September 10, 2024 - PBS News Hour full episode

AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

On the "News Hour" tonight: The debate stage is set for Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to face off for the first time, with a new PBS News poll showing the presidential race in a dead heat.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Their names are etched into our hearts and now into the history of our nation.

AMNA NAWAZ: U.S. service members killed during the withdrawal from Afghanistan are given Congress' highest honor as Republicans and Democrats trade blame for the events three years ago.

GEOFF BENNETT: And Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill calls for change after bodycam footage shows how police forcibly detained him before last weekend's football game.

(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

It's an historic night that could shape the course of the presidential election now just 55 days away.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are set to face off in Philadelphia in their first and potentially final debate.

AMNA NAWAZ: The last presidential debate in June between Trump and President Biden changed the course of the race, so tonight is highly anticipated.

A new PBS News/NPR/Marist poll shows that 70 percent of Americans say they will be tuning in tonight, while another quarter plan on following at least some coverage.

GEOFF BENNETT: And while a majority of Americans say they don't believe a debate will impact their vote, nearly a third say the matchup could influence their pick for the top of the ticket.

We have got a full table here in the studio for analysis of what's at stake.

The gang is all here.

With us all night, Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross, and Republican strategist Kevin Madden.

Welcome to the three of you.

So, Amy, I know you're particularly interested in who is paying attention to this debate tonight, this poll... AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: That's right.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... that nearly a third of voters say that this could be determinative for them is they make a decision about who they're going to vote for.

AMY WALTER: That's right.

And, normally, we think of debates as not having that -- especially a fall debate, that much influence on the course of the campaign because voters up until this time have seen a lot of these candidates.

They watch them through the primaries, they have seen them go back and forth.

That's not the case now.

Of course, Harris, the vice president, is pretty new to a lot of people, especially to folks who are younger or voters of color.

So when the Marist poll asked, will this debate affect your vote for president, a little over half of Black voters, 45 percent of Latino voters, and 44 percent of the youngest voters, those Gen Z and millennials, say that it will.

It's also important to note that these are the voters that right now Harris has had some trouble reconstituting into the Democratic sort of constituency that Biden had in 2020.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Ameshia, for Kamala Harris, the challenge tonight is to address those voters who say they don't know enough about her, they don't know enough about her policies, they're skeptical as to whether or not she can be an agent for change.

How does she make the best use of her time on the debate stage tonight?

AMESHIA CROSS, Democratic Strategist: I think that she has to create that contrast.

She has -- and not just with former President Trump, but also with the policies that came out of the Biden administration that some younger voters and voters of color in particular were not exactly excited about.

So she's got to move forward in things like economic development, talking about job creation and jobs that provide more than a living wage, talk about housing affordability, talk about small business and small business growth, particularly because, for Black women, that is where their funds are coming from.

It is not necessarily jobs in the job market as much as it is they're creating their own.

So when she's talking about those economic policies, that is part of the agenda.

The other thing is she's got to talk about things like Project 2025 and how detrimental that is to various demographics, but most importantly also bringing in those younger voters, because before they were a part of that double hater group.

They didn't want to see either candidate.

They thought they were too old.

At this point, they're still tying her, some of them, to the Biden administration in ways that aren't necessarily the most helpful.

She's got to show a progressive vision for the future for them as well.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Kevin, Donald Trump, according to his aides, hopes to cast Kamala Harris as being too liberal, trying to tie her to the Biden administration's unpopular policies.

His aides say that they hope he can stay on message.

We know Donald Trump is loose with the facts and quick with an insult.

What does a successful night look like for him tonight?

KEVIN MADDEN, Republican Strategist: Well, look, I think we're talking about defining the candidates.

Donald Trump, there's really not much room for definition, right?

I would say he has 100 percent name I.D.

and you might even say 110 percent.

People have very fixed opinions about him.

But this is essentially a contest to try and define Kamala Harris in the eyes of swing voters.

So I think that is exactly what we're going to expect tonight is to see Donald Trump come out in a very aggressive fashion, try to paint Kamala Harris as a West Coast liberal, not a progressive, but a West Coast liberal who's out of step with them on the issues that they care about.

And I think the issues are exactly as Ameshia had mentioned.

It's housing, it's inflation, childcare costs, those type of things.

So I think that's really what his core goal is tonight is to define Kamala Harris for these swing voters.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, let's turn to our own intrepid reporters to weigh in on this who will also be with us all night.

Of course, Lisa Desjardins is covering the Trump campaign.

Laura Barron-Lopez covers the Harris campaign for us.

So, Laura, let's start with Vice President Harris here.

She's had less recent debate experience than former President Trump.

What do we know about how she's preparing for tonight?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The vice president spent roughly five days or so in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before heading to Philadelphia yesterday, only briefly stepping out to visit local businesses.

She was hunkered down preparing for this debate over the course of those days.

And I was told by sources familiar that Philippe Reines, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, played Donald Trump during that debate prep, so reprising his role, because he did that as well when Hillary Clinton ran for the presidency.

And campaign sources also told me that they view this format as one that benefits Donald Trump, that Vice President Harris expects the showman to show up tonight.

And she's been preparing for that.

Also, President Biden spoke to the vice president today, saying that he wasn't going to tell reporters what advice he gave her, but that she was calm, cool, and collected, and he will be watching the debate later tonight.

AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, what about the former president?

We know his allies love to say that Donald Trump does not do debate prep.

Obviously, he prepares in some way.

What do we know?

LISA DESJARDINS: He does do debate prep.

You just can't call it debate prep.

AMNA NAWAZ: OK. LISA DESJARDINS: It is actually an inside joke within the campaign.

Multiple campaign sources tell me to call it policy time.

What happens is, you sit down with Donald Trump at a table and you go oh, not just Kamala Harris' policies, proposals, and past, but also Donald Trump's, to make sure that they hone what he's going to say, how he wants to summarize them, and that he understands all the policies thoroughly that could come up.

Now, there is not a mock debate situation.

There really couldn't be more of a contrast in the way these two campaigns are doing this.

And the former president was at Mar-a-Lago for most of today.

He wasn't in the state.

He traveled to the debate today.

But he is getting some help from some sort of big names within the conservative circles.

Look at two that are helping him prepare, Representative Matt Gaetz there from Florida and Tulsi Gabbard, former Democrat.

Matt Gaetz is not portraying Kamala Harris, but he is the one pushing tough questions to former President Trump, challenging him back and forth.

Now, Tulsi Gabbard, why is she there?

I was told she's there to give insight.

And then a top campaign source told me, more frankly, you can't have a discussion about a debate with Kamala Harris with just seven guys in the room.

So they wanted a woman, and Tulsi Gabbard is the woman.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Laura, what is Vice President Harris' plan for this debate?

What's she hoping to accomplish tonight?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Sources inside the campaign and sources close to the campaign told me that Harris views this as one of the biggest chances to speak to those voters that Amy and Kevin and Ameshia were talking about, which was those undecided voters, the sliver of them that are still left, be it the disenchanted Republicans or the young voters that she needs to come home, rather than sit out the race.

And to give an idea of who she believes she needs to focus, speaking of those disenchanted Republicans, two of the surrogates that they have there at the debate are two former Trump administration officials, Anthony Scaramucci and Olivia Troye.

And then, when it comes to creating big moments during this debate, I was told by sources that she's going to go on offense on abortion and reproductive rights and really try to anchor Trump to that and highlight his flip-flops on the issue.

She may very well actually highlight voices of women and physicians that have been impacted in those states with abortion restrictions.

On inflation and affordability, Harris may try to differentiate herself from President Biden on that issue by showing a bit more empathy.

Democrats admitted that President Biden at times would get really defensive about the economy, given the good data points, and that she will try to say that she understands how people are feeling with high costs and inflation.

And then she's also going to look for moments to get under his skin, I'm told.

And one thing to watch as well, according to my sources, is that she may try to goad President Trump on election denial specifically, speaking potentially directly to him, saying that he lost and trying to get him to admit that he lost.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Lisa, is the Trump campaign preparing for that kind of goading?

I mean, what do we expect to hear from the former president?

LISA DESJARDINS: They are all hoping for, and people have probably seen this reporting elsewhere too, as I'm told, happy Trump, calm, happy Trump.

They know the Harris campaign strategy is to try and get under his skin.

That said, it is Donald Trump.

He is someone who it is hard for him not to react when attacked.

He thinks he's better at attacking and he thinks he's got that power.

So they're trying to tell him, look how well you did with President Biden.

Keep that kind of approach here tonight.

However, there are some topics that they're nervous about.

Project 2025 is something that does get under former President Trump's skin.

It's something he's disavowed, but we know that it is many of his former and current advisers that are part of that.

That's something they're nervous about.

What does he want to go in offense about?

Well, the one topic phone call that the Trump campaign had today was on crime and border.

That's something where they think that they can make a better case.

They will also probably accuse Vice President Harris of telling lies.

That's something he's been accused of.

He's going to try and turn that around tonight in the debate.

GEOFF BENNETT: Ameshia Cross, that reporting that Laura shared that the Harris campaign believes that this is a format that benefits Donald Trump, that struck me as interesting because you could argue that Kamala Harris, there's a lot of upside for her tonight, in that she gets to redefine herself for some voters and introduce herself to others, whereas views of Donald Trump by this point are fairly calcified.

How does she do it?

AMESHIA CROSS: Oh, no, absolutely.

I think that she has to do both of those things effectively.

But the other thing that she has to do, which has been proven very difficult no matter who Donald Trump is debating against, is fact-checking in real time.

Without a -- without the mics being open, she can hear the jeers and the side comments and everything he's saying, but she's not going to be able to reply to them in real time where people can actually hear what he said.

She's got to create a time and a space to call him out on his lies, not all of them.

The man lies 500 times a minute.

She's not going to be able to do that.

But she also has to, in that same vein, not just talk about what Trump is for, but also what a Kamala Harris administration would look like and the progress that she plans on making for the demographics that are still a little bit on the fence.

Again, I think that's a much smaller slither of the American population, but this is going to be a race that is decided within the margins.

So she's got to define herself.

She's also got to plaster him for who he is and what he stands for.

She's also got to appear to not fall into the angry Black woman trope, because that is what Donald Trump is going to try to bring out of her.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Kevin, Lisa's reporting that the Trump campaign is trying to focus on crime and immigration, taking Ameshia's point that this is an election that's going to be decided at the margins, are those two issues resonant enough to make a difference in this election?

