PBS News Hour - Full Show - March 4, 2026 - PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: March 5, 2026

Wednesday on the News Hour, the death toll from the war against Iran rises and the U.S. pledges to strike deeper into Iranian territory. Lebanon's government and its civilians are caught in the middle of the war that has reignited between Israel and Hezbollah. Plus, the results from primary elections in key states start to shape the midterm matchups for this November. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Good evening. I'm Jeff Bennett. I'm the Navaz is away. On the news hour tonight, the death toll from the war against Iran rises, and the U.S. pledges to strike deeper into Iranian territory. Lebanon's government and its civilians are caught in the middle of the war that's reignited between Israel and Hezbollah. Nobody is looking out for us. Nobody answers when we try to call. And the results from primary elections in key states, including Texas, start. to shape the midterm matchups for this November. Welcome to the News Hour. The U.S. Defense Secretary said today that the war with Iran has only just begun, and the war expanded once again.

Iran for the first time fired a drone into NATO territory, and the U.S. used a torpedo fired by a submarine to sink a warship for the first time since World War II. The U.S. says it has struck more than 2,000 targets. Iran's health ministry says more than 920 people there have. have been killed. Our Nick Schiffran starts our coverage. Today, Tehran woke to terrifying booms that engulfed the night sky in flames. By day, the Capitol's Revolutionary Square battered, many buildings, broken, and structures

shattered as rescue workers prayed for the dead. Monira Tehrani cannot believe what she's seen. I hope this ends sooner, and so many people won't be killed anymore. We are punching them while they're down, which is exactly how it should be. In Washington, Pentagon leaders said U.S. strikes had so far focused on Iran's ballistic missile infrastructure and drones in Iran's west and northwest. And U.S. strikes will soon spread deeper into Iran now that the U.S. has more control over Iran's skies.

We will now begin to expand inland, striking progressively deeper into Iranian territory. And the U.S. expanded the war zone today with an event not seen in more than 80 years. A submarine's torpedo sunk the Iranian warship, Iris Dena, off the coast of Sri Lanka. The ship was returning home from an exercise hosted by India. Sri Lankan authorities rescued 32 sailors and recovered nearly 100 bodies, with dozens still missing. In total, the U.S. says it has sunk 20 Iranian ships. And today, Israel said it continues to attack Iran's military, including internal security services and leadership.

In southern Iran, the war has trapped civilians. At this hospital, the Iranian Red Crescent showed a neonatal ward whose ceiling was damaged. Medical staff evacuated premature babies. Outside Tehran University, Iranians remembered assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and the bloodstained belongings of more than 100 killed schoolgirls, an attack that the U.S. says it is still investigating. The system does not depend on one person. If one leader is absent, there will be thousands of others.

And Iran's resistance has included firing more than 2,500 missiles and drones, although the U.S. today said these missile launches have recently reduced by 23 percent. Today, for the first time, one targeted NATO. Turkey said air defense shot down an Iranian missile in the country's south. Many of Iran's targets are Arab Gulf energy facilities, including this Emirati oil industry zone today covered in flames and thick smoke. Iran's president wrote directly to Arab governments today saying, quote, the American Zionist military attack has left us no choice but to defend ourselves.

We respect your sovereignty and still believe that the region's peace must be ensured by the countries of the region. We're not at war right now. On Capitol Hill, Iran has sparked a divide a long party and over nomenclature. We had ensured that they can't fire all those barrage of missiles at our people, our troops, our assets, our citizens in the region and our installations. We're taking that out. We had to. It's a defensive operation.

This afternoon, the Senate rejected a bill that would have demanded congressional approval before further attacks. But some Republicans are voicing concerns if those attacks continue. I will be a no for now, but if this thing goes beyond a few weeks, I'm going to have a lot more concerns. The war's first American fatalities, reservist assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command out of Des Moines, Iowa. They work behind the lines in logistics, killed when their reportedly unreinforced building in Kuwait was hit by an Iranian drone. 39-year-old sergeant first class, Nicola Moore, 25-year-old Captain Cody Cork. 42-year-old sergeant first class, Noah Teigen's, and Sergeant Declan Cody, whose family says he was considering extending his deployment to Kuwait because he found the work hard but

rewarding. Andrew is Declan's father. One thing he did say is that, you know, I haven't had a lot of jobs, but I've had jobs in the civilian world. And I've been over here for six months, and I worked 12-plus hour days. I work six to seven days a week. And he goes, I love it. This was the morning before we dropped him off for him to leave.

