PBS News Hour - Full Show - July 2, 2025 – PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: July 2, 2025

Wednesday on the News Hour, the president's massive bill is back in the hands of the House, where some Republican lawmakers are voicing their opposition. A jury clears Diddy of sex trafficking and racketeering charges while convicting him of lesser offenses. Plus, a look at efforts to fight malaria and provide maternal health care in Ghana after the Trump administration shutters USAID. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Good evening. I'm Jeff Bennett. And I'm Amna Nawaz. On the news hour tonight, the president's massive budget bill is back in the hands of the U.S. House, where a number of Republican lawmakers are voicing opposition. A New York jury clears hip-hop star Sean Diddy Combs of sex trafficking and racketeering charges while convicting him of lesser offenses. And we're on the ground in Ghana, reporting on efforts to fight malaria and to provide maternal. health care after the Trump administration shudders USAID. USA used to help us. They used to like the drugs for pregnant women. They were supplied, but this day is hard to come by them.

Welcome to the NewsHour. It's been a dramatic day in the U.S. House where President Trump's massive tax cut and budget bill is currently in limbo. There are a number of conservatives not yet on board, and the House has frozen proceedings as its leaders try to get enough votes to move forward. Our congressional correspondent, Lisa Desjardin, is on Capitol Hill with the latest. So, Lisa, we're exactly, did things stand right now? I'll start by looking at what's in the chamber near me. This is what history at a pivot point looks like. A mostly empty House chamber where staff has been waiting for some three hours.

They've been frozen on this vote, which is a procedural vote. The idea is to get to the rule vote, which is a procedure that is needed to essentially open the door to get onto the big budget bill. But right now, the door to the big budget bill remains closed, and that is because of conservatives and others in the House conference, the Republicans, who say they're just simply not ready yet to vote yes on this bill. This led to a dilemma for House Speaker Mike Johnson. I watched him on the House floor going one by one trying to convince members to vote yes for these procedural votes. But in the end, he left the chamber. It was stoic as he walked out of the chamber. This video we have from Kyle Madura, our producer, showed he was on the phone trying to figure out a way out.

Now, in just the past hour or so, Speaker Johnson has been more optimistic. He told reporters that he thinks the bill, not just the procedural votes, but the bill is. itself could pass tonight. I mean, it's already dinner time on the East Coast. So that is optimistic, but it is not impossible. And it is a matter of negotiations between Republicans and other Republicans right now. And those Republicans who opposed the bill at this point, Lisa, what are their main grievances? Right. There are still two groups. There are some moderates who are still uncomfortable with this bill and the cuts to Medicaid. But as I speak to them, more and more of them seem to be getting on board the bill. That includes Don Bacon of

Nebraska who told me he likes the spending on defense that we talked about last night. He's willing to take the tradeoffs because of that. Or Ken Calvert, Republican California, told me he's getting there on this bill. The bigger problem tonight seems to be convincing the Freedom Caucus and fiscal conservatives. Let's look at part of the group. It is a large group of dozens of members with concerns. But here are some core members, Chip Roy among them, and some others who say that they are concerned about the red ink in this bill. Some of them, including Ralph Norman, have told me that they were a hard no on the procedure and on the bill itself this morning.

But let me tell you what has been happening in the last couple of hours. These members have been in talks, not just with Speaker Johnson, but with the White House. And what they are asking for, what they've been offered, are perhaps some executive orders, if they go for the bill in its current form, executive orders to somehow cut spending or rein in some of the social policy that they wanted in this bill. But one member told me they are concerned because of the way court rulings have gone that they're not sure those executive orders would stand. So what's happening is you're seeing all three branches involved in this discussion in theory. And while these members want to get to yes, there is a bottom line number problem for them in this bill.

They haven't thought through because they're all in subservience to getting it signed on July 4th. They have no idea what they did in the Senate. They have no idea what they're about to do here in the day because they haven't seen the particulars of this bill. And that's how Democrats feel about it. Democrats, as you saw how to rally earlier today, that's one of the Democratic Committee Chairman. They're raising a point about the question. They're questioning, as some conservatives have as well, the idea that there just hasn't been enough time for this. All right, Lisa, in the minute we have left, what happens next such that anyone knows?

We don't know. I think tonight is a critical moment. for this largest of tax cuts and largest of health care cuts bill in history, the negotiations continue. And it will be up to this handful, a few dozen members to decide whether this moves forward tonight or if it waits until after July 4th. Lisa, Desjardin at the U.S. Capitol for us tonight. Lisa, thank you. Welcome. Well, President Trump met with Republican members today to help get the budget bill over the finish line. Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska supports the bill, and he joins me now. Congressman, welcome back to the News Hour. Thanks for joining us.

Yes, thank you very much for having me. So let me just get your quick reaction to Lisa's reporting there. You see this bill moving across the finish line tonight? I do. I think the Republican conference has been far united, far more united this Congress than we're last Congress. We always get through this. We've been through this. We've seen it before.

