PBS News Hour - Full Show - October 28, 2025 – PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

Tuesday on the News Hour, Hurricane Melissa slams into Jamaica as the most powerful storm in the country's recorded history. Israel launches strikes in Gaza in retaliation for an attack on its soldiers, once again testing the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Plus, critical food stamp benefits for millions of Americans become the next potential casualty of the ongoing government shutdown. 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. And I'm Amna Nawaz. On the news hour tonight, Hurricane Melissa slams into Jamaica as the most powerful storm in the country's recorded history. It is sort of unprecedented in its scale and ferocity. As if it's not concrete, it's likely to be significantly damaged. Israel launches strikes in Gaza, it says, in retaliation for an attack. on its soldiers, once again testing the ceasefire deal with Hamas. And critical food stamp benefits for millions of Americans become the next potential casualty of the ongoing government shutdown. Welcome to the news hour.

Jamaica is suffering extensive damage tonight from the devastating force of Hurricane Melissa. Easily the most powerful storm on Earth this year and just the second Atlantic storm ever to make landfall with winds up to 185 miles an hour. Melissa has already claimed seven lives across the Caribbean, including three in Jamaica. And the storm is slow moving, meaning its punishing impact will only last longer. William Brigham starts our coverage. It's a storm, the likes of which Jamaica has never seen in its recorded history. Melissa made landfall this afternoon across Western Jamaica as a monster Category 5 hurricane with winds of 185 miles per hour. That's what the system is packing as a Category 5 hurricane, and much of that will be within the eye wall.

In that eye wall, which is that area that surrounds the eye, you will have that in most intense wind speeds, but also the most torrential downpours of rainfall. Forecasters and local officials warned that parts of the island could see up to 20 to 30 inches of rain. And storm surge could reach as high as 13 feet. That's enough water to wash away homes and cause landslides across the island nation. Jamaica, this is not the time to be brave. Melissa's whipping winds have toppled trees and downed power lines. Almost a quarter million customers were without power on the island before landform.

a number that will certainly rise in the coming hours. The low-line areas are going to be badly affected. Seek to go to higher ground and protect yourself and be smart. Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes in history. Its sheer size visible from space. From inside the storm, the eerie calm of its vast eye belies the devastating impacts caused by its outer bands. Jamaica's Prime Minister warned that nothing on the storm.

on the island could escape this storm. There is no infrastructure in the region that can withstand a Category 5. A Category 5 hurricane will definitely damage roofs. It will definitely compromise infrastructure, even concrete infrastructure. In the coming days, Melissa will cut straight across the Caribbean. Cuba will be next, followed by the southern Bahamas. Melissa is expected to remain a hurricane through the end of the week when it barrels past Bermuda. Evacuations have begun for hundreds of thousands of people in Cuba tonight,

and the Jamaican government has already ordered evacuations of flood-prone communities. But officials reported that less than half of the island's 800 shelters were occupied earlier today as many families and visitors opt to shelter in place in their homes and hotels. No one can say that the government was not forward-leaning in giving the information on the persons who are in areas of risk, you have been warned. The U.N. and dozens of other relief agencies and non-profits have pre-positioned supplies on the ground, ready to assist. But for now, millions of people across Jamaica tonight must ride out this historic and deadly storm. For the PBS News Hour, I'm William Brangham.

And for the latest about the impact and the rescue efforts, we turn now to retired major General Anthony Anderson, Jamaica's ambassador to the U.S. Mr. Ambassador, thank you for being with us. And to start, can you give us a clear picture of how Jamaica is faring right now? What is your government's current assessment of the damage and the overall situation on the ground? At this point, the eye of the hurricane is still over Jamaica, especially in the western part of the island. I think most people are hunkered down except a few people who are out doing some rescues, but apart from that, everybody else is hunkered down at the moment. So when it's passed, when the back end of the area near to the eye has passed,

then we'll get into that assessment mode. And drawing on your military experience, I understand you are leading a command center from here in Washington. How are you directing and coordinating the relief and rescue efforts? Right. So we are in contact with the National Emergency Operations Center in Kingston, and that is the multi-agency center that guides all responses to emergencies on Ireland. We have been tasked here at the Embassy in Washington, D.C., to coordinate the external circumstances. support to Jamaica over this period. We weren't sure how badly our communications would be disrupted.

Fortunately, we are still in communications with the center because the Kingston, the capital, hasn't been as hit as hard as the western end of the island. And from what we know, hurricanes often hit the most vulnerable populations the hardest. To your point about Kingston being spared right now, what does that? What is the impact on Jamaica's most at-risk populations, people in the rural areas and the outlying parts of the island? The part of Jamaica that has seen the eye pass through and extending outwards about 40 miles, 30 miles from that, there's significant damage in the path of this hurricane.

