PBS News Hour - Full Show - August 7, 2025 – PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: August 7, 2025

Thursday on the News Hour, the global economy reacts as steep U.S. tariffs against nearly 100 countries take effect. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signals that Israel now intends to take over all of Gaza. Plus, we report from Louisiana, where patients and the health care providers they rely on Medicaid are bracing for the impact of new requirements. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Good evening. I'm Jeff Bennett. I'm the Navaz is away. On the news hour tonight, the global economy reacts as steep U.S. tariffs against nearly 100 countries take effect. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signals that Israel now intends to take over all of Gaza. And we report from Louisiana, where patients and the health care providers they rely on are bracing for the impact of new Medicaid requirements. son won't be able to get the services he needs to thrive. I won't be able to get the services I need in order for me to be healthy. Welcome to the news hour. After months of delay and backroom deal making, the Trump administration has

imposed sweeping tariffs on nearly 100 countries sending U.S. import duties soaring to their highest levels in nearly a century. The new rates range from 10 to 15% for Japan, the EU, and the UK that negotiated agreements and as high as 50% on nations such as Brazil and India. India's tariffs are scheduled to take effect in three weeks. Meantime, many countries continue to work behind the scenes to negotiate more favorable deals. To help break down the impact of the new tariffs and interpret some of the other signs we're seeing across the economy, were joined again by Diane Swank. She's chief economist at KPMG. That's the global consulting and accounting firm. Diane, it's always great to see you. So the Yale Budget Lab ran the numbers and found that the

average effective tariff rate is now about 18%. That's the highest it's been since 1933. Put that into perspective for us. What does that mean for the U.S. economy overall? Well, what's really important is that tariffs tend to be historically. They're a one-and-done, a bump up and a one-time increase in price levels, but this doubling of tariffs, basically doubling from what we saw in June, the effective tariff rate, that is not only going to add to another increase in prices, which we're only beginning to see the early signs of right now, but it also, the tariffs are so large that they also squeeze profit margins, and that means cost-cutting or layoffs. And so what we're worried about is a sort of stagflationary,

kind of nature of these tariffs because they're so large and they're just unable to be completely absorbed by either firms themselves or completely passed on to consumers 100%. We're looking for inflation to pick up to about 3.5% by year end and then stay elevated a little bit longer than we initially expected because of the sequential nature of these tariffs and the fact that we've had inflation running above the Fed's target for the better part of more than four years. And that's important as well because it makes the risk of a more persistent bout of inflation much higher at the same time that we're seeing the labor market start to show some fault lines and stagnating. You wrote today that tariffs are now fueling inflation,

causing lethargy in the labor market, and further sowing the seeds of uncertainty. You also said it's possible that we could be in a recession and not even know it. What suggests to you that we're inching our way toward a recession? Well, we still have a 40% chance of recession, and we aren't forecasting a full recession yet, but the key issue is that we're looking at not every recession is different. However, we've never seen the share of the long-term unemployed. Those are people unemployed more than 27 weeks, which also their length of unemployment went up in the month of July. The share of the total labor force, that is picked up.

That usually happens after a recession is already underway. We saw in 2008 the U.S. economy actually entered the recession in January of 2008, even though the global financial crisis and the realization that we're in a very severe recession, the Great Recession, didn't occur until September of that year. So with a stagnating job market, inflation threatening to heat up, that really makes a complicated decision matrix for the Fed. The Fed's going to make their decision about the next rate cut in September. what are the challenges that they're facing, and what are you forecasting? Well, it's really a toxic situation for the Federal Reserve. They do want to preserve the economy, and we've got this very narrow margin of error in the labor market where, frankly, 50 to 80,000 jobs is all we need each month to keep the unemployment rate stable,

but that also means that anything lower than that, which we could get with some of the cuts that are already in the pipeline, that would be an increase the unemployment rate. So they're talking about higher inflation and higher unemployment. That's a very hard situation to be in. And what we expect is the Fed will cut two times by the end of the year in October and December. The September is a hard and heavy lift given we think the inflation numbers are going to get worse faster than the employment numbers initially. But still, this is a very difficult situation for the Federal Reserve.

