brent:t: this is "dw news," live from berlin. tonight, the billionaire president who didn't pay his taxes. a bombshell report about donald trumps tax history. a report he denies. >> fake news. totally fake news. made up. fake. brent: "the new york times" says trump used massive losses in his business empire to get out of paying taxes. also coming up tonight, heavy fighting has a between

azerbaijan and armenia. it a territorial dispute with the potential of all-out war that could pit russia against turkey. and germany's jews mark yom kippur at a synagogue amid the ongoing rise of anti-semitism. ♪ i'm brent goff. to our viewers on pbs and in the united states, and to all of you around the world, welcome. we begin tonight with the tax history donald trump did not want the world to see. "the new york times" has gained access to tax documents from the u.s. president going back 20 years. the information paints an unflattering picture of a man deeply in debt and using questionable means to avoid taxes. according to the report, trump paid no federal income tax in 10 of the last 15 years.

the president has dismissed the allegations, calling them "fake news." this bombshell report hitting on the people -- on the peve of the first presidential debate. reporter: we have heard this line of defense from the president before. >> fake news. totally fake news. made up. fake. reporter: but with less than 24 hours before the presidential debate, the damage may have already been done. new tax revelations published by "the new york times" are likely to givive democratic rival joe biden fresh ammunition the -- at the event. donald trump was reported to have paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016, the year he won the presidency, and in 2017, his first year in office. he paid no income taxes whatsoever in 10 of the previous 15 years. that's because he reported losing more money than he made, according to the times. he's also reported to be personally responsible for loans

and other debts totaling more than $421 million. they are damaging claims for a man who derives some of his support from blue-collar workers through his self-promoted image as a successful businessman. the president denies the details in the new york times report. >> first of all, i paid a lot, and i paid a lot of state income taxes too. new york state charges a lot and i paid a lot of money at state. it will all be revealed. it is going to come out. >> when? >> after the auditors. i am being -- they are doing their assessment. we have been negotiating for a long time. things get settled, like, in the irs. but right now when you're under audit, you do not do that. so we are under audit. but the story is a total fake. reporter: but his opponents have already begun to hit back. trump has long avoided making his tax returns public, and he

is the only u.s. president since the 1970's to do so. as the november election looms, voters may demand more answers about the president's financial responsibilities. brent: for more now i would like to welcome robert gutsche, associate professor at the department of sociology at lancaster university and author, -- the author of the book " trump presidency journalism, and democracy." professor, it is good to have you on the show. this is certainly not flattering to donald trump and his image as a successful business tycocoon. do you think he will be able t o reset ththe narrative here? robert: wewell you k know, joe n his contender really neeeeds something to take donald trump to the mat, but we do not know if this is going to be it. the trump supporters, they do not like paying taxes either. one of the things we know is that two things will happen in life, death and taxes. if donald trump can still get a building with his name on it,

for r the average american, that still looks like a great success story. if he is not paying into the tax coffers, that may be part of the price of doing business. biden willll really have to brig thisis hard if he wants to get some steps out of it. brent: do you not think it is gogoing to hit his base of supporters, the fact that he paid the year he became president $75050 in income taxes when the average american pays $12,000? rorobert: ye, , that is ththe question we are going to have to see if i it plays out for noveer 3. one of the cononcerns is that te tax maman comes and d there is t left -- not much left on the table for food. the grocery bills are going to be skyrocketing here as people get ready for christmas. so there are lots of things going on in people's minds about money. but at t the end of ththe day, s nald trumpmp the person who can take america a andake it g great again in their minds?

