PBS News Hour - Full Show - September 13, 2025 – PBS News Weekend full episode

Episode Date: September 13, 2025

Saturday on PBS News Weekend, we look at rising concerns about political violence following conservative leader Charlie Kirk’s assassination. States and local governments make tough decisions in the wake of major federal health care funding cuts. Plus, a conversation with Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes as the beloved drama comes to an end. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Tonight on BBS News Weekend, Charlie Kirk's widow speaks out about the future of his organization. And we look at rising concerns about political violence following the conservative leaders' assassination. Then, health care cuts are already here, how state and local governments are making tough decisions now in the wake of major cuts in federal funding. And your presence is requested. The final Downton Abbey movie is now out. We speak with show creator Julian Fellows about the much-loved drama. I suppose, if I'm honest, there is a kind of longing for order, really. I don't know that I long for a Victorian way of life and all of that stuff.

I don't think I do. But I do long for a world of order and good manners and where people are pleasant to each other, and everyone stops getting so angry about everything. Good evening. I'm Lisa Desjardin. John Yang is away. The assassination of American conservative leader Charlie Kirk is drawing reaction and concern around the world. In London, a massive crowd today estimated at over 100,000 people gathered in a march organized by anti-immigration activists who remembered Kirk as part of the event. This as the 22-year-old suspect in the killing is being held without bond due to appear in court Tuesday. As the investigation into the shooter's motives

goes on, Kirk's widow, Erica, spoke for the first time last night, vowing that his movement will not only continue but will grow. You have no idea the fire that you have ignited. within this wife? The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry. Concerns about security for political figures and of political violence in general continue to rise. Cynthia Miller Idris is the director of the polarization and extremism research innovation lab at American University, and she joins me now. Cynthia, looking at the pattern of violence in recent years,

What fits into that pattern from this and what might be new? Well, we've been seeing rising political violence, rising hate-fueled violence for several years now. We're at a level that we haven't seen since the 1970s. And over the last couple of years, in the U.S. in particular, we've seen rising assassination attempts and assassinations as a tactic within that political extremism. And that's also been happening overseas. So, you know, I think it's, it was to be expected that political assassinations would continue if we weren't able to tamp down the rhetoric. To be expected, to hear those words is really quite stunning. But you are the one doing the research and you're talking about the rhetoric, which is a big part of the conversation right now.

How much is rhetoric responsible for political violence? And especially that moment where someone isn't just expressing anger, as we see online everywhere, kind of. toxic culture online. How much does political rhetoric influence someone to move from saying words to doing something violent? Or does it? Yeah, I mean, one of the things we'd seen, and I said this a year ago after Trump, the first assassination attempt against President Trump, was that it was only a matter of time with the kind of rhetoric that we see that we were going to get to political assassination. So, you know, that's what I mean by expected. It sounds very cynical, but it was very predictable, shocking but not surprising is the way that I think of it.

When you have political rhetoric that consistently positions us versus them in existential terms, when people online are celebrating the assassination of a United Healthcare executive, for example, that kind of violence being valorized, not just seen as a last type of solution, but as an acceptable or even preferable one. There was also a celebration online of this. assassination. And at the same time, we also know there are some supporters of Charlie Kirk who are using more and more sort of warlike kind of talk. After a tragedy like this, there are all sorts of ways that people deal with the grief. But where do you think we are right now

in the rhetoric about this event? I think we're at a really very risky moment. I will say that the elected officials rhetoric, the bipartisan, mostly bipartisan condemnation of the violence and of, you know, the idea that no one deserves to be shot, no matter how much you disagree with them, I think has been very clear. But among ordinary people, especially young people on social media, we have seen much more divisive rhetoric, both calling for civil war and celebrating the death of the killing of someone with whom people often vehemently disagreed. And so I think one of the things I've been urging people is to not just look to political leaders for solutions, but look across the dinner table. That's a moment to engage with dialogue and really

try to walk back that rhetoric. One thing I've noticed in the past few days is a rise in conservatives, doxying, or publishing the personal information of people, individuals who are not remotely famous, who may have in some cases celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk, as you said. That's something obviously deplorable to do. But in some cases, maybe not gone that far, just offended some folks. We spoke to someone from Wired magazine who's covering this, talking about specifically this moment. I've spoken to multiple people this week

who have, you know, their employment terminated as a result of what they posted online. In some cases, they were celebrating Charlie Kirk's death. In other cases, it was much, much less than that, and they were just making points about divisive U.S. society. This has been not just about shaming people, but about affecting their lives. And in some case, we know there's been death threats as well.