It is sort of unprecedented in its scale and ferocity. And it's actually been moving pretty slowly across the island. It's sped up, but it slowed back down. And so in its path, you're talking about, you know, 180-mile-per-hour winds. And it's, you know, removing roofs, damaging buildings. If it's not concrete, it's likely to be significantly damaged. What kind of assistance is Jamaica seeking or coordinating from the U.S. right now? Okay.

assistance from at the governmental level, the state level we've received offers already. And then, of course, with the multiplicity of non-governmental organizations, some of them that have a really good track record of responding to emergency around the world. And we've been working with them to get them into Jamaica. And I know they are prepping, a number of entities are prepping now to go in immediately after the blow and when they get the oil clear. And we can get the international airport open. More than likely, that will be the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston. And we're looking at the moment, the projection is Thursday morning to get that open.

The other part, of course, is what we have a huge diaspora here, and they have been reaching out to us to assist in varied ways. But our coordination job is to make sure that we can get it from here, out of the U.S., into Jamaica, through the ports, into storage if necessary, and to the people who need it most in the best way, in the most efficient and smooth way. Understanding that the immediate focus is on the crisis at hand, how is the Jamaican government linking this storm to the broader climate risks the country faces, and how might this experience of Hurricane Melissa

influence Jamaica's long-term strategy for climate adaptation and resilience? Well, let me just bring it a little closer to this event. Prior to the event, all of our emergency procedures and protocols were activated. Last year we had hurricane barrel, and that had hit about three parishes were affected by it. This, and it allowed us to test our processes and adapt and change and put in new processes and strengthen the gaps that we saw. And so we were much better, we were in a much better position in terms of being prepared for this. And we're likely to get to our, as you say, our at-risk population, our damaged, in the damaged areas quicker than before.

Now there'll be a lot of blockages on roads and all that and we'll be able to, we'll be clearing those. But we have been in contact with our population. We have been giving information. We have open shelters for persons to occupy, and we have pre-deployed supplies and clearing teams and so on, so that as soon as possible afterwards, we'll be able to start the process of recovery. And we will always have these events, and we just have to get build back better, build back stronger, to be more resilient. against the effects of wind and rain that these hurricanes bring. As you say, the last time we had one like this, I believe it was 2019 with Dorian before

that 1935. So it's not a common event, this strength hurricane, but it has happened before, but just not like this, not for us in Jamaica. Well, certainly wish you and all the folks in Jamaica the best. Retired Major General Anthony Anderson, Jamaica's ambassador to the U.S. Thanks again for your time, sir. Yeah, very welcome. Today in Gaza, the latest test of a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

who ordered what he called powerful strikes in Gaza after Israel said Hamas shot at Israeli soldiers in the south of the territory. Nick Schifrin is here following all of this with the latest. So Nick, bring us up to speed. Israel is striking Gaza and Palestinians in Gaza are reporting heavy air strikes and tank fire. And as you said, Israel says it's in response

to an incident in southern Gaza near Rafa where Hamas fighters use sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades to target Israeli troops inside the yellow line. line. That is where Israel is deployed inside Gaza. An Israeli official tells me tonight that Netanyahu brief President Trump before the strikes, and a U.S. military official, confirms to me that the IDF reached out to the U.S. military before these strikes began. As you said, Amna, Netanyahu called them powerful. And an Israeli military official told me today, quote, Hamas is, quote,

treating everyone like idiots, and there's only one language they understand power. But a U.S. official tells me tonight that actually these airstrikes were, quote, targeted, that Israel signaled that they would launch air strikes hours ahead of time, and that that suggests that Israel is listening to U.S. pressure to hold this ceasefire. Separate U.S. officials described to me that last week during their visit, Ambassador Steve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner backed up Israel's right to defend itself, but they pushed Netanyahu to keep responses proportionate. A U.S. official warns to me tonight, they are still worried that Israel is trying to look for an excuse to, quote, level the place, as in level Gaza, restart the war.

So the U.S. is trying to prevent that, make sure the ceasefire holds. As for Hamas, they say they long ago lost any contact with those fighters in southern Gaza. So those Israeli strikes in response to what they say were the first violation, they claim, of that ceasefire. They're saying there was a second violation, too, related to the bodies of deceased hostages? What's going on there? Overnight, Hamas transferred the remains of a body that Israel says it already partially recovered earlier in the war. And Israel calls that a major violation because they're still waiting for the bodies of 13 deceased hostages that are still in Gaza. But Israeli officials tonight are also pointing to this video that they're posting online today,

which appears to show Hamas fighters removing a body in the very left corner of the screen right there, removing a body of a deceased hostage from a house so that they could bury it. You see that right there. They then, a few minutes later, move that body with a bulldozer, and then, watch this. They pretend that they had just discovered it

to hand it over to the Red Cross and then Israel. Israeli officials have been livid about this with one telling me, quote, they're making a joke out of the Red Cross and Us, and it's proof Hamas knows where all the deceased hostages are, and therefore proof Hamas is slow rolling their return. But again, a U.S. official tells me