there are issues of race, class, and gender going on that might trump whether the president pays his bills. brent: according to this report, donald trump is personally responsible for more than $300 million in loans that will soon come due. now, i understand that if a person was trying to get security clearance at the white house and had this kind of personal debt, they would never get the security clearance. what does that say then about the u.s. president perhaps being a threat to national security? robert: wellll, you are absentny right about getting security clclearance. it is veryry difficultlt to do. they look k into every n nook ad cranny. hand donald trump is pretty clear about what he does, and he tries toto take this and make a win out of it.t. in this case he is pitting the media against him, again. so, i do not know if he is a threat to national security because he does not pay his taxes, but certainly his

judgment might be brought into question abobout how he is going to pay for a bordeder wall and w he is going to pay for a new air force one and who -- and how he is going to pay for all these infrastructure improvements for things he keeps promising if he alone cannot even contribute to it. brent: four years ago at their firsrst presidential debate, hillllary clintoton accused dond trump of not paying his taxes, and his response to her was, yeah, that means i am smarter. but that was a reaeal hit with e voters.. whwhat, in youour opinion, doese biden have to o do at the debate tomorrow night to make sure e it does not happen to him as well? robert: well look, donalald trup can be a accuseded and admit to maybe some mistreatment of women, certainly he can say things that are, by most reasonable people considered racist. we do not know what it will take to take donald trump down, if that is what the democrats truly want to do. i do not know why they did not

put up bernie sanders or somebody who can really take some hits harder than they be joe biden can. i think joe biden has a really rough few weeks ahead of him standing up against donald trump. democrats do not want to play dirtier than republicans. and ththat is mae e where thee democrats seal their fate. if they want to do the honest aboveboaoard, take the h high rd approach, that is obviously not what i is speaking to a lot of americans unfortunatelely. they a are responding quite well to what donald trump has to say. brent: professor robert gutsche joining us t tonight fromm lalancaster university. we appreciate e your time and yr insights. thank you. the u.s. presidential election is now only five weeks away, and among the millions eligible to cast a vote, nearly 5 million native americans, and yet only one third of those 5 million are registered. that is the lowest registration

among minority groups in the u.s. arcane laws on reservations such as requiring a fixed address to register means native americans are often disenfranchised. dw news traveled to south dakota to speak with those people who are still struggling to have their voices hearard come november.. >> this is the heart of the south dakota badlands. we are approaching the border of the pine ridge reservation, home to 18,000 members of the lakota tribe. we want to talk to voters here bubut were stopped a at a checkpoint. the guard tells us that because of the threat of covid-19, only residents and essential workers are allowed in. i show my press id and she waves us through. we drive for nearly an hour

across prairie land before reaching a town. we want to know why people living here are less likely to vote. >> they feel like it is not important and their voice won't be heard. the pandemic, too, they are scared to be around a lot of people. >> we live in third world conditionsns. the majorority of our people d't own vehehicle how arere they supposed to geteo a pollining p place? >> most of pine ridge looks like this, remote, rural, and largely cut off from natitional politic. a l lot of the houses don't have street addresses and people liliving there don't have governmentnt issued ids, two things often used to register voters. now the pandemic is making voter registration all the more difficult. off the reservation i in rapid

city, we meet with two people who are organizing voter registration boots in south dakota. they want to show native people that all they need is a sociaial security number to cast their ballot, even though that is not clear on the registration forms. >> as a lakota person, we make decisions at generations ahead. i am thinking about my great grandchildren and how life is going to be for them. i think the best thing we can do is vote and use our voices. that is how i was raised. >> while they are not campaigning for the party, they are sure most lakota voters are againstt donald trump. >> he stokes racism, all the things we work so hard to build, relationships across all walalks of life, and he reversed them. >> if relations between native

americans and non-natives in south dakota are poor, it is not hard to see why. the state is soaked in historyry of stolen land, broken contracts, and unmet payments, to say nothing of those who paid with theheir lives. he p performs a tradititional d, makingn efeffort to connect with his roots. despite generations of betrayal, she hasn't given up on dialogue. brent: here's a look now at some of the other stories now that are making headlines arounund te world. dozens have reportedly been killed in a second day of fighting in azerbaijijan. the fightiting broke out in ann area within azerbaiaijan that hs been controlled by ethnic armenia since 1994. at least five iraqi civilians were killed when their home in baghdad was hit by a missile.