Kira is Declan's older sister. He's 20. He was going to be 21 in two months. I just really wish I got to tell him I love him one more time because he was just so amazing. I can't hope but think. He was my little brother and he was probably really scared even if he didn't want people to know.

And so I just wish he got to know one more time that we all loved him because he was so amazing and kind. Kira said Andrew was the best little brother she could have had. Just one family, Jeff, of the six Americans killed so far in this war since Saturday. Our hearts certainly go out to all of those families. Nick, we have spoken on this broadcast over the last couple of days about the effort to evacuate Americans from the region. How is that progressing? The State Department said today that 17,500 Americans had returned from the Middle East,

about 6,500 of them thanks to State Department efforts. U.S. officials say that most have left on commercial flights, some of them have left on charter flights, and also U.S. arranged ground transport to cities where the airports aren't closed, as we've been talking about, many cities across the region. Those airports are closed. And this morning, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, also said the military had opened up seats on transport and other planes when those seats had become available. But we've spoken to former officials, a retired three-star who was in the region when the war started. I spoke to a former ambassador. Both of them criticized the Trump administration for not handling this sooner, not evacuating people

perhaps three, four, five days before the war started. President Trump was asked that question just yesterday. He said that the war started too quickly, and there was just simply no time to be able to evacuate people early. There's also been criticism that the message played on the phone number for American citizens to call yesterday said, please do not rely on the U.S. government for his assisted departure. Today, the State Department updated that message so people can actually talk to actual human beings to help them out. And at this point, this is the guidance that the

State Department is giving. You can see this on the traffic right here. U.S. citizens need to register with the State Department. They have to follow the State Department via WhatsApp and call this number. 202-501-44-4. That's the number at the bottom. Jeff, that's because you have to make that call because until people actually register or tell the State Department where they are, the Department simply doesn't know how many people need to get out and how. Nick Schifrin, thanks as always for your reporting. Thank you. Let's turn now to NewsHour Special Correspondent Rezaea in Tehran. It's good to see you. So what did it look like today in Tehran? Bring us up to speed.

More air strikes, more air raids in the capital, Tehran on this fifth day of this war. Some of those airstrikes taking place right over my left shoulder that's northern Tehran earlier in the day to my left. Eastern Tehran, and that's where you had that same sequence that we're so used to. You hear jet fighters going up above a few seconds later. You hear loud explosions and thick blooms of smoke. It is these airstrikes, these explosions that are chasing away many Iranians from this massive city. My guess is millions of people have left the city, fled the city to get to somewhere, another city that's not being pounded by bombs.

Israeli officials, U.S. officials continue to say they're hitting military targets mostly, but they also acknowledge hitting police stations and government buildings. And oftentimes, around those buildings, you have residential areas, residential apartments, and again today. We saw more gruesome, heartbreaking pictures of civilians injured being pulled out of the rubble and the death toll, according to the Red Crescent's Rescue and Aid Group here in Iran has eclipsed a thousand people. What more can you tell us about the response? What Tehran muses is a bluster. They understand that in this war, there's going to be a lot of bluster from Washington, and they dismiss it. They have their own bluster. They say they're the

ones that are inflicting pain. And as far as claims that their command center has been destroyed, remember Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Arabs, he said they're operating without a command center, and they've activated what they're calling a decentralized mosaic defense. This is a military strategy, according to Tehran, where there's no central command, where forces in each province, each area, is given autonomy and independence to fight their own war. That means if one of them is neutralized, the other forces in different provinces continue to fight, and that could explain why Iran has successfully fired off so many missiles, so many drone, something the U.S. is trying to neutralize.

Meantime, Reza, the CIA has reportedly contacted armed Kurdish separatist groups in Iraq suggesting that they may be preparing to join the army in the fight against Iran. Any reaction from Tehran? Iran is aware of it. They've acknowledged the reports. Remember, even before the reports, you had U.S. and Israeli air strikes hitting border forces in Iran, suggesting that they're softening the border in preparation for something. like this to happen. But this has been a long-running threat for Iran, and that's why over the past

24 hours, they've increased their missile strikes and drone attacks, targeting those separatist groups in Iraq. But if indeed this happens, if they cross the border that opens up a new front in this war, it's more of an escalation, and it's very likely that Iran is going to deploy more forces, more revolutionary guard forces, if they haven't already. Reza Seya, reporting tonight from Tehran. Reza, thank you. Now to Lebanon, Israel continued waves of heavy airstrikes in the capital, Beirut, after Hezbollah began firing on Israel earlier this week in support of its patron, Iran.