KEVIN MADDEN: Well they are, because I think, if you look at where this campaign is going to be litigated at the margins, which is the seven battleground states and the population centers around there, so if we're looking at suburban Philadelphia, suburban Atlanta, suburban Phoenix, immigration and crime are very big issues.

Those are issues where Donald Trump can - - and what I expect him to do is really try to -- really try to sort of confront Kamala Harris on the Biden record and tie her to the Biden administration and people's perceptions about the Biden administration being very weak on both of those issues, because that's where Kamala Harris has really probably made the most gain over the last 60 days, is that she, as becoming the new candidate in the race, she was the only candidate not named Trump or Biden.

So people were sort of euphoric about that.

But -- and she got the mantle of change.

Trump has to sort of take that away from her, tag her a little bit with the incumbency, and then talk about those issues, about what he would do to chart a different course for those voters that care about it.

GEOFF BENNETT: Amy, what makes this election different for Democrats is that they have an enthusiasm advantage, something they didn't have in 2020, something they didn't have in 2016.

How do they sustain that in the 55 days to go?

AMY WALTER: Well, I would argue that they have that same amount of enthusiasm advantage that Republicans have right now.

I think both sides are equally engaged.

The challenge right now for Harris is that she's gotten all of those people who are the most engaged, but she still needs to get a sliver of those people who right now feel like they don't know her that well, they don't know if voting is as important to them as it was maybe in 2020, or that they weren't part of the electorate in 2020 and have to be convinced that this is important for them to show up.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, thank you to our correspondents and our analysts.

We will have live special coverage of the debate right here starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

We start today's other headlines in the Middle East.

Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike on a tent camp early today killed at least 19 people and injured 60 more.

The attack hit Al-Mawasi on Gaza's southern coast, which Israel had designated as a humanitarian zone.

The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants who had set up a command center in the area.

Locals sifted through the ruins today.

Scraps of what appear to be tents, clothing, and entire cars were buried in the sand surrounded by massive craters.

One survivor says the strike came while his family was sleeping and killed one of his daughters.

RAED MUMMAR, Survivor (through translator): It happened at about 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning.

My daughter was martyred.

My wife and my other daughter were injured.

We were all buried in the sand.

I got out and started looking for my family.

I saw body parts of the neighbors in my tent.

GEOFF BENNETT: Also today, Israel released footage of a tunnel in Gaza where it says Hamas recently killed six hostages.

REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, Spokesperson, Israeli Defense Forces: But they were here in this tunnel in horrific conditions, where there is no air to breathe, where you cannot stand.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the video, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari shows a small passageway more than 60 feet underground where he says the hostages were held.

He says the entrance was located above ground in a child's bedroom in Rafah.

The discovery of the hostages' body sparked mass protests in Israel, with demonstrators calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a cease-fire deal with Hamas.

Separately, Israel's military said today that the American activist who was killed in the West Bank last week was likely shot, in their words, indirectly and unintentionally.

Witnesses say Aysenur Eygi was struck in the head by an IDF fire shortly after an anti-settlement protest.

Israel expressed its regrets and said its troops were aiming at someone else.

Today, during a visit to the U.K., Secretary of State Antony Blinken called her killing unprovoked and unjustified.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: No one, no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest.

In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to the rules of engagement.

GEOFF BENNETT: In a statement today, Eygi's family called the killing a deliberate, targeted, and precise attack by the military against an unarmed civilian.

They also called on U.S. leaders to order an independent investigation into the shooting.

Voters in Missouri will have a chance to weigh in on abortion rights this November.

The proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution is expected to widely undo Missouri's 2022 near-total abortion ban if it passes.

A group of Republican lawmakers and abortion opponents had sued to stop the ballot question.

Missouri is one of more than half-a-dozen states with abortion measures on the ballot this fall.

Tropical Storm Francine is gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour as of this morning.

The storm is heading northeast along the Texas coast and is expected to build into a hurricane before making landfall in Louisiana tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters today, Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned residents to be ready for storm conditions.

GOV.

GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Now, we all know that the current predicted pathway of the storm continues to edge more toward Louisiana.

Even though that's the case, these heavy rains,as well as the tornadoes that could come from the storm, still are a possibility.

GEOFF BENNETT: Abbott also said that Texas has sent trucks and firefighters to California to help authorities there battle wildfires.

Extremely hot weather has fanned the flames, leaving behind a scorched landscape in San Bernardino County.

The Line Fire has burned more than 40 square miles and forced around 6,000 people to evacuate.

Firefighters hope cooler temperatures tonight will give them a chance to rein in the fire.

Blazes are also burning in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada.

American households saw their incomes rebound to roughly pre-pandemic levels last year.

That's according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The median household income adjusted for inflation rose 4 percent in 2023 to around $80,000.

That's the first increase since 2019 and roughly in line with that year's figure.

The number of Americans living in poverty also fell slightly by less than 1 percent.

And for the first time in two decades, men saw a larger increase in median incomes than women did.

On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 100 points on the day.

The Nasdaq added more than 140 points to close above 17000.

The S&P 500 rose for a second straight day.

And still to come on the "News Hour": Ukraine launches its largest drone attack yet on Moscow; mission critical -- a new report warns NASA's future is at risk; and a musician's improbable journey from Uganda to Austin, Texas.

