September 3, 2024 - PBS News Hour full episode

AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

Geoff Bennett is on assignment.

On the "News Hour" tonight: Volodymyr Zelenskyy renews his call for long-range weapons from the United States after two Russian missile strikes kill dozens in Ukraine.

Geoff Bennett sits down with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to discuss her new memoir detailing her journey to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice: I'm the first Black woman, as you say, but not the first Black woman who could have done this job.

AMNA NAWAZ: And growing concerns over voting security, as former President Trump asserts that he had every right to interfere in the 2020 election.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

Ukraine is reeling tonight after one of the deadliest Russian strikes since the full-scale war began more than 2.5 years ago.

Authorities say two missiles hit a military academy and a hospital in the central eastern town of Poltava today, killing at least 50 people and injuring hundreds more.

Nick Schifrin has our report.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Hundreds of miles from the front line, Russia's ballistic missiles struck so quickly, Ukrainian cadets had no time to search for safety, a military school building and a nearby hospital both destroyed and nearby homes damaged.

Violence has shattered this and every Ukrainian city and residents long ago forgot what it feels like to be safe.

Oleksandr cleaned up his broken window.

OLEKSANDR, Poltava, Ukraine Resident (through translator): There were two powerful explosions, one after the other.

Everything flew out of the cupboard.

Everything was covered in glass.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And a nearby school dusted itself off despite the danger, said 12-year-old Alisa Shtybal.

ALISA SHTYBAL, Poltava, Ukraine Resident (through translator): It was scary, fear, panic.

I don't know how to describe it.

I was worried for my parents and my sister, for my loved ones.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Once again, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy argued the attack should unshackle U.S. restrictions on long-range American weapons.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President (through translator): Air defense systems and missiles are needed in Ukraine, not in a warehouse somewhere.

Long-range strikes that can defend against Russian terror are needed now, not sometime later.

Every day of delay, unfortunately, means more lives lost.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And there were more lives lost early today in Zaporizhzhia.

Police pulled out the bodies of victims of a Russian strike on a hotel, by daylight, among the dead, a woman and her 8-year-old son.

Zaporizhzhia is home to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, occupied by Russia since the war's first days.

Yesterday, the plant's external power source was hit with artillery.

In Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi warned that could lead to the plant losing the power it needs to cool its reactor.

RAFAEL GROSSI, Director General, IAEA: I have very often characterized it as very fragile with a certain -- for some days, we have some stability and then, the next day, there is an event, an issue, a drone impact.

The situation is very serious indeed.

NICK SCHIFRIN: But, today, the war's architect was given an honor guard by a country that is legally obligated to arrest him.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Mongolia, a member of the International Criminal Court that has demanded Putin's arrest.

Mongolia has built relationships with the West since it transitioned to democracy in the 90s, but its economy still depends on Russia and the leaders announced today their ties would be strengthened.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through translator): Relations with Mongolia are among the priorities of our foreign policy in Asia and have been raised to a high level of comprehensive strategic partnership.

NICK SCHIFRIN: A small voice of dissent that demanded Mongolia execute the ICC warrant was quickly silenced when police arrested pro-Ukrainian protesters.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin.

AMNA NAWAZ: We start the day's other headlines with events in the Middle East.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against several top Hamas leaders in connection to the October 7 massacre.

They include the group's leader, Yahya Sinwar.

There are seven charges in total, including conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death.

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the individuals -- quote -- "have led Hamas' effort to destroy the state of Israel and murder civilians in support of that aim."

In the meantime, Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv for a third straight night to demand their government strike a deal with Hamas to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

U.S. officials today said they're working on a new cease-fire and hostage proposal with their Egyptian and Qatari counterparts, and they called on Israeli and Hamas officials to reach a deal.

MATTHEW MILLER, State Department Spokesman: There are dozens of hostages still remaining in Gaza, still waiting for a deal that will bring them home.

It is time to finalize that deal.

Ultimately, finalizing an agreement will require both sides to show flexibility.

It will require that both sides look for reasons to get to yes, rather than reasons to say no.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meantime, the World Health Organization says its polio vaccine campaign in Gaza is exceeding expectations.

More than 161,000 oral vaccines were administered during the first two days of a 10-day operation, as Israel and Hamas adhere to a planned pause in fighting in specific areas.

The WHO hopes to vaccinate a total of 640,000 children overall.

At least 12 people are confirmed dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized in the English Channel.

One official called it the deadliest migrant disaster in the waterway this year.

Rescuers say they pulled 65 people from this rough stretch of sea.

Investigators believe the majority had come from Africa and were trying to cross from Northern France to the U.K. Today, France's interior minister blamed overcrowding for the disaster.

GERALD DARMANIN, French Interior Minister (through translator): You must understand that while there were 30 to 40 people on these boats in the past, small boats with small engines, today, there are 70 to 80 people on the same boats.

So what probably happened is that this boat collapsed on itself very quickly.

AMNA NAWAZ: The minister also said that most of the passengers weren't wearing life vests and that 10 of the 12 victims were women and girls.

The White House today condemned the arrest warrant issued by Venezuelan authorities for opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez, calling it unjustified.