Nearly 85,000 people in the city have been displaced already, according to the government of Lebanon. The Israeli military has started a ground incursion into southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah chief Naim Qasem said that the group, quote, will not surrender no matter the sacrifices. Special correspondent, Simone Fultein, met with the people fleeing the bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs and sent us this report. The war has returned to Beirut, with civilians once again bearing the brunt. Tens of thousands have run from Israel's punishing bombing campaign, many seeking safety in schools,

repurposed into shelters. Rima Shahin fled Beirut's southern suburbs in the middle of the night, with her husband, two children, and her two-year-old granddaughter Matilda, still dressed in her pink pajamas. They left everything behind. We were bombed without any warning. It was three in the morning. We didn't take any clothes or anything else. We just grabbed the girl and some milk and diapers, and we left. Rima supports Hezbollah's decision to re-enter the war. For more than a year, the Iran-backed group had largely complied with a ceasefire agreed in November 2020.

showing restraint even as Israel committed daily violations. We respected the ceasefire for a year and a half. Israel didn't. Israel does what it wants. They attack every day as they please. Hezbollah's supporters felt the situation was untenable. The situation in the South was bad, but we were also not doing well. There was no work. When your children leave the house, you worry they won't come back. Even for us in Beirut, This was not a safe way to live. Hezbollah was weekend after the last round of fighting. Much of its weaponry was destroyed in Israeli strikes or later confiscated by the Lebanese army.

Many hoped it would sit this war out. But Hezbollah resumed its operations on Sunday to support Iran, claiming responsibility in videos like these for targeting military installations in Israel. These attacks have inflicted little to no damage, while Israel's response. has been devastating. Fighter jets have pummeled residential areas, and on Wednesday the IDF issued a blanket forced evacuation order for all of Lebanon's self as it began a fresh ground incursion. The Lebanese government has been powerless to stop the spiral of violence.

In a last-ditch effort to force Hezbollah to stand down, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced an unprecedented cabinet decision. The Lebanese government calls for the immediate banning of all of Hezbollah's security and military activities as it is considered against the law to give up its weapons to the Lebanese state. But Hezbollah has ignored the government and the whole country is paying the price. In Beirut, Israeli strikes have spread beyond Hezbollah's areas of influence. This residential apartment building was targeted in an Israeli strike on Monday evening.

Around the time when people were breaking their fast, and it happened without a warning. Now, this is a pretty affluent neighborhood. We're pretty close to the Mediterranean Sea, and it's not typically considered a Hezbollah stronghold. There is no military infrastructure here, although some Hezbollah members do reside here, and we can see that Hezbollah personnel

have now secured the strike location, and I spoke to one of the guards here who told me that in total six people were killed in this strike, one of whom was a member of Hezbollah, and five of the victims were reportedly civilians, including children. Now, we can't independently verify that information, but what we do know is that in the wake of this attack, many civilians fled this area in fear of additional strikes.

Many of the displaced are struggling to find a place to sleep. This family has been camping out in Beirut's Martyr Square for two nights. No roof over their heads, only blankets to shield them from the cold. Nobody is looking out for us. Nobody answers when we try to call. May God help us find a place, a school, a house. Whoever we ask doesn't have space, and we don't have the money to run a place. Even among Hezbollah's constituents, dismay is growing, though few dare to state it explicitly.

Ahmed says his family can't withstand another round of displacement. The people are tired. It's impossible. This is the second time we've been displaced. There is growing consensus among Lebanon's population that this country has nothing to gain and everything to lose from this war. For the PBS News Hour, I'm Simone Fultin in Beirut. For perspective on how Congress is weighing the unfolding situation in the Middle East, we're

joined now by Republican Senator Katie Britt of Alabama. Senator Britt, welcome to the program. Thank you, Jeff. I appreciate all having me. The Senate this evening rejected a war powers resolution that would limit the president's ability to strike in Iran. It would require congressional approval. What about that did you find objectionable? Look, the president has the authority under Article 2 to conduct the strikes that he is executing right now.

