♪ >> this is under zero and these are your top stories. that imf is painting a bleak picture of the global economy amid the war in ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis. growth forecasts for next year have been cut. >> the 2023 slowdown will be brought based, with countries accounting for one-third of the global economy expected to contract this year or next. the three largest economies, the u.s., china, and the euro will

continue to stall. in short, the worst is yet to come, and for many people, 2023 will feel like a recession. >> u.s. president joe biden restrictions it is evaluating washington's relationship with saudi arabia. it comes after the saudi led opec plus group, which includes russia, ignored u.s. opposition and decided to cut went out, which will raise prices. >> from the beginning of the administration taking office, the president had been clear the u.s. needs to -- needs a different sort of relationship with saudi arabia, he said that from very early on, and that have said this last week when quebec the decision to align their energy policy with russia's war, and war aims, and against the american people. it further underscores that reasoning to realign and reevaluate that relationship with saudi arabia. we are reviewing where we are

currently right now and will be watching closely over the coming weeks and months as well. >> russia has continued to launch missiles at several regions of ukraine, including zaporizhzhya. ukraine officials say one person was killed after 12 missiles hit the city on tuesday. israeli forces have been deployed near the illegal settlement in the occupied west bank after a shoulder was -- after a soldier was shot dead on tuesday. a palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the attack. a historic agreement between lebanon and israel has been reached on a disputed maritime border. the pact was broken by the u.s. and besides say it satisfies all requirements. "inside story" is coming up next. ♪

♪ >hazem: the battle for the u.s. congress a month from now, democrats and republicans will fight for control of legislative power. so what is at stake this time in the u.s. elections, and is joe biden in danger of becoming a lame-duck incident? -- lame-duck president? this is "inside story." ♪ hello and welcome to the program. i am hazem sika. in less than one months' time, borders in the u.s. will heathem elections that will determine the makeup of the next congress. that means they will determine president joe biden's chances of getting new overseas past, or

whether the republicans will gain the ability to block what he wants to. at the moment the division in control of congress seems likely. forecasts suggest democrats are likely to lose the house and keep the senate littered this year. with an electorate sharply divided, the stakes couldn't be greater. the economy, immigration and climate change are high on voters of reminds. last week matches were held in several u.s. cities in support of reproductive rights and other big issues. organizers are urging people to vote in next month's midterm elections for politicians who support the right to abortion. that is after the u.s. supreme court overturned a long-standing constitutional right to an abortion earlier this year. let's take a look at what is at stake in the midterms. all 435 seats in the u.s. house of representatives will be contested. about one-third in the 100-member u.s. senator grabs, and so are governorships, state

legislatures, local councils and school boards around the country. the democratic party holds slim majorities in both the house and the senate. for a bill to pass, it needs the approval of both chambers, so control of congress is critical to get legislation through in the united states. and early voting has already begun in some states. ♪ alright, let's bring in our guests to talk more about this. all from the united states, from burlington, vermont, arshad hasan is a democratic political strategist. from rye, new hampshire, shannan adler is a medical commentator and host of "the shannan show." joining us from virginia, james davis is a republican strategist and founder and president of touchdown strategies. with an electorate that is us. with midterms, they traditionally don't generate as much traditional interest as

much as presidential elections, but this time around it seems to be different, there seems to be a lot more engagement. talk to us about why that is, and what is at stake in this election. guest: guest: historically, midterm elections are kind of a ratings snsnoozer, half the electorate votes in the presidential elections, and evenness vote on the returns. in return is a referendum of what the president is doing -- on how the president is doing. the fact that we are having this conversation a month out from a midterm, not a position election is, proof positive that things are different this time around. not only that, usually when talking about midterms, the story peg is, what are the polls say, that is the sexiest thing you can begin the conversation with, and that is the least of it this time around. there are so many big issues,

and it is highly unusual for midterm elections to become such a huge national and international story that we are even having this conversation is proof of that. hazem: james davis, to what extent is this a referendum on president biden's term in office so far? guest: it is part of it, but these races are just as much about local dynamics of the are about washington and the biden administration's policies. make no mistake, the biden administration's lessees are waiting democrats down. two issues primarily dragging voters today, that is inflation. a lot of uncertainty in this economy, costs rising significantly and outpacing wages significantly. the second is a rise in violent crime that we have seen across many communities in the country. i want to belabor that a little bit, thoug, though, because