Officials in Brazil, Argentina and Peru have also slammed the move.

The warrant accused the former presidential candidate of various crimes related to the results of the disputed July election.

They include conspiracy and falsifying documents and stem from the country's opposition publishing vote tallies online that showed President Nicolas Maduro actually lost by a wide margin.

Gonzalez's lawyer said publishing those tallies did not amount to any wrongdoing.

JOSE VICENTE HARO, Attorney For Edmundo Gonzalez (through translator): Mr. Edmundo Gonzalez had nothing to do with collecting copies of the tally sheets, digitalizing them and uploading them on a Web page.

This was a civic citizen action of witnesses at polling stations accredited by the National Electoral Council.

AMNA NAWAZ: Venezuela's election authority and its Supreme Court have certified Maduro's reelection, but have provided no proof of his win.

Here in the U.S., federal prosecutors have charged a former New York state official for acting as an undisclosed agent for the Chinese government.

Linda Sun and her husband left a Brooklyn courthouse this afternoon after pleading not guilty to charges that she used her position to help Chinese authorities in exchange for millions of dollars in compensation and gifts.

Sun worked as deputy chief of staff for New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

She also held a position in former Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration.

In a statement, Governor Hochul's office said that Sun was fired last year due to -- quote -- "evidence of misconduct."

The city of Phoenix has set a new milestone as it grapples with long-running summer heat.

On Tuesday, the city hit 100 degrees for the 100th straight day.

That is far beyond the prior record of 76 consecutive days.

Temperatures climbed to 102 degrees on May 27.

They haven't cooled since and there is no break in sight.

The forecast calls for unseasonably high temperatures this week across the Western U.S., with an excessive heat warning lasting through Friday.

And on Wall Street today, stocks plunged to start the new trading month on renewed concerns about the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 600 points to close below 41000.

The Nasdaq tumbled more than 500 points as shares of big technology companies struggled.

The S&P 500 also ended sharply lower on the day.

And at the Paralympic Games in Paris, Team USA raked in more medals, including three across the day's para equestrian categories, among them, Rebecca Hart and her horse, Floratina, put on a golden performance at the Palace of Versailles.

She bested the favorite, six-time Paralympic champion Natasha Baker of Great Britain.

Meanwhile, on the track, sprinter Jaydin Blackwell posted his second world record of the games, winning gold in the men's 400 meters.

And Ezra Frech continued his golden run, topping the podium in his classification's high jump final.

Still to come on the "News Hour": Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reflects on her path to the U.S. Supreme Court; and teachers and shopkeepers take up arms in Sudan to defend their country against a rebel militia.

Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is out with a new memoir chronicling her family's rise from segregation to her confirmation as the first Black woman on the nation's highest court, all in a single generation.

Geoff Bennett spoke with Justice Jackson earlier today in New York about her memoir, "Lovely One."

GEOFF BENNETT: Justice Jackson, thanks so much for speaking with us.

We appreciate it.

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice: Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: This book, your memoir, what comes through is how your story is such a uniquely American story, a real powerful testament to this country's progress.

And you write about how your parents are the products of segregation, but they poured into you -- and what strikes me about your story is that they poured into you with such powerful and purposeful effort and deliberate intention.

What values did they impart that really helped guide your life and your professional journey?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, as I said, thank you for having me and giving me the opportunity to talk about the book and talk about my parents, who really did instill values like hard work and love of country, love of self.

They had fierce pride in our African American identity, which comes up in my name.

The book is called "Lovely One" because that is the English translation of my African name, given name, Ketanji Onyika.

And my parents, you know, I just wanted to be so much like them when I was little.

My father went back to law school when I was 3, 4 years old.

And I remember him studying.

And that was one of my earliest memories.

And my parents were educators originally when I was born.

And so the idea of the importance of education and working hard and striving to achieve something all come from my parents.

GEOFF BENNETT: As the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, how do you perceive your role in the broader context of American history and progress?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, it definitely demonstrates progress, I think.

So many people have received my appointment in that light.

I'm the first Black woman, as you say, but not the first Black woman who could have done this job.

I think about Constance Baker Motley, who I talk about in the book and who was a role model for me.

She was the first African American federal judge.

And she argued something like 11 cases in the Supreme Court.

But she grew up and came up in a time in which it wouldn't have been possible for her to be appointed to the court.

And so I feel so fortunate to be in this position.

And it shows the progress that we have made as a country.

GEOFF BENNETT: What does being a first mean in practical terms?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, I think it means that we are moving now to a time in which anyone has the opportunity to do what they want to do in our society.

And I hope that seeing my appointment would be motivational for children, just like Judge Motley was motivational for me.

GEOFF BENNETT: How do you engage with the other justices?

Justice Breyer, as I understand it, he used to like to go to other justices chambers and have direct conversations.

Others prefer written communication.

How do you do it and how do you navigate differences in legal interpretation?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: I think a little bit of both.

I learned from Justice Breyer, who, as you say, was a great collaborator, as someone who really did like to gauge personally with the other justices.

Sometimes, I go around.

But I think we probably mostly communicate by memo and also by phone.

And you do your best to try to persuade people that you have the better of the argument, or at least the way that you're thinking about it is the way the court should approach a particular issue.