The president's mission has been well laid out. He wants to make sure that we keep Americans safe and secure, that we ultimately destroy Iran's military, their missile capability, the ability to manufacture those, also their naval fleet, and any ability to regain or reconstitute nuclear enrichment. When we're looking at bad actors across the world, Iran has been at the top of that list. So allowing the president to finish the mission that was begun, I think, is critically important. We've seen this authority be given to presidents, certainly over my lifetime, and I, for one, am proud that the president continues to put Americans front of the president. center. When you say finish the mission, at what point do you believe Congress should have a formal

vote on this conflict? Well, the president will have a number of days to obviously complete this. He's laid out that it'll take a little bit of time to be able to do that, but that we are well ahead of schedule of where they plan to be. So the president, not only with the number of their military leaders and obviously the Ayatollah that have been taken out, but their number of munitions, missile capabilities and capacity that has already been diminished. So I think they've got a plan in place to finish the job. It will not be done overnight, but we'll certainly hopefully conclude in the weeks ahead. There are no plans at this point to put boots on the ground,

and the president obviously wants the safety and security of our troops to be of paramount importance. And certainly our heart is broken, and our prayers go out. out to the family of those who have already lost loved ones. We know that their selfless sacrifice ultimately are going to keep Americans safe both in the region and here at home. A question about that, because regime change in the Middle East has often produced instability. History shows that conflicts with Iran can escalate quickly through proxies.

How confident are you that the U.S. won't be pulled into a broader regional war? Look, the president has made it very clear. He is going to make sure that we actually achieve peace through strength again. For over 47 years, we've had leaders that looked the other way or tried to placate the regime. And what happened is they enriched it. We look at what happened to the Iranian people, not only the conditions in which they were living, but also the 30,000 Iranians that were slaughtered just by this Ayatollah that we know

about. It is clear that now was the time to act. The president knew, given what happened in the previous administration, the lack sanctions when you even go back before that with President Obama and the JCPOA, that this regime utilized that funding to build up their military capabilities that ultimately put people there in the region on our military bases and obviously our allies, but even has the ability to put people here at home at risk. And so I feel confident that the president will continue to make decisive decisions that he is committed to making sure that we finish the job and do it thoroughly and as quickly

as possible. So I know that one other thing that is important is that when he says he's going to do something, Jeff, he follows through with it. He gave Iran an opportunity to come to the table, to make the right decisions, to move it forward. But gone are the days that we're going to look the other way at the expense of American citizens. We've seen that with securing our border. We have seen that with making sure that we actually halt fentanyl and halt that movement throughout our country. And the president means it when it comes to the largest state sponsor of terrorism, which is Iran, the actual head of the snake. The Ayatollah is now gone. We need to make sure that their proxies do not have the funding or the resources or the equipment to be able to hurt

Americans in the region or here at home. Given, though, that the Constitution gives Congress the authority to declare war, if Congress doesn't debate or take a vote on this conflict in particular, how are you and your colleagues fulfilling your roles as representatives of the public on a decision as consequential as war, especially when six and ten Americans, according to a new CNN poll, say they disapprove of the strikes in Iran? My question would be then how did President Obama do it and how did President Biden do it? When you are creating strikes from the air and you're taking out other people's capabilities,

we've seen parties and I actually have seen clips of Nancy Pelosi telling us that it is absolutely well within Barack Obama's constitutional authority to be able to carry out those strikes and carry them out for a number of days. So at this point in time, we have air strikes that are targeted at various targets throughout Iran. We have a mission that's been set in front of the American people, and I have full confidence in President Trump and Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegsef, to finish that mission. Now, if there is a different change of events that occurs, I feel confident in our ability here in the Senate to have those kinds of conversations that need to be had,

and I think that we're certainly all up to that task. Meantime, the Department of Homeland Security, as you well know, remains partially unfunded amid negotiations over immigration enforcement policies. You've said that you have reengaged in negotiations with Democrats. What concrete progress has been made toward ending this partial shutdown? Yeah, and I would say, look, when it comes to the Department of Homeland Security, it is not just a partial shutdown. It is a complete shutdown with regards to us not doing our job.

So I think it's imperative that we come back to the table. What we've seen over the last 18 days is conversations between the minority leaders' office and the White House. At this point in time, I think it is time for members who were elected by the people in their states that stood up and said, yes, I want to serve, yes, I want to get in a room and have tough conversations to actually do that. I think there's absolutely a pathway forward here, but there's not ever going to be one if we're not having conversations.

So I've re-engaged with conversations with my Democratic colleagues. Other Republicans have been doing the same thing. But I think at this point in time where you have a heightened threat environment here in our interior, it is of the utmost importance that the people whose job and mission it is

to keep Americans safe here at home are not worrying about financial insecurity, but rather are receiving a paycheck, that the mission is fully funded and that we put the safety and security of Americans before politics. and that's certainly what I'm trying to do. Republican Senator Katie Britt.