Hamas actually only knows where half the bodies are. There are many deceased hostage bodies buried under the rubble in Gaza and that while Hamas must make a good faith effort to make haste and return those bodies, Israel must exhibit, quote, patience. So another sign, the U.S. wants to restrain Israel

or at least make sure that this ceasefire takes hold, very tenuous. And this is all before Amnesty. And as we talked about, phase two of the deal, where Hamas has not agreed to disarm and no single country has actually agreed to send foreign troops into Gaza. Tenuous, indeed. Nick Schifrin, thank you as always. Thank you.

Thank you. boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least 14 people. In a social media post, Defense Secretary Pete Higgseth said the strikes were launched yesterday and that one person survived. It marks a further escalation in the pace of the boat attacks that began in early September. At least 57 people have been killed in more than a dozen such strikes. The Trump administration has provided no evidence to support its claims that the boats were bringing drugs to the United States. President Trump is heading to South Korea. in the coming hours, where he'll meet with China's President Xi Jinping later this week.

Today, he was in Japan, where he and the nation's new prime minister, Sanaii Takaiichi, signed an agreement vowing a, quote, golden age of the U.S. Japan Alliance. Under the framework deal, the U.S. will tax Japanese goods at 15 percent, and Japan will set up a $550 billion fund of investments in the U.S. They also signed an agreement to cooperate on critical minerals. The pair then headed to a docked aircraft carrier, where President Trump delivered a wide-ranging speech to troops and spoke highly of his host. I have such respect for Japan and the country, and now I have a really great respect for the new and incredible prime minister. I have to say this, the first female prime minister in the history of Japan.

From there, Trump spoke at a banquet for business leaders. To mark his visit, a number of Japanese companies announced initiatives aimed at the U.S. market, involving companies like Toyota and Toshiba, among others. Here at home, the state of Texas is suing the makers of Tylenol for allegedly hiding unproven links to autism and other disorders. The lawsuit from Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton echoes recent allegations by President Trump that the active ingredient in Tylenol, acetaminephine, poses a risk to children's brain development during pregnancy. Scientists have found no such causal relationship. Kenview, a spinoff of health care giant Johnson & Johnson, calls the lawsuits claims baseless. Republican lawmakers

released their long-awaited report today on former President Joe Biden's use of the auto pen during his time in the White House. The findings from the House Oversight Committee argue that Biden's aides covered up his declining health and that his executive actions should therefore be considered null and void. That includes the pardon of his son, Hunter Biden. They're calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a full investigation. The report relies largely on public information and provides no specific instances of illegal activity. Democrats have dismissed the report as a quote, sham. Amazon is slashing 14,000 corporate jobs as the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence.

Today's cuts comprise about 4% of Amazon's overall workforce, and they follow comments in June from the CEO who said generative AI would likely reduce the need for corporate staff over the coming years. In 2023, the online retailer announced it was shedding 27,000 jobs after a boom in hiring during the COVID pandemic. On Wall Street today, stocks ended higher ahead of tomorrow's rate decision by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added roughly 160 points on the day. The NASDAQ rose nearly 200 points.

The S&P 500 also closed in positive territory. And actress Prunella Scales of Faulty Towers fame has died. I've seen better organized creatures than you running-round farmyards with their heads cut off. Now collect your things and get out. Scales played Sibyl, the exasperated wife of the House Basil Faulty as they ran a chaotic seaside hotel. The series only ran for 12 episodes, but has become one of Britain's best-loved comedies. Scales was also a versatile stage performer and appeared in films over her nearly seven-decade career.

And she enjoyed an unlikely hit later in life with the travel show Great Canal Journeys alongside her husband, Timothy West. Her family says she died peacefully at home in London after a long battle with dementia. Prunella Scales was 93 years old. Still to come on the news hour, a former Trump White House official weighs in on the ongoing government shutdown, how Pennsylvania's Supreme Court election could have national implications. And the World Series between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays heats up with a marathon 18-inning game. This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein Studio at

W.E.A. in Washington and in the west from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. Let's turn now to the government shutdown that is continuing with no end in sight. Millions of Americans are on the verge of losing access to food assistance known as SNAP, often referred to as food stamps, as early as next week. SNAP serves 42 million people, and at least half of all states say they won't be able to extend food assistance to make up the gas. Many food aid groups feel the government is legally obligated to provide funding to snap. But in a notice on its website, the U.S. Department of Agriculture blamed Senate Democrats and said, quote, bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 1st.

