GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.
I'm Geoff Bennett.
AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.
On the "News Hour" tonight: Floridians brace for impact, as Hurricane Helene takes aim at the state's Big Bend region.
GEOFF BENNETT: The U.S. pushes for a cease-fire plan to end the violence between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah.
But Israel's prime minister vows to keep fighting with full force.
AMNA NAWAZ: As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington to lay out his plan for victory, we report from the front lines in Ukraine, where drones are transforming how the war is being waged.
GEOFF BENNETT: And former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton how she feels about Vice President Kamala Harris' barrier-breaking bid for the presidency.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, Former U.S. Secretary of State: Honestly, I was not sure to myself what I would feel when another woman would be so close to finally, finally breaking that big, hard glass ceiling.
And I found myself absolutely exhilarated.
(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."
Tonight, Florida is bracing for a direct hit from Hurricane Helene, a powerful storm that strengthened to a Category 3 with winds up to 120 miles an hour.
GEOFF BENNETT: Helene is expected to make landfall tonight in just a matter of hours, but many across Florida have been feeling its effects all day and preparing for the worst.
As early as this morning, the outer bands of Helene were already lashing the state of Florida, from Tampa to the Keys, with high winds and swamping streets with heavy rain.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today stressed that the effects of the massive 400-mile storm will be felt far and wide.
GOV.
RON DESANTIS (R-FL): Just because you're outside the cone, and I think a lot of those parts on the West Coast of Florida are probably outside the cone, that does not mean that you're not going to see significant impacts.
GEOFF BENNETT: Strengthening today to a Category 3 major hurricane with 120-mile-an-hour winds, Helene could even reach Category 4 strength by the time it makes landfall on Florida's Northern Gulf Coast in just a matter of hours.
The director of FEMA speaking at the White House today with this plea for people in the storm's path: DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA Administrator: Take the storm seriously.
People in Hurricane Helene's path, you need to listen to your local officials.
If they tell you to evacuate, please do so.
GEOFF BENNETT: More than 40 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are under hurricane and tropical storm warnings.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for at least 20 Florida counties.
An army of thousands of utility workers have been staged across the state, ready to restore power.
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey, whose city is in Helene's projected path, gave a dire warning.
JOHN DAILEY (D), Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida: If our community remains central in Helene's path, as forecasted, we will see unprecedented damage like nothing we have ever experienced before as a community.
GEOFF BENNETT: Floridians moved quickly all across the state, filling sandbags and shuttering up their homes and businesses.
CHRIS OMAR, Tallahassee Resident: I got a bad feeling about this one.
We have never taken that direct hit.
GEOFF BENNETT: Other families aren't hunkering down.
They're getting out, pets and all, heading to where it's safer.
Some of them in Florida's Big Bend are still reeling from Hurricane Idalia that struck the area just last year.
FRANKIE JOHNSON, Horseshoe Beach Resident: They're saying this one's going to be worse than that one.
So we're looking at -- there's probably not going to be much left.
GEOFF BENNETT: Helene has already made her mark on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, bringing more than a half-foot of rain, flooding much of Cancun.
And the storm forced hundreds to evacuate in Western Cuba and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people, signs of what could be coming for so many across Florida.
And for the latest on the hurricane, we're joined now by Michael Brennan, the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Thank you for being with us.
The FEMA administrator said today that the storm is set to hit Tallahassee dead on.
What's the expectation for when the storm makes landfall?
MICHAEL BRENNAN, Director, National Hurricane Center: Well, we're looking at the center of Helene crossing the coast somewhere in the Florida Big Bend area this evening.
It's moving very quickly now to the north-northeast at about 23 miles per hour.
It's going to be moving even faster.
So, right now, it's just about 130 miles west of Tampa.
And that fast motion is going to bring those hazardous conditions to much of North Central Florida, including the Tallahassee region and then inland up into Georgia and the Carolinas overnight tonight and into Friday.
GEOFF BENNETT: Looking at the storm center of circulation, how far out will the impact be felt?
MICHAEL BRENNAN: Well, Helene's a huge storm.
The tropical-storm-force winds, for example, extend out more than 300 miles from the center of the storm, especially out to the east side of the center.
You can see the expansive cloud shield, the showers and thunderstorms extending well northward and northeastward over portions of the Carolinas.
There's been heavy rainfall and flooding in Georgia, Western North Carolina, South Carolina already today.
But you can see the core of Helene is really going to bring those devastating impacts to the Florida Big Bend region, where we're expecting to see storm surge inundation of up to 20 feet above ground level this evening and overnight.
And that's going to really be a catastrophic impact in this portion of the Florida coastline.
And then because Helene is moving so quickly to the north after it makes landfall, it's going to bring the threat of hurricane conditions all the way into Southwestern Georgia, almost to the Atlanta area, but places like Macon, Albany, Bainbridge, Tallahassee, Florida, as we were talking about earlier, are going to see the potential for widespread wind damage, power outages.
And everywhere you see in blue here could see tropical-storm-force winds and hurricane-force wind gusts, especially in places like Atlanta and up along the Southern Appalachians in the higher mountain areas.