Thanks for joining us this evening. Thanks so much, Jeff. I appreciate it. The midterm elections kicked off in earnest with contests in Texas, North Carolina, and Arkansas yesterday. There was some confusion at the polls and the results led to sharp words,

a few upsets, and more questions about the election still to come. A late night turned into an early morning in Texas. We are not just trying to win an election. We are trying to fight. fundamentally change our politics. And it's working. State Representative James Talariko won a hard-fought Democratic primary to be the party's

Senate candidate in November. Tonight, the people of our state gave this country a little bit of hope. And a little bit of hope is a dangerous state. Defeating Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who sent her supporters home early after a day of turmoil at the polls. I have no idea of when we're going to get results. and I fully anticipate it won't be until tomorrow. Rule changes in one of the state's most populous counties

led to confusion about where voters should cast a ballot. A judge extended voting by two hours, but the state Supreme Court quickly stepped in to block the ruling, instead ordering late votes to be separated out and leaving questions about if they'll be counted at all. Crockett conceded this morning, and Tolariko now turns his attention to November, hoping to be the first Democratic senator elected from Texas,

in nearly 40 years. But who he'll face is still unknown. We were on to the runoff. As the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history heads to a runoff. Republican incumbent John Cornyn running for a fifth term is in the political fight of his career,

narrowly leading Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton risk everything we've worked so hard to build over these many years. There is simply too much at stake. Paxton, the MAGA-aligned, scandal-ridden fighter who has challenged Democratic policies in court turned his focus to his primary opponent.

After all the personal attacks, which there were many, and after all the lies, you listen to what John Cornyn was selling and you weren't buying it. The deeply personal battle will only intensify with a new onslaught of spending and efforts to gain President Trump's endorsement before Republican voters returned to the polls in May. Across Texas, newly drawn congressional maps led to some big changes. Republican Dan Crenshaw is the first incumbent congressman ousted this midterm year, losing to state rep Steve Tooth. That was the White House.

We should as well. In a test of strength for the president's MAGA movement, Crenshaw was the only incumbent in the state without Mr. Trump's endorsement. current lawmakers were forced into runoffs, including embattled Republican Tony Gonzalez, facing scrutiny after an alleged affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. A newly launched ethics subcommittee will investigate any potential wrongdoing. Gonzalez will face gun manufacturer and YouTube star Brandon Herrera in a district that includes Yvaldi. Democratic Congresswoman Julie Johnson and former Congressman Colin Allred will compete for a safe blue Dallas area seat.

are in first place tonight. For two Democratic incumbents competing in the same district, a tight race remains undecided. Freshman Christian Menafee, in office for just over a month, holds a narrow lead over 11-term Congressman Al Green in Houston. But neither has reached the 50 percent threshold to avoid a runoff. Meant, a potential recount in the state's bluest congressional district, with Democratic incumbent Valerie Fushi leading her challenger by just 1,200 votes. And in the closely watched Senate race, both parties had all but cleared the field for their preferred candidates to fill the seat of retiring Republican Tom Tillis.

Michael Watley, the former GOP chair, promised to stand side by side with the Trump White House. This election is bigger than a primary. This election is a choice. A choice between a conservative champion for North Carolina who will be an ally for President Trump in the Senate or a champion for the failed policy. of the left. While former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper made his pitch to moderate voters. I'll be a strong, independent senator who will work with this president when I can and stand up to him when the people need me to. I will always, always put the people of North Carolina first, before politics, before party.

All setting up a high-stakes showdown in November as Republicans work to maintain their Senate majority. In the day's other headlines, the congressional investigation into files related to Jeffrey Epstein is widening. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi for what the news hour has learned would be a closed-door tape deposition. Five Republicans voted with Democrats in favor of the measure. Bondi will be the highest-ranking sitting official to appear before the panel. She had already fielded Epstein-related questions during a combative appearance before a separate committee last month. It comes soon after lawmakers requested interviews with seven other people, including the billionaires Bill Gates and Leon Black.

Separately, the Justice Department says that tens of thousands of Epstein files that were recently taken down will be reposted soon, telling the News Hour, quote, more than 47,000 files were offline for further review and should be ready for reproduction by the end of the week. Minnesota's governor and attorney general told lawmakers today that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown hurt their state's efforts at fighting fraud. Tim Walls and Keith Ellison appeared at a House Oversight Committee hearing today. The committee chair, James Comer, accused them of, in his words, not being good stewards of the taxpayer dollars.

They in turn tried to put the hearings focus on the surge of federal agents to Minnesota in recent months, calling it political retribution at an unparalleled scale. I'm with you. I want your help on fraud. Why would I not want money to go to the programs? I care deeply about feeding people, clothing people, housing people. But what ICE did disrupted everything that we were doing. It disrupted our federal partners.