GEOFF BENNETT: You have at times aligned in your opinions with Justice Neil Gorsuch.

But, for the most part, you're part of a three-justice liberal minority.

How do you grapple with at times having limited ability to sway the outcomes of consequential, oftentimes divisive cases?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, I'm an optimist at heart.

(LAUGHTER) JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: And you look at every case and you do your best to ask the questions at oral argument that you think might get people thinking.

And you do your best through your clerks and other members of your staff to communicate with them to your position.

And you also hear their position and try to understand where they're coming from to bridge whatever differences there are.

But I'm not going to lie.

It's not easy, to be sure.

(LAUGHTER) JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: But I'm always of the belief that people are persuadable.

And that's what I'm here to try to do.

GEOFF BENNETT: Has that worked?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: In some cases, yes.

I mean, the court is a deliberative body.

And our duty and our job is to listen to one another and try to come to the best decision.

GEOFF BENNETT: How do you think the court is best positioned to maintain the public trust?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, maintaining the public trust is a very important aspect of the court's work.

This is something that Justice Breyer talks about all the time, and when I was clerking for him, now.

It's one of his big themes, that the court, unlike the other branches of government, doesn't have an army and it doesn't have power of the purse, and so we really do have to persuade people that the court is trustworthy in order to ensure that the rule of law is maintained.

I think the court needs to - - I can tell you what I do, really focus on the role of the court in a democratic society.

We have a constitutional republic.

There are other branches of government.

And so I'm really focused on ensuring that I am staying in my lane in my decisions and in the cases that come before us.

I'm thinking about consistency across the various cases, regardless of who brings the claims at issue.

And I am working diligently to set aside my personal views, as I did as a lower court judge and as a judge on the Court of Appeals.

GEOFF BENNETT: On the matter of court ethics you have said that you are open to proposals to implement an enforceable code of ethics for justices.

President Biden has also urged the adoption of an 18-year term limit for the justices.

Should there be term limits for Supreme Court justices?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, here's how I'm thinking about that.

There have been debates about term limits since the beginning of our republic.

I talk about this in the book a little bit.

Alexander Hamilton debated the anti-federalists as to whether or not judges should have lifetime appointments, and the constitutional process was such that he won that debate, and that's what we have now in our system.

And so it's a political process to make a determination as to whether or not that should be changed.

And in our democracy, people are engaging in that debate right now.

GEOFF BENNETT: The idea, though, as President Biden has suggested, that it's a good thing to have more consistency in this process and that 18 years, as he suggested, is a good approach?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, I'm going to let the political process play out.

And people are engaged in this decision right now, and it'll be interesting to see what we decide.

GEOFF BENNETT: The court's recent rulings on voting rights, reproductive rights, presidential immunity, in your view, how have those rulings fundamentally changed American life?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, the court hears some of the most significant cases.

That's the role of the court in our constitutional design.

We take issues that are difficult, because, if they weren't difficult, they wouldn't make their way all the way to the Supreme Court.

And many of those issues, as you have indicated, deal with pretty complicated social issues.

There are standards in the law for when we decide to make changes.

The court generally follows precedent.

But there are times in which those standards, according to a majority of the justices, have been met and changes are made.

GEOFF BENNETT: You have written some pretty forceful, pointed dissents in some major cases, to include a 29-page dissent sharply criticizing the ruling to reject affirmative action in college admissions.

And you wrote that: "Deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life."

And you also wrote that time would reveal the effects.

We're already getting our first look at the apparent impact.

MIT, Amherst College, Tufts University report a significantly lower number of Black students this year, as white enrollment increases.

What do you think are the implications of that?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, I will leave it to your viewers to read my opinion.

In my dissent, I talked about the gaps that have been created in our society over time and the fact that affirmative action was initially designed as a response to them.

And so we will have to see what happens as a result of where we are now.

GEOFF BENNETT: When you write a dissent, who do you envision as the audience?

Is it the American public, the other justices, posterity?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: All of the above.

You really do try to speak to a wide variety of audiences, because, when you're dissenting, obviously, you have not been able to persuade your colleagues about your view of the issue.

So, to some extent, you are writing for the public, so that they can understand the debate that the justices have had about the issue.

And then you hope to be writing for posterity, because you would hope that eventually your point of view would prevail.

GEOFF BENNETT: The process of writing a memoir, I imagine, makes you think about your impact.

It's probably too early to talk about your legacy.

(LAUGHTER) GEOFF BENNETT: But what -- how do you want to shape the court moving forward?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Oh, my goodness.

Well, I would just like to do a good job.

I mean, it's pretty early to be thinking about -- how I'd change it or how I'd stamp it.

Right now, I just want to do the best I can to serve the American people to the best of my ability.

GEOFF BENNETT: Looking back at your career thus far, what are you proudest of?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Oh, there's so many things to be proud of.

I have talked about all of the various stages of my life in the book and the people who contributed.

I say in the preface, no one reaches the highest of heights on their own.

And I really believe that.

And so I think I'm proudest of the relationships that have sustained me, to include my wonderful husband, without whom I don't think any of this would have been possible.