I want to ask you about an announcement that President Trump made late today. He announced that he was nominating Stephen Myron to fill a vacant seat on the Fed seven-member board of governors. The president said that Myron would serve through January of next year while he continued to search for a permanent replacement. What should we know about him and how does his presence change the dynamic on the board? Well, I think it's really unusual that we're only having sort of a short-term appointment, which means it means less for perceptions. of the Fed, and obviously the president wants to figure out who he thinks will be best to replace Chairman Powell or who he favors to replace Chairman Powell. But this sort of placeholder kind of placement means that we're not going to be the markets, financial markets will not

be watching as much how this person votes. I would expect him to dissent even as the Fed cuts because the president has made clear that he does want more cuts than currently the Fed is even pondering, and I think that's important. Diane Swank, chief economist at KPMG. Thanks again for joining us. We appreciate it. Thank you. We start today's other headlines in the Middle East.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government aims to reoccupy all of Gaza militarily. He says he does not plan for Israel to stay long-term or govern the area, and any such plan would need approval from Israel's security cabinet. Hamas said if Israel moves forward, it would amount to what they call a coup. The Israeli military already controls most of the enclave. Speaking today to Fox News, the Israeli leader laid out his ambitions. Will Israel take control of all of Gaza? We intend to.

in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance. That is not Hamas and not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel. That's what we want to do. Meantime, health officials in Gaza say at least 42 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes and shootings overnight and into today. One grieving relative says that Israel's threat of reoccupation

is already a reality. I asked Netanyahu, since when weren't you occupying? You already took 70% of the Gaza Strip. What do we care? We don't care. Threaten us as you wish. What else can you do to us? We are waiting for our turn to die.

More aid was airdropped over North Gaza today, sending desperate people scrambling. The World Health Organization today said more Palestinians are dying due to hunger. and that there are some 12,000 children under the age of five who are suffering from acute malnutrition. Russian President Vladimir Putin says he hopes to meet with President Trump next week. Speaking to reporters at the Kremlin, Putin suggested the United Arab Emirates as a possible location for the meeting. Those comments come a day ahead of President Trump's deadline for Moscow to move toward ending the conflict or face stiff economic sanctions. A White House official had cast doubt on any meeting today, saying that Putin must also. agree to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but when asked about that this afternoon,

President Trump signaled that wasn't the case. The FBI is reportedly firing several top officials, including its former acting director. Brian Driscoll led the agency at the beginning of President Trump's current term. He had refused to turn over the names of agents who were assigned to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Stephen Jensen was also reportedly ousted. He responded to January 6th as the head of the Washington Field Office. Both men have sent farewell messages to their colleagues. Other agents working on cases related to President Trump were also reportedly forced out. The FBI agents association says the firings make Americans less safe, writing, quote, agents need to be focused on their work and not on potentially being

illegally fired based on their assignments. In Florida, a federal judge ordered a temporary halt to construction at the so-called alligator alcatraz facility. That's the new ICE detention center isolated in the vast wetlands of the Florida Everglades. The order bars workers from developing any new infrastructure at the site for two weeks, while attorneys argue whether its construction violates environmental laws. The order will not affect operations at the facility where hundreds of detainees are currently being held. A new CDC report says that most Americans now get more than half of their calories from ultra-processed foods. For adults, about 53% of calories come from these foods, which are high in sweeteners, salts, and unhealthy fats. It's even higher for kids

and teens at 62%. The foods in question include hamburgers, baked goods, snacks, pizza, and sweetened drinks, among other things. But the CDC says these figures are actually down slightly over the past decade. Experts say that could be because of greater public awareness of their harmful impact. is working to resolve ongoing delays after a tech outage, temporarily grounded its flights nationwide last night. According to the tracking website, Flight Aware, 35% of United flights were delayed yesterday and 7% canceled. By this morning, those numbers had dropped significantly, though flights to or from more than a dozen airports were still being affected. United says the tech outage lasted several hours and was related to a system that manages the airline's flight information.

And a quick update now on a story we've been covering out of Central California. Authorities issued new evacuation orders today as the state's largest fire of the year grows even bigger. The Gifford Fire has now scorched more than 150 square miles of St. Louis Obispo in Santa Barbara counties. Some 3,000 firefighting personnel are battling the blaze, which erupted last Friday. Officials say it's only 15% contained. It's one of hundreds of wildfires burning along the western U.S. and in New York. Canada. Smoke from those fires has drifted south and is affecting the air quality for millions of people across the Midwest and eastern U.S. On Wall Street today, stocks ended mixed as President

Trump's latest tariffs had a muted effect on markets. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost more than 200 points on the day. The NASDAQ managed a gain of about 70 points. The S&P 500 ended just a touch lower. And the trailblazing pianist, composer, and band leader Eddie Palmeri has died. Starting with his band La Perfecta in 1961, Palmeri was known for his innovative style, often mixing salsa with funk, soul, and jazz sounds. In so doing, he left a lasting impression

on Latin music worldwide. In 1975, Palmeri became the first Latino to win a Grammy Award for the Son of Latin Music. He would go on to win seven more over the course of his long career. In a 2001 interview, he spoke about his love of music. I'm going to be 65, and I'm still playing the most complicated and exciting music.

It always makes people dance. People can't resist. I love it. Palmeri kept performing well into his 80s. His family says he died yesterday at his home in New Jersey after a long illness. Eddie Palmeri was 88 years old. Still to come on the News Hour, Republican members of Congress from blue states call out efforts to gerrymander Texas districts.