I was at the White House today with the president. He was upbeat. He was focused. This is bigger than just reconciliation. This is making good on the promises that President Trump made when he wanted to run for president, the same platform that many of us ran on across the United States. This delivers on those promises. It cuts taxes.

It increases border security, energy independence. And most notably, it does cut spending in a big way for the first time in American history. But Congressman, can I ask you about the timing, though? Why the rush? I mean, I know other than the president wanting this July 4th deadline in your conversations with them today when you're at the White House, was there any talk about delaying it? So you have time to work with your colleagues who have real concerns. and work through those. Why July 4th? Well, the reality is the House of Representatives,

we've been working on this for a year and a half, for 18 months. When President Trump was sworn in, we had already been out this for the better part of a year. Speaker Johnson, Speaker McCarthy, they had set up task forces. And by and large, 85 to 90 percent of this bill is exactly what was passed in the House. The Senate obviously had the better part of a month to deal with it. We are now reconciling some of their changes. Lisa Murkowski, she did a great job. She helped rural America. She up that rural hospital fund from 25 billion to 50 billion as someone representing the state of Nebraska. That goes a long way in rural communities that need access to quality emergency health care. Sure, but if I may, you still have disagreement in the house. So all that

time leading up to it, why the July 4th deadline? Well, have you ever tried to get 222 of your friends to agree on anything? I have not, admittedly. This is the way that the place is designed. It's designed to do this. It's designed to let everybody come forward. Listen, I had a lot of issues with the bill in the House before we ever passed it, and I spent hours at the negotiating table, working on issues like salt, working on issues like Medicaid, you know, security, injunctions, things like that. We have been at the table. This is the process, and this is not going to age well. Americans need certainty. Americans need to know, are there taxes going to up? Are we going to have a federal estate tax exemption or not?

Is it going to get cut in half? These are the questions that we're getting asked by the Chamber of Commerce, by Main Street, by moms and dads trying to raise their children wondering, where's the child tax credit going to go? This provides answers, and I'm confident. We will get it done tonight, and the president will sign this at the White House on July 4th. Let me ask you, if I may, about the impact on people in Nebraska, because you mentioned that rural fund for hospitals, the $50 billion or so that were added on

after Lisa Murkowski's concerns, the head of your Nebraska Hospital Association said even with that fund, hospitals will have to cut services. A hospital in Northeast Nebraska, for example, she said having to close its labor and delivery unit. Her point is that with the number of people on Medicaid, with the income Medicaid provides, hospitals are getting 40 cents on every dollar from Medicaid,

and that funding loss has to be made up, likely passed on to people who are already paying for private insurance. So what do you say to folks in Nebraska about that? Well, I think some of the things we need to know about Nebraska is they just set up a provider tax system where Nebraska in the coming year is going to see a $1 billion increase in funds from the federal government. We have the state-directed payment system. We have a legislature that has kept up on Medicaid rates. Is it perfect? No. But in talking to the Hospital Association, I will tell you that they know they can live with this.

It isn't perfect, right? I'll do respect, Congressman. This is someone who yesterday said that they will have to make it. cuts to services based on the bell? Well, I talked to Jeremy Nordquist, who runs the Nebraska Hospital Association by Tex today, and he has assured me that they can make this work. They've got another $1 billion coming into all the hospitals in my home state. That's a lot of money for a state with two million people. Now, will there have to be decisions made about how to properly use that money? Do we have to make sure that we don't have waste, fraud, and abuse? Yes, but we're talking

about a system that is not getting shuttered, it is getting an increase. And, sir, somebody in one part of my state can say they have challenges, and I don't doubt that. But there's a lot of different reasons that those challenges come forward. And we have to also look at the fact that we're spending trillions of dollars in health care. There is not an unlimited supply of money. This is going to work out. Let me ask you, if I may, while I have you, about your fellow Nebraska, that's Congressman Don Bacon, who announced his retirement ahead of this vote. As you know, has been a vocal critic of the president and your party on certain issues from time to time. And earlier this year, he talked about how it is increasingly difficult to disagree,

not with Democrats, but with members of his own party. He was even primaried by someone who was backed by Trump loyalists in your states. Do you, Congressman, do you worry that there's no room in your party to disagree with the president anymore? You've never been to a Republican conference behind closed doors where this happens for the better part of an hour at least once or twice a week. Listen, the Republican Party is an extremely big tent. There are all sorts of different factions. I am the vice chairman of the Main Street Caucus. Don Bacon used to be the chairman of the Main Street Caucus.

We deal with people having disagreements every day. I served for six years as the Speaker of the Nation's only nonpartisan unicameral. I'm used to having different opinions in the rooms. I was at the White House today where several members of my own party were pushing the president on different issues and we talked it through. Dr. Oz was there. He explained where we're going on Medicaid. So, you know, I choose not to do it in front of the cameras.

