i'm going with it and the rest of you guys are stuck here. he saw that he could write for this new medium.

what he made of it was its distribution and how do you get your stories out. i think what he would make of it now is we are in a lot of silos now. we are all sort of reading what we already believe. a little tricky, that, you know? i'm hoping some voices emerge and i think they will that transcend the silos, so we all have some common things to talk about. whether we agree with each other is not the point, but whether we can disagree about something we have all learned. i think he would do fine. how someone who grew up in his era would do in a newsroom, newsrooms have changed. people don't go around screaming, yelling at the top of their lungs and drinking and smoking. so i often wonder, would he have changed and fit in with a newsroom too? geoff: i doubt it. [laughter] richard: probably not, you have read the book. geoff: the book is "jimmy breslin: the man who told the

truth" by richard esposito with reporting by ted gerstein. richard: thank you for having me. ♪ geoff: detroit has been in the headlines during this campaign season with former president donald trump recently comparing the city to a developing nation. but detroit is increasingly known for its creativity and one couple is using the arts to turn around an entire neighborhood. special correspondent megan thompson visited little village to see its big plans as part of our arts and culture series, canvas. >> this is a famous intersection. there was a bank right here. >> dolores has lived for more than 70 years in the east village neighborhood of detroit. >> we had the drugstore on the corner. right here, the bakery. a bluebird bakery that baked all the best bread in the world. i can't even tell you how much

of a change i have seen. i have seen it rise and i have seen it fall. >> so she helps lead the neighborhood association and she was thrilled when approached about a big idea, the creation of a new arts district here called little village. it would start with converting an empty church into an art gallery. >> i was excited it would be up and running again. and it is something new to me because i had not visited a lot of art galleries. >> we wanted to do exhibitions and performances. >> a real estate developer first we came in gallery owner in 2012 when he cofounded the collective. a downtown with supporting local causes and the revival of the city center. >> our programming has had a major focus of creating change. >> they wanted to impact a neighborhood for their next project. after meeting with east village

leaders, they bought the 113-year-old good shepherd church and three more buildings on the lot. they launched the new cultural space earlier this year. >> it was important for us to keep it intact. >> now called the shepherd, it is a performance space and meeting space all in one. there is an emphasis on artists of color reflecting the community that surrounds it. >> we want you to feel welcome and that you have a connection to the work that is here. >> this book is called art in this nation, the detroit people mover. >> bidders or others -- visitors will find more than paintings and sculpture. there is a small library by the old confessionals curated by the arts educator. a founder of the traveling collection of works called black arch library. for this collection, books were chosen on a wide range of topics.

>> this book is called the ultimate art museum. i really wanted the space to feel like you can find something if you are interested in art no matter what that means. >> the exploration of art continues outside where giant sculptures designed by art is -- the late detroit artists charles mcgee are meant to be played on and there is a skate park created by the renowned skateboarder tony hawk. >> you might not even know it is really a sculpture. the idea was to turn this from being an exclusive thing, we wanted this to be accessible. >> other arts groups saw the transformation and wanted to be involved too. >> they opened a new space earlier this year called lantern. it is home to two nonprofits. one preserving traditional letterpress printing, the other

for those with developmental disabilities. upstairs, there are artist studios. >> most of these are referenced from bouquets. >> he sold me on detroit. i was trying to figure out a city to be my next move. >> since moving here three years ago, he has pivoted to more abstract work. he says the affordable rent and gallery support gave him the freedom to do it. >> i can really just think about my creativity. >> he also lives close by. they have rehabbed more than 20 residential properties in the area and rent them at the low market rates, several two artists. he says he has seen a big change in the neighborhood since moving in. >> people, there are a lot of people. >> there will likely be even more. the old rectory is now an art filled bed-and-breakfast. coming soon, a cocktail bar, pastry shop, and more art spaces

and galleries and they are transforming a large property into stanton yards, a waterfront park offices and restaurant to open in 2027. in total, more than 16 acres of green space. across 10 city blocks. >> if you build it, they will come. >> rachelle riley says little village is one of the largest projects of its kind the city has seen in recent years. >> we are on a mission to revitalize the city using arts as catalysts. i want people to come and see look at what they did in detroit, we should do something like that here. i want people to say, look at what we've got here and enjoy it. >> we have so many people, 99% african-americans. >> dolores or said the -- it has been made clear that everyone is invited to, but she believes some of the longtime lower income residents are hesitant. >> to me, the art is for i

wouldn't say the people in the neighborhood because they don't think it is for them. if it were myself and i didn't know anthony, how what i feel coming over here to see what is going on? i don't know if i would, because i'm not in the same class i would say. >> orr wants to help change that mindset because she said she believes projects are making the east village rise again. >> the east village has been forgotten and then you have anthony and the other developers that came and said, we haven't forgotten, we are here to help. >> that one right there is my favorite statue. >> the neighborhood kids have not hesitated to come explore. nine-year-old aidan curtis and his five-year-old sister live in that building next door. aiden says he likes to come over to play and enjoy the art. >> had you ever seen art like this before? >> no. now i do. i think it's beautiful. beautiful.

>> when aiden looks up at these giant sculptures, he imagines butterflies. >> it's basically like a butterfly and you are letting it go like this. that is what i think of. butterflies. joy. >> for the pbs news hour, i'm megan thompson in detroit. geoff: that is a great story and that is the news hour for tonight. i'm geoff bennett. for all of us at the pbs news hour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us. ♪ >> pbs news hour has been provided by -- >> consumer cellular, this is sam. how may i help you? >> this is a pocket dial. >> somebody's pocket, at consumer cellular you get nationwide coverage at no contract. that is kind of our thing. have a nice day. >> it really matters when you have an opportunity to give back. ♪ >> being part of something that is bigger than myself, that is

what brings me happiness. being able to integrate your professional career with some of these other things that are important to you, it is critical to being happy at the end of the day. >> this is our community and we want to get back to it. >> people want the opportunity to make an impact and a difference. ? ? >> carnegie corporation of new york, working to reduce political polarization of 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.

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.] >> this is the "pbs news hour" from the david m rubenstein studio at weta in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university.

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