the iraqi army said militia groups have been targeting baghdad airport, where u.s. troops are stationed. meanwhile, washington has threatened to pull its diplomats out of the country if attacks on american interesests continue. protesters have gathered in barcelona to protest to the ruling of spain's supreme court to uphold a decision barring the catalan separatist from holding office for six months. he had refused to take down a pro-independence banner from a government welding -- building ahead of last year's general election. germany is looking for a new site to store nuclear waste. the report from the waste management association identifies 90 potential locations around the country but has already ruled out a former salt mine that was earmarked decades ago and has long been a

focus of protest. >> for decades, the small community was the symbol of the antinuclear movement in germany. now, scientists say the geology of the region is not suitable for storage of nuclear waste. the new map shows places with soil such as clay and granite, the only regions where a permanent site is deemed possible. 54% of germany is now in this category. and there is a big difference between the designated area and the area that will eventually be the storage site. at the moment, 1900 waste are being stored where they were produced. so far, only geological criteria have been used to narrow the site -- search for a site.

some suspect a political motive and have cast doubts on the process. they question why gourley than has been ruled out. it would be a shame to ruin decades of work to investigate that site. the opposition green party said this is not about wishing for a favorite outcome but about finding a safe site to store material. the german minister believes it is a task for the whole country. in germany, we have found out the hard way that a search like this can only succeed if we act together with solidarity. all mainstream political parties decided together to undertake the search. it is a good process. the quest for a final resting place for germany's nuclear waste is progressing, but the arguments are likely to get or intense as a result.

brent: for more, i am joined by simon young in berlin. we are all responsible for producing this nuclear waste, but no one wants it in their backyard. when ca we expect a result? >> the clock is ticking. by 2031, the location for this site is to be announced. by 2050, it is to go into operation. it's just 11 years for all the arguments remaining to be had. for instance, populations living near the potential site or other environmental impacts it might have. the possibility of earthquakes. all of that has to be explored and it's an ambitious timetable, particularly when you think so far all they have done is whittle it down to half the territory of germany. brent: talk to me about why it

is so difficult to find a location. >> it's a hugely complex process. we are talking about 27,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste that they are trying to secure or store securely as possible for the next million years, if you could imagine such a thing. and they want to be able to bring the waste back up after 500 years if, for some reason, that seems like a good idea. it is difficult. there is an aspect of not in my back yard, people saying we don't really want this in our backyard. a lot of energy, time, effort was spent finding the right method to find the final storage location. as you see, a lot of energy and

expense was spent trying to tell people that one site was good even though it ultimately became just a temporary location for storage and has now been ruled out. brent: simon young with the latest. as always, thank you. it is the holiest day of the jewish calendar, but this year in israel, yom kippur is being marked with a strict lockdown after coronavirus cases surged to record levels. the government said the measures were crucial to stop the health system from collapsing under the drain of hospital a admissions. we looked at how the hospitals are now coping. >> communication in the coronavirus intensive care unit

happens only through a window and over a loud weaker. this nurse just finished a two hour shift on the ward. now it is her turn to support her cocolleagues in n the control room. the rotating shifts are hard. all of the patients in this unit have covid-19. one of the difficulties is s tht a patient can be said inin with you, laughing with you, and three hours later he is in an induced coma and on a respirator. it can get worsese very rapidid. the bobody collapses and it is t easy. people only see the economic situation. they see the increase in case numbers, but not the people dying. like most hospitals in israel, this hospital has had to deal withthhe dramatitic rise in covid-19 patients. its corona units will be moved

to this underground parking lot three floors been no -- below the street. this was planned years ago in the event of war. now the country is at warar with the coronavirus says the hospital's director. >> the last eieit weeks, we saw another 600 patients.. we have lots of critical care patients. we currently have 70 patients in the hospital, 40 ventilalated. we seeee a a i increasing need r medical care. >> the main issue for the hospital is having enough trained staff available. upstairs, it's time to get ready to go inside the ward again for two more hours, her second time on this shift. it'ss a very physical job.

our patients are unconscious. mamany are overweight and heava. our masks are up and it is hard to see anything. most here have been on the job for many months now. the staff has had to g go the extrtra mile. they are hoping the nationwide lockdown will bring down infection rates. brent: here in germany, yom kippur has been marked by painful reminders of a far-right attack last year. that is when a gunman failed to force his way into a synagogue in the eastern city of halle. he killed two other people nearby and is now standing trial. our next report looks at how the incident resonated among jews across germany. reporter: she says she is not religious, but on yom kippur she comes to this berlin synagogue. she does it to honor the german jews who could not celebrate the holiday themselves in the past. this year, she has another reason, the 2019 halle attack.