GEOFF BENNETT: And, again, folks in the storm's path who have received evacuation orders should certainly heed them.
Is that right?
MICHAEL BRENNAN: Yes, you're really almost running out of time at this point in that storm surge evacuation zone along the Florida coastline, where we're going to see those water levels rise very, very quickly.
If you still have time to get out safely, please do so.
You don't want to be caught in this environment here, especially from Apalachicola down to Chassahowitzka, where we could see that 10 to 20 feet of inundation.
That's going to really create an almost unsurvivable type of environment with destructive wave action.
And evacuation routes can be cut off very quickly when that water starts to rise.
So don't wait until the last minute.
And, remember, you may only have to drive just a few miles, 10 or 20 miles, to get to a shelter outside of that storm surge evacuation zone and get somewhere safe.
GEOFF BENNETT: Michael Brennan with the National Hurricane Center in Miami, thanks for being with us.
MICHAEL BRENNAN: Thanks, Geoff.
AMNA NAWAZ: We start the day's other headlines with a look at gun violence in America.
President Biden rolled out new executive actions today aimed at improving active shooter drills in high schools.
Officials say the new order will maximize the effectiveness of drills while also making them less traumatic for students.
It also establishes a task force to investigate new technologies like machine gun conversion devices and 3-D printed guns.
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared beside Mr. Biden at the White House today.
Before signing the executive order, Biden criticized statements made by former President Trump and Trump's running mate.
JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: If you want to talk about reducing crime and violence in America, you need to talk about guns in America.
I'm going to be very blunt.
The secretary of defense Ohio has called these shootings facts of life.
Who the hell do these people think they are?
AMNA NAWAZ: An Associated Press tally says that, as of yesterday, there have been at least 31 mass killing so far this year, the vast majority of them involving guns.
The FBI defines a mass killing as one that involves the death of at least four people.
Oklahoma has executed a man for his role in the 1992 shooting death of a convenience store owner after the state's governor rejected a parole board recommendation to spare his life.
Emmanuel Littlejohn received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary this morning.
The 52-year-old had acknowledged his role in the robbery, but had long maintained that he did not kill the store owner, Kenneth Meers.
Littlejohn's death comes just days after Missouri executed 55-year-old Marcellus Williams despite prosecutors and the victim's family asking that he be spared.
Human rights groups and press freedom advocates have condemned the sentencing of a former news editor to nearly two years in jail in Hong Kong for publishing articles deemed -- quote -- "seditious."
It's the first time a journalist has been convicted under a colonial era law since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.
Chung Pui-kuen ran Stand News before it was shut three years ago.
A second editor, Patrick Lam, was also sentenced, but was allowed to go free on health grounds.
After the ruling, a former colleague of the two criticized the decision.
RONSON CHAN, Former Reporter, Stand News: Chung Pui-kuen created a very good platform that all our staff, including me, have a high degree of the freedom of press.
And I feel very sorry that both him and Patrick have to bear our privilege and they have to pay for their freedom.
AMNA NAWAZ: The Stand News case was widely seen as a barometer for the state of press freedom in Hong Kong, a city once known as a rare bright spot for free press in the region.
Voting machine maker Smartmatic has reached a settlement in its defamation case against conservative broadcaster Newsmax.
The deal came as jury selection began for a trial in Delaware.
Smartmatic had argued that Newsmax hosts and guests made false and defamatory claims that the company played a role in stealing the election from Donald Trump.
Newsmax said it was simply reporting on allegations being made by Trump and his allies.
The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
That comes after FOX News agreed to pay $787 million last year to settle a similar defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
The postmaster general says the U.S.
Postal Service is ready to successfully deliver all 2024 election ballots on time.
It comes after a group of election officials raised concerns earlier this month about the service's readiness for ramped-up operations.
At a Senate subcommittee hearing today, Louis DeJoy said that nearly 99.9 percent of ballots were delivered within seven days during the 2020 election.
He said the service is even better prepared this time around.
LOUIS DEJOY, U.S. Postmaster General: We are overwhelmingly enhancing our training across all aspects of our operation.
That is the fundamental thing we need to do for these extra efforts that we put in election mail to actually work.
AMNA NAWAZ: DeJoy urged voters to mail their ballots at least one week ahead of their state's respective deadline, whether that's November 5 or otherwise.
The U.S. economy is showing signs of stability.
The Commerce Department confirmed today that GDP grew at a rate of 3 percent from April to June, compared to the same period last year.
That is a jump from the 1.6 percent we saw in the first quarter and is due largely to strong consumer spending.
Separately, claims for new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-month low last week in a sign that the labor market remains strong.
That positive economic data gave Wall Street a boost today.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 260 points to close back above the 42000-point level.
The Nasdaq added more than 100 points on the day.
The S&P 500 closed at a new record high.
And it is the end of an era in Oakland.
Today, the city's Major League Baseball team, the Athletics, played their final game there.
The A's will spend the next three seasons playing in West Sacramento before settling at their new home in Las Vegas in 2028.