So I think it's the relationships that I have been able to build and have been privileged to be a part of.

GEOFF BENNETT: We got to see your parents during the confirmation process.

What do they think of all this?

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Oh, my goodness.

My parents are, I think, over-the-moon happy and proud and just probably couldn't have imagined that this would happen.

GEOFF BENNETT: Reading the book, though, I think they could have.

I think they did imagine this.

(CROSSTALK) JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Maybe.

Maybe.

(LAUGHTER) JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Well, they certainly wanted something wonderful to happen and felt that it could.

And that's why they invested so much.

And I just -- I'm most pleased that we were able to put everything down on paper and have such a tribute to them while they're still with us.

GEOFF BENNETT: The memoir is terrific... JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... "Lovely One."

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, thank you so much for speaking with me.

I appreciate it.

JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: Thank you so much.

AMNA NAWAZ: We have just over 60 days to go until Election Day.

Former President Donald Trump is again casting doubt on the legitimacy of the election process.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, takes a closer look.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Lies about the 2020 election have been a key feature of Donald Trump's third campaign for the presidency.

In an interview with FOX over the weekend, Trump defended his efforts to overturn the 2020 results.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: Who ever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election, where you have every right to do it?

You get indicted, and your poll numbers go up.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Another feature of Trump's campaign, sowing distrust about the 2024 election.

DONALD TRUMP: It's one thing I taught people.

They used to think that the elections were honest and the borders were sealed.

Now they know the borders are an open sieve that's destroying our country and the elections are dishonest as hell.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Joining me now to discuss this is David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research.

David, thank you so much for joining me.

DAVID BECKER, Executive Director, Center for Election Innovation and Research: Thanks for having me.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: In that recent podcast interview with a former aide of his, Donald Trump said that -- quote -- "mail voting by its nature cannot be honest."

He also attacked early voting, saying, where are these votes being stored?

What is your response to all of these claims?

DAVID BECKER: I mean, it shows you the difficulty that the RNC and his campaign are having with his message discipline on this.

The RNC and his campaign are trying to encourage his voters to vote as conveniently as possible by mail or early, which all -- many voters in this country have opportunity to do; 97 percent of all voters have access to early voting and 36 states plus D.C. offer no-excuse mail voting.

Mail voting, early voting, absolutely secure.

There are strict chains of custody that go around the machines and with physical security and cybersecurity.

So people can be absolutely confident about those ballots being cast.

In addition, it should be noted Donald Trump himself won a majority of states with significant mail voting in 2016, and we didn't hear anything about mail voting after that.

Mail voting has been around since before the civil war.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Trump and his allies have also claimed, without evidence, that noncitizens are voting in large numbers, are going to vote in large numbers in November, and Trump has urged Republicans in the House to shut down the government -- quote -- "in a heartbeat" if they don't get their bill that requires proof of citizenship to vote, even though it is already illegal for noncitizens to vote.

What's the function of claiming that noncitizens are voting in massive numbers?

Why do it?

DAVID BECKER: Well, they're not trying to change policy, I don't think.

If they really thought this was a significant problem, if they had the evidence to suggest that - - and there isn't evidence.

Even Trump's own allies in states like Georgia, Texas and other places have looked for large amounts of noncitizens registered or voting and they just can't find them.

It's because they don't exist.

It doesn't happen very often.

I think what this is doing is setting the stage for claims an election was stolen afterwards.

If they really wanted to change the law, they would have done this in 2023 or 2021 or even 2017, when Donald Trump was the president of the United States.

They could have changed the law and done whatever they wanted with regard to noncitizen voting, mail voting, anything else.

The reason this is coming up two months before the presidential election is because they know they're not going to change the policy in advance of the election, but they do want to be able to call up these arguments after the election to his sincerely disappointed supporters if he loses, and then perhaps incite anger and division and donations and even violence in the post-election period.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: As you noted, claims of noncitizens voting is a pretext.

Congress did pass legislation shortly after January, the insurrection, making it harder to object to certification in a presidential election.

DAVID BECKER: Right.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: But what are the mechanisms, are there any for Donald Trump to overturn the 2024 election results?

DAVID BECKER: So if he loses -- and it's possible he could win legitimately -- but, if he loses, he's almost certainly going to try.

I think we can expect that, regardless of what happens during the election, that, on election night, he's going to claim victory regardless of margins.

It's likely he's going to spread some of these lies about noncitizen voting, about mail voting not being secure, about voting machines being rigged, about dead Venezuelan dictators and bamboo ballots and Italian satellites.

We should expect that.

And what they will -- what I think we will see them do is, if he loses, they will start organizing activists that they have organized over the course of the past four years in counties all over the country as they're counting ballots, as they're getting ready to certify the election.

We have seen attempts to do this at the county level in many states, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan and others by usually extremists on the right-wing, who are trying to slow down or stop state certification.

However, I will say that, even with efforts we're seeing in Georgia at the statewide level, even with efforts we're seeing at the countywide level, I think these efforts will fail.

I think this is a desperate and somewhat pathetic strategy by a losing candidate to try to make it seem as if there's a legal path to stealing the election from the rightful winner.

But there are so many checks and balances in place.