AMNA NAWAZ: Today, a solemn moment at the U.S. Capitol as 13 fallen American military service personnel were posthumously awarded Congress' highest honor, the Congressional Gold Medal.

Lisa Desjardins is back now with that -- Lisa.

LISA DESJARDINS: Amna, those service members were killed by a suicide bomb at the Kabul Airport during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Grieving families today received medals on their behalf, and top leaders from both parties praised those who were lost.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Our nation owes a profound debt of gratitude to these service members and those here today who were with them in Kabul.

We also owe them something deeper, and that is an apology.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): These 13 Americans were something more.

Heroes, guardians, saviors.

They were fighting for a cause far bigger than themselves.

LISA DESJARDINS: The Afghan withdrawal has become part of the election debate over the Biden administration's decisions over the withdrawal and also former President Trump's visit to the graves where some of those killed are buried.

I sat down today with Kelly Barnett and Darin Hoover, parents of staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, who was killed that day.

They were the family who invited Trump to Arlington National Cemetery.

I spoke with them about that, but first I asked them to describe their son.

KELLY BARNETT, Mother of Fallen U.S.

Soldier: I say this all the time.

A kid was born with fire and grit in his veins, the most loving person you would ever met, but he was always our protector.

We put that on his headstone and everything, our protector.

He was always the one that was always looking out for his mama and his sisters.

I love that kid, and I miss him terribly.

LISA DESJARDINS: What was it like sitting there in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol at this ceremony that I think you have been fighting for, really, in a way, this kind of recognition for a few years?

KELLY BARNETT: When Speaker Johnson read their names, I just wanted to fall out of my seat, because that's what we wanted.

Just to hear it in the Capitol in that beautiful space, and -- it took my breath away.

It did.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON: Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover.

DARIN HOOVER, Father of Fallen U.S.

Soldier: Just for them to acknowledge... KELLY BARNETT: Yes.

DARIN HOOVER: ... finally, and say their names, which is one of the big things that we have been really pushing for, even from the administration.

Just say their names.

Don't sweep them under the rug.

Don't do -- don't put them behind you, because they have set their legacy, and that needs to be remembered.

LISA DESJARDINS: As you know, yesterday, the House Republicans came out with their report on the Afghan withdrawal.

They found numerous problems with the Biden administration's actions.

The Biden administration can tell a different story.

But I want to ask, who specifically do you blame for the mistakes made at Abbey Gate and what happened there?

DARIN HOOVER: For me, it's the -- it's General McKenzie.

It's General Milley.

It's Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin.

And then, of course, it goes right up to the top.

I have some real issues with the way things were handled.

KELLY BARNETT: I think Biden and Harris wanted that to be their legacy, that they got them out of Afghanistan.

I think it was what they brought to the table to the generals is, you're going to do it.

This is the day, no matter what you have got to do.

This is it.

I believe it was completely mishandled.

There was no plan.

They had no plan.

It makes no sense to me the way that they did things, but it's pretty obvious they had no plan.

LISA DESJARDINS: I know initially you all didn't really want -- I know you did not to speak to President Biden.

But that changed and you did reach out?

KELLY BARNETT: We just didn't want to do it at that time.

I do now.

I would rather speak with Vice President Harris.

LISA DESJARDINS: What would you say to her?

KELLY BARNETT: Woman to woman, I want to know what you were thinking.

I want to know why my child was considered collateral damage.

I want to know what was said in that room that made you think that the generals didn't know best.

They have already told us they told them it was not a good decision.

Why did you go ahead?

I want to know.

LISA DESJARDINS: I know, for the anniversary, you all did invite former President Trump to join you at Arlington National Cemetery.

There's dispute over what happened there.

We do know that the Trump campaign has used some photos from that.

But how do you know that you're not being used politically by the Trump campaign?

Are you concerned about that?

KELLY BARNETT: I reached out to the campaign myself.

It was just a few weeks before.

So this was not anything planned in advance.

It was me that reached out to him.

And then it was me that asked for photos to be taken down at the grave site.

LISA DESJARDINS: I think the question still remains that the Trump campaign has used that.

And I think, for some military families, they worry about that line, that your grief is being used in a very tense political moment.

KELLY BARNETT: And they did ask if they could use it.

And because I am such a strong supporter of his, I said, heck yes.

LISA DESJARDINS: Former President Trump has criticized some people that others believe are heroes, Senator John McCain, obviously, who made his own sacrifices for this country, the father of a Gold Star -- a Gold Star father, in 2016.

How do you reckon with that?

DARIN HOOVER: In all honesty, I don't think that he disparaged any of them, and because the things that he said get twisted and turned so much that who knows exactly what he meant.

LISA DESJARDINS: Well, he said John McCain being captured meant he was not a hero.

KELLY BARNETT: I don't know his relationship with McCain, so I don't want to speak to what he meant on that.

LISA DESJARDINS: I want to close by asking you, did you think about what Taylor would have thought about today?

Did you think about him in that room?

What would he think about this?

KELLY BARNETT: I think he would have enjoyed it.

I think he would.

I think today he's proud.

DARIN HOOVER: He should be, as all of them should be.

LISA DESJARDINS: Darin and Kelly, thank you so much for talking with us.