That means that, after today, Oakland will no longer have a major professional sports team.
The NFL's Oakland Raiders left for Las Vegas back in 2020.
The NBA's Golden State Warriors moved across the bay to San Francisco.
The A's began playing in Oakland in 1968 and leave behind decades of memories.
They won four championships while based at the Coliseum, the city's run-down, yet beloved stadium.
Still to come on the "News Hour": New York City Mayor Eric Adams indicted on federal bribery charges; we hear from a top lawmaker on the committee investigating recent Secret Service failures; and Hillary Clinton what Kamala Harris needs to do to defeat Donald Trump.
Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep attacking Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah with - - quote -- "full force" hours after the U.S., France and Middle Eastern allies called on both sides to accept a three-week cease-fire proposal.
Nick Schifrin has been following all this and joins us now.
So, Nick, what do we know about the proposal and how has Netanyahu responded?
NICK SCHIFRIN: The proposal is for a 21-day cease-fire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah, what a senior administration official last night called a -- quote -- "breakthrough."
But, as you said, Netanyahu landed in New York this afternoon and said the military campaign would continue.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator): My policy, our policy is clear.
We are continuing to hit Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we achieve all of our goals, first and foremost, returning the residents of the north safely to their homes.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And, indeed, today Israel struck Beirut and said it killed the head of Hezbollah's drone unit.
Israel also released video of troops practicing for an invasion of Lebanon.
Now, we asked John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, whether Netanyahu has backtracked from his support, and he reiterated that Israel -- quote -- "was fully informed and aware" of every word of the cease-fire proposal before they released it and the U.S. would not have released it unless they understood that Israel supported it.
So Kirby did not say whether Netanyahu had backtracked, but we obviously have a very different public and private message from Netanyahu, and that is nothing new for Netanyahu, says Dan Byman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
DANIEL BYMAN, Georgetown University: Netanyahu has history of trying to play both sides on this, where he will at times appear to make concessions to U.S. officials, but then backtrack in the face of domestic politics.
Some of what the U.S. is looking for was relatively vague.
Would people agree in principle to X?
But it requires both sides to make concessions.
And Netanyahu may be reluctant to publicly agree to anything until he knows significant Hezbollah concessions are in the bag.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And, Amna, it's just not clear whether Hezbollah is willing to make the concession the U.S. is demanding, U.S. and Israel moving back from the Israeli border.
AMNA NAWAZ: Nick, what should we understand about Netanyahu's position here?
What kind of pressures is he under?
NICK SCHIFRIN: Intense pressures both from the politicians and the public.
After this hit, the Israeli media overnight members of Netanyahu's right-wing coalition said that they would bring down the government if he agreed to this cease-fire.
But we also heard politicians from the left also say that they opposed it.
We have also heard from residents who have been displaced from Northern Israel since October the 8th, when Hezbollah opened fire.
And they said that Netanyahu wasn't doing enough and they are actually -- or some of them, many of them are actually in favor of some kind of invasion.
So this tough talk from Netanyahu is popular, even if at the same time Netanyahu is very vulnerable, says Natan Sachs of the Brookings Institution.
NATAN SACHS, Brookings Institution: Netanyahu right now, although he sounds very robust, is a very weak leader.
He's very weak vis-a-vis his own coalition.
He's also very weak compared -- with regard to his own public.
There's a very large part of the public that does not believe Netanyahu and is concerned -- even when it supports this campaign in the north, is always concerned that Netanyahu has ulterior motives.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And so all eyes are on Netanyahu tomorrow, when he will speak to the U.N. General Assembly.
AMNA NAWAZ: What about on the other side of this potential cease-fire proposal?
What kind of pressures are the Hezbollah leaders under?
NICK SCHIFRIN: Israel embarrassed the group with its pager attacks and has decimated its military leadership.
So Hezbollah feels like it has to respond in order, in part to try and avoid some kind of invasion by Israeli forces.
But it's also under pressure from Lebanese to avoid a war that would destroy much of this southern part of the country.
That is a war that Iran also wants Hezbollah to avoid, says Firas Maksad of the Middle East Institute.
FIRAS MAKSAD, Middle East Institute: On one hand, it feels there is a need to escalate, if only to establish or reestablish deterrence vis-a-vis Israel.
However, it also has to take into consideration the fact that Iran right now, its primary sponsor and backer, is not itching to broaden this war.
Iran very much sees Hezbollah as a first line of defense, should Israel decide to strike at its nuclear facilities, its nuclear program.
NICK SCHIFRIN: U.S. officials know that every day that passes there could be an incident that could lead either side to escalate.
And so that's why, Amna, tonight, they are continuing to press for this 21-day cease-fire, regardless of what Netanyahu said in public today.
AMNA NAWAZ: Nick Schifrin, thank you, as always, for your reporting.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Thank you.
GEOFF BENNETT: On a crucial visit to Washington today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Biden in the Oval Office and then Vice President Kamala Harris for in-person requests for more military and economic aid as part of what he calls a victory plan.