Joining me now is Sharon Parrott. She's president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That's a left-leaning think tank that's focused on these issues. Sharon, thanks for joining us. So as Jeff just mentioned, 42 million Americans who rely on these benefits. What do we know about who will be impacted, how they'll be impacted, and when, if this runs out November 1st? Yeah, thanks so much. 42 million Americans get help every month to be able to afford groceries at the grocery store.

They are families with children. They are seniors. They are people with disabilities. They are veterans. They are workers whose low pay isn't enough to make ends meet. It is a broad swath of people, and what they have in common is they just lack enough income to be able to afford food. The SNAP program provides pretty modest benefits, only about $6.25 per day per person.

But it is critical, critical assistance that makes the difference in people being able to put dinner on the table every night. And Sharon, do we know if beneficiaries tend to be concentrated more in certain states, certain regions, red or blue states? Where are they? Now, people receive SNAP in every part of the country and in every state. It's a vital support for people in rural communities as well as urban communities and suburban communities in red states and in blue states. and people use SNAP often for temporary periods.

Somebody loses a job and they use it to tide them over. And then some people use it for longer because they're older and their fixed income isn't enough to be able to buy food on their own or people in low-paid jobs who just don't earn enough by it themselves to be able to afford food. And so SNAP supplements their income and allows their families to go to the grocery store and buy the food their families need. We do know that the SNAP program has money in contingency reserves that aren't being tapped right now. We've seen attorneys general and governors from 25 Democratic-led states who are now suing trying to force the federal government to use those funds to fund the SNAP program during the shutdown.

Here is what Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlins said earlier about the use of those funds. Take a listen. There's not just pots of $9.2 billion sitting around. And what's particularly rich about New York saying that or California or any of these other blue states that have filed the lawsuit that say, oh, no, we're going to go, you guys, USDA go find the money, is it's their very friends, partners, colleagues, Democrat elected officials that continue to vote over and over again to keep the government closed. So Sharon, the Trump administration has argued both that there's not a

enough contingency funds to fill the gap that would be left, also that they legally can't access those funds to cover regular benefits. What's your response to that? Are they right on both fronts? The Trump administration posted on September 30th a shutdown plan for USDA, for the U.S. Department of Agriculture that runs the SNAP program. In that shutdown plan, they said that they would use contingent. reserves if there was a lapse in funding.

That is the same interpretation that past administrations have always put forward when a shutdown was possible or when there weren't going to be enough funds in the SNAP program. These are funds that Congress has already appropriated that are sitting in USDA's accounts for the purposes of SNAP benefits when funding is inadequate. It is already in the SNAP account, and so it is quite something to be sitting on billions of dollars that could be used for food assistance for people who need help and to refuse to release it when their own shutdown plan, which has now been removed from their website, by the way, said that these funds would be available for benefits after October.

October benefits had already been funded and that the contingency funds would be available after that. Now, it is certainly the case that contingency funds are not enough to provide people with full benefits. USDA also has legal transfer authority, which is just a fancy way to say that they have the opportunity, the legal authority, to move funds around. And there is funding that they could move into the SNAP account that could supplement those contingency reserves and get people either full benefits or close to full benefits. But even if they only only use the contingency reserves, they would at least be able to get people benefits of roughly half their regular benefits.

And while that's not nearly enough, it would provide more time to settle out the shutdown and would give people some resources with which to buy food. It is quite shocking as someone who was a senior official in the Office of Management and Budget to see that they have funds sitting in the SNAP account. that they are not releasing for use for families so that families could buy food with it. Sure, I've got about a minute or so left, but I have to ask you, as we mentioned in the introduction, some states are acting. They're releasing their own emergency funds where they can to try to fill that gap. Louisiana, among them, saying they'll continue to pay benefits using state funds

only until November 4th, New York pledging to release some 30 million in state funds. Is that an answer here? Can states step in to fill the gap? It's very difficult for states to step in and fill the gap, particularly when the administration is saying that if states provide funding and issue SNAP benefits, that there's no reason to think that those funds would be repaid to the states. SNAP is a national program. It is in recognition that fighting hunger is a national priority. Benefits right now are fully federally funded.

and the goal is to ensure that no matter where somebody lives, they have access to food assistance if they need it. The administration needs to use the resources they have available to get help to people who need it in this time before the government reopens. That is Sharon Parrott from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Sharon, thank you for your time. We appreciate it. Thank you. And we have an extended an invitation to the Trump administration and to the USDA, to comment on the shutdown impact on food stamps. We hope to have that conversation in the future.

For more on the shutdown's political implications, we're joined now by former White House Director of Legislative Affairs, Mark Short. He led President Trump's congressional negotiating team nearly seven years ago during the longest ever shut down. That was 35 days. It's good to see you. Thanks for having me. So in this current moment, Republicans are calling for an extension of the current budget.