I choose to do it in a room where I can actually solve a problem and deliver a result. Now, Don Bacon has been an excellent representative for the people of Nebraska. He's uniquely tailored and perfect for the district that he's in. He has served 30 years in the Air Force, 10 years in the house. The guy's got like eight or nine grandchildren. I think he's on his way to a wonderful second career after this, and I can't say enough good about him. Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska,

we always enjoy having you on the show. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for having me. And a quick note. We'll have a conversation with Congressman Ralph Norman, who's actually opposing the president's bill at this moment in a moment after the new summary. We start the day's other headlines in an Idaho courtroom where the alleged killer of four university students pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Brian Koberger admitted to the killings today in a reversal of his previous plea, part of a deal that spares him from the death penalty. The gruesome stabbings shook the University of Idaho community in 2022. Some relatives of the victims have been vocal critics of the plea deal. Under its terms, Coburger will serve four life sentences without the right to appeal. His official sentencing will be later this month. A federal judge has blocked President Trump's executive order that banned asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border. He's given the government two weeks time to appeal. In his 128-page opinion, D.C. District Judge Randolph Moss said Trump's rationale that the situation at the border constitutes an invasion does not allow him, quote,

an extra statutory, extra-regulatory regime for repatriating or removing individuals. Today's ruling and setback for the Trump administration comes as illegal border crossings have plummeted. U.S. Customs and Border Protection released new data today showing 25,000 border encounters for the month of June, which they say is a record low. Turning overseas, Ukraine is trying to regroup after the U.S. paused some weapons deliveries to protect its own stockpiles. I believe that the United States has become an unreliable partner.

In Kiev, residents expressed fear and disappointment after the American announcement. Ukrainian leader said they would push forward with plans to jointly produce weapons with European allies. Moscow has welcomed the news, saying less military aid to Ukraine would bring the end of the war sooner. Meanwhile, Russia continues to press Ukraine. on the battlefield. Among a number of strikes, an overnight attack on the southern city of Gerson damaged a hospital and wounded nine people. In the Middle East, both Israel and Hamas have stopped short of accepting a 60-day ceasefire proposal put forth by President Trump. But atop Israeli officials says they are, quote, serious about reaching a deal. Still, Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu today doubled down on his vow to, quote, eliminate Hamas. That was after Trump said Israel had agreed to the terms of the deal. For its part, Hamas insisted that any deal must bring a complete end to the war in Gaza, where scores of Palestinians, most of them civilians, have died in recent days from Israeli strikes. Every time they say the war is ending, the war is ending, they kill us. The death toll rises, and we lose more of our loved ones, our brothers, our cousins. If they wanted to end the war, it would have ended a long time ago. This war will not end, but it is the war that will end us.

Health officials in Gaza said another 40 people were killed in Israeli strikes since this morning. Among them, Marwan al-Sultan, a cardiologist and director of one of the largest hospitals in Gaza. Medical staff said six family members, including his wife, were also killed. In Europe, record-breaking temperatures and wildfires fueled by hot conditions have killed at least eight people and prompted health alerts and closures. in Spain two farmers were killed attempting to flee burning cropland from a blaze that's exploded in size there have been at least two heat-related deaths in France and more than 300 people were taken into emergency care from heat-related illnesses forecasters say the heat should peak midweek before it moves

east bringing unsafe temperatures to countries including Germany Austria and Belgium Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said he will be reincarnated in a chosen successor, ensuring that the Tibetan faith will continue, even as China increases its pressure on Tibetan culture. If it is about Lama's reincarnation, when all the followers have unanimously said that the reincarnation should continue, then it is obvious that it will come. No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter. last line was seen as a signal to Beijing to stay away from the process. China's government insists it alone has the authority to approve the next religious leader and that the next

Dalai Lama must come from Chinese-controlled Tibet. The soon-to-be 90-year-old Nobel Laureate once believed he could be the last person in the role. He's lived in exile in India ever since the Chinese crushed a Tibetan uprising more than six decades ago. Back here at home, Wisconsin's Supreme Court struck down the state's 176-year abortion ban today. The court's liberal majority ruled four to three that newer laws made the 19th century ban obsolete, quote, by enacting comprehensive legislation about virtually every aspect of abortion, including where, when, and how health care providers may lawfully perform abortions. Democrat-backed Judge Susan Crawford, who won a seat on the court in April after the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history,

has not been sworn in yet and was not part of today's ruling. And it was a mostly positive day on Wall Street today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched a small loss. While the NASDAQ rose by close to 1%, the S&P gained nearly a half percent, which sent it to a new all-time high. Still to come, on the news hour, we speak with a Nobel Peace Prize winner from Iran

about the aftermath of the U.S. strikes. Paramount agrees to a multi-million dollar settlement with the president over a six. 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. And Ghana struggles to fight diseases and poverty without vital U.S. foreign aid. This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein studio at WETA in Washington and in the west from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. While some House Republicans have gotten on board with the updated budget bill, others still have have concerns about the impact it will have on the national debt. Omna spoke earlier with Congressman Mike Flood, who supports the bill. Joining us now to discuss his opposition is Republican Congressman

Ralph Norman of South Carolina. Thanks for being with us, sir. Glad to be with you. So Republican House leaders spent the better part of the day trying to shore up support from Freedom Caucus members like yourself. President Trump invited you and your colleagues to the White House for direct talks. What came out of those conversations? Did they move the needle at all for you? First of all, President Trump was very gracious with his time. He told us some things we didn't know that were a reality, and he had his for us vote and others there to answer questions. And he's been doing that all day.