>> i knonow some o of the people that were survivors of halle. and i know they are still confronting with this day and they will probably would in the coming years to come. it is maybe also another reason to pay respect to this day and rereally attend a synagogue because this is the right ofof y jewish person, i think. reporter: on yom kippur one year ago, a heavily armed far-right extremist tried to storm a synagogue in the city of halle in eastern germany, to massacre the people inside. he failed to get in. but then shot dead two people in the vicinity. many have since called for more protection for jewish establishments. he is part of the berlin synagogue's youth community. he knows a basic level of security is necessary to function at all, but he would prefer to talk about jewish life rather than the security fence.

>> always having a security issue in mind is difficult when you are trying to open up as a jewish community when you want to invite people. because having walls is not very inviting. reporter: both israelis, they have only had to confront their jewish identity since comiming o berlin. ththey run a co-working space tt houses jewish and non-jewish initiatives. >> this presents the kind of jewish life that we want where there is collaboration between different organizations that do very different things. but they work together in this vision is not exclusive but is a part of general society. reporter: in 2019, more than 2000 crimes were committed against jews and jewish institutions in germany. that is 13% more than in the previous year. but she feels safe in general. but she is hesitant to speak her

mother tongue in public. >> i do not know how people will react to hearing hebrew. i do not wear a star of david, a necklace or something. but i do sometimes think what will happen if i do it, because i did not show myself as a jewish person. every jewish person has this thought sometimes. this is the reality we have. is it shocking? perhaps. reporter: and yet, she continues to push for an open, public jewish life in germany, refusing to let the halle attacker win. brent: here are more stories from around the world. the media spokesperson for the german afd party has been fired. reports emerged that the spokesperson had been secretly

recorded suggesting migrants should be shot or gassed to death. a nobel laureate has left the country for medical treatment in germany according to her aid. the 72-year-old is a senior member of the opposition coordidination council and says she has been harassed by authorities in belarus. the chinese artist and activist i way way has staged a -- ai wei wei has staged a protest outside the embassy housing julian assange. he s says the authorities must protect press freedom. a wildfire in northern california's wine country has more than quadrupled in size overnight. strong windsds have been fanning the flames in napa valley.

officials ordered the evacuation of thousands of residents on monday. in sports news, soccer, the second bundesliga club has sacked their coach after just two matches of the season. he paid the price for two straight losses and a mutiny over a teammate being sent to train with the reserves. he had been in the job only 11 months. this follows david wagner being dismissed on sunday. camel racing has returned to dubai for the first time since the coronavirus hit the united arab emirates earlier this year. the camels have e robot jockeys which are controlled remotely. unlike humans, the robots do not have to have a covid-19 test and racing will get underway for the first time without humans since

april. here is a reminder of the top stories we are following. donald trump has described as fake news a report that says his business empire claimed heavy losses and as a result paid hardly any federal income tax. you are watching dw news. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. stick around. ♪

i'm from thirty four .com. candidates who spoke to life in paparis willl use a analysis frm francece twenty four i'm marco n these are the headlines. controversy has claimed donald trump is paid no income tax but ten of the past fifteen years when he was elected he paid only seven hundred and fifty dollars. this president condemned the new york times investigation as fake n news. michael backgrounds to meet with the exiled belarus oppoposition the d dispatch line that took on the sky at the french presidentnts in that the wawa he was creepy you must place sanctions on belarus. president alexander lukashenko. the next. right