AMNA NAWAZ: President Biden announced $8 billion in military aid to Ukraine, much of which is for already authorized weapons.
But certain key features of the new aid include another Patriot missile defense battery, precision-guided glide bombs with a range of 81 miles, more F-16 pilot training, and American investment to help Ukraine's defense industry.
What did not come out of today's meeting?
U.S. permission to fire American weapons deep inside Russia.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President: Today, we have a new strong support package, as you said, and we have common view on the things that need to be done.
We have to keep pressure on Russia to stop the war and to make truly lasting and just peace.
KAMALA HARRIS, Vice President of the United States (D) and U.S. Presidential Candidate: There are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forego security relationships with other nations.
These proposals are the same of those of Putin.
AMNA NAWAZ: Zelenskyy will meet with former President Trump tomorrow.
But far from the political grappling here, there's a battle for air superiority that's crucial along the front lines in Eastern Ukraine.
Russian glide bombs launched from aircraft lay waste to Ukrainian positions and to the towns nearby.
And a harrowing game of cat and mouse is being played with kamikaze drones, up close, personal and terrifying.
GEOFF BENNETT: The drones are mostly consumer drones with deadly explosive accessories.
They create havoc and instill terror among the forces along the front lines.
Special correspondent Jack Hewson traveled recently to Toretsk to witness this deadly face-off.
And a warning: Images in this report may disturb some viewers.
JACK HEWSON: We're following a drone unit into the town of Toretsk 1.2 miles from the Russian line.
You can hear a lot of outgoing fire from this position, nothing incoming yet, but you can tell from just the tick and noise of how close we are to the hard front.
Drones have made the front so lethal that we must move by night.
Even then, some have thermal cameras that see in the dark.
Suddenly, we hear a noise that soldiers have come to fear.
For a moment, we freeze.
But we're lucky.
These are the Ukrainian teams' drones returning home, and we move safely below ground.
First-person-view drones, or FPVs now stalk infantry, not just high-value targets.
The way war is waged has been transformed.
There are so many FPVs in the sky that individual soldiers are now hunted, like these Russian infantrymen caught in open ground, a dystopian video game with real-world kills.
At dawn, the unit emerges into the light.
We have been taped up green to indicate we're not Russian soldiers.
Right now, these guys are preparing a drone for a mission to target a Russian position.
You can see he's attaching an explosive charge to the bottom of a Mavic DJI drone, shortly after which they're going to launch it.
BORZI, Armed Forces of Ukraine (through translator): The drone is armed now.
And don't worry.
It's our artillery you can hear.
JACK HEWSON: This team alone claims to fly more than 50 of these sorties every day.
The pilot, call sign Borzi, shows us a clip of his team killing Russian infantry dropping explosives wrapped with shrapnel, modern warfare as detached and remote as it is brutal.
When you're dropping these on Russians, what do you think?
BORZI (through translator): I'm thinking about how to help my friends, the infantrymen.
I'm defending what's mine, my territory.
So I don't feel anything at all.
JACK HEWSON: Ukraine's drone teams punch above their weight, but they can't compete with conventional Russian airpower, particularly glide bombs.
Carrying up to 1.2 tons of explosives and launched from far behind the Russian line, they glide onto their targets, devastating Ukraine's defensive positions and obliterating front-line towns.
ULTRA, Armed Forces of Ukraine (through translator): The Russians currently have an advantage in the air.
They completely destroy the area they want to take over with guided air bombs.
We cannot stand against the amount of airpower directed at us.
We just physically cannot do it.
JACK HEWSON: It's time to go.
In Toretsk, it's safer to not stay in one place for too long.
The drone team move to a new basement every few days.
OK. We have got to run for the car.
We have to be quick.
In broad daylight and with clear skies, we're visible and exposed.
Once a town of 30,000, now a ruin.
Look at the destruction.
There's not a lot left in the city.
We're leaving at serious pace, because we're still within range of potentially being hit by Russian FPV drones.
This vehicle's got jammers, but we're taking no chances.
Jammers scramble drone broadcast frequencies, but they change daily.
You can still be hit.
It's a nerve-shredding gauntlet soldiers run daily.
At a stabilization point 12 miles away, the new arrivals bear the wounds of an army stretched to its limit, flesh ripped, punctured and torn.
Russia's superior numbers, ammunition and airpower are taking a withering toll on Ukraine's troops.
Every day there are more, says Denis, a medical group commander with the 5th Assault brigade.
DENIS, Medical Group Commander (through translator): Most of the wounds are from shrapnel.
This is the largest percentage among all injuries.
The percentage of bullet wounds is less now because there are fewer such assaults now.
And we attack the Russians more with drones than with bullets.
JACK HEWSON: The endless trauma is exhausting, and polls show more Ukrainians are starting to consider the possibility of negotiating peace.
But despite all this spilt blood, the majority still want no concessions.
They want to fight on.
Denis has no time for those with war fatigue.
DENIS (through translator): Here, you can be angry and tired to the bone.
You can be exhausted.
You can be aggressive.
You can hate everything, but not fatigued.