He spent about two hours with us, very uplifting. And, you know, we expressed our concerns and continued to do it throughout the day. I just left a meeting with about 20 who were meeting with his staff. And, you know, the ticking time. bomb is debt. And that's one of the questions we had. The other were the particulars, the Inflation Reduction

Act credits, which were a problem, the illegal aliens voting, the able-bodied Americans who chose not to work and getting a paycheck. All of that went into a great discussion that started early this morning with the speaker.

And we'll see how it goes, but the first step is getting everything on the and having questions answered. And I think in about another hour, the meeting should end, and then we'll see what the consensus is. I don't see it coming on the floor if it doesn't have the votes. So we'll see. The White House is trying to diffuse those deficit concerns you raised by focusing on growth. The president, I think it was yesterday, posted on social media that growth will make this one of the most successful pieces of legislation ever passed. Are you persuaded by that

optimism. And there's the other question of does the White House have their math right? Because the CBO projects growth over the next decade at a 1.8% rate. The White House is projecting it at a 2.8% rate. Well, in our reconciliation numbers we had, it's 2.6. I don't trust the CBO. At a budget meeting, they predicted that the influx of the illegals coming into this country under Biden was a pot net positive for the country. That's just not true. I trust the president with the tax cuts that are part of this reconciliation bill, no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, the rapid depreciation on equipment. He's bringing the industry in manufacturing back to this country.

And actually I think that probably we will exceed 2.6. I think the growth rate will be more like 2.8.30. Now weather is sustained over a long period of time. But he's putting everything in motion along with regulation cuts and other things. things that he is really focusing on to grow in the economy, and I think it will happen. So do you need to see future executive orders? Do you need to see follow-on legislation aimed at addressing your concerns? What's the specific path to getting UTS? Just what he's doing. I mean, he's answered questions on all of that, and it wasn't just the

time with President Trump. But on through the afternoon, he's made all of his staff available to, you know, for us to find out if this thing moves forward, you know, how is it going to play out. What role is he going to play? Because he's really implementing a lot of the things that are in the bill that we had problems with, which he answered. And now it's just up to us to get those who are still, you know, on the fence. And it's probably 50-50 still, but I think in another hour or so we'll have a lot of the questions answered. And I think there are a lot of people trying to work for keeping the momentum going and giving President Trump a win on this. And I was skeptical. I was one of the two that voted and the rules against it because we hadn't had the meetings that we've had.

And I see this as a pattern moving forward. This president will have as many meetings as it takes to make sure this country is moving forward. It starts with policies that hopefully are going to help that. On the matter of momentum in your conversation with the president, was he still pushing his July 4th deadline, this arbitrary deadline that he sent, knowing that the passage of time usually doesn't bode well for big pieces of legislation like this. You know, he wants that,

but now is it a line in the sand? He just wants to know it's moving forward. He just wants to answer every question and that's what he's good at. And if it, my impression, now, it's just my opinion from the meeting and, you know, just overall what President Trump has said,

if it goes into first of the week, I think he's fine. This is my opinion. Now, if it goes on three to four weeks? No, he's got a problem with that. But I don't think it's going to do that. I think we'll come to some conclusion, hopefully this afternoon, later today or in the morning. Beyond the questions about the process, the question here about the substance, because another major sticking point for some Republicans is Medicaid. The Senate bill proposes even deeper cuts to Medicaid than was in the bill that the House initially passed. And I saw this new Wall Street

journal analysis out today that found that the GOP now represents more Americans who rely on social safety net programs like Medicaid. So how do Republicans justify voting for legislation that significantly reduces Medicaid that your constituents rely on? I don't buy that conclusion. We're not cutting people off Medicaid. We're making changes for waste, fraud, and abuse. Now, should a illegal that did not come into this country legally get a check from the government? I would make the argument no. And documented immigrants already don't qualify for federally funded Medicaid. Well, they've ended up getting it, though.

They've been included under the bomb administration. They've gotten by. I don't care what the print says, they've gotten by with that. And so that's to close that loophole. The other thing is the F-map and the percentage that the states get. For every dollar the states put in, we get $9 back. That's money we don't have. So it's getting money to those who deserve it.