while these are national issues and national narratives have driven part of this, there are local dynamics at play that are very different. if you look at a state like georgia, georgia inflation is actually hitting states like georgia harder, because it has a disparate impact on low-cost-of-living states. so you see that it is going to have a big impact, particularly outside atlanta. then you see a major rise in violent crime in atlanta. you are three times more likely to be impacted by violent crime in atlanta than you are in chicago. these are terrible, terrible numbers. you have a governors race there where the governor has done many crime policies and been a good criminal justice reform advocate. formerly stacey abrams was more on defining the police, know she

is attacking one being soft on crime. he didn't see that in a lot of races around the country. -i want to get your take on what you have heard. but i want to ask about the issue of russian, something we mentioned at the top, how it has become a lightning rod for many traditional democrats and women because of that supreme court decision. how much will that galvanize people as well? guest: much. it is the most galvanizing issue of the selection. democrats are running on rights and freedoms, the top of which is our right to decide whether or when to start a family. if you look at what workers are doing, what is motivating them, you have seen a huge, unprecedented spike in the number of voters registering to vote for the first time, mostly dead by young women. that is true in all 50 states. it is something that is hard for the polls to measure or to do trust. same thing is true with polling,

with individual fundraising. what we're seeing is unprecedented amount of enthusiasm led by this issue, which are reporting says is one of the best, if not the highest salience issue that is out there. literally yesterday, as you mentioned, we had rallies in all 50 states supporting reproductive rights. this is more than just a simple referendum, this is a crossroads. with donald trump again inserting himself in this election cycle, voters see that we have a chance to go backwards with repeating their rights, or going forwards, with some of the policies we have had that have help students pay off their loans help, people cap medical prescription prices. these are popular policies. president biden's polling has been going up and it is driving voters to register to vote, give

small contributions. democrats are highly and unusually motivated. in a midterm election it is really a contest between how much each side can motivate its base. so for us, democrats, it is looking much better than usual. hazem: james davis, let me turn back to you, i want to ask you about this whole issue of respecting the democratic process and the results of the election. a majority -- according to the washington post -- a majority of the republican nominees this november for not just the house and senate, but for key statewide offices, 299 have either denied or question the outcome of the last presidential election. is that something that should concern all americans when they go to the polls? guest: i think if you look back, first he had hillary clinton who refused to accept the outcome of

the election. we have seen this from republicans and democrats unfortunately. we were talking about georgia earlier, stacey abrams refused to accept the outcome of the election. this is a real problem in american politics, and i don't think it has any partisan be nt one way or another. the simple truth is as americans, we need to develop a process that can be fair and particularly voters can have trust in. so i completely believe that this is something that we should take off the table as a partisan issue and republicans and democrats should unify around some solutions. hazem: you said hillary clinton refused to accept the results of the 2016 election. she gave her concessions which that election the next day. as i said at the beginning of this question, the 299 that i mentioned, all of them are republicans who have either denied or questioned the outcome of the 2020 election.

how problematic is that for republicans? guest: in terms of politically how problematic it is, i don't think it is politically problematic, i don't think most americans will vote based on that or not. but when you, if you do express concern around legitimacy of voting, you have to wonder if that will impact your own turnout. so i think it would be wise for republicans and democrats to really focus on issues themselves and for congress to come together and solve some of the problems and address the issues with voter integrity, so that americans can have more faith in an outcomes. hazem: shannan adler, to what extent then is the whole issue of democracy at stake here in these midterm elections? i am glad he passed the baton to me.