With state certification, there are legal actions that can be brought and have been brought by states in the past.

There is the ascertainment of electors, which happens on December 11.

That's done by the governors of the states.

And the governors have acted really in a principled way in the past.

I expect them to do the same.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Lies about the 2020 election being rigged are a hallmark of Trump's speeches, of his interviews throughout this year, throughout his campaign.

But he's also repeatedly said that 2024 is going to be rigged, that Democrats are rigging it.

What are the ramifications of that constant effort to stoke distrust?

DAVID BECKER: For years now, we have seen public servants all over the country who've been just exhausted by constant abuse and attacks, threats against themselves and their family.

These are the people who run elections.

And it's happening at least as much, if not more so, in deeply red areas of our country, in areas that have voted very heavily for Trump, where the professional election officials find themselves the targets of attacks, sometimes from their own county boards, sometimes from their own county councils, sometimes from their own county law enforcement, who have ingested a constant toxic diet of lies about the 2020 election.

It is corrosive to our entire democracy.

Our adversaries overseas, Russia, Iran, China, are actively seeking to get us all to doubt our democracy, to doubt that democracy can work for us, and to doubt the election system that decides who leads us.

And now we have domestic actors over the last several years who intentionally or unintentionally are doing their work for them.

It's going to take decades, regardless of the outcome of this election, to fix that.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: David Becker, thank you for your time.

DAVID BECKER: Thanks.

AMNA NAWAZ: International aid groups issued a joint declaration today that the hunger crisis in Sudan is of historic proportions.

For nearly 18 months, the country has been embroiled in a civil war, a war that's killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more.

In the fourth report from Sudan's front lines, supported by the Pulitzer Center, special correspondent Leila Molana-Allen met some of the men fighting this war and looked into the powers funding it.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Elated, defiant, united.

These Sudanese Armed Forces soldiers want to show they're ready for a fight.

In reality, most haven't yet been on a battlefield.

They're fresh recruits, part of the government's drive to grow the army's ranks in the fight against a rebel militia, the Rapid Support Forces.

A shopkeeper, an engineer, and a middle school English teacher, a year ago, these men couldn't have imagined fighting.

Now they gather at this repurposed soccer stadium for basic training, some still wearing sneakers and jeans, waiting for their uniforms.

This is the first time you have ever been in the army?

And, Ahmed, you are an English teacher, and now the first time you are serving as well.

MAN: It will take our lives to defeat the rebellion.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Twenty-nine-year-old Mohamad Awadallah came here to Qadarif two months ago after the RSF burned and pillaged his home state of Sennar.

MOHAMAD AWADALLAH, Sudanese Armed Forces Recruit (through translator): In Sennar, I saw death.

There were rapes.

The RSF were killing anyone they found in front of them.

The situation in the country is getting worse, and we're afraid of being displaced again to another state.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: In peacetime, he runs a market stall.

These volunteers aren't paid to serve.

The community does what it can to support them.

MOHAMAD AWADALLAH (through translator): The meals are regular but there is no salary.

Our relatives outside Sudan send us money to help us.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: They don't underestimate the enemy they're fighting.

Once a militia armed by the country's former dictator, Omar al-Bashir, to fight rebels in Darfur and responsible for mass slaughter of civilians there, the RSF was absorbed into the army in 2013.

They fought here and abroad, building up strength and experience.

Bashir used them to crack down on popular protests in 2019, after he fell from power, his other elite army units were disbanded, making the RSF all-powerful.

In 2021, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo with army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan to seize power in a military coup.

When war erupted between them last year, the RSF quickly seized major territory like the capital, Khartoum, and much of Darfur.

This year, having rallied the troops, the army has managed to seize some of that territory back, and the army is now purportedly buying weapons from Iran and Russia.

But it's a long, hard, fight, much of it street-to-street urban warfare in densely packed residential areas.

The impact on civilians is devastating.

Up to a 150,000 people have already been killed, and over 11 million displaced from their homes.

The RSF has been recruiting too, but forcibly.

We met several child soldiers kidnapped from their families to serve the militia when it swept through Khartoum.

Bilal is just 15.

We're protecting his identity for fear of reprisals.

He was arbitrarily arrested by militiamen from outside his home and held by the RSF for months.

BILAL, Escaped Child Soldier (through translator): The RSF beat us every day, insulted us, and made us clean their military vehicles.

They would force us to help them steal from houses and take boys to fight with them in battles.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Finally, his chance came.

BILAL (through translator): They were drunk when I escaped.

We were carrying flour sacks, and they were distracted.

I ran to the main road and found a bus passing by.

I knew the driver.

He was from my neighborhood.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: After hiding with neighbors for two weeks, Bilal snuck across the river by night to SAF territory.

He still doesn't know the fate of those who helped him.

BILAL (through translator): I'm very worried about them and hope they get out.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: A loving reunion with his relieved father.

But these are the lucky ones, their stories of escape miraculous.

They say many more are still stuck in RSF territory.

Foreign actors are staking a claim in the conflict, too, sending a steady flow of foreign weapons into the country.

The United Arab Emirates is accused of sending weapons to the RSF to be smuggled in via Chad.

