PBS News Hour - Full Show - September 10, 2026 - PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: September 10, 2026

Thursday on the News Hour, the GOP midterm convention opens with a claim of cash payouts. Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA wrestles with who will take up his mantle a year after his death. Iran-backed Houthis capture a Red Sea port, upending oil markets and threatening to push Yemen back into an all-out war. Plus, we speak with a man who was in the Pentagon on 9/11 about his miraculous survival. 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 Navazz is on assignment. On the news hour tonight, the Republican Midterm Convention enters its final night after an opening day that included a claim of cash payouts for votes. I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000. One year after the murder of Charlie Kirk, his organization, Turning Point USA, still wrestles with who will take up his mantle. The Iran-backed Houthis capture a Red Sea port, upending oil markets and threatening to push Yemen back into an all-out civil war. And we speak with a man who was in the Pentagon when it was struck on 9-11 about his miraculous survival that day. I like to say that 9-11 is forever burned in the memory of our nation, or at least I hope it is and will be. It's also quite literally burned into me.

Welcome to the News Hour. Republicans are back in Dallas tonight as they wrap. up their unprecedented midterm convention. Night one brought a claim from President Trump of $5,000 payments if Republicans keep control of Congress, while Democratic Senator John Federman made a surprise appearance by video. Our White House correspondent Liz Landers has more. During a nearly two-hour speech at the Republican Midterm Convention, President Donald Trump made a pledge to every American.

And here is my promise. If the Republicans win the House of Representatives, representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our economic, tremendous economic success. In history, we've never had anything like what's happening. I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000. It's a promise that could cost more than $1 trillion and had some Republicans questioning the price tag.

This Congressman Chip Roy writing on X that, quote, dependency is evil and soul-sucking in all its forms. He doesn't have the power to do this on his own. You have to get Congress to do it. The potential payout raised questions from some about whether the president was trying to buy votes. But says election law expert Rick Hassan, it's likely legal. I think if a state actually tried to prosecute Trump, which seems very unlikely, that the courts would say that his activity is protected by the First Amendment, because it's a campaign problem. It's really not that much different from saying, if you vote for me, I'll pass Medicare for all. If you vote for me, I'll cut your taxes by 20%. Politicians make these kinds of things all the time so long as they're public and they're given to every voter.

It's just part of campaign rhetoric. The president defended his plan in an interview on Fox News today. Why not just give the money now? If you have the money, why not give it now? Because they can't, I'll tell you what, because the Democrats can't do it. Because with them, it's negative growth. With us, it's so positive. So we're taking in $21 trillion.

Nobody, no country's ever taken in anywhere near that. It's four or five times higher than the next. All because of that beautiful word that you and I love more than most others, tariffs. When asked by PBS News for details on the dividend payment and cost, White House spokesman Davis Ingalls said in part, quote, President Trump has consistently proven his doubters wrong, drawing a clear contrast with the Democrats' record of historic inflation, unfettered illegal immigration, skyrocketing crime and weakness on the world.

world stage. It's not the first time the president has pledged Americans money. In 2020, the federal government sent stimulus checks emblazoned with Trump's name to certain Americans to offset the COVID economic crash. But he has floated the idea of Doge stimulus checks and tariff rebates for consumers, neither of which materialized. The president revisited familiar themes and touted what he sees as the Republican's biggest accomplishment so far, passing a sweeping tax cuts bill and securing the southern border. He also repeated this falsehood. We won the presidency three times. Trump lost the 2020 election by more than 7 million votes. U.S.C. lightweight champion Justin G. The more than 50 speakers on the day's main stage included some unusual appearances.

Attorney General Todd Blanche broke with modern DOJ tradition, the first AG to address a political convention in more than 60 years. To evil men and women in this country know this. President Trump will hold you accountable. If you traffic children, you will be held accountable. If you sell death in a pill, you will be held accountable. If you choose violence, you will be held accountable. And if you steal from people who work hard and pay taxes, you will be held accountable. Now that, that is making America safe again.

And Pennsylvania Democrat John Federman crossed party lines, making a surprise video appearance to introduce his Senate colleague. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I'm a common sense Democrat. I'm always going to stand with America. I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life. We'll work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley. Other Democrats descended on Dallas to counterprogram the convention with their own vision. President Trump commented yesterday that this arena was sold out and remarked at least a half dozen times

while he was speaking that this room was packed. And while the convention floor and this lower deck here near where we are standing was certainly full during his speech, The upper decks definitely had empty seats. Jeff, this arena holds 21,000 people. So, Liz, based on your reporting, what can we expect to hear from the speakers tonight? I think we should expect to hear a continuation of a lot of the same themes that we heard last night and touting President Trump's accomplishments. We know that Speaker Mike Johnson is going to be speaking tonight, delivering what he calls

a contrast for America, contrasting Republican tax cuts with what they say the ruin is. that Democrats would bring if they did in fact retake the House. We're also expected to hear from a number of people in President Trump's inner circle, including his son, Don Jr., his former White House press secretary, and now outside advisor Caroline Levitt, and also Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today also marks the one-year anniversary of the killing the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and we are certainly expecting to hear about him and his legacy on the conservative movement, in particular, young conservatives here today.