that 200 99 gop folks who are running for office don't accept that president biden won is a significant, significant thing to look at, and what people are not really talking about are the secretary of state elections. two usually generate as much press, as much buzz as house, senate and gubernatorial elections, but they are critically important, and in a lot of states, the secretary of state certifies election results. so in michigan, arizona and nevada, you have folks running for secretary of state have made it clear that they do not accept that biden won and that they will tip the scales, so to speak, perhaps in the future. that is just not getting a lot of coverage, and, quite frankly, , a -- i speak for myself, i

only speak for myself, as an american, we are nothing if we don't have democratic elections. there are things that both parties do that absolutely eat away at the core of democracy, whether it is the millions spent on every election. $250 million has been spent thus far just on the senate campaigns in ohio and pennsylvania alone. each u.s. presidential election cost about $1 billion. i mean, that is the debt of many countries around the world, and that is just what was spent here. it is mind-boggling. secondly, we have gerrymandering and redistricting where we literally draw a map, like shooting fish in a barrel. it is done all the time to solidify a district for a

particular candidate with a democrat or republican. my point is these things are problematic, but they are nothing compared to if we don't trust in the outcomes of our elections. the country that i grew up in caesar's to exist -- ceases to exist. when that happens. it is enormous. hazem: you mentioned earlier about abortion being a major issue for people on the left, but this issue of recognizing the results of the election and what shannon was talking about, the whole concept of democracy itself, this is something that has also motivated a lot of people on the left want to vote in these elections. correct. democracy is absolutely on the ballot this midterm election, which is an unusual thing to say, but we live in unusual

political times. there is no equivalent to be drawn between what the trump republicans are cleaning and competing on and what most americans believe in having a fair and open and honest election. this has not just national implications, but as we have been talking about, it also has local state elections. most of our elections are administered on the state and local level. that is why it is so important. you are right to talk about secretary of state and governors , many of whom, again, running on a platform of election denial. there isn't an equivalent on the other side and that is why it is important for all of us. it's true even on a basic level. you can see one side, the republican side also acting to ban books at libraries at the very local level, and then denying elections at the national level. when the stakes are high, about our rights and our freedoms, all that is on the ballot this time

around, that is why there are so much interest this time around. hazem: let's turn to something we have not talked about much so far, but it is very much an issue in these midterms, the issue of the u.s. economy. james davis, how much of this is going to be on voters' minds as they go to the polls, particularly with the challenge of high inflation and jobs and so on? the many predictions about a recession coming next year and all of that. guest: i think this is easily the number one issue in the election. people vote based off of how they are doing? are they doing better than they did previously? quite frankly, with the rising gas prices and energy costs and food costs, we have seen massive inflation over all. wages are staying pretty stagnant relatively, and then we

have kind of a unique housing market now, where we are going through a nice boom for such a long period of time, then it is certainly getting a lot of people some real concern now. if you are about to retire and you are thinking about retiring or you were, you are probably not thinking about retiring anymore when you look at your 401(k). people who have tried to do the right thing and put money away to be able to retire and to be able to live out the last years of their life. unfortunately, runaways ending has continued -- runaway spending has continued to drive deflation. we are over $1 trillion in debt. it is a very significant marker. we cannot keep spending at this rate -- $31 trillion in debt. and then we want to throw political tools -- college loan forgiveness, which disproportionately impacts people who went to college and reasonably have a higher paying

job at this point. we have to stop with all of the reckless spending. hazem: shannan adler regardless of how the economy is progressing, and who is in charge it is the current administration that is going to either be blamed for it or take the credit for it. is that the case? guest: i was one of those student loans that was affected by it, i think it has now been rescinded by the administration, certain folks no longer qualify. many of those watching took their sweet time paying down student loans, hoping they would go away, but they have not. the economy is always a big issue. but you have got, i around my neighborhood, i jog a couple of times a week, certainly not for you.

but i have seen all kinds of signs, democrat, republican, but you see a lot of signs that say "roe, roe, roe the vote." folks are really fired up about these issues. hazem: there are a lot of economic challenges that americans are facing, and many of them will look to the president for that. is that fair? guest: what we do is we focus of what it is the president can do or what it is congress can do. and some of the actions he has taken have a significant effect on the everyday lives and everyday looks of americans, again, why his approval rating is beginning to go back up. if you look at education debt, it is something that is very american, people go into massive amounts, six-figure amounts of debt just to go to college. to have a portion of that, for