That testimony comes as Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noem faced a second day of questioning over her oversight of the administration's immigration crackdown, including in Minnesota. Republican Committee Chair Jim Jordan praised what he called her amazing record on immigration. While Democrat Jamie Raskin accused her of a smear campaign against Alex Preddy and Renee Good, two Minnesota residents killed by federal agents whom Nome had claimed had links to domestic terrorism. The U.S. says it launched a joint military operation with Ecuador targeting organized crime groups in the country. U.S. Southern Command posted this video alongside the announcement, saying it's focused on combating narco-terrorism, though further details about the mission are still

unknown. It's just the latest escalation of military involvement by U.S. forces in the region following months of strikes against suspected smuggling vessels that have killed more than 150 people. Cuban officials filed terrorism charges today against six suspects who were aboard a Florida-flagged speedboat that engaged in a shootout with Cuban forces last week. Prosecutors say they're being held in pretrial detention and said they'll receive due process in defense of our people and the country's institutions. The incident took place in the waters off Cuba's north coast. Officials say the group opened fire as they tried to infiltrate the island to commit acts

of terrorism. Four suspects were killed, including one U.S. citizen. Last week, authorities unveiled items, they say, were seized from the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons. On Wall Street today, stocks rebounded as a bit of calm returned to the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added nearly 240 points on the day. The NASDAQ saw a jump of nearly 300 points. The S&P 500 also posted a decent gain.

And legendary college football coach, Lou Holtz, has died. Holtz was a giant of the sport, especially during his time at Notre Dame, where he led the Fighting Irish to an unbeaten championship season in 1988. Holtz coached 11 seasons there, racking up 100 wins. Over his five-decade career, Holtz was known for turning around losing programs, and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

His death was announced by Notre Dame, which shared a statement from his family who cited his unwavering belief in the potential of others, who holds was 89 years old. Still to come on the News Hour, a survivor of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy speaks out after the release of a scathing report and one family's story of the struggle to hold on to their farmland.

This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein studio at WETA in Washington, headquarters of PBS News. A new report out today says Catholic clergy in Rhode Island abused hundreds of children for decades while church leaders minimized the scandal. William Brangham has more. Jeff, according to the report, more than 300 children were molested or sexually assaulted by at least 75 different clergy members over 70 years. The abuses documented date back to the 1950s, all the way to 2011.

According to Rhode Island's Attorney General Peter Norona, whose office wrote this report, those numbers could be even higher. The report alleges the diocese kept a secret archive detailing abuse allegations and often moved accused priests to new parishes rather than alerting authorities. Following the report's release, the new Bishop of Providence, Reverend Bruce Lewandowski, stressed that the church has instituted new standards for reporting abuse, and he expressed sorrow for the trauma and pain experienced by victims. I take this opportunity to apologize to the victim survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy

for the failures of church personnel and others in past decades to protect them and keep them safe. But investigators and survivors continue to call for a fuller reckoning of this story. For more on this investigation, I am joined by Anne Hagen Webb. She is a survivor of clergy, sexual abuse, and now advocates for survivors. Webb was abused between the ages of five and 12 years old by a priest at her school in West Warwick. And thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us today. Some of your own abuse stories were detailed in this report, and I just wonder how this must feel to you. after so many years of being told that your allegations were not credible,

to now have this report out in the public for everyone to see. Thank you for having me on your show, William. This means so very much to me to be finally deemed credible after all these years. In 32 years, the diocese has been calling me not credible. in spite of that I've tried to work to better the situation for survivors across New England over these years. But it really feels much better to have that be a part of this report. Up until just a few weeks, a few days ago, I still thought it was just going to say in that part under Monsignor D'Angeles that I was an incredible witness. It is very difficult, obviously, reading this report.

Both the allegations of the abuse are just ghastly to read, but also the lengths that the church went to to cover it all up. In this enormous report, what stands out the most to you? Well, a lot stands out. I mean, most of it is information I knew, but one of the things that really struck me in reading this report. and Peter Norona said it today in his remarks. In the case of one priest, San Tilly, Father Santilli, the church heard reports about him about 10 years earlier than 2014. And then in 2014, another person came forward.