You see, when it's a matter of survival, you have no right to allow yourself to get fatigued.
We can only allow ourselves that feeling when we're at home and in peace.
JACK HEWSON: Outmanned and outgunned, Toretsk may soon fall, like several other key Donbass towns.
But, for now, Ukraine battles on, seemingly through bloody-minded determination alone.
For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Jack Hewson in Toretsk, Ukraine.
GEOFF BENNETT: An historic first for the New York City mayor's office.
Federal prosecutors have laid out a five-count indictment against Mayor Eric Adams, charging him with bribery, conspiracy, and wire fraud over the past decade.
Adams is accused of taking illegal gifts and foreign campaign contributions, but says he will continue to run the city as his lawyers handle the case.
DAMIAN WILLIAMS, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York: Year after year after year, he kept the public in the dark.
GEOFF BENNETT: The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York this morning made the case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
DAMIAN WILLIAMS: He told the public he received no gifts, even though he was secretly being showered with them.
GEOFF BENNETT: The unsealed indictment says, for nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.
DAMIAN WILLIAMS: Public office is a privilege.
We allege that Mayor Adams abused that privilege and broke the law.
GEOFF BENNETT: The prosecutor said Adams received more than $100,000 worth of illegal gifts and that the illegal activity started well before he was elected mayor.
DAMIAN WILLIAMS: Federal law clearly prohibits foreign donations.
Yet Adams directed his staff to pursue this illegal money to support his campaign for mayor.
GEOFF BENNETT: Outside of Gracie Mansion today, Adams was defiant.
ERIC ADAMS (D), Mayor of New York: My day-to-day will not change.
I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.
GEOFF BENNETT: Flanked by faith leaders and supporters, he asked for patience.
ERIC ADAMS: The story will come from the federal prosecutors.
And I ask to wait and hear our side to this narrative.
GEOFF BENNETT: But the crowd wasn't entirely supportive.
PROTESTERS: You should resign.
You're an embarrassment.
GEOFF BENNETT: Adams has faced growing public pressure to step down.
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the highest-profile official to call for his resignation with a social media post Wednesday afternoon.
Early this morning, federal agents searched the mayor's residence and seized his phone.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she's monitoring the situation.
Hochul does have the power to remove Adams from office.
The Adams administration has seen a swirl of investigations, subpoenas and resignations in the past year.
The police chief, head of the city's school system and the mayor's legal counsel have all left.
Last November, FBI agents searched the home of one of Adams' fund-raisers.
Adams himself had his cell phone and iPad seized at that time before being subpoenaed this past summer.
As the headlines hit newsstands across the city, New Yorkers took it in stride.
EVA SHIH, New York City Resident: It's a lot of cronyism.
I really do hope that the city gets better and we identify a proper, suitable and well-fit candidate to run for our mayorship.
GEOFF BENNETT: And we're joined now by WNYC reporter Brigid Bergin.
She's been following the story very closely.
Brigid, it's great to have you here.
So, federal prosecutors alleged that, over nearly a decade, dating back to when Eric Adams served as Brooklyn Borough president, that he accepted improper gifts.
To what end, allegedly?
BRIGID BERGIN, WNYC: As it's laid out in the indictment, it's really kind of astounding.
We're talking about plane tickets, opulent hotel rooms, food, high-end meals.
And in exchange, he was receiving illegal foreign campaign contributions and then trying to mask that he had both received the gifts and the contributions by using a straw donor scheme, so funneling that money through people who were not actually donating it.
In addition to that, he was trading favors once he was in office, allowing some of these people who were seeking influence to then ask for favors from the government.
In particular, there was one Turkish official who had showered the mayor with gifts, but then made very clear that he was looking for help, and specifically regarding a high-rise building, a Turkish consulate, a 36-story building that was having some issue with its fire inspection system.
They needed to expedite that.
They wanted to be able to open up the building in time for the visit from the Turkish president.
And the mayor both understood it and then did help expedite it, according to the indictment.
GEOFF BENNETT: Also according to the indictment, he's accused of exploiting New York City's unusually generous public matching funds program.
Tell us more about that.
BRIGID BERGIN: Well, the Campaign Finance Board offers a very generous matching program.
Candidates are eligible for an 8-1 match for the first $250 of a campaign contribution from someone who is a resident of the city of New York.
And so in order to pump up what was money that was not coming from New Yorkers, they used this straw donor scheme, according to the indictment, to the tune of $10 million in public funds.
And to be clear, Geoff, that is public money.
That is money that is paid for by New York City taxpayers.
So part of the crime that U.S. attorney Damian Williams really underscored was, this was a violation of the public trust.
This is a program that is intended to help people who might not otherwise be able to participate or seek public office to have a foothold.
It's not intended to be exploited to the benefit of someone like the way the mayor had done so.
GEOFF BENNETT: And leading up to this, the city's first deputy mayor, the school's chancellor, the deputy mayor for public safety, the police commissioner all had their homes searched or cell phones seized.
What's the connection between all of that and the indictment that was unsealed today?
BRIGID BERGIN: Well, Geoff, that is still a little bit unclear at this point.