And so I reject the liberals who are saying that it's, you know, it's cuts. It's not cuts. It's writing a wrong that's been existing for a long period of time, and we're aiming to correct that. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said that the administrative hurdles, the work requirements, the having to submit paperwork every six months, that that could present a problem where people aren't able to do that, and they do fall off and don't get the Medicaid that they normally qualified. I-4? Well, the CBO office is the same office that said that the influx of the 15 million in this

country legally were a net positive to the economy. That's just not true. And any law is only as good as enforcement. And the Biden administration had no reason to enforce it. That's why do you think they were letting them in here from over 160 countries? The Trump administration has been in office, what now, for four months, five months, look what they've done. stop the flow, and now it's accountability, is the best word I know to describe it. And that

applies not just the agencies, but, you know, that's the purpose of the Doe's Commission. And Americans got a front row seat as to where their money was going, and I don't think they liked it. Well, the debate certainly continues. Congressman Ralph Northam of South Carolina, thanks for making time for us this evening. We appreciate it. My pleasure. Thank you. Do well. Lay today, a judge denied bail for music mogul, Sean Diddy Combs. That's after a New York jury this morning acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering charges,

but found him guilty of prostitution offenses. Combs faced up to life in prison if convicted on all charges. The jury found him not guilty of one count of racketeering conspiracy and two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, but convicted him of two. counts of using transportation to engage in prostitution. For more in this case and the verdict, we are joined now by former assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza. Thank you for being with us. Thanks for having me. So why was it so difficult to pin the more serious allegations,

the sex trafficking and RICO charges on combs? What did the jury have to weigh here? Well, in my experience, both as a prosecutor and in private practice, juries take their responsibilities very seriously. And these were serious charges, and they're going to follow the judge's instructions. And so here, what we saw is that the jury just could not find that the government had proved beyond a reasonable doubt as to those top counts, those charges and the elements of those crimes. And so particularly with racketeering, what was unusual in this case is we didn't see the government call a witness to say, I was part of the enterprise, this is what it looked like, this is how it worked, which is really a hallmark of most successful racketeering trials.

And then on the sex trafficking piece, I think really what we saw was the jury grappling with this question of coercion and seemingly being persuaded by the defense that text messages and the ongoing relationship with Sean Combs indicated that this was not, in fact, coercion. Well, what was your assessment of the defense strategy? here because they rested after just 30 minutes, no witnesses. The prosecution brought dozens of witnesses, as you know, with weeks of testimony. What did you make of it? You know, I think it was very interesting to contrast the defense with the prosecution in this case. And so what I think we saw from the defense was a very clear narrative beginning to end. And that's really important as a trial

lawyer. And so what we saw is from the start of opening, they had their themes. Their themes were this was consensual and there was government overreach here. And what the other thing that we really saw the defense do is they acknowledged the weaknesses of their case. So right at the outset, you heard them in opening statements say, you're not going to like my client. He did a lot of bad things. He's a domestic abuser. But what the government is charging him here with is wrong. They're basically charging him with sex trafficking and racketeering for being a bad guy. And that's not enough. And so what I think that what the defense did was they stuck to that very streamlined narrative throughout, whereas I think some of the weaknesses that we saw in the prosecution's case

was that they weren't fronting the weaknesses as much, which is really important to do in order to maintain credibility with the jury. And so sometimes you weren't hearing some of the worst evidence for the prosecution coming out until cross-examination. And you weren't seeing the prosecution armed jurors with talking points to go back into the jury room and say, this is why, despite the fact that we're seeing things that look counterintuitive, that doesn't mean that he didn't commit sex trafficking because this happens in many sex trafficking cases. And I think that was, you know, one of the big differences. And similarly, the prosecution bringing such a sprawling case where they had 34 witnesses, where they had numerous predicates beyond the sex

trafficking charges, I think could have backfired for the prosecution here. And I think we may have seen a different result if it had been a more narrowly focused trial. In the 30 seconds we have left, where do the possible sentencing outcomes here? So right now the government said that the guidelines are about five years. He could be looking at up to 10 years per man act count. That would be relatively unusual, but in federal court, the judge does have wide discretion and can consider uncharged conduct as well as even the conduct he was acquitted of. Former assistant U.S. attorney, Moira Penza, thank you for joining us this evening. Thank you for having me.

This PBS News Hour podcast is supported in part by Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Life sustains itself by cell division. So does cancer. Breast cancer cells multiply faster because of CDK-4-6 protein. But what if we could block those proteins and stop runaway cell division? To that end, Dana Farber laid the foundation for CDK-4-6 inhibitors, drugs designed to treat many advanced breast cancers. Dana Farber keeps finding new ways to outmaneuver cancer.

Learn more at Danafarber.org slash everywhere. Today, Iran announced it would suspend cooperation with the UN's nuclear watchdog, possibly preventing an independent review of the damage done to Iran's nuclear sites, and setting Washington and Tehran on a collision course. Iranian officials say they aren't closing the door to diplomacy, but say there are no plans for talks with the U.S. In the meantime, the Iranian government has launched a massive crackdown since the war with Israel, and the U.S. ended. The crackdown is ostensibly meant to find Israeli spies, but Nick Schifrin spoke

earlier today with an Iranian Nobel Peace laureate who describes a harsh stifling of all dissent. In Tehran today, the regime is stalking its enemies. Hundreds of arrests, alleged Israeli collaborators paraded on state TV, and checkpoints. around the country. In times like these, the Islamic Republic uses every tool at its disposal to intensify its repression of the Iranian people. For 30 years, Nargis Mohamedi has fought for democracy and human rights, and in 2023 won the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia.