He spoke to me first before he went to the church. And they told him he was not credible. then finally another survivor of that same priest came forward in 2022 and I spoke with him as well before he went to the church and they actually said to him okay three strikes he's out about this priest and they finally took the priest out of service that is simply amazing to me we are not talking about parking tickets or speeding tickets where you get three strikes and you lose license. These are rapes. These are child malestations that change people's lives. Many of the survivors committed suicide over the years. These are not minor crimes. And to have to be reported on three times over a period of 10 years is just ludicrous. The bishop in his video statement

today said that we've got a system of reporting that this would never happen again, that if someone came forward with an allegation of abuse, that the reporting and the immediate standards would kick into place and that we wouldn't see this hiding and shuffling and denying. But it sounds like you do not believe that that's the case. Absolutely not. I you know one of the one of the problems with this report and the report is wonderful because it really it is it is a horrifying report of men's cruelty to children over seven decades however it's only the information the church voluntarily gave the attorney general's office and they refused over this whole six and a half years to ever come into the age of G's office and talked to them about any questions they had about what they were reading. So there's lots left to be discovered, and I don't for a minute believe that they revealed all

their deepest, darkest secrets in what they gave the Attorney General's office. In spite of that, he produced a phenomenal report. There, as you know, have been only a few prosecutions, legal prosecutions over the years. And the church has said, again, we apologize for this. It's not going to happen again. So what would you like to see happen? Most of the men detailed in this report escaped real accountability for any of their crimes to children. What would you like to see done going forward?

Well, first of all, I would like the diocese to be accountable. Saying I'm sorry as damage control or we apologize. have they ever said they're ashamed of what has happened? Because they should be incredibly ashamed. This is, to anyone reading, it has to be really horrifying, that people could, with such disregard for children's welfare, put their financial situation and their good name above children's lives. I think they have done a lot in terms of monitoring who's in the schools and things like that.

They've given everybody programs about being safe, how to be safe with children and all of that. They are fighting survivors as hard as they possibly can in the courtrooms, but especially in the legislature. They are lobbying very hard not to get any of the bills passed that we want. that would make them more accountable. And they need to stop that yesterday. Okay, Anne Hagen Webb, thank you so much for talking with us. I hope today's report offers you and other survivors a small bit of peace. Oh, it does. It does.

This gives us our power back. We'll be back shortly with a look at one woman's mission to preserve her family's land. But first, take a moment to hear from your local PBS station. It's a chance to offer your support which helps to keep programs like the News Hour on the air. When the World Cup kicks off in June, billions will turn their attention to games spread across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It's an experience Roger Bennett likens to a solar eclipse, except the Earth is completely engulfed not by darkness but by soccer. I spoke with him recently about his new book, We Are the World Cup, a personal history of the world's greatest sporting event. Roger Bennett, welcome back to the NewsHour.

Thank you for having me, Jeff. So, Roger, the subtitle of this book makes the case, A Personal History of the World's Greatest Sporting Event. Do you have a favorite World Cup game, a favorite memory? I have so many. It's where I wrote a book about them. The World Cup, which happens every four years, is the spine of my life, not just my life,

but millions of human beings across the planet. It's a magical, and the book, I hope, is a magical telling of the power of the men's tournament, which I've come to realize is like a solar eclipse that engulfs the entire planet for its duration. It's what we're in store for this summer when it comes to the United States, Canada and Mexico in just over 100 days' time. And you have watched American soccer culture grow in the three decades since you came to the U.S. How have you seen American fandom change in that time? It's incredible. I moved here right before the 1994 Men's World Cup,

which was meant to turn America overnight into a football-loving nation. America then was like spaced to Captain Kirk, the final frontier. Still the biggest World Cup of all time in terms of attendance. But it was like a circus that came and went. And tournament to tournament, the audience has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger. also the internet that's allowed Americans to feel as close to the game as if they lived in Manchester, Liverpool or Madrid.

There's now a massive young audience. The economist just said, Jeff, that football, soccer is the third most popular sport in the United States. It's just taken over from baseball. So this 26 Men's World Cup will finish off what 94 was meant to do and make America a true football-loving nation like the rest of the world. And one through line in your book is that the World Cup isn't immune from geopolitics. You write that football at the end of the day is just a mirror to the societies that surround it. It tells you things. When you look back at recent tournaments, what patterns stand out?

It's the joy of the World Cup, the depth. I think Walt Whitman, who would have been a football fan, where he alive today, I would say the thing that makes it contain multitudes is it in a World Cup, when two teams take the field, the nation's histories, their nation's politics, their nation's cultures take the field alongside them.

Honestly, that's what gives the tournament, the unparalleled, emotional weight, the power, the storytelling. It's what makes it the most profound when two Balkans teams who've warred take the field against each other, when Senegal play France, the former coloniser,

when England played Germany, when England played pretty well anybody, You know, there's so many depths to the emotions that have been experienced. And ultimately, that is what makes the memory so searing and profound for me and for millions across the planet. And of course, this year, there are some major off-field storylines. You have the acting director of ICE saying that ICE will be a key part of security at the U.S. matches this summer.