As you said, it's been a wild September in New York City politics, and particularly surrounding people who are involved with the Adams administration.
Just since the first week of September, those investigations have kicked off.
And this is after really about a year of investigations into the administration.
A lot of things just seemed to kick into a higher gear this month.
At this point, it's not totally clear what connection those investigations have to this specific indictment.
But one of the points that the U.S. attorney made very clear is, this investigation is not over.
There is an ongoing investigation.
And so there may be more charges.
There may be more individuals and there may be more to the story that we learn in the days ahead.
GEOFF BENNETT: Meantime, the mayor is saying he won't step down.
He says he's going to stay in office and fight for the people of New York.
Based on your reporting, can he really do that with this indictment hanging over his head?
BRIGID BERGIN: The mayor has said that he's not going anywhere.
He was elected by New Yorkers.
He plans to serve New Yorkers.
And at this point, one of the people who would have the most power to remove him from office, Governor Kathy Hochul, has sort of said that she is observing the situation, she's monitoring the news, but she has not released any sort of statement indicating that she would be calling for his resignation or would be seeking to remove him from office at this point.
But, remember, this is a mayor who is up for reelection next year.
There are also -- there are already several primary challengers who have announced their campaign or are preparing to announce their campaign.
This is certainly fodder for all of them to talk about how the city needs to go in a different direction.
And this is a time when normally the mayor would be focusing on that reelection while continuing to try to run the city.
And now that you add to that fighting a criminal indictment, he's got a lot on his plate.
It will be a lot to juggle.
And I think that's why we're hearing so many more people call for his resignation.
GEOFF BENNETT: Brigid Bergin of WNYC, thanks so much for sharing your reporting and insights with us.
BRIGID BERGIN: Thanks, Geoff.
AMNA NAWAZ: A congressional task force sharply criticized the Secret Service today at its first hearing on the July assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Lawmakers zeroed in on the apparent failures that allowed the assailant to have a direct line of fire at Trump.
REP. MIKE KELLY (R-PA): In the days leading up to the rally, it was not a single mistake that allowed Crooks to outmaneuver one of our country's most elite group of security professionals.
There were security failures on multiple fronts.
Lisa Desjardins was tracking today's hearing and has more.
LISA DESJARDINS: Amna, the hearing comes one day after the Senate Homeland Security Committee released its interim report on the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
That bipartisan report found a host of failures, but was especially critical of the Secret Service.
The report says the Secret Service's "failures in planning, communications, security, and allocation of resources for the Butler rally were foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt that day."
Today was the first hearing for the House bipartisan task force on this.
And its ranking member, Democrat Jason Crow of Colorado, joins me now.
Congressman, we saw a repeated theme in today's hearing about the logistical problems that -- and the proximity of the shooter.
I want to remind viewers of the layout of that site in Butler, Pennsylvania.
You can see Mr. Trump's location where the stage was, and then the AGR company's complex where the shooter got onto the roof unimpeded.
It was close by, but outside the security perimeter.
What have you surmised about the biggest issues that led to him being able to get on that rooftop?
REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Well, Lisa, there wasn't just one failure, but it was a cascading series of failures of things that we would normally expect would go into planning security for a large event like this.
It was everything from a lack of unity, of command so command-and-control that was uncertain and disjointed, to lack of interoperable communications between units that were on site, to a security plan that had a perimeter that was too small and not overall secured, and then lack of guidance given to local law enforcement as well.
So, we heard that today during our hearing, where you had these local law enforcement officers, these SWAT team members, these snipers who were trying to do their job, but they weren't actually told what they had to do.
Nobody really gave them the guidance on that day.
So it was a series of things that went wrong that raises larger questions about culture, about organization of the Secret Service, but also resourcing as well.
LISA DESJARDINS: On that resource question, the Secret Service is now protecting more people, I think, than ever, at least not in recent memory.
And by all accounts, they do have a resource issue.
Today, a former Secret Service agent, Patrick Sullivan, told this to the committee: PATRICK SULLIVAN, Former Secret Service Agent: Agents are exhausted now.
The campaign really, really takes a lot out of them.
And I think they don't have enough resources.
Secret Service does not have enough personal resources to give people the breaks that they need.
LISA DESJARDINS: Congress just appropriated more funds, but how profound is the resource disconnect here, and is it a problem for this campaign season?
REP. JASON CROW: Well, there's no doubt it's a problem.
And I just want to paint a picture for folks about what we're dealing with here.
First off, the nature of campaigning is different.
So candidates do a lot more events.
The events are much larger.
Candidates are out on the stump for a longer period of time, so our campaign season is longer.
So what that means is, the Secret Service is stretched thin in a way that they haven't ever been before.
In addition to that, the Secret Service really hasn't increased significantly its size, its training, its pipeline of agents.
So what you have is a high threat environment, an environment with more threats.
Like, for example, members of Congress face four times as many threats than we faced just a couple of years ago.
So you have a high threat environment.
You have a campaign environment that's more robust, long-term, and more transparent and out in the open than you have had before.