The United States is one of the leading arms traders to the UAE.

Dotted around the burned-out battleground, Emirati armored vehicles, Russian tanks, some from the Cold War.

These battlefields are awash with foreign arms, some newly imported, some legacy weapons from the wars that have plagued this continent for decades.

Many of the guns now being used in Sudan come from Libya's civil war in 2014.

We found evidence of Emirati and Russian weapons systems as well, Turkish and Serbian munitions as well as U.S.-manufactured small arms.

This is an American-made M47 Dragon anti-tank missile launcher.

The Sudanese Armed Forces say they found many of left behind when they pushed the Rapid Support Forces back.

It's a 20-year-old model, so there's no telling where it's been between then and now.

The serial number, the best way of tracking how these weapons entered the company, has been carefully removed.

Critics say the UAE wants control over Sudan's Red Sea ports and rich mineral mines.

The Emiratis deny supplying and funding the RSF, but have engaged in talks to determine Sudan's future.

Sudan's U.S. envoy, Tom Perriello, invited an Emirati delegation to failed talks in Geneva in August.

The Sudanese army says it will not negotiate with a foreign power that's arming its enemies.

Arms dealing is legal in the right circumstances.

But countries who trade have a responsibility to track where and how their weapons are used.

And these weapons are being used to massacre civilians.

Brian Castner is a weapons investigator for Amnesty International.

BRIAN CASTNER, Amnesty International: Modern ammunition does terrible things to the human body, breaks bones, can take off legs.

You have to look at priorities.

You have to look at whether your priority is making the most money in however way possible.

And what are your responsibility when it comes to human rights?

What's your responsibility is when it comes to stopping crimes against civilians, when it comes to stopping civilian casualties?

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: It's not just foreign weapons, but foreign fighters playing a role in this war.

Mercenaries from nearly a dozen countries have been spotted fighting alongside the RSF.

Last month, Emirati passports were found in an area where the militia had been pushed back.

We negotiated rare access to interview some of the RSF mercenaries the Sudanese army has captured at a nondescript intelligence base just meters from the echoing gunfire of the front line.

Loul, from South Sudan, says he never even made the choice to fight.

He came to work in Khartoum because, even in wartime, he had more chance of earning money than back home.

In January, he was kidnapped from his cigarette stall, and told he would be free once he helped the RSF win back Omdurman.

He arrived at the front to discover he and the other young fighters were little more than cannon fodder.

LOUL, Mercenary From South Sudan (through translator): There weren't many soldiers, and no one could use the weapons.

The few people who did fire bullets killed themselves or others in the group by accident.

They were children, too young to fight.

I was afraid, thinking, will I survive or not?

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: It was the only battle Loul would participate in, and it didn't last long.

LOUL (through translator): On the way to the battlefront, clashes broke out and I was shot in the leg.

The driver fled.

I was shot again and fell to the ground with some others.

I lay on the ground for four hours.

The people with me died.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Loul managed to crawl to an abandoned house, where he was eventually found and arrested by the Sudanese army.

He's been held here since March.

LOUL (through translator): I still don't understand anything that's happening.

Will they let me go or not?

No one tells me anything.

Will I go home to my family or to prison?

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Zakaria is just 16.

When an RSF recruiter came to his destitute village in Chad in early February offering cash to fight, he jumped at the chance to help his family.

ZAKARIA, Mercenary From South Sudan (through translator): They said they would pay us when we reached Sudan, $600.

But when we arrived, they didn't give us any money.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Like all the others here, he never saw a penny.

By April, he'd been captured by the army.

He's been locked up in Omdurman ever since.

Prisoners of war must be treated humanely under international law.

On camera, the boys said they were being treated well.

But while setting up the interview, they whispered to the "News Hour" team that they were being starved and begged for help to get out.

Every member of the group was severely emaciated.

Like Bilal, these are just young boys too, victims of a vicious conflict that spares no one.

It's an cycle of corruption and abuse that threatens to drag Sudan's neighboring countries, already unstable and dealing with multiple crises, into the abyss of war along with it.

And this is the impact of that war, a thriving regional capital in ruins.

Omdurman market used to be the bustling heart of this region.

Millions of locals would come from all around to buy provisions, to socialize, and for anything else they needed.

Now it's abandoned.

Soldiers say they're still digging through the rubble, finding bodies under these charred shop fronts.

And those escaping Khartoum across the river say the devastation there is even worse.

The country's foundations lies in ruins too.

The economy has collapsed.

Children haven't been to school in over a year.

Fear and hunger rule the land.

When this war does end, Sudan's road ahead is full of pitfalls.

It's just five years since popular protests toppled the country's longtime dictator.

But then army snatched power from the people.

While many here support it in fighting the RSF, if they win, the next battle will be for democracy.

The military junta claims it will hand back power when there is peace.

Leaders of civil society resistance committees are skeptical.

ABDULRAHMAN MOHAMMED ALI, Port Sudan Resistance Committee (through translator): I do not believe that the army has no interest in ruling the country.

All the evidence shows the army is interested in staying in power.

The future of the youth is in great danger because, after the revolution, many hopes were built.