J.D. Vance, the vice president, will also deliver the keynote address. He was close with Charlie Kirk, so I think we should expect to hear from the vice president about him as well. President Trump is going to deliver a speech tonight, but we are not expecting it to be nearly as long as the almost two-hour address he gave last night, Jeff. Liz Landers in Dallas for us tonight. Liz, our thanks to you. As Liz mentioned, one figure whose influence is still deeply

felt at the Republican gathering is Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA. His killing one year ago reshaped the young conservative movement he built and left his friends and political allies with the task of carrying it forward. Today, Vice President J.D. Vance appeared on Kirk's former podcast to reflect on the future of the movement. This was a guy who just had so much life to live, who had so many people who loved them, and so many people who relied upon him, who depended upon him. All of us, I think, have this hole that we're all trying to fill or all trying to at least find some way of making sure that we carry on in Charlie's absence. For more on the future of Turning Point USA. We're joined now by Robert Draper, a New York Times

magazine reporter who profiled Kirk before his death. He continues to cover the young conservative movement and the fight over its future. Thank you for being here. My pleasure. When you look at the conservative youth movement that Charlie Kirk built, What has changed the most in his absence and who, if anyone, is stepping in to fill that leadership vacuum? Sure. I mean, on a certain level, Turning Point USA is still the predominant youth organization, conservative or otherwise. I mean, in fact, added numerous chapters after Kirk was assassinated. A lot of young conservative kids on campus really felt inspired by Kirk and wanted to properly pay tribute to him by starting chapters of their own. and, you know, they continue to raise a lot of money to host events.

But certain things certainly have changed. I mean, no one, including his widow, Erica Kirk, can sort of really fill the shoes that Charlie Kirk walked in. I mean, he was a generational talent. I mean, it's, you know, becomes trite to say that. But in his case, it's really true. Not just because of his fluency as a conservative messenger, but also his deafness in being able to hold a very fragile, coalition together and to help get out the vote, to raise money. And he was a very trusted advisor to President Donald Trump.

So replacing all that with just one person is a pretty impossible task. And as you say, Turning Point USA has exploded in size. What exactly has it grown into? Yeah. I mean, it's still, well, they're doing a couple of things. First, they're growing more and more college campus chapters, But something Erica Kirk had told me she wanted to focus on in which they're doing is adding more and more high school chapters. So they're trying to get kids at an earlier age and sort of acculturate them to conservative values.

And that largely explains the proliferation of the chapters. And you have reported on how openly racist and anti-Semitic elements of the far right have gained traction among some young conservatives, especially young men who were drawn to figures like Nick Fuentes. How much have those views seeped into Turning Point, and how is Turning Point, if at all, addressing it? They haven't seeped into Turning Point. I think that that is a battle that they have been fighting, not internally, but rather sort of, you know,

waging a kind of conservative civil war over the hearts and minds of, you know, disaffected young males. And there are some people who are grope-curious, that's the name of Fuentes' movement, who show up to Turning Point USA events. But by and large, they have been very clear, Turning Point has, and Charlie Kirk used to talk to me about this, that we utterly reject Flintzes' virulent racist form of white nationalism.

And so kids who are interested in that look elsewhere. There's another tension here. Turning Point is growing while some young voters who backed President Trump are growing disillusioned over affordability, the war in Iran, the Epstein files. Are you seeing that frustration manifest in the campus movement? Yes. Yeah. I mean, now you're really putting a finger on, I think, the true war that's being waged here.

It's not so much against one conservative flank versus another, another organization. It's instead that President Trump's policies have become very unpopular among young Americans. He has really the youth coalition, you know, that contests. contributed to the larger MAGA coalition has really fallen off. I mean, just as Trump has lost a lot of Latino and black voters who voted for him, that's even more so the case with young voters. And so it's very, very hard. And I think the Iran War in particular has made it difficult for conservative groups like

Turning Point to come to young people and say, you know, this is your kind of place after President Trump had talked so much about no more forever wars. Are we seeing or is it too early to say that we're, seeing competing movements with very different ideas about what conservatism should be? It's a bit early. We certainly are seeing that sort of above in the influencer ecosystem, whether it's Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Green, both, you know, a former Trump loyalists who have fallen out of favor with him or other individuals that has not yet seeped into the sort of young conservative movement, but there's no question.

that the conservative movement writ large is fracturing. I mean, and Charlie Kirk was someone who, I argue, actually died trying to hold it together. It was already starting to fall apart while he was there. It still may be enough, by the way, to help them in the midterms and in 2028, but that movement, you know, has really begun to, you know, be in tatters, and we will eventually see that in, you know, the youth groups as well.