She's banned from travel and has been repeatedly arrested. Most recently, she was held in Iran's notorious Avine prison and was released in December on House Arrest, where she spoke with us today. The Islamic Republic is now using the war with Israel as a pretext to intensify its crackdown. Israel's 12-day campaign against Iran facilitated by a massive intelligence penetration across society. And now Iran says it's hunting for Israeli spies and their weapons of choice. I witnessed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces in Tabor.

forces in Tehran, stopping cars and dumping all the passengers' belongings into the street, supposedly while searching for drones. It's an insult to the intelligence and dignity of the Iranian people. And Mohamedi says the regime is extending its repression of the Women's Life Freedom Movement launched following the 2022 death of Masa Amani in police custody after she was arrested for not wearing a headscarf. Over the past few days, I've received reports that even women sitting quietly in cafes, wearing headscarves, but not full veils, were confronted by armed guards who stood over them and ordered them to cover more fully.

This shows that the Islamic Republic is now using this opportunity to intensify its campaign against women. Civil society activists, especially women's rights defenders and media figures, are under intense pressure. Many have been summoned for questioning, visited by security forces. their families and lawyers have no information about their whereabouts. The regime claims it is cracking down on spies, but in reality, it's suppressing the democratic movement.

Human rights groups say since Israel attacked on June 13th, Iran has executed at least six people for spying for Israel. And Iran's parliament fast-tracked a bill that would allow punishing espionage or cooperation with hostile governments with the death penalty. If enacted, it will dramatically expand the scope and frequency of executions in Iran. We're likely to see more prisoners placed on death row. The consequences of this law will be extremely severe.

On June 23rd, Israel targeted Avian prison. Iranian authorities said more than 70 were killed inside. Many political prisoners were evacuated. After the bombing, it was the Islamic Republic's security and military forces that imposed harsh measures on the prisoners. They were handcuffed, blindfolded, and placed under heavy guard, with snipers watching over them. Overnight, they were taken out and transferred under extreme security conditions to some of the worst prisons in the country. And what are the conditions that those prisoners face today since they've been moved? The women were taken to Garchuk

prison, where I spent several months. I know firsthand how tolerable the conditions are there. There are no proper health care facilities. Their situation is deeply alarming. There isn't even safe drinking water available. I've received very disturbing reports about the men who were transferred to the greater Tehran prison. There's no access to clean drinking water. We fear that prisoners could die from lack of water, food, and medical care. Over the 12-day war with Israel, Iranian authorities now say nearly 1,000 people died. Many more were wounded. In general, how are Iranians coping today? After the 12-day war, the Islamic Republic did nothing to improve the lives of the people,

despite the immense suffering they endured. The regime shows no real concern for the public's hardship. Instead, it continues to expose people to even greater repression. During the 12-day war, I was in Tehran. The city was under attack day and night, and we had no refuge. The internet was cut off and we lost contact with many of our friends and even with our families. We were caught between two fronts, the Islamic Republic's long-standing war against the Iranian people and a military conflict with Israel. Yet despite all this, the Iranian people continue to demand peace, prosperity, development, freedom, and democracy, carried out through the will and agency of the Iranian people.

An Iranian will that in the past has demanded democracy but is now handcuffed. For the PBS News Hour, I'm Nick Schiffran. Paramount has agreed to pay Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over a 60-minute interview with his former presidential opponent, Kamala Harris. 60 Minutes airs on CBS, which Paramount owns. Mr. Trump alleged that the interview, which aired one month before the 2024 election, was selectively edited to improve how then Vice President Harris sounded. CBS denied that.

Today, the head of CBS, George Cheeks, defended the settlement at Paramount's annual shareholder meeting, saying, quote, the settlement offers a negotiated resolution to allow companies to focus on their core objectives, rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction. Paramount said the funds will go to President Trump's library, not to him personally. CBS did not have to issue an apology as part of the deal. For more on this, I'm joined by Brian Stelter. He's the chief media analyst for CNN, and he writes the reliable sources newsletter. Brian, welcome back to the NewsHour.

Thanks so much. So, Brian, this is not the first major media company to settle with President Trump. You've been following this, though. Did anything in this settlement or its terms surprise you? Well, CBS did not actually do anything wrong here. CBS engaged in standard television news editing practices, but its parent company paid the price anyway, with some people likening this to a ransom or even a bribe. The terms are not surprising because, as you said, Paramount's not the first company to do this. Disney's ABC in some ways

wrote the playbook that Paramount is now relying on because last December, when Trump was still president-elect, ABC settled with Trump out of court to the tune of $16 million. So here we are again with $16 million heading toward Trump's presidential library. The big difference in this case is that Paramount is trying to get a merger approved by the Trump administration. And that is why the word bribe has come up with Democratic senators wondering if this was a bribe to try to get the Trump administration to approve the deal. Paramount says no.