And what's happening now is a complete destruction of everything.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: And whoever leads the country, building back from this devastation could take a decade.

So much has been lost, lives, homes, dreams.

In the midst of such suffering, hope for the future, so vibrant just a few years ago, is turning to dust.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Leila Molana-Allen in Omdurman, Sudan.

AMNA NAWAZ: And we will be back shortly with a look at how young people are trying to preserve a long-neglected historic Black cemetery in Washington, D.C.

But, first, take a moment to hear from your local PBS station.

It's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like this one on the air.

For those stations staying with us, we take a second look now at what could be a revolution in commercial shipping.

Following the successful operation of two giant wind-assisted vessels, a British company predicts that, by 2026, half of all new ships will have high-tech sails.

Malcolm Brabant reports.

MALCOLM BRABANT: A stiff breeze in the Southern Atlantic provides optimum conditions for this pioneering ship carrying 200,000 tons of iron ore from Brazil to China.

It's fitted with so-called WindWings, which enable it to maintain speed, while reducing dependency on engine power.

CAPT.

NOLI PARAUNDA, Master, Berge Olympus: In my 15 years as a ship captain, I have never been more excited.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Noli Paraunda from the Philippines skippers the Berge Olympus.

Just as aircraft wings create lift, these devices generate thrust when installed vertically and automatically adjust to wind speed and direction.

CAPT.

NOLI PARAUNDA: I firmly believe that our collective efforts can significantly reduce carbon emissions from ships and eventually realize our goal of zero carbon shipping.

JAMES MARSHALL, CEO, Berge Bulk: I think this is an all-hands-on-deck moment.

It's a critical point, and we all need to really pursue the war against climate change.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Ship owner James Marshall is so impressed, he intends to re-equip much of his 85-strong fleet.

JAMES MARSHALL: We're looking at, in good conditions, around seven tons of fuel that we save every day.

That's around 20 tons of carbon dioxide.

So we're hoping to remove nearly 5,000 tons of CO2 per annum using these wings on board one of our large ships.

MALCOLM BRABANT: So what sort of percentage of saving is that in terms of carbon for the voyages of that ship?

JAMES MARSHALL: It's around about 15 to 20 percent we hope to save.

MAN: Downwind for one final leg for Sir Ben Ainslie and Land Rover BAR.

MALCOLM BRABANT: And this was the inspiration for what may be a wind revolution, Britain's boat in the 2017 America's cup captained by Sir Ben Ainslie.

SIR BEN AINSLIE, Four-Time Olympic Gold Medalist: So, I have been a sailor all my life.

I love being on the water.

It's a great sense of freedom, really, to be powered by the wind.

And it's really amazing that this wing technology can now use the power of Mother Nature, the power of the wind to drive commercial shipping into the future.

MALCOLM BRABANT: We met Sir Ben at the secretive workshop building this year's America's Cup boat.

Are they wings or are they sails?

SIR BEN AINSLIE: They're definitely wings.

So they're not -- if you think of the old clipper ships from centuries ago, soft sails that powered them.

These are solid wings going on these modern-day ships that are really generating a huge amount of thrust.

And they're impressive bits of technology.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Shipping accounts for 3 percent of all the world's CO2 emissions.

Older vessels can sometimes be five times dirtier than newer ones.

There's been a warning from the International Maritime Organization that, unless stringent measures are taken, shipping emissions could rise by 50 percent over the next 25 years.

This ferry to the Isle of Wight off the South Coast of England is part of the necessary change.

KEITH GREENFIELD, CEO, Wightlink: Victoria of Wight's carbon footprint is about 20 percent less than a conventionally powered vessel.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Keith Greenfield's company operates Britain's first hybrid ferry as part of his green commitment.

Not all vessels are suitable for wind power.

KEITH GREENFIELD: She has electric motors, driving propellers, batteries, and then diesel generators that generate the electricity.

MALCOLM BRABANT: But what's the advantage of that?

KEITH GREENFIELD: Firstly, the diesel generators can operate very, very efficiently because they just hum away at the optimum revs, minimum emissions.

They pump up the batteries gradually, and the batteries do all the hard work.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Some of these climate change innovators are based in Portsmouth, home to HMS Warrior that combined wind and steam power nearly two centuries ago.

JOHN COOPER, CEO, BAR Technologies: If we're presenting the wing to a potential customer.... MALCOLM BRABANT: In a building overlooking the harbor, chief executive John Cooper leads a team working to convince owners of conventional cargo vessels like these that they should be sprouting wings.

He says they should pay for themselves in six years.

JOHN COOPER: We want to actually employ WindWings on as many of those fleet out there, because the biggest saving in carbon is not actually building new ships.

MALCOLM BRABANT: At present, only two vessels are using this system.

The other is the Pyxis Ocean, a Singapore-based bulk carrier.

A third, a long-range tanker, has just been ordered.

JOHN COOPER: Two years' time, up to 50 percent of tankers and bulk carriers will be ordered with some sort of wind proportion.

And BAR Tech, we aim to dominate that market.

MALCOLM BRABANT: How can you be so confident that it's going to be that big?

JOHN COOPER: The results.

They can't be ignored.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Yacht designer Simon Rogers is developing a rival system, which it's claimed will be even greener when it's ready in two years' time.