well. Robert Trapper. Thank you for joining us this evening. Good to speak with you. My pleasure. And we start today's other headlines with a pair of legal losses for President Trump's efforts to shape the midterm elections. The U.S. Supreme Court once again rejected a Republican push for a new map in Missouri that could have helped Republicans pick up a seat. The illegal back and forth has led to weeks of confusion for Missouri voters. Separately, an appeals court upheld a block on President Trump's order to limit mail-in voting. While the Supreme Court considers the same issue, the first mail ballots are already going out in Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

Climate scientists say August was the hottest month ever recorded globally. Temperatures averaged about 62 and a half degrees Fahrenheit, roughly three degrees above pre-industrial levels. The European Climate Service, Copernicus, points to human-caused climate change and a strong El Nino, warning the impacts will only get worse. The reality is we will get more of these conditions that we've seen this summer. Every fraction of a degree of warming increases the likelihood of extremes becoming more intense, more frequent, and longer lasting. Separate data out this week shows the U.S. just recorded its warmest summer on record, averaging 74.4 degrees across the lower 48, about three degrees above normal.

In New York City, thousands of drones recreated the Twin Towers as the city prepares to mark 25 years since the September 11th attacks. The aerial art show featured 2,97 drones, one for each person killed, which formed the outlines of the towers at their full height. According to organizers, the project was developed with input from victims' families, survivors, and first responders. It was designed to give the public a place to come together. Remember those who were lost and reflect on the tragedy. On Wall Street today, stocks struggled again as oil prices hit their highest levels since May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 300 points. The NASDAQ slipped more than half a percent.

The S&P 500 also ended lower. And two passings of notes, starting with Barry Melrose, the legendary hockey coach and longtime commentator of the sport. Hi, I'm Barry Melrose. The hardest working sports announcer in the world. Melrose became a familiar face to millions of ESPN viewers known for his sharp hockey analysis, unmistakable style and signature mullet. Before that, he played six seasons as an NHL defenseman before becoming head coach of the LA Kings. He brought them to the Stanley Cup final in his first season back in 1993.

Barry Melrose retired from broadcasting in 2023 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He was 70 years old. Also today, former colleagues and friends are mourning the passing of political journalist Roger Simon. As Politico's chief political columnist, Simon was known for his fearless reporting, his insightful analysis, and his quick wit. Before that, the Chicago native made his name as a columnist at the Sun Times, where he developed what he described as a special connection with his readers. Even in these pre-internet days, people really communicated with you. They took the trouble to write letters, and they would stop beyond the street. And there was no experience like being a big city columnist.

His longtime friend and media colleague Dan Balls wrote about Simon's passing for the Washington Post today, calling him a craftsman of the First Order. Roger Simon was 78 years old. Still to come on the news hour, Red Sea shipping faces renewed pressure from an increase in fighting in the region as the war with Iran rages on. In 25 years after September 11th, we speak with the survivor of the Pentagon attack and to the former governor of New York. This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein studio at WETA in Washington, headquarters of PBS News. Yemen appears to be sliding back toward all-out war after Houthi rebels backed by Iran seized the key port city of Mokka from allies of the internationally recognized government.

Mokka sits on the Bab el-Mandeb, a critical shipping choke point and gateway to the Red Sea. Nick Schifrin has more on the escalating conflict, which is pushing oil prices higher and raising fears of a wider regional war. In Yemen today, a Houthi advance that once again threatens a global fault line. Iran-backed Houthi fighters chanted death to the U.S. in Israel as they walked into a government building today and released these videos of central Mokka. Seizing Western armored vehicles, releasing prisoners held by Yemeni government allies, and on a joyride on the Moka airport. This is territory that's been contested for more than a decade. For weeks, the fighting's been simmering.

Saudi-backed Yemeni fighters have tried to hold the line. But they've been pushed back quickly as the Houthis have captured a string of positions in Yemen, leading to Moka, which sits on Yemen's coast, just a short distance from the Babal Mandev, the 20-mile-wide gateway to the Red Sea. It was already one of the world's most important maritime choke points, more so since Iran has maintained its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Already, the Houthis had been threatening Saudi ships, and they attack key Saudi energy and military facilities across the border. Saudi officials say the Houthi attacks have destroyed civilian homes and wounded more than 70 people. The fight for the west coast of Yemen had to be decisive. We are very keen to face the enemy directly. The next step would be to get into a war.

dialogue that involves all the folk or leadership parties in Yemen. I spoke remotely today to Houthi spokesman Mohammed al-Bukhaiti. You're calling for dialogue, but are you planning to expand the military operation? Will you try and seize more territory alongside the Babel Mandeb? And will you also try and seize Perem Island inside the Babel Mandeb? We don't need to actually take control over Babel Mondeb or the island. Our missiles can reach any ships in the sea. The Houthis and Saudis fought.