And then you have a Secret Service that really hasn't changed.
So Acting Director Rowe came into our task force two weeks ago and he painted a picture of what his service looks like.
And he said his agents are redlined.
They're working 80-, 90-hour weeks.
They're deployed three weeks out of a month.
They're out in the field constantly.
They're not doing their training, they're not doing their recertifications because they're out there all the time on a campaign trail.
You just can't ask people to do that in perpetuity without some type of break or relief.
So we have to provide that relief.
The last point here, Lisa, is your question about near -- the near-term issue.
We are not going to create more Secret Service agents between now and November 5.
It takes six to seven years to actually create a personal security detail-level agent.
But what we have to do is, we have to resource the ability of DOD and other federal agencies to cover down and to surge resources to assist the Secret Service.
LISA DESJARDINS: You have paid a lot of attention to political rhetoric.
You were there on January 6 coaching your members around you to potentially defend themselves.
Where do you think we are?
How worried are you about this next month before the election?
REP. JASON CROW: Well, tensions are very high.
Political rhetoric and discourse, I think, is broken in so many ways.
I mean, I don't have to tell Americans that.
They see that it's broken.
That's why it's really important that we condemn political violence.
What we have to do is get to make it very clear that we are in a campaign season, but we're going to have tough, really sometimes fierce debates.
But, in America, we solve our political issues with debate and with discourse and with voting.
It is never OK to resort to political violence.
And that's a message that we have in a bipartisan way have been unanimous on this task force that this is what this is about, condemning the violence.
Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or an unaffiliated voter, you should know that your candidate and your elected officials are secure.
And we take very seriously our obligation to restore that trust.
LISA DESJARDINS: In our last 30 seconds or so, is there one big question you really haven't gotten any answers to yet about the assassination attempt?
REP. JASON CROW: Well, we're looking at both attempts now.
We're looking at Butler, Pennsylvania, and we're looking at Florida as well.
And one of the things I really want to know is, what is going to be the direct accountability by the Secret Service?
You get change when you get accountability.
So we're going to be pushing to make sure that, if people did not do what they were supposed to do, those people are no longer in those positions.
And that's something that the Secret Service has to do.
LISA DESJARDINS: Congressman Jason Crow, thank you so much for your time and work on this.
REP. JASON CROW: Thank you.
AMNA NAWAZ: Former Secretary of State, Senator, first lady, and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's career in politics and public service spans more than 50 years.
In her new book, "Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty," Clinton looks back on treasured moments in the White House, life since the 2016 election, and America's role on the world stage.
She joins me now.
Secretary Clinton, thank you for joining us.
It's good to see you.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, Former U.S. Secretary of State: It's great to be with you too, Amna.
AMNA NAWAZ: So this is your fifth book since the 2016 election.
You opened by quoting probably one of the greatest songs ever written, "Both Sides Now" by Joni Mitchell, tears and fears and feeling proud.
What is it you wanted to convey in this book that you haven't written about yet?
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: You know, I have lived both privately and publicly, but this is a book about family and friends and faith and, of course, politics, because, as the song says, I have looked at life, I have looked at love for both sides now, and the title is, as you know, taken from the song as well, something lost, something gained.
AMNA NAWAZ: You write in the book very candidly and very intimately about what you call the old wounds of 2016 and the election, when you won the popular vote by nearly three million votes, ended up losing the election to Donald Trump.
And I wonder, this summer especially, as Democrats were weighing what to do with their ticket, did any part of you think, I could get back into this, I could do this?
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Well, I thought I could do it, but I was not going to get back into it.
I was very impressed by President Biden's literally selfless, patriotic decision to withdraw.
And once he endorsed the vice president, my husband and I quickly did as well.
I am incredibly excited about Kamala Harris as our next president.
I think her campaign has been flawless.
She has not only introduced herself to the country again in a way that really connects with people, but she's been drawing a sharp contrast between her and her opponent.
So I wrote an audio epilogue, because, of course, the book was done before all of this happened, that I recorded.
And I said, honestly, I was not sure to myself what I would feel when another woman would be so close to finally, finally breaking that big, hard glass ceiling.
And I found myself absolutely exhilarated.
And so I'm doing everything I can to help get her elected.
AMNA NAWAZ: So what do you think?
Is America ready to elect a woman president today in 2024 in a way that it seems they weren't back in 2016?
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: I think we have learned a lot in the last eight years, and I think many people upon reflection about 2016 understood that we had to break through the double standard, as well as the glass ceiling.
And from what I'm seeing around the country, the people I'm talking to, meeting with on behalf of the campaign, there's an enthusiasm and an urgency, because it's not only about electing someone who I think would be a terrific president on the merits, but stopping someone who could literally undermine our democracy for decades to come.
So there's a really strong positive case to get behind Kamala, to be part of electing our first woman president.
Remember, she is our first woman vice president.
I mean, think of all the things that were accomplished by the Biden/Harris administration that we sometimes just take for granted.
And we have to stop what is a very dangerous alternative.
So I think people are ready, and I hope everyone turns out and demonstrates that by voting for Harris and Walz.