Democrats want an extension of the Obamacare tax credits, both sides are dug in. Do you think both sides in many ways have sort of boxed themselves in? How do you see this resolving? I don't know if so much they've boxed themselves in as much it is that I think there's not as much incentive for either side to end it right now.

Traditionally, I think that Republicans have been the ones that have triggered shutdowns. And in many cases, they didn't want to fund the government. They want to use that as leverage to get some other legislative priority. Typically, they failed in those efforts. I think what's different this time is Democrats, the ones who have initiated

the shutdown, didn't want to fund the government as it is, because they want to extend the Obamacare subsidies. I think they feel the closer we get to November 1st, they will win when those premiums are announced and they go up. And I think for Republicans, they feel like why are we, you know, going to be pushed into having to negotiate with ourselves when we've already passed a bill to fund the government and even funded at Biden levels. They're not cutting funding. They're actually keeping it at Biden levels. And so they don't have the incentive. And I'd say the third piece of this is, Honestly, I think the White House sees the president traveling to Asia. They've seen him have a hostage deal in the Middle East,

and he's dealing with international issues that kind of seem to be rising above the dysfunction of Congress so they don't have much of an incentive either. Whereas in 2018, as you know, President Trump claimed credit for the shutdown, and so he pretty much had an onus to get it fixed, whereas right now I don't think that's the case. I heard you say on Meet the Press a few weeks ago, you think Republicans will ultimately cave on this health care issue.

Do you still think that's the case? And if so, why not cut that deal now? I think that they ultimately will extend the Obamacare subsidies. I think that from a policy perspective, I think that when Democrats passed Obamacare, they were smart to include the subsidies because it creates an incentive to need to keep funding it. And I think Republicans have failed to their efforts to create a different health care system or to repeal Obamacare. I wish that they would come forward with more free market reforms rather than continuing to fund a program that is failing.

Having said that, I just think that the dynamic in their district is they don't want to be blamed for people having a premium increase. There's enough Republicans that will cross over and support it. As far as why not do it now as part of the government shutdown? Again, I think they feel like why would it reward bad behavior on the Democrats? They're the ones that forced the shutdown. We agreed to fund the government almost every single Republican except for one in the House and the Senate voted for it. And every single Democrat except for one in the House and one in the Senate voted to oppose government funding. feel like, why should we bail Democrats out of this? This is their mess.

Is that message landing? Do you think the Republican argument that even though they control every lever of power in Washington, that this is somehow a Democrat shut down? I'm not sure. I'm not sure that either message is really landing. I think for a lot of Americans, they view it as kind of dysfunction of Congress at this point. I think they've become somewhat numb to these shutdowns. I think it's kind of a pox on both houses. And as we were discussing off air, I think the president creates so many different news cycles every week that it's hard for them to drive as much attention to the government shutdown currently. And so I'm not sure that either message is really resonant currently. I think it's kind of a mix for

most Americans. Yeah, let's talk more about that. I mean, what does it say in this moment that the shutdown is entering week five? And unless people are directly affected by it, there seems to be this sense of indifference. I think there is a lot of indifference. Again, I think Americans become kind of numb to having these shutdowns in the past. I feel like the pressure points will come around November 1st there's multiple things happening at that point one is the insurance premiums get announced for those on those plans but second there's snap funding the food stamp program runs runs out of funding but I think I think as well at that point there's gonna be a lot more pressure to say we have to

solve this for our constituents and so I think the November 1st deadlines there's a lot of programs and I you know we've begun to see air traffic controllers not show up and I think as more and more people get inconvenienced on travel all those things are kind of coming together over the next week and that was a real issue back in 2018 2019 that was the thing that ultimately forced the hands of lawmakers and the president to get in a room and to get the government funded was the fact that you had air traffic controllers facing frustration they were overworked they were calling in sick and it created long lines and delays and security issues look i think that for republicans in many occasions that we've

triggered shutdowns is to try to placate a certain constituency in your base that is frustrating I even remember back in 2013, there was a rising sense that Republicans weren't staying enough to the Obama administration and to Obamacare, and that caused much of the shutdown. I think in this case, Democrats were pushing this for a similar reason where it wasn't really about the government funding. It was a feeling that Schumer went along with this. They wanted Democrats to stand up to President Trump, and they triggered this. And so you have sort of these other reasons that are less related to actually the government

funding bill. And so ultimately, it does cause those other sort of... inconveniences that forces members of Congress to actually find a solution. Do you think this becomes the longest shutdown on record? I think it'll be close. I do feel like this is probably about another week out. Again, I think there's so many things converging on November 1st that that's going to force action. Mark Short, always good to speak with you. Thanks for having me.