a nearly decade-long war that for the last four years has been in a tentative ceasefire. The current tension spiked in July when Saudi Arabia bombed a Houthi-controlled airport to prevent an aircraft landing that the Saudis say was carrying Iranian weapons. There are reports that there are IRGC members in Yemen helping direct or assist in some of these attacks. How much of this are you doing on behest of Iran? There are no Iranian forces in Yemen. We actually depend on our themselves to manufacture all kinds of weapons, whether they are an AK rifle or a drone or even a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Tonight, the UN's special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grunberg, warned the new violence was dragging Yemen back into civil war and toward a regional conflict. This renewed war should alarm us all. It effectively marks the end of the relative quorn that Yemen has experienced for over four years since the UN broke a truth. It not only threatens to plunge Yemen into a prolonged and expanse. war, but also risks yet and again dragging the country into the wider and unresolved regional confrontation with global repercussions.

And today, the Houthi Advance pushed the price of Brent crude above $105 a barrel over concerns of disruption to global supply routes. For perspective on the latest developments in Yemen, we turn to Gregory Johnson. He is a longtime Yemen expert currently with the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, D.C. Gregory Johnson, thanks very much. Welcome back to the News Hours. As I just mentioned, the Houthis have already been threatening Saudi ships going through the Babel Mandeb. You heard the Houthi spokesperson there saying that their missiles and drones can cover all of the territory in the Baba Mondeb. So how significant is it that they've now captured

the port city of Moka? And I'm going to bring up the map here to understand its geography. Yeah, thanks, Nick. And always a pleasure to join you. It's an incredibly significant development in Yemen. So the Houthis, as you can see there on the map, had territory on Yemen's western coast that was the north, but the Babel Mendeb and the Red Sea sort of acts as a funnel. So it narrows down to about 19 miles across at its narrowest point. That's a choke point for the Houthis. So by moving south and taking Mocha, the Houthis are actually able to project a lot more power into the red seas. So you have boats that are sort of congested there at the choke point. This gives the Houthis more targets to aim at. They say they're only. They're going after Saudi oil tankers at the moment, and it gives the ships less room to navigate. It also allows the Houthis, at least on the defensive, to then spread their mobile missile launchers, some of the drone launchers that they have out across more territory, more geography, which makes hitting those, which was already a very difficult task, even more and more difficult, as we're seeing sort of on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula and the Strait of Hormuz.

And you just referred to more territory. You heard the Houthi spokesperson claim that they don't want more territory, but it does seem like that they're pushing not only into Moka, but down along the coast and could threaten these islands that are in the Baba Mandeb, right? Yeah, absolutely. I think that's what the Houthis are going to do. I mean, for a long time, for the past several years, they've been trying to move east inland to get some of the oil and gas reserves that Yemen has because the Houthis, while they control a lot of territory in Yemen, they don't actually have sort of the economic base to survive long term. What's changed? changed recently is the Houthis looking at what Iran has done in the Strait of Hormuz and saying

to themselves, we can do something similar. So now instead of sort of pushing all their resources east toward Mareb, where the Saudi air defenses and the Saudi Air Force was able to sort of push them back, now the Houthis are pushing their forces south along the coast to try to really take control of most of the Babel Mendev. And the Yemeni national forces, the sort of anti-Houthi coalition, which was in Mocha, has withdrawn. But they've not withdrawn south. They've withdrawn inland, which means that the Houthis can continue their advance,

and there's really not that much to stop them, at least on the ground. So let's talk about how capable or not the Yemeni government and its allies are to be able to stop the Houthis. A senior U.S. government official pointed out to me today that the U.S. had assumed that the particular militia guarding Moka was actually one of the more capable allies of the Yemeni government. So what does it say that that militia wasn't able to defend Mocha? Yeah, there's a long backstory here, Nick.

So the guy who is in charge of that force in Mocha is a guy by the name of Tadak Salah. That name may sound familiar to some of your viewers because his uncle was the former president, Ali Abdullah Salah. For the first few years of this war from about 2015 to 2017, Tadok Salah actually fought with the Houthis. It was only when the Houthis killed his uncle, the former president of Yemen, that he defected and joined this anti-Houthi coalition. That's one piece. The second piece is that late last year, Saudi Arabia really pushed the United Arab Emirates out of Yemen. And Saudi Arabia then basically tried to take all of the various militia groups that the UAE had been supporting in Yemen,

one of which was Tarek Salas force, and bring them under the Saudi umbrella. So really what's happening on the ground is that what we call the anti-Houthi coalition or the Yemeni National forces or whatever term we want to apply to them, we think of them as one, one group. They're not one group. They're about eight to ten different groups, all of which are riven with infighting and bickering. They have diametrically opposed views about what the end state that they actually want to see in Yemen. And so it's not at all surprising, at least to me, and I don't think it should be to the U.S. official, that this group was driven out of Moka. The Houthis are experts at exploiting some of these fissures and the fractures that exist within the anti-Houthi coalition. They've been doing it for over a

decade now, and now they're putting their forces south, and they were able, obviously, to take the port city, and it looks like they're going to continue to advance farther south. We heard the UN today warn that Yemen is headed towards civil war. At what point do the Saudis re-enter this war? At what point does this become, yet again, a regional conflict? Well, I think Yemen has been in a civil war for several years, and Saudi Arabia has been involved. Saudi Arabia was bombing targets in Yemen in July and in August as well. The real choice that Saudi Arabia faces right now, and we're in September of 26, it's the same choice that Saudi Arabia faced in March of 2015 when they initially made the decision to go into Yemen.