KELLY BARNETT: Thank you.

DARIN HOOVER: Thank you.

LISA DESJARDINS: As to the Hoover family's accusations about the Biden administration's role in Afghanistan, the White House has said that they were up against problems they couldn't solve because of the Trump administration's refusal to add more troops and limitations of troops, as Nick reported last night.

Now, I did ask the White House about the Hoover family's request to meet with President Biden and with Vice President Harris.

They sent me not a long time ago this statement where they just said: "We owe them and their families a sacred debt that we will never be able to fully repay.

The president honors these families who have given more to their nation than anyone could and holds them in the highest regard."

They did not, though, Amna and Geoff, respond to whether they would try to meet with these families.

That still is something that families say they haven't gotten an answer on.

GEOFF BENNETT: For the first time, a Ukrainian drone attack killed a Russian civilian in the capital region of Moscow, part of a 140-drone barrage, one of the war's largest attacks by Ukraine into Russia.

Ukraine had already seized territory the size of Los Angeles inside Russia's Kursk region.

AMNA NAWAZ: Also today, the U.S. accused Iran for the first time of transferring ballistic missiles to Moscow for use against Ukraine.

Here's Nick Schifrin with more.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The unmistakable drone familiar to Kyiv now exploding in Russia's capital.

The war has come to Moscow.

This is the city's suburbs, where Putin had promised the war would never visit, by day, the apartment complex, a purely civilian target, badly damaged by a single Ukrainian drone.

If Ukraine wanted to frighten these residents, the attack worked.

WOMAN (through translator): The first seconds, actually even now, it was a shock and stress.

We were running.

Managed to grab this dog and our kids.

A horror movie.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The strike wounded at least eight and for the first time killed a civilian.

These are rare and jarring scenes to a Russian capital that has thus far managed to remain insulated.

But it was the second large-scale Ukrainian drone attack into Russia in as many weeks.

Ukraine is increasingly taking the fight to Moscow with long-range strikes made possible by a booming homemade drone industry, as we saw last year.

Airlogix is one of more than 200 domestic drone manufacturers that have increased local production more than 100 times.

Their flagship drone, the GOR, can fly as high as 10,000 feet.

Do you know what your long-range drones are being used for?

VITALLI KOLESNICHENKO, Founder and Manager, Airlogix (through translator): No.

It's classified.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But Russia has built its own drone arsenal and is even manufacturing Iranian drones inside Russia with the help of Chinese components.

And, today, the U.S. confirmed Iran for the first time shipped Russia ballistic missiles.

Fath-360 missiles have a range of about 75 miles.

The U.S. says Russian military personnel trained how to use them in Iran.

Russia can now use these to attack Eastern Ukraine, enabling Russia to use its own missiles for longer-range strikes, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians.

This development and the growing cooperation between Russia and Iran threatens European security and demonstrates how Iran's destabilizing influence reaches far beyond the Middle East.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In response to the missile transfer, the U.S. announced new sanctions today against Iran Air for helping procure weapons and Russian shipping companies for helping transport weapons, and European capitals restricted Iran air's ability to fly to Europe.

To discuss the Iranian transfers and Ukraine's drone attacks into Russia as well as U.S. support for Ukraine, we turn to Daniel Byman, professor of Georgetown University and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Daniel Byman, thanks very much.

Welcome back to the "News Hour."

You recently returned from Ukraine.

Why do you believe Ukraine is trying to bring the war into Russia?

DANIEL BYMAN, Georgetown University: I think there are a lot of factors.

There are some basic military goals.

Ukraine is trying to disrupt supplies going to Russian troops in Ukraine itself.

It's trying to stop Russian attacks from Russian soil into Ukraine by going after air bases, by going after military depots.

But I think much of the goal is political.

This is a war of attrition.

So, morale on both sides matters tremendously.

And the government is trying to show up the morale of the Ukrainian people themselves by saying, we're hitting back.

Russians are suffering just like we have suffered.

And at the same time, it's trying to show ordinary Russians that they cannot remain immune from this and to shatter the image that Putin has been trying to convey that everything is fine, Russia is winning, and that ordinary Russians can simply go about their lives without the war disrupting them.

And the last thing I will say is that these attacks give Ukraine some ability to bargain with Russia, that Russia has been doing far worse and far more furious attacks on Ukraine for almost since the beginning of the war.

And with these types of attacks on Russia itself, Ukraine can say, look, we can hit you too.

Maybe we both reduce long-range attacks.

It's also the possibility of saying, you need to eventually withdraw and have a political settlement because this war is not going to be won the way you think it is.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Is there a military risk on the flip side for Ukraine, though?

Ukraine took some troops from Eastern Ukraine, from the Donbass, especially on Pokrovsk, where Russia is making gains around that key transport hub in Eastern Ukraine.

They took troops from there and moved them into Kursk, into Russia, degrading its ability to defend Pokrovsk.

Is there a risk in Ukraine focusing on trying to get into Russia?

DANIEL BYMAN: There's absolutely a risk, and I would say a very high risk.

Russia has made steady advances in the Donbass area since Ukraine went into Kursk, since it went into Russia.

And it hasn't pulled significant troops from that area.

And this was a gamble on Ukraine's part that Russia might have to divert troops.

Instead, Ukraine might lose more territory to Russia.