The president floats the idea of a federal takeover of Washington, D.C., after a Trump administration staffer was attacked. And a new book paints a portrait of the often misunderstood daughter of Madam C.J. Walker, the first African-American, self-made female millionaire. This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein Studio. at W.E.A. in Washington and in the west from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. We're shifting our focus now back to the latest news in the Israel-Hamas War. The Israeli cabinet is in a marathon session, still meeting after 1 a.m. local time, debating whether or not to completely reoccupy the Gaza Strip militarily. For perspective on this, we get two views. David Mikovsky, the director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's project on Arab-Israel relations, and Yusuf Munair is the head of the Palestine-Israel program

and senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C. Thank you both for being with this. David, I'll start with you. Do you see this notion of Israel completely reoccupying the Gaza Strip? Is this a genuine military strategy, or is this a political tactic to pressure Hamas and to ceasefire talks? We don't know, for sure. I think the latter is very plausible, because if you look at all the news reporting. It's been kind of scaled down in the last 24 hours. Instead of this idea of a blitz through these remaining cities that would go on for five months, they're not talking about dropping leaflets and then maybe encircling the city and then doing raids in and out. But there's clearly differences between the prime minister and the chief of staff,

the military chief of staff of the IDF, wants to go slower and does not want to go in. He's worried the hostages will die. He's worried soldiers are killed. He's worried that innocent people and gods will be killed. So, but I think the prime minister has set out such an ambitious goal that you wonder that what could start as a political ploy. If it doesn't go the way he wants to pressure Hamas to come back to the table might have a dynamic of its own. We just don't know yet. Yusuf, how do you see it?

And when Israeli officials talk about a full occupation, what exactly does that mean on the ground in practical terms? Right. I think it's important to understand that right now, the Israeli military effectively controls Gaza in its entirety, but on the ground it controls something like 75 to 80 percent of the territory. And over the course of its operations, it has increasingly pushed the civilian population in Gaza into these concentrated areas now, which make up a tiny space of the land. So what they're considering now, what they're talking about is actually the military going into those spaces. And as we've witnessed over the last couple of years, you know, credible accusations of war crimes and mass atrocities throughout the course of these campaigns, this would

foreshadow the bloodiest stage of the campaign yet against the population in Gaza if the military was to go in to these densely, densely populated areas, because that's all that is left that the population has to retreat to. So if they do, in fact, go ahead with this, it would be, as I said, a bloody, bloody moment at a time where there is global outrage over this war that has already reached a fever pitch. And David, if the Netanyahu government's actions are aimed at pressuring Hamas to make concessions at the negotiating table, what have been the major sticking points in the talks

so far? A few weeks ago, there were reports that the two sides were close to a deal. what happened and what would need to change now? Yes, no, really good questions. And I agree with Yosef, that if there would be fighting in densely urban areas, it becomes very bloody. And that's why the IDF chief of staff does not want that and would like Israel to stay outside of the cities. But I think there was a feeling that you were getting close under the Steve Whitkoff, President Trump's envoy's formula of half the hostages getting out in return for a certain ratio of lifetime prisoners of Hamas, being released. And let's remember that Yichia Sinwar, the mastermind of October 7th, was released

in a very lopsided deal with Gilad Shalit in 2011. But still, there was a feeling, okay, they're moving towards each other. And then it seemed that Hamas hardened their position and said, no, we're not doing this deal the way we said. We will not disarm until after we have a state in Jerusalem. And this is coming at the very time that the Arab states, the Arab League, and for the first time really called out Hamas publicly and said they have to disarm and they cannot govern Gaza. It should be the Palestinian Authority. And so I think this was an important breakthrough.

I didn't think it got a lot of attention here because of the tariffs maybe or other issues, but that the Arab states were publicly calling out Hamas saying they shouldn't rule Gaza is an important moment. And I think it was moving towards each other and then Hamas hardened their position. You know, the prime minister, I know from people, talked to the prime minister, said that he feels they harden their position because of this conference of Macron, of France, or whatever. It doesn't matter.

But the point is, is that he's under a lot of pressure now. And you had that relative of Aviatar David on the show the other day. And with the pictures of him looking like he came out of Auschwitz or something from the Holocaust. And the public wants these hostages home. So he's feeling a lot of heat. And he just said, well, the negotiations aren't working. We've got to try something new. But, you know, you've got to be careful. What is the alternative to that, too? And, Yusuf, how should we understand Hamas's staying power after nearly two years of war, widespread destruction, so on and so forth? Well, I think the primary issue has been that in these negotiations that, you know, the Palestinians have wanted to see an end to this war. And there has been a ceasefire in place.