And that is they want to defeat the Houthis. They want to get the Houthis out of Yemen or at least out of Sinaw and put what passes for the internationally recognized government back in the capital. What Saudi needs to do that, though, is actual troops on the ground because the Yemeni forces, as we've seen overnight with their loss of Moka, aren't capable of defeating the Houthis on their own. Saudi air power isn't capable of defeating the Houthis on their own. So we need some foreign ground troops. But Saudi Arabia doesn't want to put foreign ground troops into Yemen for any sort of a long, bloody conflict with no good. guarantee of success. And so they rely on the next best option, which is basically bombing and hoping. And that appears to be what it is that we're headed back to, where Saudi will carry out

some air strikes, the Houthis will absorb some air strikes. They'll still make some gains on the ground. And the problem itself won't be solved. So essentially, we're in a situation where the Saudis know what it is that they want. They know the objective, getting the Houthis out, but they are not willing to pay the price that it would actually cost to bring about that objective. Gregory Johnson, thank you very much. Thanks so much. Now two reflections on the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, starting with the story of one survivor.

25 years ago, Navy Lieutenant Kevin Schaefer was one of the few people to survive the attack in the Navy Command Center of the Pentagon. Schaefer and his colleagues were watching the attacks on the World Trade Center on television when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building. gulfing their section in a fireball. The attack on the Pentagon killed 184 people, 59 aboard the airplane and 125 inside the building. Badly burned and struggling to breathe,

Schaefer crawled through the smoke and debris and began heading toward this hole blown out in the outer rings of the building. That's when Army Sergeant First Class Steve Workman heard his calls for help, placed him on top of a maintenance cart, and wheeled him to one of the first ambulances to arrive. It was quite terrifying. It was black. I was knocked down.

I knew I was on fire. What followed was a grueling recovery. One the news hour chronicled at the time. Schaefer was rushed to the Walter Reed Medical Center initially and then treated for months in the burn unit at the Washington Hospital Center. Schaefer suffered second and third degree burns over nearly 50 percent of his body, along with severe lung damage from smoke and jet fuel. He spent months in the hospital, much of that time, on events.

of that time on a ventilator. Underwent nearly 20 operations and skin grafts and twice came close to dying when his heart stopped. I think I kind of knew that it wasn't my time and I had to keep moving and I had to find a way out. After he gained strength and mobility, Schaefer returned to public service. He was awarded the Purple Heart and became a staff member of the 9-11 commission, helping investigate the attacks that nearly killed him. Then in 2007, Schaefer joined the CIA, eventually becoming part of the team hunting the man who orchestrated the attacks, Osama bin Laden. In the years since he retired, Schaefer has become a motivational speaker, reminding Americans about the meaning and importance of September 11th. Then Kevin Schaefer joins us now. Welcome to the News Hour.

Thank you. It's a pleasure and honor to be here. 25 years later, does September 11th feel differently to you now? It does. There is so much ground that's been covered since 9-11. In many ways, it's visceral, the memories of that day. What I personally went through, what we went through as a nation, but also all of the reflections and memories of what we've been through since. So in that way, it's distinctly different, and I think on the 25th year mark, it's time to reflect and look back over those years with a special eye.

And you've said that you don't want people to forget what happened on that day. With every milestone anniversary, it means there are more Americans who weren't even alive on September 11th. What do you want the younger generation to know about that day and all that came after? Well, I personally often speak of never forgetting, and that's the mantra of our 9-11 generation is never forget, never forget what happened to us that day, and keeping the honor and memories of those lost in our forefront and also remembering the loved ones who they left behind. It's very hard to say never forget to a generation that wasn't born on 9-11 or was too young to ever remember it in the first place.

So we face those challenges and I think thankfully this year I'm feeling a very tangible sense that many across the nation are making an omission to make sure that we in the future take that as a serious challenge and want to overcome that we never forget 9-11 and learn the lessons from it but also really deeply share the meaning of it for future generations. If I may ask, what do you remember in the first moments after Flight 77 hit the Pentagon? My immediate reaction was I knew it was a coordinated attack. My command center, the Navy Command Center, and the Pentagon had been closely watching like millions of Americans and millions around the world.