And I would emphasize that it doesn't appear that Putin or the Russian military is panicking about the Kursk offensive, that they are willing to take it in stride, willing to bottle it up and continue their efforts in Ukraine itself.

And the Ukrainian forces there are exhausted.

They're in tremendous difficulty .And Russia can make even more gains in the coming weeks.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yes, in fact, defense officials tell me that Putin has clearly prioritized trying to seize more territory in Ukraine than defending his own territory from Ukrainian attack.

Let's switch to the Iranian shipments.

What kind of impact could these Iranian missiles going to Russia have on the war?

DANIEL BYMAN: The missiles themselves are not going to be game changers, but they do make it easier for Russia to continue the war.

These missiles will enable Russia to continue short-range attacks and then use its existing longer-range systems to continue a heavy-level bombardment of Ukraine.

And, again, this is a war of attrition, and it's required huge numbers of munitions, missiles and so on.

And by having more from Iran, by having support from China, this has helped Russia continue the fight and put a lot of pressure on Ukraine, even after a lot of its own initial reserves have been exhausted or at least in more short supply.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And one of the main questions also being asked is, what is Russia giving Iran in return?

John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council staff, said today, Russia is -- quote -- "sharing technology that Iran needs, including on nuclear issues, and shares some information about space with Iran."

How important is that?

DANIEL BYMAN: This is potentially a game changer for Iran and for the Middle East.

Russia historically has been cautious about the level of technology it has shared with Iran, but right now it's possible that Russia is being far more aggressive, that it's willing to share nuclear missile, other advanced technology, and also that it's willing to use its political power to protect Iran from U.S. pressure.

So Iran can benefit in lots of different ways, beyond very basic military cooperation.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Dan Byman, thank you very much.

DANIEL BYMAN: Thanks for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: The detention of Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill has once again sparked conversations on policing in America, specifically the treatment of Black Americans.

Last night, Miami-Dade County police released body camera footage of the incident this past Sunday, showing officers stopping Hill as he drove to his team stadium for a game, pulling him from his car, forcing him to the pavement and handcuffing him.

OFFICER: Hey, keep your window down.

TYREEK HILL, Miami Dolphins: Don't tell me what...

OFFICER: Keep your window down.

I'm going to get you out of the car.

As a matter of fact, get out of the car.

Get out of the car.

(CROSSTALK) OFFICER: Get out of the car.

Get out of the car right now.

We're not playing this game.

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

Get out.

TYREEK HILL: Damn.

OFFICER: What part of now don't you understand?

AMNA NAWAZ: Hill was cited for careless driving and failure to wear a seat belt before being released.

Joining me now is Martenzie Johnson, senior writer for Andscape.

Martenzie, welcome.

Thanks for joining us.

MARTENZIE JOHNSON, Senior Writer, Andscape: Thanks for having me, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, you write about this for your latest Andscape commentary.

I just want to ask, what was your first reaction when you saw the video and just saw how this unfolded?

MARTENZIE JOHNSON: It was a semblance of, here we go again.

I have seen countless versions of this video play out over at least the last decade, at least when I have been an adult and being able to kind of comprehend what's going on.

And, again, it's the same thing, where a Black man gets pulled over.

It gets escalated because the police seem to want to escalate it.

And then it turns into really violence against that Black person.

At least in this case, Tyreek Hill walked away with no injuries, he wasn't shot, he wasn't Tased or anything like that.

But, again, it's just been kind of part of the course for what I have seen over the last decade.

AMNA NAWAZ: So Tyreek Hill went to the game, played in the game, spoke about this incident after the game, and he basically said, he was wondering, what if I wasn't Tyreek Hill?

In other words, do you think that him being a famous NFL star played a role in how this unfolded?

MARTENZIE JOHNSON: Oh, for sure.

In that bodycam footage that we just saw, if you kept playing that, you would hear at some point one of their officers say: "Do you know who that is?"

The other officer being: "No."

And then he says: "That's a Miami Dolphins football player."

And he used it, accidentally, like, oh, I think I messed up.

So that probably led to Tyreek Hill actually being able to go to that game and have a successful game for the Dolphins that day.

But, yes, if Tyreek Hill wasn't who he was, if he wasn't a professional football player, if he wasn't a celebrity, that could have been another hashtag that we have seen again over his last decade, plus stemming back to Trayvon Martin.

AMNA NAWAZ: We also see in here in the video, right before the clip we saw, there's sort of a verbal back-and-forth between the officer and Hill.

The officer keeps telling him to put the window down.

Hill keeps rolling it up.

The officer then very suddenly, as we saw, orders him out of the car.

And we should point out that the head of the South Florida police union said in an interview: "If Mr. Hill would have just complied, it would have sped the process up."

He also went on to say that: "People who were detained should obey lawful police commanders first and complain later."

What's your reaction to that?

MARTENZIE JOHNSON: I mean, one, the police union official is doing his job, right?

That's what all police officials are going to do in this case.

They're going to stand up for their own.

But this idea that, if you don't comply, if you don't follow their orders, they can exact violence on you, that's not part of the job, right?

They have a lot of leeway as police officers.

They have qualified immunity.

They can get them out of lawsuits.

They have powers from the state to shoot and kill people without really any recourse.

They get paid a salary that is much higher than most public service, not to mention the overtime that officers like that would get from working those games.