Trump's FCC says no, but a lot of outside analysts believe that is the case. Brian, I want to underscore this point you're making that it is standard journal to edit interviews for length, for clarity, for a number of editorial reasons. Is it clear that Paramount would have lost this suit if they'd continued to fight? To the contrary, Paramount likely would have prevailed. But Trump filed this lawsuit before winning re-election in a court in Texas that in some ways was very favorable to him. I've spoken with numerous legal experts who said that CBS had a very strong First Amendment

case, but there were ways this could have gone sideways for CBS. given the jurisdiction of the case, and given the uncertainty of going up against a presidential litigant. I mean, this is a very unusual situation. I know in 2025, this seems normal now, but up until this year, this is incredibly abnormal to have a sitting president suing a television network trying to strike a settlement deal, maybe asking for an apology, which CBS refused to provide. This is a situation where I think we're all getting accustomed to how transactional this president can be. And now we will see what happens.

Will the Trump administration approve Paramount's deal with Skydance? Will there be other terms or conditions attached to that merger approval? That's the great unknown. Well, as the lawsuit was unfolding and there were reports about mediation between Paramount Head, Sherry Redstone, and Trump's team, there were also accusations from CBS journalists that Paramount leadership was meddling in their crime. coverage of President Trump. We saw a long-time 60-minute producer Bill Owens leave under pressure.

In April, we saw the head of CBS News, Wendy McMahon, leave in May. What are you hearing from inside CBS News, from inside 60 minutes about the settlement? A mixture of outrage and anger about the settlement, but also a sense of resignation because this was in the works for months. Some people thought the dollar amount would actually be higher than it ultimately was. And also among some staffers today, a sense of relief that this chapter is over. Yes, corporate priorities trumped journalistic principles in this case. But for all the criticism of Paramount and Boss Sherry Redstone, 60 Minutes did broadcast all the stories that wanted to broadcast last spring. You know, the stories were not cut. So what we are seeing is this tug of war that's taking place. The journalist

of CBS wanted their company to fight, you know, to defend them, to go to court if they had to in order to defend the reputation of CBS. The parent company decided to fold by settling. So, Brian, what's the bigger impact here? I mean, I'm going to put to you part of a statement from Jody Ginsburg, who's the head of the committee to protect journalists. She said CBS caved to groundless threats here. She also said that this signals that the current administration,

as well as any future administrations, can interfere with or influence editorial decisions. You had ABC News settle. You've now had CBS settle. Is there a larger concern about, press freedom here? There is, because the public needs and wants independent, impartial journalism. And for the most part, that's what Americans are getting.

Despite all of Trump's threats, despite his lawsuits, and despite his other attempts to crack down on a free press, the news is getting out. And Americans, by and large, are still well informed about what's going on with this administration. But the reason why legal experts I spoke with today and press freedom advocates today have been using words like authoritarianism is because they're worried about the Democratic backsliding that this might represent. If a president can sue a media outlet and tie it up in knots legally in court, if a president can convince a media outlet to pay tens of millions of dollars

in settlements in order to avoid a protracted dispute, that is an unsettling path forward for the American news media. Brian Stelter, chief media analyst for CNN and the man behind the reliable sources newsletter. Great to speak with you. Thank you. Thanks. We return now to our periodic look at the consequences of the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID, which was gutted earlier this year and officially closed yesterday. As we reported, a new study in the British medical journal, The Lancet, suggests that cuts to USAID could result in the deaths of 14 million people over the next five years. William Brangham joins us now. So William yesterday, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he laid out a more full critique of USAID,

explaining why the administration is eliminating the agency and absorbing some of its work into the State Department. What was his core argument? He reiterated what he's said before, which is that USAID was spending taxpayer money in an ineffective and wasteful way. He said it created an NGO industrial complex, that it was creating dependency in these nations,

that were getting aid and not resilience. I mean, perhaps most strikingly, Rubio said that over the years, USAID had done no real good, despite even that Lancet study that you just cited, it estimated that USAID has saved 90 million lives. It's also worth remembering that when Rubio was Senator Rubio, he was a big champion of USAID. He argued that it was a way of expressing American values, that it shored up American security.

but in this administration, he has a different position. Yesterday, he wrote this. USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War. Development objectives have rarely been met. Instability has often worsened, and anti-American sentiment has only grown. And so he said, as of yesterday, that USAID is shuttered. And in looking at the impact of these cuts,

your first report examined the effect on HIV care in one particular part of Kenya. Your report tonight is focused on Ghana. Why there? Ghana, for years, has been held up as a beacon of democracy and good government in West Africa. But it also struggles with poverty and some very serious health issues, especially in the north. Ghana also sits in an area that is deeply troubled. It's surrounded by Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, nations that all have a very serious Islamic insurgency going on there. As Senator Rubio used to argue, if USAID can shore up a nation and make sure that people don't die, that kids can go to school, those people might be resistant to Islamic insurgencies and anti-American messaging.

And this was what he used to argue, that this was part of USAID's soft power. And so producer Molly Knight Raskin and I went to Ghana to try to give our viewers a little vignette of the kind of work that USAID used to do and what it might mean for people. when it goes away. Good morning. Haruna Amina is in the early stages of labor. She traveled hours by motorbike to get to this small clinic in the town of Tamale in northern Ghana. This clinic, along with hundreds like it, was supported by USAID. Even though the care here is rudimentary, it's life-saving.