The tragedies unfolding in New York, we were watching on TV in the Navy Command Center. And so watching those horrors unfold, knew that it was a terrorist attack like everyone did, but never suspected that the Pentagon Fortress would be at risk. In the moment of impact, I was amazingly able to stay. conscious even though it was critically burned and but in that moment I thought this is a coordinated attack my mind quickly shifted to survival and I had the fight and escape the space and your wife was active duty at the time as well yes my wife Blanca was an active duty Navy lieutenant she was out of town did not know where I

worked in the building as most don't she was worried about me and didn't get word on my condition until later that evening and by the time you got to Walter Reid there was a nurse that you overheard say that you you had a 50-50 chance of surviving. What do you remember about that moment? I had been taken to Walter Reed, the original Army Hospital, downtown Washington, D.C., and it was a harrowing journey to get there. And I remember saying all along the way to a sergeant first class, Steve Workman,

who helped save my life there, that I'm alive, I'm alive. And so I knew how important it was to have made it through the impact and made it out of that space. When I heard someone say 50%, 50-50 chance, it made me so angry, I grabbed the nurse who I thought had said that, kind of pulled her up on the gurney and read her a little bit of a riot act telling her, no, I'm alive, I'm alive. And they calmed me down, got her off of me, and she kind of went away. And they then turned their focus and attention to pulling and tugging up my rings that I wore on my left hand and my right hand, my wedding band and my class ring.

And they were causing me great pain. And I heard in that moment someone yell out for the ring cutters. And that also made me mad. And I yelled out, stop, stop. And they froze. And really, with all the strength that I could muster in that moment, I took off my wedding band in my left hand and my naval academy class ring on my right hand. And I handed them over to a nurse nearby.

And I said, okay, to myself, now they can get on and save my life. And it was my last memory of 9-11. Do you have a sense of where your resilience comes from? you have endured catastrophic injuries, months of treatment, and then you ultimately returned to public service. It comes from love. It comes from being loved and supported and loving others. I love my wife dearly, my family.

It comes from a love of this nation, our country, wanting to serve our country, and having that deep sense of service when I was young, and it led me to the Naval Academy and pursuing a life of service in the Navy. And after all of this, you joined, the 9-11 commission and later the intelligence effort to find Osama bin Laden. What can he tell us about that year's long effort to locate him?

In many ways, I compare it to a marathon, a long marathon. There were many runners in that marathon at various mile markers, great patriots, incredible professionals, full of courage, full of competency, full of determination and grit to see that mission through. there were ups and downs for sure. There were failures and some successes. And ultimately, I feel thankful for being a runner along those last final mile markers in that marathon.

In that moment you learned that bin Laden hadn't been found and killed. How did that strike you? In that moment, there was definitely a deep sense of closure. For me, it was not something that I wore on my sleeve, but it was an inner drive that kept me very much in the fight and kept me motivated. 25 years later, how much of September 11th do you carry physically? How much of it do you carry emotionally?

I like to say that 9-11 is forever burned in the memory of our nation, or at least I hope it is and will be. It's also quite literally burned into me. I carry the scars of that day. It was burned on nearly 50% of my body, second and third-degree burns, deep inhalation injuries. But I don't carry the physical detriments of that today. I'm all about the best case.

I'm all about the optimism. And so I've moved forward in my life every year since with that optimism and strength and trying to give that to others as well. Have you thought about how you might feel when you're at the Pentagon tomorrow? There's going to be a lot of reflection. There's going to be a lot of remembering. There's going to be honor given to those who lost their lives there. There's going to be love extended to the family members who have been suffering all of these years.

and we're together as a community. We'll be together at the Pentagon. We'll be together in New York City and we'll be together in that field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, each different, but each special in our way, in our generation, and we'll be together on 9-11. Retired Navy Lieutenant Kevin Schaefer. Thank you for your time this evening,

and thank you for your service to our nation. Thank you very much. 25 years ago, George Pataki was governor of New York when the September 11th attacks transformed his state and the country. In the hours that followed, Pataki was among those leading New York through an unimaginable crisis as rescue efforts began in Lower Manhattan and the country confronted the enormity of what had happened. Former New York Republican Governor George Pataki joins us now. Thank you for being with us, sir. Thank you, Jeff. Nice being on.