That was the case in early January, but it was something that the Israeli government decided to back out of because they believed that they could increase pressure on the Palestinians and Hamas in particular and tried to get a better set of terms. That didn't materialize, despite all of the pressure that we've seen, the massive Israeli military operation that expanded its control to some 75 to 80 percent of the territory. the deliberate starvation campaign that has made headlines around the world in recent weeks, that has failed to create change at the negotiating table. And I think one thing that the Israeli public is increasingly understanding is of all of the

hostages that have been released, the vast majority of them have been released in negotiations and not by military force. I think the key problem right now is that what people are realizing is that the goal set forth by the Israeli government in this war, these three different goals. They're beginning to militate against each other as push comes to shove on the ground. And Netanyahu is looking for answers from the military that they simply cannot provide right now. And he's looking at an Israeli public who wants an end to this as well, but a cabinet and a government who is not really letting him back away from this. So he may very well walk himself into even greater

horrors in Gaza because he doesn't seem to have a clear vision and doesn't seem to have a clear strategy other than continuing to use the blunt force of the military against Palestinians. In the time that remains, let's talk about the U.S. role. What role does the U.S. have in trying to end this war? I mean, President Trump is sending mixed signals. The Biden administration largely deferred to Israel's approach is meaningful American pressure even on the table right now. No, I think that you're raising an important point. And I actually think the interview that Netanyahu gave today, he doesn't talk to the Israeli media, but he talks to the American media. Today was Fox News. But it was the most explicit he's come and saying that this is like,

basically, Gaza is going to be given over to other Arabs. It can't be run by Hamas. And I would hold them to it. And now that you have that Arab statement that I was referring to from last week, calling out Hamas saying they can't govern. I would hope us in Washington that the United States would come to Netanyahu and say, okay, you said that it's going to be other Arabs taking over.

74% of Israelis, including 60% of your own supporters, in the last Channel 12, that's like the leading TV last Friday, poll would rather get the hostages out and end the war. So let's think about how do we make that segue that other

Arabs can do that and do in a way that Hamas is not left holding guns because in the Middle East, the people who fire the shots call the shots. But if the Arabs are willing to take this area over, I would hope the United States would work with Israel here and the Arabs and making that transition. Because Netanyahu was saying it's not going to be annexed by Israel, even though the hard right wants him to do that, but he has not done that. Yusuf, in the 45 seconds we have left, what's your view? Look, at the end of the day, Gaza is occupied by Israel.

The population there is Israel's responsibility. They've completely destroyed the area in Gaza. Why Netanyahu thinks he can pass off that issue to any other country, Arab or otherwise, is beyond me. He's writing checks at this point that he simply can't cash. And unfortunately, Washington is allowing him to meander down this very, very, very destructive road with no way out. Youssef Manier and David Makovsky, our thanks to you both.

26 midterms. The move follows efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw congressional maps in their favor, a strategy that sparked threats of retaliation from Democratic leaders in blue states like New York and California. And in response, a handful of GOP lawmakers from those states are now calling for a redistricting ceasefire. Congressman Mike Lawler of New York is one of those Republicans, and he joins us now. Thanks for being with us. Thanks for having me. So you have largely backed President Trump's agenda, but you have criticized this Texas redistricting plan, which he supports. What about it do you believe crosses the line? Well, this is an issue that has been going on for decades.

Obviously, the gerrymandering of our congressional maps in red states and blue states. And when you look at the fact that last November, only 35 seats were decided by five points or or less, that tells you everything you need to know about the fact that most seats are not competitive. They are solely won or lost based on the primary. And so from my vantage point, coming from a district that has 80,000 more Democrats than Republicans, you know, I obviously am very focused on a general election. And I think the reality is our country would be better served and Congress would be better served if more seats were competitive. So this effort that we have seen, and by the way, it didn't just start with Texas. New York did mid-decade redistricting

last year. They went to court and forced a new map and took the opportunity to redraw the lines and pick up three seats in the process. So this idea somehow that this just started with Texas is a joke, especially when you look at the fact that we just had a Supreme Court race in Wisconsin that was basically run on the idea that there would be redistricting in Wisconsin. So this is mutually assured destruction. We're seeing Democrats and Republicans seek to gain advantage through the redistricting process, and from my perspective, it's wrong.