We all saw what happened in Mexico recently with the cartel violence there. Guadalajara, which saw some of the worst unrest, is scheduled to host Qualifical. fires as early as this month in March. So is there any chance, any realistic chance that that could change the schedule or the locations of where some of these games are played? What I can say is that every single modern World Cup, 2010 South Africa, the drumbeat going in was doomsday, the crime, the carjacking. Every fan who was going, it was feared that they would become instant victims just by walking

the streets. It was the most deliriously joyful World Cup there's ever been. 2014 in Brazil, I was there the summer before. There were riots for social and economic unrest all over the country, focused on the football stadium. They wanted education.

They wanted social services, not football. But what happens is once the ball is kicked, the second Lionel Messi takes the field, the rational and the doomsday falls off and the emotional kicks in and it becomes doomsday, say as nil, cognitive dissonance won. And I believe, I hope, I pray.

That's what will happen this summer. How's the US team looking? Oh, yeah, we love a dream team in the United States. The men's team has for so long been a dream on team. It's a story of my lifetime watching Americans fall in love with football. Our women are perpetual world champions, our men. I mean, this is amazing. We put a man on the moon.

We invented the cronaut, gifted it to the world. We have won one knockout game in World Cup history, which is an unfathomable, painful reality to me. We don't know how good we are because we're hosts. We've not had to qualify. I can say we've got the most talented player-for-player roster we've ever been able to draw on in terms of individual experience and how they perform as a collective.

Please God. they'll make our nation proud. If 2026 is someone's first World Cup, as 1978 was yours, what do you hope they feel? What do you hope they take away from the experience? The World Cup is like no other sporting event. The sense of global connectivity when a ball has been kicked in our world of chaos is such a precious currency.

So you will see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo take the field for the last time at the World Cup. you will see in American streets in Kansas off the field as joyous is on it, you will see 50,000 Dutch men and women clad in orange, marching down the boulevard, screaming to the links to the wrecks as they bounce to the stadium. You're going to feel passion. You're going to see a world of connectivity. And I hope, like the rest of the planet, you will make some of the most joyful, most meaningful,

cross-generational memories that you'll carry with you forever. The book is, We are the World Cup. Roger Bennett, no relation. Always great to speak with you. Jeff Bennett, you're my cousin. You don't have to be ashamed of it. Finally tonight, a story from PBS News student reporting labs, our high school journalism training program.

They take us to a family farm in Upper Marlborough, Maryland, outside Washington, D.C. to meet Cameron Oglesby, who explains how her family struggle to hold on to its land, inspired her to want to tell stories of environmental justice. We're coming up on our centennial year. Our farm is turning 100 in March. This is what it's all about. I have received so much of my own familial history

just in sitting down to conversations learning from my nana. Look at me, ready. Oh, you don't know when this was? Yeah, we picketed it in Baltimore, downtown DC at the capital. I remember when I was a kid and my nana would be going out in the garden or she would be using her own vegetable

to make things. I was just absolutely obsessed with everything she was doing out here. They were full of berries. Land is wealth in this country. And I have seen that right stripped away from so many people for no other factor than they are descendant of enslaved peoples or that they are indigenous. Some of the challenges the farm has dealt with include my great-great-grandfather had to sell off portions of the land just to make.

In more recent years, my uncle and my nana have contended with someone trying to build a prison next door, trying to set up facilities that would generally reduce our quality of life. We've been very fortunate that every attempt to do that has been thwarted in a way that allows us to continue to use the property as we would like to, and as we are entitled to. I think that's sort of the connection that helps me bring a different perspective to the work that I do. As an oral historian, I can point back to my own people and say I know exactly what you are going through. And I want to help you protect this for yourselves. We are archiving something that people's children and their descendants can go back to forever. The Environmental Justice Oral History Project is a repository that I founded to tell a comprehensive, resilience-based, joy-based story of environmental justice communities in the U.S.

as communities in the U.S. South. It's really critical that we understand the power of storytelling to get people riled up and to make people cry and to give people joy and to really bring out the emotions that undergird all movement work. The fact that we have this untouched property here, I can't even put into words what it means and how unheard of it feels. I need to protect this place. I need to invest in this place.

This place needs to persist. It is a symbol that is the most fundamental right. Land is wealth in this country. That's that generational wealth, man. It's really solidified for me, how important it is for me to be picking up this torch and keeping that work going. And that's 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.