Take us back to that moment 25 years ago. What do you remember most vividly about that morning and all that transpired? Well, the first is the shock. It was a beautiful day. We were at peace, and all of a sudden, it was clear we were under attack, and that was just something

no one could have anticipated. And then, of course, the next thing is when the towers came down. That was also something that I don't think anyone anticipated. And you immediately understood the horror, the loss, the magnitude of the lives that had been murdered that morning,

and it was just something that, It was impossible to prepare for, but there was no choice, but to spring into action right away. And you recently shared that you're living with the respiratory illness connected to your time at Ground Zero. Can I ask, how's your health? How are you doing? You know, Jeff, I'm fine, and I really am. And I feel so badly for there are thousands of people who really have serious illness, cancers and other very significant illness from breathing that toxic air. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I still feel great. Yes, I have some minor lung issues,

but hopefully they won't be too problematic going forward. As you rightly point out, that experience is shared by thousands of first responders and recovery workers and other people who lived in that area who have become sick since 9-11. It raises the question, what does the government owe to the people who put their health and their lives at risk

when the country asks them to show up? Well, first of all, we were told the air was safe. I mean, I remember that unequivocally. And having spent many, many days and hours at ground zero, the air was clearly horrible. You could see the dust from river to river. You could see smoke everywhere and paper and ash flying all over. But we were told it was not toxic, it was safe, and we acted accordingly. What really troubles me, Jeff, is that there were thousands of people working on

pile, the burning mass of twisted steel, trying to save lives and then trying to get us back to normal. And the whole country looked at them as heroes. And they were standing on this burning and smoldering debris for weeks to try to allow us to begin to move forward. And they inspired a country with their courage. And now it's our turn. It's our obligation as Americans to stand with them and do whatever they need to make sure we meet their health requirements. And there has been progress made. The federal government has a good program. I just want to make sure everything that can be done to save lives and the help those suffering is done by our government. Of all the people you encountered in those initial days and weeks, is there someone you still think of? There's so many people I think of and

and the family members. We all, 25 years later, have a tremendous sense of loss and think of their friends and people that we knew really well who died that day. But then at Ground Zero on September 11th, you'll see the family members holding the pictures. 25 years later are their loved ones. And when you've lost a son or a daughter, a father or mother,

the pain 25 years later is not any less. There's still this tremendous void. So those family members, who responded so courageously. They really did stand up and help us get through that. Inspired me then, and they inspired me to this day. You helped oversee the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan amid what was then an enormous debate

about what should rise from the place where nearly 3,000 people were killed. 25 years later, you walked through Lower Manhattan now. It is a vibrant residential and commercial community. which strikes you the most when you go back down there? Well, Jeff, I'll tell you, I'm really proud of what we've done to bring lower Manhattan back. You said there was a lot of emotion around Ground Zero. That's a dramatic understatement.

Virtually everyone in America had an opinion as to what should be done at that site and very strong opinions, particularly among family members and firefighters and people who had lost loved ones. And so we just had to work very hard to come up with an intelligent master site plant that allowed the rebuilding of the 10 million square feet of office space that had been lost so that lower Manhattan could be a viable economic center, but also at the same time to preserve that sacred ground, the footprints where the towers had stood, the plaza around where the other buildings had stood, and to honor the memory of those we lost that day. And I think we've done that very well, where the towers stood there are now void, so you can see the physical magnitude of what

was lost, and around those you had the names of every single person who was killed that day. And below that, we have the museum telling their individual stories. So we can show the magnitude of the loss. We can show the courage of New Yorkers. And then right next to it is the tallest building ever built in the Western Hemisphere is 1776 feet tall. And I'm proud that when we decided to rebuild, we said, we're not going to just build what was there. We're going to rise above it. And we've done that 25 years later. As we mark this milestone 25 years, it strikes me that so much memory can become ritualized, the names, the bells, the moments of silence. What are we in danger of forgetting, even as we promise never to forget?

Yeah, the first thing is that we do forget. You know, you think of Pearl Harbor. And that was a horrible day in American history and had enormous consequences, the beginning of World War II. And yet, yes, on December 7th, people will stop and recognize it, but very few. And I fear that people are going to forget what happened on September 11th, the courage we showed, the loss that we suffered. But I fear more, Jeff, that we're going to see people distorting that history. We already do. Someone like Hassan Piker saying, we deserve those attacks.

This is utter nonsense. We were at peace. 3,000 people went to work that day on a beautiful fall day. and most of them were murdered, and they weren't murdered by accident. It was a calculated attack by Islamic jihadists, and that's not to criticize Islam. It's to criticize crazy people of whatever faith who would engage in terrorist and violent acts like this.

And I fear that that not only might be forgotten, but it might even be distorted. Former New York Republican Governor George Pataki, thank you for your time and for your insights this evening, sir. We appreciate it. Thank you, Jeff. And we'll have more coverage of 9-11 tomorrow right here on the news hour, as well as this weekend on horizons. William Brangham speaks with John Field, a longtime advocate for 9-11 survivors and first responders about newly released records showing New York City officials misled the public about air safety after the attacks.

Here's a preview. What they did was escalate a serious issue into something that now cannot be fixed. because we are evolving for the worst. And thank God we have doctors like Dr. Crean and Love that have to evolve with us as we get on into our older years and deal with these cancers. You know, there's 155,000 people in the World Trade Center Health Program.

There's 57,000 plus people with a certified 9-11 related cancer. That's one in three. And again, we have a higher survival rate than the general population. But if the city just would have came clean, we knew we were sick. You didn't have to hide anything. There was a lawsuit in 2010.