The election day is just one week away, and while there are some governor's races getting national attention, some down-ballot races could have a big impact. As Lisa Desjardin reports, there's a race for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that continues a recent trend of big spending in judicial elections. Pennsylvania is a large swing state where the state's Supreme Court could decide the fate of election laws, redistricting, and abortion limits. The court is now five to two Democratic, but with three of those Democratic justices on the ballot next week, so is the majority of the court. Groups on both sides have poured millions of dollars into the race. We don't make laws. But we make sure the most powerful people follow them. We help big corporations accountable when they hurt working people.

We protected access to abortion. And your right to vote. Even when the powerful came after it. This fall, you can defend democracy and force. an election for a new Supreme Court. On your ballot, vote no on retaining the three Supreme Court justices that have not protected our rights. It's time to term limit the court.

Vote no, no, no. For a closer look at this battle for the court and the potential impact of it, I'm joined by Katie Meyer, government editor for Spotlight PA. Katie, as we heard in those ads, this is not a typical election where it's one candidate versus another. This is a yes or no vote. Can you help explain exactly what's on the ballot here? Sure things. So in Pennsylvania, Supreme Court justices and justices on all of our appellate courts,

they are elected to 10-year terms. In the first election, they go up in a partisan race. They run pretty much a normal political election with an opponent. After that, they get what's called retention elections. So it's a yes or no, as you said, question for voters. They decide whether they want the justice to stay on the bench for another 10 years or if they want to create a vacancy, essentially. If they create a vacancy, the election will happen again in two years, the next municipal election. So we'll have somebody who's appointed in the meantime, but then there's a chance to potentially change the makeup of the court for a long time going forward in two years. So it's a little complicated. But basically, the question is, do we want to keep this same

balance of power on the court, on the ballot this year? You know, court elections really used to not get this amount of attention. And yet here we are, with these becoming some of the most expensive races in the country. For example, in Wisconsin, we covered that race earlier this year. Elon Musk got involved, poured money into it. His candidate ultimately lost. But how much money is involved there in Pennsylvania and how unusual is that for the state? Yeah, so far it is a lot of money.

You said millions, we are probably at tens of millions at least right now. But I will say it's kind of hard to get a full accounting. A lot of the money that we see in this election is what we call independent expenditures and a lot of those aren't reported right away. So I think we're going to know closer to the election or after the election how much has actually been spent. Some of it also is dark money, so it's nonprofits that are spending money where they don't have to disclose who their donors are. So a lot we don't know about who is spending in this race. But we do know is that there are national groups that have been pouring money in, especially on the Democratic side.

We've seen a lot of action from them. We've seen a lot of action from Republicans as well. Pennsylvania has a really major Republican donor named Jeff Yoss. He's the wealthiest person in the state, and he's a prodigious Republican donor. We believe he's putting some money in, although, again, it's kind of hard to track. So we're just, we're seeing a ton of spending. And if you're a Pennsylvania right now, you can tell you're seeing a lot of ads on TV, online. They're kind of everywhere. We know justices don't declare how they're going to vote, especially when they're up for election.

But what could be the potential impact here of policy looking at? Yeah. I mean, these justices have made some really big decisions over the last 10 years. One of the big ones was in 2018, they threw out Pennsylvania's congressional map. It had been a map that was drawn by Republicans and had yielded delegations that were very Republican. And so since then, they've been more evenly split down the middle. We saw this court defend Pennsylvania's election administration in 2020. We saw them back up the then governor during COVID during the pandemic. And, and sort of uphold his restrictions that he had imposed. That was a Democratic governor. So things like that are really a top of mind for Republicans in this election and also for Democrats as well. So, you know, there's definitely some partisan interest in this race for reasons of how they've ruled in the past.

In our last few seconds, what's the expectation on turnout? It's an off year. Yeah, I mean, it's always lower than in the presidential election, for instance. However, we have seen really strong mail ballot returns so far. so it looks like it'll be a pretty high turnout for a retention election. Katie Meyer from Spotlight, PA. Check out her reporting online. Thank you for joining us.

Thanks for having me. That is the walk-offrey Freeman has ended it. It's a repeat hero. That is the walk-off home run that ended last night's 18, yes, 18-inning, instant classic World Series matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. The game, the second longest in postseason history, saw a record 19 pitchers take the mound, with Dodgers star Shohei Otani hitting two home runs and reaching base nine. times. Many in the sports world are calling it one of the greatest postseason baseball games of all time. Stephanie Sy is here with more. That's right, Jeff and Omna. Dodgers manager

Dave Roberts called it one of the greatest World Series games. This matchup seemed to have everything over at 609 pitches, close calls, amazing plays at the play, star turns from some unlikely heroes, and a history-making performance from baseball's greatest. location is the most important thing. Otani. Oh, the center cup fastball. Bush one.