Pregnant women in this region weren't dying nearly as often. But now, USAID's withdrawal threatens that progress. Midwife Letitia Didera is already running short of critical medications. USA used to help us. They used to, like the drugs for pregnant women, they were supplied. But these days it's hard to come by them. No other donor provides us much support to the health system like USAID does. Cupid-Adumbira is a senior program manager in Ghana for Jepigo, a global non-profit that's worked alongside USAID for five decades.

He says pregnant women here face so many challenges, and for years, the few trained medical workers were spread thin and barely had enough supplies. You give birth to an asphyxated baby. I cannot breathe. You just need a small ambu bag to resource. the baby is not available. Such a simple thing. Such a simple thing. And to transport babies through that hot sun for two hours, a newborn on a motorbike for two hours, you are basically killing the child before getting to the hospital.

And that's a reality we face. Most of USAID's support here was to avoid tragedies like this, recently investing $70 million to expand the quality and coverage of health care, with the goal of moving Ghana closer to self-reliance. It's been run by a bunch of radical lunatics, and we're getting them out. But the Trump administration has argued that USAID's work was ineffective and corrupt, and it canceled at least 80 percent of its work here in Ghana and globally. Ghana's newly elected president, John Mahama, said these cuts will fall hard on Ghana, but

But also warned that America's soft power influence will suffer. USAID is a well-known brand of America, and it intervenes in very critical areas. And so if America decides that it doesn't want to intervene in those areas, it is possible that other countries might decide to fill that gap. News of USAID's pullback from Ghana has spread quickly. Local Assemblyman Abdul Fata Oya hears about it daily. I was kind of, is this fake news or is coming from an authentic source? You thought it was fake news?

Oh, yes, that was my first thought. I sat glued to my television to listening to news. TV says that Trump has cut to African countries. I was kind of like, whoa. Fata's district relied on USAID's support for many different projects. A key one, clean water, sanitation. Fatah says the 4,000 people in his district have just one communal working toilet. And with waste ending up in the drinking water, disease spreads. So most of the

children that mothers are bringing here, full of their malnutrition and other waterborne diseases. And it's not just those diseases. Malaria, which kills more than half a million people in Africa every year, is endemic in Ghana and worse here in the north. And a new breed of insecticide resistant mosquito has spread to Ghana. USAID funds to track it were also cut. Malira is a very deadly disease. Adam Camel and his colleague Shuhunyi Khadija are nurses at another northern clinic struggling with USAID's withdrawal.

A typical example is the distribution of this bed net to pregnant women. Despite State Department waivers, saying that so-called life-saving medicines and supplies are still being provided, are still being provided, the clinic's regular influx of malaria bed nets, vaccines and anti-malarial drugs have slowed. Kamal says a resurgence of malaria will fall hardest on mothers and children. So malaria easily kills children under five as compared to a healthy adult person. And if a pregnant woman also contracts malaria, her immunity during pregnancy is very compromised.

It can even cause still beds, low birth weight, a whole lot, anemia, a whole lot of complications can set in. The next time I came, that it has finished. Abbas Adama is one of those pregnant moms at risk. With her young son on her back, she traveled two hours to get to a different clinic for malaria medications, but they're gone. So when you came before, you were able to get malaria medications, but now you cannot. It has finished.

Nothing. and they see nothing, everything has finished here. Adama says malaria has sent her son to the hospital four times already. To the hospital? But he's only two years old? Yes, two years. That's a lot for a little boy to have to deal with. Through the course of our reporting, we have tried to talk with anyone at USAID,

from Washington, D.C. to here in Ghana. And no one has been willing to go on the record and speak with us on camera. And the State Department has prohibited anyone from speaking to speaking to the press. Those staffers who have shared their concerns with us privately describe feelings of betrayal and anger and frustration, plus their conviction that these cuts will cost lives. Experts who worked alongside USAID argue it not only helped tamp down malaria here in Ghana, but more broadly, it also kept it and other infectious diseases from coming to America. If we are able to prevent pandemics, it's a global good. So it's important to use

your money for U.S. citizens, but it's also important to note that COVID didn't come from U.S. came from China, and it caused the whole world to stand still. So just tackling health care internally alone, it's not enough. Any infection that you can pick from Ghana as an American citizen, you take it back there. Or a little mosquito on the plane. Mosquito on the plane. Now more than ever, it's easier to transmit disease across the globe within a day.

As USAID's support has withered, Assemblyman Fata has struggled to explain what this means to his constituents. You see, it's just like breastfeeding a baby, and all of a sudden, you just work up and decide that today you are not sucking breast milk again. So you can imagine what would be the same.

What would be the state of the world? The child. So actually it wasn't... The child would be starving. Exactly. Abbasidama is making the two-hour trek back home empty-handed. She and her husband are farmers. They sleep outside on the ground.

With the start of the rainy season and its inevitable surge of new mosquitoes, she hopes her unborn child will make it unscathed. For the PBS News Hour, I'm William Brangham in northern Ghana. And that is the News Hour for tonight. And I'm Jeff Bennett. And I'm Amna Nawaz. On behalf of the entire NewsHour team, thank you for joining us.