I wonder what you make of this tactic, not just something a few people are doing, but people are collecting databases to do this now. Yeah, doxing is a very dangerous tactic from, we've seen it from the left and from the right. And what we've seen over the years is that often when someone is doxed, their personal information linked, leaked,

there have been cases where people show up at the wrong address. where they used to live, let's say, and threaten a kind of innocent family who lives there. You're putting at risk family members, children, others who might live at that address. So, you know, one of the things I would really urge people to do is avoid that temptation, whatever the motivation to look for accountability. This is a moment to allow the rule of law, to allow social media policies to handle that. In a few seconds we have left here, we've seen these moments in history before where we have assassination attempts happening

over a decade or two decades kind of thing before. But I wonder you mentioned people need to talk to each other across the dinner table. What else gets the country out of moments like this? Well, one of the things we really need is more serious and systematic investments in prevention,

which is something that other countries have. We in this country tend to rely on after the fact increases in security, better barricades, better security detectors and that's expensive, and it requires a perfection every time. But you can also invest in helping people be less persuaded by propaganda online, less persuaded by manipulative efforts that say violence is the solution,

and help people know how to recognize warning signs and know where to get more help. Cynthia Miller-Irhus, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. In tonight's other headlines, President Trump is ramping up pressure on NATO to stop purchasing Russian energy. In a letter to NATO allies that he also posted to social media, the president vowed to place major sanctions on Russia when those in the alliance stopped buying oil from Russia.

Mr. Trump said NATO's reliance weakens its bargaining power. The post comes as tensions rise in Europe over the war in Ukraine. Russia announced today it completed a joint military exercise with Belarus in the Baltic Sea, just two days after Russian drones flew. over Poland. More airstrikes and more deaths overnight as Israel's military operation in Gaza intensifies. More than 30 people were killed in Gaza City, including 12 children. Israel hit some residential buildings that it says Hamas used to spy on troop movements. The Jewish state calls Gaza City the last Hamas stronghold. But Palestinians argue there's no safe place for

them to go and relocating is out of reach for many. There is no safe place in Gaza. From Rafa in the south to Zikim, there is no safe place. Those who say there are empty areas, it's empty talk. There is bombing everywhere. What can we do? Where should we go? Israel has told civilians to evacuate to Al-Mawesi in the south, which it has designated as a humanitarian zone. Authorities in Nepal's capital today lifted a curfew that was put in place after protests killed 51.

people and led to the collapse of the government. The move comes after some calm returned to Kathmandu Friday with the appointment of a new placeholder prime minister, Susheila Karki. She was formerly a Supreme Court Chief Justice and was known for standing up to corruption. And in England, fans of Jane Austen gathered to celebrate the author's 250th birthday. The Jane Austen Festival in Bath, which started as a weekend celebration, now lasts 10 days. Travelers from around the world are united by their love of empire waists, tailcoats, and bonnets, all to honor the author of Pride and Prejudice, who they say provides a time capsule into 18th century culture.

The festival ends next week, leaving plenty of time for fans to promenade along the streets that Austin and her characters stroll. Still to come on PBS News Weekend. The hard choices states are making in the wake of billions of dollars of cuts, federal funding for health care. And saying goodbye to the crawlies, the family at the center of the beloved historical drama, Downton Abbey. This is PBS News Weekend from the David M. Rubenstein studio at WETA in Washington, home of the PBS News Hour, weeknights on PBS. The Trump administration is planning sweeping cuts to health care funding.

across the country. Some of those federal funding cuts have already taken effect. Others will be rolling out in the next few years as President Trump's so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act is implemented. That law will reduce what the federal government expects to spend on Medicaid by more than $900 billion over a decade. KFF Health News looked at what that means for states, which will have to shoulder more of the costs of health programs, and they found they're being forced to make tough choices about what they can afford. is the senior health policy correspondent at KFF News and joins me now. Stephanie, first of all, help our viewers understand which of these health cuts have already

happened and which ones are coming down the road. That's actually a really important question because states are grappling with what's already happened. They've already seen tens of millions of dollars cut. For example, the Trump administration is clawing back about $11 billion just in funding that was given to states to help them cope with the pandemic. And a number of states had earmarked those funds for public health programs and now they're having to cut that. Also, what's looming is even more troubling for states because it's about almost a trillion dollars in reduced Medicaid spending is coming in the next year or two. So right now you're seeing states grappling not only with the cuts that