Besides clusters of three wings, solar panels power an electric generator, whose clean exhaust gases drive propellers.

SIMON ROGERS, Technical Director, Windship Technology: With our carbon capture system and heat recovery, we actually achieve true zero, so basically no CO2 and no black soot, basically.

The exhaust fumes that are coming out of the back of the vessel are actually breathable.

MALCOLM BRABANT: After leaving the European Union, the British government pledged to turn the country into an economic powerhouse.

But these British climate change trailblazers are struggling to unlock government support.

And as a result, WindWings are being built in Spain and China.

JOHN COOPER: I would love to build them in the U.K.

There is some hurdles.

The big thing that the U.K. government really needs to think about is import duties on some of these materials.

Here's another chance to actually bring a wind-powered technology to the U.K., and I hope we don't squander it.

MALCOLM BRABANT: The ferry company would like to upgrade to all electric vessels, but that's proving impossible.

KEITH GREENFIELD: The U.K. grid just wasn't really designed for what it now needs to do, which is to deliver power to us and to other businesses around the country in the way that we now need.

Like many businesses, we're clamoring for connections, but we're not being given any clarity as to when that will be.

MALCOLM BRABANT: On our return journey from the Isle of Wight, we had to make way for the Prince of Wales, a $4 billion aircraft carrier which has been an object of derision in Britain after being plagued by breakdowns, including a driveshaft problem.

So is it possible to fit warships with sails?

JOHN COOPER: Yes, of course, we could fit a WindWing to the aircraft carriers, but actually I don't think it's that practical.

The aircraft carriers do actually have a service speed of 30 knots.

And, therefore, actually that would be quite, quite fast for this wind-powered technology.

So we'd love to.

I think it would be more of a publicity stunt, rather than a reality, but, yes, we'd certainly pick up the phone to the Navy, that's for sure.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Warships aside, the future is looking bright, as shipping turns back to the future.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant in Portsmouth.

AMNA NAWAZ: And now to a story from our student reporters.

Last year, Congress passed a measure to find and protect historic Black cemeteries nationwide, but money to actually do the work hasn't been allocated.

Some aren't waiting for lawmakers to act.

Earlier this summer, dozens of people came together to help preserve a pair of cemeteries in Washington, D.C. From the "News Hour"'s Student Reporting Labs journalism training program, Claire Baek reports.

This is where people are laid to rest, and its sacred space.

Death reflects life.

And the treatment of Black people in life is reflective of treatment of Black people in death.

CLAIRE BAEK: In Washington D.C., the Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society cemeteries have endured challenges, such as erosion and a lack of funding.

At one point, developers almost built on this land.

But on days like Juneteenth, volunteers like high school student Brooke Talbott come to take care of the burial grounds.

BROOKE TALBOTT, Volunteer: A lot of times, these stones are either unmarked or their family doesn't know about it.

So nobody's coming out to help to, like, refurbish the graves.

CLAIRE BAEK: One of those graves honors the life of a 7-year-old girl named Nannie.

She is one of an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people buried here.

Some are known.

Many are not.

It took years of research to figure out who she was.

LISA FAGER, Executive Director, Black Georgetown Foundation: She is been, pretty popular at the cemetery since I started in 2019, because people leave toys and cards and food at her grave site.

CLAIRE BAEK: Lisa Fager is in charge of the foundation that oversees the burial grounds.

She was the first to discover the remnants of a fire set on Nannie's grave last year.

LISA FAGER: Sad that somebody would vandalize the grave, but, ironically, it's something so tragic became so beautiful with people coming together.

BROOKE TALBOTT: I think it's important that this place highlights the plight of African Americans in this country, but also the triumph that they have -- that, you know, we came to this country in bondage, but we are -- we have risen so, so much.

CLAIRE BAEK: Juliette Warga, who lives near the cemeteries, started volunteering here in high school.

She quickly realized there was more than just history, but also a community.

JULIETTE WARGA, Former Volunteer: Think something that really drew me to the cemetery was the effort that was made to bring the people buried there to life.

CLAIRE BAEK: The African-American Burial Grounds Preservation Act was passed in 2023 with the intent of funding research into finding and preserving Black cemeteries nationwide.

LISA FAGER: A lot of cemeteries don't look like cemeteries anymore.

They're under parking garages or buildings, particularly historic Black cemeteries.

CLAIRE BAEK: This vault within the cemeteries was used as a stop on the underground railroad.

Some people buried here were enslaved at nearby plantations, including Mount Vernon, the home George and Martha Washington.

To walk visitors through the history here, Warga created an online self-tour accessible by a Q.R.

code displayed around the cemetery.

JULIETTE WARGA: Quickly, there were like 1,000 hits, and it was really cool to see that.

Like, people were using it and hopefully learning from it.

LISA FAGER: The facts are there in their lives and in their deaths and tell us the stories and the history that we need to remember, so that we don't repeat it.

And that's what Black cemeteries do.

They complete the story.

CLAIRE BAEK: For the "PBS News Hour"'s Student Reporting Labs, I'm Claire Baek.

AMNA NAWAZ: And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us.