And tonight, the two teams are back at it in L.A. for game four. The Dodgers now lead two to one in the best of seven series. To help us make sense of the emotional roller coaster, some of us went through last night. We're joined now by sports writer Joe Posnansky, author of

Why We Love Baseball, a History in 50 Moments. Joe, well, Welcome to the news hour. So I know you and I both watched this game last night. But for those that didn't stay up to watch six hours and 39 minutes of baseball, how would you describe this epic game? Yeah, I'm not sure we're going to be able to make a lot of sense out of it because it was something. It was weird and wild and filled with errors and filled with greatness and history. I mean, it was a truly, truly epic night of baseball. from beginning to end and, you know, there are just all sorts of things happened that just have never happened before, starting, of course, with Shohai Otani. Yeah, well, let's break down the game a bit, starting with Otani, who delivered yet another record-setting night.

I am out of words, but maybe you have some. No, I'm out. I'm completely out of words. I mean, here's a guy in this game who he gets on base nine times in the game. It's literally never happened before in World Series. 1840-something. I mean, it's bizarre. And this guy who not only gets on base, you know, nine times,

hits two home runs, including the game-tying home run that sent us into this crazy 18-ending game. That guy's pitching tonight. He's pitch. There are no words to sort of describe something because it's literally never happened before. And this guy is, I think it's just very clear. He's the greatest baseball player who's ever lived. And now he's so good that, you know, for most of that game, they wouldn't even pitch to him. You know, they intentionally walked him four times, sort of unintentionally, but intentionally walked him another time.

They are very clear and saying that they might not pitch to him ever again in this entire season. I mean, this is something we haven't seen before. I got to ask about this intentional walk strategy from the Blue Jays. Are you saying, Joe, that it is possible for the rest of this series. We do not get to see Shohei Otani back at bat. And how is that even a thing? It should definitely not be a thing. No, it should, it's a hard.

Of course, it's something I personally, as a baseball writer and fan, have been railing against forever. But this is how good this guy is. I mean, honestly, Lou Jays fans this morning were not saying, hey, we walked Shohay Otani too much. They were saying we walked him too little because they gave up the two home runs. They, everybody, nobody wants to pitch to him. I mean, that's how good he is. And no, it shouldn't be a thing. I mean, baseball should definitely have a stronger punishment for teams that intentionally walk players.

I've been, I've been pushing and railing for that forever. it's not likely, it hasn't happened in 125 years. I don't know that it will happen, but I do know that if baseball fans watch the rest of the series and don't get to see Shohei Otani hit, yeah, yeah, rule changes might be coming. All right, let's talk about another record set by the Dodgers, Freddie Freeman. We showed the walk-off home run from last night just moments ago. That made him the first MLB player to hit multiple game-ending home runs. After we saw him, of course, do that in game one.

of last year's World Series, that unforgettable Grand Slam. What are the odds of that? I mean, you saw that buildup going up to the 18th inning, like, Mookie Betts had a chance. You know, you were, you will had a chance. You weren't sure who it was going to be. Did you think it could be Freeman? And what's like the poetic justice in the fact that it was?

Well, I mean, first of all, the odds of somebody hitting two walk-off home runs in the World Series, you know, ending games with home runs. It'll never happen again. I don't think we'll ever see this again. All night, it felt like anybody could be the hero. That's what's so fun about a game like this. The hero could be somebody who's going to the Hall of Fame, like Freddie Freeman. It could be somebody who's playing in one of his first games ever.

I mean, that's the beauty of the postseason is that, you know, the heroes and the goats and all of the central figures really could be anybody. Yeah, and when you talk about that, I think about what ended up happening with 10 pitchers for the Dodgers over the course of the night and seeing guys from the bullpen, like Will Klein and Eduardo Enriquez, they took the mound last night in those late innings. I didn't even recognize them. I mean, do they deserve some credit? I mean, they literally used every player out of that bullpen. And I don't think there were super high expectations for them. No, they really weren't, and they don't just deserve credit. They're heroes of this game. I mean, you look at Will Klein. Will Klein has pitched one time in the last month.

I mean, the Dodgers do not—I mean, he's young, and the Dodgers do not—he's not in their rotation. He's not in their, you know, group of pitchers that they're going to throw out there. And he comes in and pitches a scoreless inning, which is more than anybody could have expected. Then he pitches a second scoreless inning. then he pitches a third scoreless inning, and then he pitches a fourth. He actually ends up winning the game. And, you know, that's what I mean when heroes can come from anywhere. This is a guy who's already been traded four times, three times.

He's a guy that nobody even expected to pitch in this World Series, much less pitch in such a dramatic moment. And he comes through like that. I mean, that's just a beautiful thing to see. It was a crazy night, and I'm not even going to have time to mention. and the fact that we saw Clayton Kershaw make an appearance in the 12th inning. Instead, I want to ask you about the Blue Jays and how they're doing, because they do seem to be giving the Dodgers a run for their money.