are happening right now, but what are they going to do down the line? Your work has really looked at the ups and downs across the country, and it varies by quite a lot. By your analysis, for example, Texas expects to lose some $40 billion in Medicaid funding. Delaware's already seen almost 40 million in public health funds cuts. What do you see as the most painful decisions going on out there right now? Yeah, I think what's really hard for states right now is they were kind of going through a good time financially, and they gave a lot of tax break. to residents in their state. That's been something that's been going on across the country.

So that's really eaten into states' revenue already. So on top of the fact that revenues are kind of down because of that, they're seeing the cuts that have already happened, plus the cuts that are coming. And for some states, there's not much they can do. They don't have a lot of other resources, so they're going to have to cut programs. Other states are trying to do what they can to kind of bulk up what still exists.

for example, New Mexico, creating a trust fund to try to keep Medicaid going, like, so it will be there for the years to come. But by and large, for states, this is a really tough time, and they're just now kind of getting the sense of the scope of how big these cuts are really going to be. You know, Republicans, when they pass the Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, they insisted that this was about trying to stabilize the Medicaid system overall and that it would not hurt the vulnerable. We've done a lot of work on that on the show. a debate remains to be seen what happens. But how do states view that problem potentially? Are states worried about more uninsured on their roles? Or do they think this could make the system more stable?

Well, I think it's both. I think a number of states sort of welcome some of the oversight in terms of cracking down on fraud and abuse. That's certainly an issue. But I think states are right now, they're having to put into place a lot of bureaucracy for this. Like one of the things that's going to be required under the Big Beautiful Bill Act is a work requirement. And for enrollees, this is going to be a lot more bureaucracy and paperwork. And there's a lot of concern that that's what's going to cause people to drop off the rolls, that they're just not going to be able to contend with the paperwork, which we saw earlier with some states when they imposed work requirements. So I think states are kind of both ways.

In some ways, they kind of welcome the addition. oversight, but it's also going to be a big financial conundrum for them right now, just setting it up. This area of American health care is really among the most complex problems this country has, and it's confusing to many people. But can you help people understand if you're not on Medicaid, maybe if you don't have a direct connection to these health programs, could this still affect you all of these cuts? Absolutely. The Congressional Budget Office estimates we'll see more than 7 million people uninsured compared to what we have now. And that's a significant number. And what happens when that occurs is hospitals, for example, they're still required under federal

law to treat anyone who comes in their emergency room. But you're going to have more people who don't have insurance coming in. So what that's going to do is add to what they call uncompensated care. The hospitals are going to have to cover this one way or another. So what you'll see is premiums potentially rising for everybody who has private insurance or employer insurance to help make up that gap. So it definitely is going to affect everyone regardless of whether they're on Medicaid or another federal program. This is something that's across the board. Everyone's going to feel this. Such important and smart reporting. Stephanie Armour, thank you so much for joining us. Oh, thank you.

Downton Abbey, the beloved historical drama of charm and wit, is coming to an end. At its peak, it drew more than 13 million viewers, the most watched drama in PBS history. And it's going out with some flair. The movie, Downton Abbey, grand finale, is out in theaters now. Stephanie Sy spoke with Downton Abbey creator Lord Julian Fellows. He's also the creator of the HBO series, The Gilded Age, and an Academy Award-winning writer for Gossip. Park. It's part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

Julian fellows, you know, since Downton Abbey first aired in the U.S. on PBS, it really feels like you and the Crawley's are part of the PBS family, so it's so good to have you on the PBS News Hour. Well, it's very nice to be here, and of course, you can imagine, after 16 years, I shall also feel rather strange when I'm separated from the Crawley's. Well, let's get into the grand finale of the Crawley's, hopefully without spoiling the movie, because it begins with Lady Mary, looking gorgeous, as always. But shortly after, getting kicked out of a party. She's divorced and now a stain on the Crawley name.