So the least that they could do is not -- the least that they could do is de-escalate situations.

That's all we're asking them to do.

And they're saying that, if you don't comply with this, if you don't -- if you try to escalate the situation, we will go even further to a point of violently snatching you out of your car, putting you face first into the pavement, driving your -- my kneecap into your back and arresting you, just for, again, like you said, a traffic violation.

AMNA NAWAZ: Martenzie, wrapped up in all these conversations about police duty to de-escalate and disproportionate police violence against Black Americans is the conversation about Tyreek Hill's own checkered past, right, his own allegations of violence and assault against women and a child in one case.

How are you looking at that conversation?

MARTENZIE JOHNSON: Honestly, I don't think it really matters, right?

I have my own opinions.

I think a lot of people have their own opinions about Tyreek Hill's history, but something tells me those officers did not know that when they pulled him over.

And not to mention, if they were pulling him over for that reason, we're not saying that these cops are just wild feminists and believe that they're taking up for women by arresting Tyreek Hill.

That had nothing to do with it.

This was just the case of, again, pulling over a Black man in a car, escalating the situation and now turning it into this whole thing.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, the Dolphins organization says that they want to see swift and strong action against these officers.

In the 30 seconds I have left, what kind of action do you think sends a message that discourages this from happening again?

MARTENZIE JOHNSON: Honestly, I'm not exactly sure, right?

We -- every time when these situations happen -- and Tyreek Hill kind of said this himself -- it leads to conversations about, how do we repair these relationships?

That's on the police to do that.

That's not on us citizens.

They have all the power here.

They have all the leeway.

It has to start at the top and then maybe the relationship will be repaired.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Martenzie Johnson, senior writer for Andscape, joining us tonight.

Martenzie, thank you.

Good to speak with you.

MARTENZIE JOHNSON: Thank you.

You too.

GEOFF BENNETT: A four-person crew of civilians launched this morning on a private SpaceX rocket for a five-day mission that aims to include the first commercial space walk in history.

It comes less than a week after Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule returned to Earth without its astronauts.

NASA still has big plans, including sending people to the moon and ultimately Mars.

But a sweeping new report out today from the National Academies of Sciences raises questions about the agency.

Science correspondent Miles O'Brien joins us now.

So, Miles, help us understand the essence of the concerns laid out in this report.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, Geoff, it's a concern which has been around for a long time, but it was well-articulated by a very prestigious group led by Norm Augustine, a former CEO of Lockheed Martin and kind of a famous member of the aeronautical community.

And what they're saying essentially is, NASA -- you just mentioned some of the things they're trying to do return to the moon, go to Mars.

It has huge goals, big missions on its plate, and not nearly enough budget and perhaps not the expertise to pull it off and, on top of that, maybe not even the infrastructure.

GEOFF BENNETT: And much of this, as I understand it, is linked to NASA's decision about a decade ago to partner in a more significant way with commercial contractors like SpaceX.

What does the report say about the consequences of that decision and what it's meant for NASA's work force?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, you can put it in the category of unintended consequences, I suppose.

NASA, created by careful funding and letting out contracts to the likes of SpaceX a very vibrant space industry in low-Earth orbit, which, as you pointed out, is succeeding greatly.

We have yet another private mission in space right now.

SpaceX has had tremendous success, but it is also luring the best and the brightest engineers and scientists to its fold, because it is so exciting.

And meanwhile, NASA, being bureaucratic, it takes them three months just to hire an individual, difficulty keeping up with matching salaries.

And there are other high-tech enterprises which compete with them, are left with a diminished work force that's graying quite a bit and perhaps not the expertise they need to really do the job that lies ahead.

GEOFF BENNETT: Another challenged link to the bureaucracy, as you described it, in this report, budgeting and long-term planning.

Tell me more about that.

MILES O'BRIEN: What the committee found out was somewhat shocking, but there it is.

NASA doesn't do a lot of true long-term planning.

The agency relies on the kindness of Congress, if you will.

It gets an annual budget.

Sometimes, that budget isn't even appropriated until middle of the year.

So it goes hand to mouth year after year.

And space is something you need to think about at least at the decadal level.

To go anywhere, you have got to think about a 10-year plan or more.

And when you are subject to all the vagaries of politics in one-year, two-year, or four-year cycles, it becomes difficult to make those plans.

And so the agency, frankly, has not.

And, as a result, it's not making strategic investments in its infrastructure and the like.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk more about that, because the report says that much of NASA's infrastructure is from the 1960s and a lot of it is poorly maintained.

How big of a problem is that when NASA wants to partner with third-party companies, these commercial contractors?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, the commercial contractors, by definition, are new and are building shiny new facilities.

NASA, meanwhile, much of its facilities, its capabilities for launching into space hearkens back to the Apollo era.

We're talking, on average, 60-year-old infrastructure to get spacecraft into orbit.

That is obviously not a sustainable situation.

NASA clearly had a lot of funding back in those Apollo days and is, in some respects, living on the vapors of that.

But you can only go on so long doing that.

And the fact that it isn't putting aside the right amount of money to invest in that infrastructure is one of the big failings that this committee identified.

GEOFF BENNETT: Miles O'Brien, our thanks to you, as always.

We appreciate it.

MILES O'BRIEN: You're welcome, Geoff.