millions of people, forgiven, it a huge economic impact. when i was paying my student loans, it was nearly as much as paying for rent. . it prohibits me from making any kind of economic investment or thinking ahead to the future. with the burden lifted, it is a relief to millions of people. or even medical debt, which is something millions of americans have, again, uniquely, the united states is full of people with medical debt. now with capping drug prices, insulin now cap at $35 a dose, word used to go up to hundreds even though it takes pennies to make, this a number of other drugs being capped affects people at every economic level. these are core economic issues that yes, absolutely do affect people. but let's not forget that reproductive choices, those are medical choices, and they have an economic impact, so when you see "roe, toe, roe yur vote" in

response to the supreme court ruling, these are issues that are important and at stake. what the president can do and has done is he has done a lot of popular steps to help everyday pocket, and in terms of the fundamental issues of rights and democracy. we are seeing and unusual election here. hazem: to pick up on the college loan forgiveness, because this has come up quite a lot in terms of the politics of it, because there are people out there, noncollege educated americans who are looking and saying, why are my taxes going to pay to people who went to college and couldn't pay off their debts when they knew exactly what they were getting into in the beginning? what you say to that? guest: for the most part, somebody who's not making a great deal of money isn't paying a great deal. these debts will be relieved,

and they will affect people who are generally lower middle class. there is a false notion that the debt will be relieved for very wealthy people, but for the most part, these are middle income people. it is difficult to get a good job without even a bachelors degree, and yet people go into tens and tens of thousands of dollars of debt for it. . graduated with $64,000 in debt. i didn't know it was going to be that much. my family took an economic downturn and we had to figure out whether i would continue to go to that college, or transfer, were not go to college. an 18-year-old isn't always going to know that they will get, into $100,000 worth of debt, debt that uniquely among other kinds of debt cannot through the normal bankruptcy process. so it is important for economic policy that is targeted at millions and millions of americans, that has gotten way out of control for us to see some relief from that.

i don't think it is enough, there needs to be structural change as well, but for this to happen now is a major issue for all of us. hazem: james davis, regardless what the results are of this in november, do you see issues on which republicans and democrats could come together? guest: i certainly hope so. i am part of a public safety solutions for america, that really comes around four principles. we are trying to drive a comprehensive approach to smart policies that can target and isolate violent crime in our cities. we are seeing a lot of good movement with that. . i believe both republicans and democrats can come together, hopefully, on issues that are important like that. i believe we are going to have to grapple with energy costs whether we like it or not. and it is not as simple as being a -- a blank check or

traditional fossil fuels, we need a new approach allowing freedom and flexibility for the market to use energy for americans. when we are having to turn off our lights during the day in some parts of states because of bad policies that have been enacted overall, or when we saw texas freeze over, folks that did not have four or more reliant on electricity and the electrical grid went down, they were freezing. we need smart policies. it doesn't have to be so divisive. immigration is another issue that our hope congress can come together to solve. we see tons of immigrants coming into our country, but we need a process around that. we need to be able to really bring in and accept anyone who wants to contribute positively to our society, but we need order and security at the border

as well. that is an opportunity. health care should be an opportunity. instead of doing more government intervention and health care, i would like to see a personal option in health care which gives patients more control and choice over there health care. there are so many opportunities. telehealth within health care should be a great opportunity. why can't we make that permanent? we have seen great increases in the use of telehealth. hazem: we will have to, we are out of time. . thank you very much to all three of you, arshad hasan, shannan adler and james davis. thank you very much for being on "inside story." and remember, thanks to you as well for watching. you can see this problem again anytime. just go to our website, aljazeera.com. and for further discussion, to our facebook page, that is facebook.com/ajinsidestory. you can also join the conversation on twitter. our handle is at @ajinsidestory. for me, adrian finighan, and the -- for me, hazem sica and the whole team here in doha, bye for

now. ♪

■x■x

óróxór[r - we have done ourselves a disservice by not having a talk about death. oftentimes, they place a foot on the conveyor bebelt of end-of-life care and they're swept away. - most anybody that i know has never experienced a home funeral or a natural burial. they don't know how to do it because no one's offering it. - everybody's life, you leave a legacy. and john would help their family remember that legacy. but also, to put one foot in front of the other