I'll go. I'm very sorry, Lady Petersfield. I shouldn't have come. Why did you choose that as one of the central conflicts of this final chapter? For me, the acceptance of divorce is really about accepting that the Victorian age is finished and that they have moved on to a new world. And that, I think, is an important step for the Crawley family, but also as it was for everyone, really, that they have been sort of running on Victorian values. And yet, now at last, they had to accept that times had changed and the world was a different

place. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to 1930s. It seems like the film places a lot of emphasis on family, loyalty, and love. Grudges are overlooked. They kind of get past them. Why was that important to you? Well, I think that family is about loyalty, and I think the show is about two things, really. One is it's about family, the power of family, and so on, and the other is about accepting

change. And the fact is that if you live through a period of change and all periods are periods of change, then you must learn to change with it and to get on with it and to move into the new world. And if you refuse to do that, then you're stuffed. And that's really what I feel the show is about. It's true that the family, I mean, I don't know that they approve of Mary getting divorced, but nevertheless, when the chips are down, they are loyal.

to each other. And that's important. One such loyal family member, played by the late Maggie Smith, was Violet Crawley, the tough and dry matriarch known for her scene stealing zingers. There's nothing simpler than avoiding people you don't like. Avoiding one's friends, that's the real test. With the death of Maggie Smith last year, Julian, did it feel like you had a vacuum to fill? You know, when you work together, you pick up how the other one works. And She knew how to say what I'd written, and I knew how to write what she'd say. And together, it was quite a strong partnership. I don't think, you know, it wasn't a great friendship.

We didn't take a house by the sea together and sit there eating supper in the late night. That wasn't it at all. It was that we knew how to work together. And I feel very blessed having enjoyed that for as long as I did with Maggie and not having to explain things. you know, not having to explain why this line is funny. She just always understood the people I wrote, and that was lovely. Besides the dame, Maggie Smith, all along, you've had an ensemble cast of an extremely high caliber, not to mention cameos from the likes of Shirley MacLean and Paul Giamatti.

Perhaps I'll move here. I'm sure I'd be more English than Robert in a trice. How much did you interact with the actors and the process? and do they have input into what happens to their characters? You gradually come to the point when you're writing for a performance you've already seen. And so you're not guessing how they're going to be acting. You know how they're going to be acting.

What, sir? I don't know. The family upstairs. The family upstairs. And the longer the show goes on, and we went on quite a long time, you gradually understand which actors can make you cry, which actors are very funny, which actors are both, which of course Maggie was, and you start in a way if you like to write for that. And in that sense, I feel that the characters were created by me writing and the actors

together to make these people happen. And I enjoyed that very much. And I love the cast. They They worked together very well. They were a very strong ensemble. I think there were a lot of very good friendships that came together. And I think we'll outlast the show, you know, which is just as it should be. The theme of change, which you mentioned earlier, bearing down on tradition in good ways and bad, has been there, as you said, since the series started. And by the end, we have not only a divorced woman in high society, but a former servant who ends up in a gay, relationship with a Hollywood actor.

I suppose you think Lady Mary's lost her moral compass, Mr. Carson. Perhaps I should all have a different compass these days. When you conceived of the Crawley's Julian, did you envision you would be making these cultural, maybe even moral statements? I think the statements are cultural with the gay character of Thomas. I wanted to remind people of how tough it was. I mean, we had letters from people saying, are you seriously saying that homosexuality was illegal in 1912?

Well, it was illegal in my day in the early 60s. I remember when it became legal. And one of my brother's godfathers was a gay peer, which was quite wild in those days. And he lived with his other half in a house near Sloan Square. And I remember it well. I used to go there as a child all the time. So I think to some extent I had witnessed how hard all this was, and now I had the chance to put it into my own writing, you know, which is one of the great luxuries, of course, of being a writer. You yourself, I understand, Julian, came from an aristocratic class

that would be foreign to most of us Americans. I don't know if you ever had a crawly kind of life, but there is a sense of longing, I sense in the Downton story. if that's your longings in any way that you're expressing? Well, it's quite an interesting question, really. And I'm not sure I'm absolutely clear about the answer. I come from a much more modest family than the Crawley's. And certainly the great days of my forebears was way back in the 19th century.

So we don't have to waste too much time on that. But I think there was a sort of order in the world that, seems to be missing at the moment. I don't know that I long for a victorious way of life and all of that stuff. I don't think I do. But I do long for a world of order and good manners and where people are pleasant to each other. And everyone stops getting so angry about everything. I suppose that is true, yes. That is Julian Fellows. Thank you so much for joining us. Well, thank you for having me. And that's our program for tonight.

I'm Lisa Desjardin. For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. See you tomorrow.