AMNA NAWAZ: Can I ask you about some of those challenges she is facing, though, just to get your take?
Because Vice President Harris has seen a little bit of softening of support among young men of color, in particular, young Black and Latino men.
There was one recent poll that found one in four Black men under 50 said that they planned to vote for Donald Trump.
Another poll found 40 percent of Latino men said they would vote for him.
What, to you, explains those numbers?
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Well, as you know so well, there is a big gender divide in our country when it comes to politics.
That's been true now for many election seasons.
And the fact is that men of all backgrounds tend to favor the Republican nominee and women tend to favor the Democratic nominee.
But I also have seen many polls talking about the overwhelming support she has among young men younger than that, young men younger than 30, who are enthusiastic as well about her candidacy.
But I think it's also important to help draw the contrast, because this is a competition between two people with very, very different ideas about our future.
And I still think we have some work to do to make sure that voters, men, women, everyone, know what the stakes are.
I think they have got to understand that one choice will give us options for our future, and one choice literally could end our democracy.
And I don't say that in any way of satisfaction, and I don't even think I'm exaggerating.
Just listen to what he has said.
AMNA NAWAZ: And you do write about that in detail in your book as well, your concerns for our country, for our democracy, for the world if Donald Trump were to win again.
But what if he loses?
What are your concerns there?
Do you worry that there could be another event like January 6?
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: No, because he's not in the White House.
There is no doubt that he, in many ways, instigated what happened on January 6.
He and his government was reluctant to intervene to protect the people in the Capitol, including members of Congress in the House and Senate.
He stood by and watched on television as law enforcement members, the Capitol Police and others were beaten.
Thankfully, we have Joe Biden in the White House.
Thankfully, I believe that what we saw on January 6 cannot be happening again.
There may be other sorts of disturbances.
There will be lots of challenges made to the outcomes of the votes in various states, because Trump and his enablers want to seize power, whether they win it legitimately or not.
But, this time around, he's not in the White House.
So I think we don't have to fear a repeat of what we saw, but we have to be ready for whatever other shenanigans they pull to try to prevent the counting of the ballots.
AMNA NAWAZ: Whoever wins the election is going to inherit a world that seems to many people like it's on fire.
And you write about teaching students at Columbia University as students were processing both the horrific attacks on October 7 in Israel and also then the brutal Israeli response that followed into Gaza.
And as we're speaking now, that conflict in the Middle East only seems to grow and escalate.
I wonder how you're looking at that.
With the Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon now targeting Hezbollah, does that make it harder to reach a cease-fire in Gaza?
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: It does make it harder.
And that's why I'm encouraged that other nations are joining with the United States to push hard for the end of the conflict, both between Israel and Hamas, and now Israel and Hezbollah.
This is a very dangerous situation that could tragically get out of control, spark a broader regional conflict.
I think that everyone who has any influence with any of the parties -- and that's not just Israel, Hamas, and Hezbollah -- it's also Iran, which is the patron for both -- its neighbors in the region, everyone needs to exert the maximum diplomatic pressure to see if we can get cease-fires in both conflicts and try to turn our attention to rebuilding Gaza, creating security there for the people, securing Israel's borders, so that they don't live in fear of another October 7.
There's a lot of hard work to be done, but it can't start until the war stops.
AMNA NAWAZ: You know, Secretary Clinton, you write in the book about how you are reflecting differently at this chapter of your life on the decades of service and work behind you.
And I see you wearing that necklace now with your grandchildren's names around your neck, reflecting part of this new chapter as well.
And I wanted to ask you about a moment from this summer at the Democratic National Convention when you took the stage, because there was this sense in the arena of, first of all, just a thunderous standing ovation and a real sense of gratitude from the women I spoke to there, many of whom were crying as you came out to see them there.
There was a sense that, if not for you, that there would be no candidate Harris today.
I just wonder how you reflected on that moment, what it meant to you, and how you look at what's next.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: I was literally looking at faces of people who had supported me, who had stood with me, who were there for me.
And I was so emotional in making the connection with them.
I had to practice that speech, I think, seven times, because I got really emotional whenever I delivered it in preparation for walking out there.
But I felt so strongly, Amna, that this was a moment that needed to unite as many Americans as possible in these divided times to lift people's sights, to think about what's possible, to try to get everyone who has a daughter or a granddaughter or a sister or mother, an aunt to think about the unfinished business of the 21st century.
And I dedicated my book to my grandchildren, with the hope that they and their generation will inherit that better world that I am so determined to try to help bring into being.
AMNA NAWAZ: The book is "Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty."
The author is Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Secretary Clinton, always a pleasure.
Thank you so much for your time.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: Thank you so much.
I really always enjoy talking to you.
AMNA NAWAZ: And be sure to stay updated on Hurricane Helene making landfall this evening on Florida's coast now as a Category 4 storm.
You can read about the latest developments and track its real-time path on our Web site.
That's PBS.org/NewsHour.
GEOFF BENNETT: And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.
I'm Geoff Bennett.
AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.
On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us.