Of course, led by Canadian Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who's under a $500 million contract. What props, if any, would you give to him for getting the Blue Jays to this point? And going into tonight's game, game forward, do you see any opportunities for the Blue Jays to change the momentum? Well, there are plenty of opportunities. There really are. I mean, it's so easy to get caught up in the moment. 18 innings, you lose such a heartbreaking game, you know, momentum, all of those things. But the reality is if they win, this series is locked up at two.

The series is definitely going to go back to Toronto. And Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is at the heart of this. I mean, he has been legendary this postseason. I mean, everybody's getting overshadowed by Shohei Otani. but really the best guy throughout the playoffs when you begin, you know, from the beginning to now has been Vladimir Guerrero Jr. And he absolutely could wreck the Dodgers dreams tonight and going forward. But here's what they've got to do tonight.

They've got to beat Shohei Otani on the mound. And that's, first of all, that's a very difficult thing to do. But second of all, Otani seems to be ascending even higher, you know, to the mountaintop. I don't know that there's any way to touch him the way he's been playing baseball. So that's going to be super fun to watch. Absolutely. Joe Posnatsky, author of Why We Love Baseball. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Tonight's Brief But Spectacular comes from Los Angeles, where Dana Vanderford and Fred Theas worked together in the county's homelessness prevention unit. It uses AI-driven data to identify people at risk of losing their home and offer support that can help prevent homelessness. I think the general public might believe that people find themselves in the experience of homelessness because of a series of bad choices or moral failings or that it's a choice to be in that experience of homelessness. and that isn't what we see at all from our clients.

I am a case manager at homeless prevention unit. I support families and keeping them being housed. The homelessness prevention unit is based in Los Angeles County. We're a part of the county's Department of Health Services. We find folks about a year before they might lose their housing. Hi, this is Alexandra. We proactively outreach to those folks, and then we connect them with an intervention

that provides them with flexible financial assistance, linkages to supportive services, and really responses. and really responsive case management. Some of them would need rent paid, someone would need background pay, someone would just need basic needs as far as like a grocery gift card or stuff for like laundry, just little stuff here and there. We use AI or machine learning to run an algorithm on county data

to identify people who might be most at risk of losing their housing in the next 12 months. Our algorithm looks at emergency room visits, arrests, crisis stabilization holds for mental health, interaction with benefits. The model catches that and produces a high risk list of people who might be at imminent risk of losing their housing. We make sure they don't get to that point of being homeless or being on the streets.

Fred is one of the strongest members of our team when it comes to building rapport with clients. We always hear from our clients that they feel like they're talking to a friend when they're talking to Fred. I make my clients laugh. I make my clients at ease. I use my humor, I use my personality to definitely lower their walls, their defensive walls.

Our program is unique because we don't just provide funds for rental assistance. Our clients have all kinds of financial needs when we first meet them. A client needed help with their son being in the sports. We were able to pay it for them. Although we have this sophisticated technology at the front end of our program, everything that happens from that point on is really like a human to human connection. One of the most rewarding moment for me is when I was able to get one of my clients, a house for him and his grandkids.

He was retired. He had enough income to sustain himself, but a family emergency resulted in his need to now parent three young kids. This family wasn't expecting our call, but I'm so glad that we found them. And ultimately, we were able to help this family move into a three-bedroom apartment.

Society spends a lot of time thinking about how to get people off of the streets and back into housing. And our program thinks about how to prevent people from finding themselves in those circumstances in the first place. AI support us to find these people in a fragile state, and we're able to support our client navigate through these crises. We're dealing with humans.

We're dealing with real people. My name is Frederick Theis. My name is Dana Vanderford. And this is my brief but spectacular take on preventing homelessness before it happens. And you can watch more brief but spectacular videos online. online at pbs.org slash news hour slash brief. And later tonight here on PBS, American Experience presents a documentary biography of former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger.

The film explores the life, the legacy, and the continuing influence of Kissinger, who was arguably the chief foreign policy architect of the 1960s and 70s, most crucially during the Vietnam War. At the end of the day, when Kissinger was alone with his own thoughts, I think he would have admitted to himself that South Vietnam did not have the ability to defend itself. I think all of the allegations to say that Congress lost the will to fight, that the American people lost the will to fight,

that the media misreported that war was a way for him to assuage his guilt. The collapse of South Vietnam and the evacuation of Saigon was without doubt the saddest moment of my governmental experience. Part two of Kissinger airs and streams tonight on PBS at 9 p.m. Eastern. You can stream both parts at pbs.org. And that is the News Hour for tonight. I'm Jeff Bennett. And I'm Amna Nawaz. On behalf of the entire News Hour team, thank you for joining us.