AMNA NAWAZ: There are various paths that young musicians can take to produce their first album, but few, if any, have taken one like Jon Muq.

Special correspondent Tom Casciato has that story for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

TOM CASCIATO: Jon Muq is a 31-year-old singer-songwriter.

He's skilled at melding the sounds of America with those of his homeland.

How he came to be that way?

Well, he will tell you it wasn't exactly preordained.

He grew up on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda, far from even the most basic amenities of the city.

JON MUQ, Musician: We didn't have tap water.

Me and my friends, we would meet up with jerricans and we would go to the well, bring water.

That's what all the guys did.

TOM CASCIATO: The only music he knew as a kid was what was played locally.

JON MUQ: Yes, it's 50 tribes and each tribe plays their own kind of music.

I was not really exposed to Western music, because growing up we didn't have a TV and I only owned a radio to listen to football.

TOM CASCIATO: Then, one day, he visited the home of a cousin who had a C.D.

of the song "We Are the World."

That was the moment everything changed for Jon Muq.

JON MUQ: And I put it and played it and there were many artists.

I didn't know most of them.

TOM CASCIATO: You had never heard Stevie Wonder or Bruce Springsteen?

JON MUQ: No.

But I listened to that C.D.

until it could not play anymore.

I was mind-blown.

TOM CASCIATO: He immediately set out to learn guitar and privately at least to sing in English.

JON MUQ: At school no one knew I sing.

TOM CASCIATO: Why were you shy about it when you're such a good singer?

JON MUQ: I could barely speak proper English, and it was just my friends thought I was crazy.

TOM CASCIATO: He says he only felt self-assured when he sang for kids in the street.

JON MUQ: And they listened, and I started going to the streets of Kampala singing.

And these kids helped me build that confidence.

TOM CASCIATO: To audition for his first gig, he stood in line at a Kampala hotel.

JON MUQ: (INAUDIBLE) And the only song I sang was, "We Are the World."

TOM CASCIATO: And?

JON MUQ: And the ladies said, told me you have a job today.

No microphone, no speaker.

The lady just told me, you eat food for free.

TOM CASCIATO: As he began to believe in himself, he wrote his first song in English.

It was for a pal on the verge of losing his girlfriend.

JON MUQ: The girl was breaking up with him, and I was like, hey, I can write the love letter to the girl.

TOM CASCIATO: Was he trying to get the girl back?

JON MUQ: Yes.

The next day he calls me, he's like, "Hey, she loved it."

And I was like, OK, I will use most of the words in that letter to create a song.

TOM CASCIATO: They're still together?

JON MUQ: Yes.

TOM CASCIATO: I think this friend owes you a favor.

JON MUQ: Yes.

(MUSIC) TOM CASCIATO: That's from Jon's first ever New York City performance at Rockwood Music Hall.

But let's go back to the story in Uganda, where he was still outperforming for free.

JON MUQ: And one day, my friend is like: "Dude, this is so cool.

We need to capture a video of this."

We took the video and posted it on Facebook.

TOM CASCIATO: Here's where the story becomes kind of amazing.

Somehow, someone from Norwegian Cruise Lines saw this video, and soon Jon Muq was getting paid to sing on a ship like this one.

His next stop would be the U.S., Austin, Texas, to be exact, where the cultural differences ran deep.

JON MUQ: My expectation of the whole picture of America was different.

And when it went to make friends, you meet people, and I thought if anyone makes eye contact slightly, show them a welcome sign that, hi, I'm good.

In Uganda, you just wave and smile.

And when I tried it here on the streets of Austin, my friend was like: "Did you wave at people and smile?"

I was like: "Yes."

He only told me: "This is Texas.

It's weird.

You can't just do that."

(LAUGHTER) JON MUQ: And it took me a long time to understand that.

TOM CASCIATO: It was loneliness, in fact, that led to what is now part of Jon Muq's signature look.

You appear to have two big eyeballs on your guitar.

JON MUQ: The googly eyes?

TOM CASCIATO: The googly eyes, you call them.

JON MUQ: Yes.

Yes.

I was sad.

There was only one friend I had was my guitar.

So that's what I drew the eyes, just to feel like I had a friend that is accepting.

TOM CASCIATO: Meanwhile, he continued making music and posting videos online, including a familiar number by Paul McCartney.

(SINGING) TOM CASCIATO: Internet lightning struck a second time.

That one was seen by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, who signed Jon to a contract and brought him to Nashville.

There, he made his debut album, combining the sounds he grew up with the ones he's heard since.

It's titled "Flying Away," and those googly eyes are right there on the cover.

The album was called "soaring and soulful" by the roots music magazine "No Depression."

Jon's roots, of course, are in East Africa, but the title song conveys something universal about believing in oneself.

JON MUQ: Flying away from home is about people not understanding how you feel inside.

If they don't understand you, as long as you believe in what you want to do, you just keep going.

And with time, they will know this is why.

TOM CASCIATO: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Tom Casciato.

AMNA NAWAZ: Don't forget to join us here later tonight for live special coverage of the ABC News presidential debate simulcast right here on PBS, with full analysis from our panel of experts.

That begins at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Plus, online, we will have a live fact-check of that debate with our partners at PolitiFact.

And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

Thanks for joining us, and we will see you back here soon.