And that's why I'm introducing legislation to ban gerrymandering nation. why. This is not how the process should be fought out. We should have competitive districts based on communities of interest, and ultimately the voters, not the politicians, should decide who is in the majority. And there is the question of, should Congress set national redistricting standards, or does that infringe too much upon states' rights? How do you draw that line? Where do you draw that line. Unfortunately, what we have seen in states like Illinois, where they redistricted Republicans down to three seats, it is not a fair process. And you look at a state like Massachusetts, 9-0 in favor of the Democrats. That is not how this process should be one or lost

in terms of control of Congress. It shouldn't be, you know, boiled down to how the the map is drawn. It should be one or lost based on the issues, based on the choices presented to the voters. So I fundamentally believe, unfortunately, the states have used the redistricting process as a bludgeon, and both sides are guilty of this. There is no question about that. So from my vantage point, banning gerrymandering nationwide is something that we should undertake. How much of your opposition is driven by political self-interest, given that your seat could be at risk if Governor Kathy Hockel moves forward with her threat to retaliate and redraw the map? I'm not concerned about my individual race. I've won three times in two-to-one Democratic districts precisely because I know how to present the case to my constituents. There's 80,000 more Democrats in my district than Republicans. If you can't beat me based on the

current map. You know, that speaks volumes to your message. But I've been wholly consistent in this fight for years. When I ran for the New York State Assembly back in 2020, I was very outspoken against gerrymandering and what the Democrats were trying to do at the time to weaken the Independent Redistricting Commission in New York. I was executive director of the State Republican party back in 2013 when we passed through the state legislature a constitutional amendment that then went to the voters and was ratified to create the independent redistricting commission and ban gerrymandering. So I've been wholly consistent in this. I voted against New York's maps in 2022 as a member of the state assembly long before I decided to run for Congress

because those maps were wrong. They violated the state constitution and the Court of Appeals upheld that. So this has been my position for a very long time and I fundamentally believe it's the right one. New York Republican Congressman Mike Lawler. Thanks again for being with us. We appreciate it. Thank you.

President Donald Trump's big budget law is expected to make the largest cuts ever to Medicaid, a program that currently provides health insurance for some 70 million Americans. As Lisa Desjardin reports, those effects will be felt in-house Speaker Mike Johnson's home state of Louisiana, which has one of the highest rates of enrollment in the country. I bet you you can't swing higher than me. A show of joy. Rita, Noel and her son Reese, who's autistic, have a close bond. But for Rita, neither happiness nor health are givens.

The single mom of three in Morgan City, Louisiana, works part-time and depends on Medicaid for health care. This is home for my primary care. I come here for all sorts of health care needs. Her family gets care here at Tesh Health, where doctors say Rita is becoming a healthier patient. Next thing you know, I'm going to be saying, I'll see you back in the year because you're doing how you doing good.

But sometimes it took me repeat business because I was hard here. She's among some 1.4 million Louisiana's on Medicaid, the Joint Federal and State Health Program for low-income people and the disabled. The Republicans' big tax cut and spending cut law puts more of the Medicaid load on states and requires more of patients, from work hours to more frequent eligibility checks. Do you think that your Medicaid is at risk you yourself? I do, and I often worry about that. She's worried about the additional paperwork.

falling through the cracks. And then my grandbaby doesn't get the proper vaccination she needs to be able to survive. You know, my son won't be able to get the services he needs to thrive. I won't be able to get the services I need in order for me to be healthy. I have to be healthy in order to make sure my family is healthy. And so I'm very concerned. But Republicans counter here in Louisiana, it's not our intent to just pull people off of Medicaid rules. Republican State Senator Heather Cloud, who grew up low-income and without health insurance herself, says what she is trying to do is keep Medicaid stable financially. In 2016, Louisiana launched its Medicaid expansion, adding nearly 800,000 people to the rolls, but also increasing costs to the state. This spring, Senator Cloud sponsored a bill to increase eligibility and residency checks starting in January.

That passed unanimously. She also backed separate legislation called One Door that aims to keep the vulnerable from falling through the cracks. That package also passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. We're monitoring everything close to the seat. But in clinics across the state, they're worried federal cuts mean at least some people will lose coverage in the next two years. Fewer people with health care coverage. Does that concern you in terms of the health care itself of the state? Absolutely.

Yeah, that absolutely can. I can't tell you that it doesn't concern me. And I think that is why we're being so careful in how we manage this. We don't want to put anybody in a position that they don't have access to health care, critical life-sustaining care, particularly in my district, you know, in rural Louisiana.

The stakes are especially high here in Louisiana, which is one of the most reliant states on Medicaid and by almost any measure, one of the least healthy. If you take away that Medicaid support, support, then it's going to really cripple us. Dr. Gary Wiltz runs Tesh Health, which operates 10 community clinics in the state. It provides care in rural areas where patients face significant challenges accessing larger hospitals. The clinic depends on Medicaid, which covers about half of the patients here, young and old.