There was legislation in 2010. Again, legislation in 2015. Again, in 2019. And again, in April of this year. You should have just came clean. You know, no one's going to get sued. No one's going to jail. There's going to be no investigation.

But for people like Rudy Giuliani, who's now sick and trying to get into the World Trade Center Health Program, or Governor Bataki, who has serious and health program, who has serious. respiratory illnesses who said it's from 9-11, it's karma. It's full circle. And these are the men who denied that, you know, everything was great. And, you know, the air was saved, the water was safe, and get on with your life. Let's show the terrorists. We're not scared at them.

Yad-y-a-di-a-da. But at the end of the day, human light took a backseat to the almighty dollar. And we don't value human life like we used to. You can watch Horizons on our YouTube page wherever you get your podcasts and on your local PBS station this weekend. Check your local listings. Finally tonight, when Jason Howell Sr. was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for heroin distribution, his incarceration upended the lives of his four children. Our brief but spectacular team first spoke with the Howell family in 2019. Seven years later, they returned to reflect on the toll of that separation, the years they lost, and how they've rebuilt their own. lives together.

I'm gonna hit play. Okay. My son was snorting pain pills. Pretty soon heroin was cheaper and became his drug of choice. He got sentenced to a mandatory, a federal prison sentence of 10 years. Their mother had overdosed and was being taken to the hospital. We were planning on getting all four of the children and when the courts decided to split them up between grandparents, that was a real.

that was a really hard situation. When I learned my dad was going away, it was hard for all of us. The most challenging part, I'd say, was just learning how long he was going to be gone. The joy that comes to our hearts knowing he's going to get out, it's also a mixed bag,

because that drug is a tough one. You hear about people relapsing all the time. We hope that he will have this licked forever, but also in the back of our mind, uh, came and I both still kind of worry. You know, are we, do we have it? Do we get to stop worrying now? Are things going to be okay now?

Is he telling the truth now? And I guess, uh, I guess time will tell. To watch that back, it hurts more than anything. Um, it hurts to see the pain in my children's eyes and in my parents' eyes. Uh, I've, I've apologized to my children so many times and, uh, I've apologized to my children so many times. I broke down so many times and apologized to them because I never wanted to leave them like that. And when I left them, their life diminished

and it was hard. I'm looking forward to spending time with my dad and just like messing around and goofing around. He just, I can tell he feels a lot of guilt for not being around for us. It's something that he'll never be able to get back. and I just want to be able to do things with him and see him and not have any restrictions to that. It will never be what I expected it to be and what it was before he went in.

But, you know, I'm slowly coming to terms with that. So I got released from Myland Federal Correctional Institution September 9th, 2021. I had went to a halfway house in Janesville. I stayed there for six months, but they did really help me there, help me get out of my feet. I had a counselor. I got a job at all metals recycling, where we broke down TVs. It was only $15 an hour, but it was nice just to get out

and be able to work. Then I did my six months on home confinement. I got back to work in the Painters Union, local eightel two Painters Union. I got my son on as my apprentice. I got back to making great money. I had my own house. My credit was good from being gone so long,

so I had a nice vehicle. As I get out into the world, I realized that there's a lot of setbacks. When my father was released, it was overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. You have all of these thoughts about what you want to do with your dad right when he gets out and, you know, all of these experiences you want to go through, but it has to be like a very, like, gradual take on it. And so right away, you can't accomplish all these things.

You realize that he hasn't adjusted to society yet. lot of good choices. I went to the bar and drank at times. I started using methamphetamine for the first time of my life at 40 years old and slowly things started to crack. I did have a lot of run-ins with the law and I almost got sent back. I just go back in front of the federal judge. He gave me a chance to go to a sober living house and that situation that really helped me start to build my life back. I don't feel like I need a lot from him other than just to stay clean, stay out of trouble, you know, just be a productive member of society.

I'm still trying to prove to them that I can do this and be a father. It's hard. Life's hard. I feel like I've let both my parents down, try to stay clean, fall again. This has been the biggest rise that I've had right now. I probably have the best relationship with my dad that I've been. ever had in my entire life. What scares me now is possibly being done with probation. What life's going to be like when I don't have to be held accountable by anybody else, when I just

have to hold myself accountable. So I got to make sure I'm strong enough. He can't get back the time that was wasted, but you know he's making up for things now and he's building himself back up again, which is really important to me. If I had a message for my dad, I'd definitely tell him thank you for just trying to be present in all of our lives, regardless of the circumstances. I'd also tell him that he has all of our support. My name is Jason Howell, and this is my brief but spectacular take on my journey through life. You can watch more brief but spectacular videos online at pbs.bs.org slash news hour slash brief.

And there's a lot more online, including a lot more. live fact check of the Republican midterm convention, you can find that at pbs.org slash news hour. That is the news hour for tonight. I'm Jeff Bennett. For all of us here at the News Hour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us.