But Dr. Wilt can't make related decisions like cutting back on future plans yet, because the Trump administration won't finalize some key specifics, like for work requirements, until next summer. He does feel sure of one thing. I do expect that some people kicked off the rolls, you know, because they won't know how to navigate or they may not happen. We have a we deal with a population that's not always the easiest to access. The practicality is the implementation of how that's going to play out and to be frank, but you don't know. The clinic's trying to reach patients to explain the potential changes, but still patients like Brenda Harris don't know

what to think. It's all a puzzle because you hear one thing, you see another thing on Facebook, then the TV say another thing. So it's all confusing. So it's like, I just sit and wait. Mom Rita Noel has more clear thoughts. She supports the idea of some work requirements, but with flexibility. She's still worried about what will happen to her and also about how the world sees people on Medicaid. I do believe that people think that, Most people that are on Medicaid, they don't work. They're just kind of sort of looking for a handout, and that's definitely not the case.

In many situations, I know many people that are on Medicaid, and they work, and they work hard every day. Major Medicaid cuts and reform are coming. Louisiana needs to keep working hard to get ready. For the PBS News Hour, I'm Lisa Desjardin in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. President Trump continues to direct his ire at cities run by Democrats for what he says is an out-of-control crime wave, despite FBI data showing crime down in every category. The president this week went as far as threatening a federal takeover of the nation's capital after an administration staffer was attacked during an attempted carjacking. William Brigham has more.

That's right, Jeff. On Tuesday, the president posted a photo of a bloodied 19-year-old Edward Koresstein. After he'd apparently been attacked by a large group, two 15-year-olds are now in custody. Yesterday, the president had this to say. What a shame. The rate of crime, the rate of muggins, killings, and everything else. We're not going to let it. And that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too.

This has to be the best run place in the country, not the worst run place in the country. and it has so much potential, and we're going to take care of it. It's worth noting that, contrary to the president's claims, violent crime in Washington, D.C., last year, hit a 30-year low. But for more on this, I am joined by George Derek Musgrove. He's an associate professor at the University of Maryland, an author of the book, Chocolate City, a history of race and democracy in the nation's capital.

Derek Musgrove, welcome to the News Hour. Thanks for having me. How seriously should we take this notion that the President has put forward that he's going to send the National Guard in to take over the police? I think quite seriously for two reasons. One is that the President has been quite consistent in this regard. I mean, this claim is actually in the GOP platform. And the President has repeated it over and over again, his first term and now in his second. The other is that the President has a great deal of power under the Home Rule Act.

He has control of the National Guard. He can send it in. He's actually able to take over the Metropolitan Police Department for a period of about 30 days. And so he's capable of doing what he's saying. What he's not capable of doing is getting rid of home rule altogether. Congress passed the Home Rule Act. Congress has to repeal it if it is to be repealed. I know he has said he would like it to be repealed.

But for people who may not be following this, closely. D.C. does sit in this unusual limbo. It's not a state. It doesn't really have full autonomy. It has a mayor and a city council. But remind us, again, of the legal status of the city with regards to the federal government. Sure. Under Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, the district is overseen by Congress. Now, Congress can do roughly three things with that power. It can intervene to run the city directly. It can step back and let whatever governmental structure is already there persist, or it can delegate the governance to another entity. What it did in 1973 is it delegated a significant portion of its power to a local government,

a mayor and a 13-member council, as well as a couple of other offices. But it can take that power back. What it kept for itself is the ability to oversee our laws, and so every time we pass laws, we have to send them up to Congress to be reviewed. It can meddle in our budget, and so our budget goes through Congress, and they can place riders on it to change things that we've done, to direct us in ways that we would spend our own money. So it still has a lot of power as well, and in the end, it can take all of that stuff back if it so chooses. Have we ever seen the federal government exert that kind of full control over the city? Yes, but not in the recent past. So back in 1874, Congress stripped the city entirely.

of local governments. The city had a mayor and a council, even a non-voting delegate back in the early 19th century. And in a reaction against reconstruction after the Civil War, members of Congress lined up with elites in Washington, D.C.,

said, you know, if we're going to have African-Americans, and even working-class white people voting, we'd actually prefer to have no democracy at all in the nation's capital. And so they ended democracy in the nation's capital. You couldn't vote for anything for 100 years from 1874, roughly to 8 to 1975. The mayor, the current mayor and the city council

are in obviously this very tight spot. They don't want to irritate the president, but they also want to hold on to what little autonomy they do have. How have they been responding to all of this? In a very measured manner, I think, is the best way to put it. They've tried to stay quiet.

They've tried to find places where their concerns and those of the president match up. and knowing that they have very little leverage in this situation, they've just tried to make sure that the president is not angered by the things that they do. As a scholar of this city and its odd relationship with the federal government, do you think that if the president did roll the national guard into the city, that the city, how would that unfold? How would the city react?

Well, we actually saw this with the protests in 2020. The president did dispatch the military down to Lafayette Square to deal with protesters. And folks were quite angered by it. D.C. residents are very sensitive to their democratic rights because they're already circumscribed. We have a local government, but we don't have voting representation in the House of Representatives or the Senate. And we know that. We're very keenly aware of that. So when you begin to erode the small amount of rights that D.C. residents do have, Folks tend to be very edgy about that, and I think they would be again.

Derek Musgrove, University of Maryland. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. In her new book, Award-winning journalist and historian, Elelia Bundles, brings to life one of the most fascinating and misunderstood figures of the early 20th century. Aalelia Walker, daughter of Madam C.J. Walker and heiress to a beauty empire was more than a glamorous socialite. She was a cultural catalyst whose salons and suarez became the vibrant center of the Harlem Renaissance. Drawing on meticulous research and rare family archives, bundles, who is Madam Walker's great-great-granddaughter,

offers a vivid portrait filled with music, arts, politics, and joy. I spoke with her about the book Joy Goddess, Alelia Walker, and the Harlem Renaissance. Alelia Bundles, welcome to the NewsHour. Delighted to be with you, Jeff. It's great to have you here. You have spent decades preserving the legacy of your great-great-grandmother, Madam C.J. Walker. You've written four books about her. What made you shift your focus to her daughter, Alilia Walker?

You know, I really wanted to write about Alia Walker first. I wrote about her for a report in high school in 1970. And she fascinated me because she knew about all of the Harlem Renaissance actors and writers who I loved learning about, but Madam Walker's story really had to be told first. And it strikes me, there are scholars

who have dismissed her as a socialite who played bridge, who did little more than spend the money that her mother made. What did you discover about her as you did the research?

Really, she had been caricatured, and what I discovered was a really charismatic woman, one of the original influencers, I think a social impresario, who walked into a room, room with all of her charisma. And I think who had a gift for bringing people together. She could bring together her friends from downtown, her friends from uptown, her European friends, her African friends,

people who were in the arts, people who were in business. And there were very few people who both had that circle of friends and who had the personality to carry it off. Well, you write in the book that she was the woman Harlem needed. She was stylish. She was ambitious. She was unapologetically herself. How did her persona and public image influence how many black women saw themselves during that time? Well, people were fascinated by Madam C.J. Walker, Aalelia Walker's mother. She represented success in business, and her daughter was really the first black celebrity heiress, somebody who could live her life fully and freely. This was a time when African Americans were really emerging into urban areas,

It was two generations out of slavery, when people were really still finding their way. But now there was an educated, middle class group of professional African Americans. And she was the person who was kind of at the center of the social scene. The center of it. I mean, she was a fixture of the Harlem Renaissance. She was a patron of the arts, as you say. You describe her salons and her parties as these vibrant spaces of cross-racial exchange. Why was she so intentional about that?

I think we take for granted now that we can have gathering, social gatherings that are very racially integrated, that are international. She welcomed her queer and straight friends equally. And I think that this is the kind of thing. She was one of the people who made this comfortable. She wanted everybody to be there. And now we think that's not something that's unusual, but it was really quite unusual then. Tell me about the Grand Town House she had on. It was West 136 Street, the Dark Tower.

And you have some archival materials that sort of illustrate how incredible that space was. So Alia Walker moved to Harlem in 1913. She persuaded her mother that they needed to have a business presence. Their business was headquartered in Indianapolis. But New York was the media capital of the world. It was becoming the black cultural and political mecca for African Americans. And she said, we need to be there. And so she persuaded her mother to buy a townhouse.

It became a double townhouse with a beautiful facade. And in 1927, Aelia Walker converted a floor of that townhouse into what became known as the Dark Tower. It was a cultural salon with the musicians and writers and artists and actors mingled with patrons and mingled with other social people. So I actually have the original invitation from the Dark Tower. Aaliyah Walker had invited people to come to the Dark Tower.

She and the mother of the artist Romery Bearden, Bessie Bearden, and Alelia Walker met in the spring of 1927 with Langston Hughes, Wally Thurman, Counte Cullen, Bruce Nugent. These were young writers who she knew. And they sat down and they said, what is it that you would like? How can we help promote the work of these young writers? And they came up with this idea for the Dark Tower, named it after Counte Cullen's poem from the Dark Tower. And in October of 1927,

hundreds of people lined up outside to come to this place. And this says, you know, it was, we dedicate this tower to the estates, to the young writers and artists and musicians. And it was really quite unusual for them to be able to have this space. In addition to the invitation, which shows a picture of a bookcase

that was designed, a tower like a skyscraper. I also have the original menu, a feast for the muses. And one of my favorite things is Alilia Walker iced tea. Now this was prohibition. So I don't know what went in the ice tea, but I do know that Alilia Walker had a flask, a modicramed flask. This is her flask. And I think a lot of people carried flasks. And so we can just imagine what went into that Ailea Walker iced tea. How did her role as a convener and a patron help shape the cultural and political course of the Harlem Renaissance?

People saw Alia Walker as kind of the personification of black business success and of an heiress, that she was the one who had the great party. She was the one who people kind of fantasized about being. And because she had such a gregarious open personality, She wasn't a snob with that money. She was a person who welcomed people in. And that meant all of the people who were creating culture, who were creating music, and the people who loved to have a good time, wanted to be in her sphere.

One society columnist said that people flock to her like bees flock to honey. And another one said that when she was having a party, she would get on the phone and she would say, darling, I'm having a party tonight. And it wouldn't be the same without you. Absolutely not. And then people wanted to be at her party so much, the plus one became the plus two, the plus three, the plus four. So they were always really crowded.

And yet there's this recurring tension in this book between who she really was and how she was perceived. How did she navigate the expectations that were placed upon her? Yeah, what the title, Joy Goddess, comes from Langston Hughes' memoir, The Big Sea, where he called her the Joy Goddess. of Harlem's 1920s because of her personality and because of her great parties.

But there is an irony in that joy goddess because while she was the one who created joy for a lot of people, there were also moments in her own life with a lot of heartache and with a lot of disappointment. People always compared her to her mother. Of course, she could not live up to this larger-than-life icon, this business entrepreneur that Madam C.J. Walker was,

she was trying to carve out her own identity. And Alelia Walker was trying to both blend the work that she was supposed to do as president of the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company after her mother's death with her own desire to be a patron of the arts, to advance culture, and to celebrate the young creatives. The book is Joy Goddess, Alilia Walker, and the Harlem Renaissance. It's author Alalia Bundles. It's so good to see you.

Always good to see you. circle. What happens when leaders across generations come together to reimagine the future of collaboration. Earlier this year, Co-Generate that's a nonprofit that brings older and younger changemakers together, posted a gathering in Los Angeles to explore the power of intergenerational partnership. In this brief but spectacular, participants reflect on what it takes to build a better future together. What does it feel like to be your age? It feels great.

Really? The end, yeah. It feels a little scary sometimes. Anxious. It's exciting. With technology, I feel like every second is a new problem. Well, I'm 73, and that seems like really old. I'm 29.

I'm 55, and I feel like I'm younger than that. So I'm 29. I'm in love with my life right now. It's a really cool place to be. And I get to have fun. I love your life. Come hang out. Welcome everybody.

We're here in Korea Town in Los Angeles, meeting today with a group of older leaders and younger leaders to have a conversation about how we create co-generational allyship. This is a moment where we across generations need each other. I'm a journalist and the lead researcher and writer for co-generate on their older leaders project. Co-generate is a social impact organization committed to bridging the generational

divide to solve big problems in our society. What are the new models for shared leadership in this multi-generational world? One of the things that comes up in my conversations with older leaders is often about power. Those who are thought to hold power create this story that power is a zero-sum game. One of the greatest gifts that we can share with younger leaders is to share with them that you can create your own power. Those of us who are our age also need to acknowledge when young people talk about the impacts of gerontocracy in our government, the failure and refusal of aging leaders to make space for young people, that that is oftentimes a really serious problem. I think it's so valuable that older generations know the past, but that does not mean

you know the future, but I still want to learn from you about the past. What do older people get wrong about your generation? This supposed to be brief. That we're our generation and the generations below us are lazy. I see that perspective from young people as wrong because I think we also bring the ideas. People always hold me like, oh, you have it lived long enough. And I'm 19. I'm struggling a lot, though. What do younger people get wrong? about your generation. That we're just taking, taking, taking from the economy. That I am a certain way because I'm a certain age.

They feel like, you know, we like to go to bed early. I like going to bed early. I have a disability. I'm a polio survivor and I either get an element of pity or you're not that relevant so I can essentially just ignore you. Is pay your dues still relevant? In entertainment and in Hollywood, everyone is still paying their dues if they work in this industry.

dues if they work in this industry, but no one is getting the rewards. Have your inflation calculator ready when you're looking at differences because the value is different. I think the concept of paying your dues are working for free is an object of the past, and I'd love for us to leave that behind. As I'm older, there are certain dues I have to pay to be relevant. It's like reverse. It's like a reverse, yeah. A lot of the older leaders that I spoke to, they want to be seen. As much as younger folks want to be respected for their ingenuity. It's a question of understanding that ambition changes over the course of one's life and how we can respect that and at the same time make room for each other's ambition.

My name is Tanzina Vega and this is my brief but spectacular take on the power of intergenerational communities. That's great stuff. You can watch more brief but spectacular videos online at pbs.s.org slash news hour slash brief. And that is the news hour for tonight. I'm Jeff Bennett. For all of us here at the PBS News Hour, thanks for spending part of your evening. with us.