PBS News Hour - Full Show - September 24, 2025 – PBS News Hour full episode

Episode Date: September 24, 2025

Wednesday on the News Hour, Syria's new president addresses the United Nations General Assembly, the first Syrian leader to do so in more than half a century. We speak with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the federal government moves closer to a shutdown. Plus, a law professor sues West Point for new rules that he says violate his free speech. 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 Navazas on assignment. On the news hour tonight, Syria's new president addresses the U.N. General Assembly, the first Syrian leader to do so in more than half a century. We speak with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the federal government moves closer to a shutdown. He is derelict in his duty as president. He should be sitting down with us. He said he would. And our exclusive interview with the law professor who's suing West Point for new rules that he says violate free speech. That's the essence of the First Amendment, speaking according to our conscience. It's difficult to imagine any greater value in our Constitution.

Welcome to the News Hour. A remarkable moment today at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, a man who just one year ago had a U.S. bounty on his head strode to the center of the world stage as the president of Syria. For the first time in nearly 60 years, a Syrian leader spoke to the assembled dignitaries. And this time, it's Ahmed al-Shara, who fought the Assad regime for more than a decade, and before that fought the Americans in Iraq. Ali Rogan has more. The shadowy militant commander the U.S. once hunted across Syria, now that nation's leader, making history as he took the stage at the UN General Assembly. Syria has transformed from an exporter of crisis to an opportunity for peace for Syria and the region.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara called for a lifting of all sanctions and promised a new Syria free of its wretched past. Syria today is rebuilding itself through establishing a new state building institutions and laws that guarantee the rights of all without exception. While turning the page of a wretched past, we are determined to restore Syria's glory, dignity, and honor. It's a stunning shift for a man who, until recently was designated a terrorist by the U.S. and U.N. Alshara has traded his fatigues for tailored suits and this week embrace the global. stage in New York City, meeting world leaders, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He also attended political forums, even sitting down for a conversation with the former U.S. general, who 20 years ago had overseen his arrest and imprisonment in Iraq. David Petraeus led American

forces during the so-called surge of 2007 when Iraq's civil war lit the region of fire. The fact is that we were on different sides when I was. commanding the surge in Iraq. You were, of course, detained by U.S. forces for some five years, including, again, when I was the four-star there. And here you are now as the President of Syria. It is good that at a time we were in the combat, and then we now moved to the discourse. We moved from war to discourse. We cannot judge the past based on the rules of today, and we cannot judge today based on the rules of the past. He was later released and fought in Syria under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani

and helped lead an al-Qaeda offshoot before forming a Syrian insurgent group known by the acronym HTS that fought the Bashar al-Assad regime and governed the rebel control parts of northwest Syria. Late last year, HTS and other rebel groups toppled Assad in a lightning offensive that ended decades of dictatorship and years of brutal civil war. As interim president, Shara has crafted. crafted an image of a moderate, inclusive leader with a vision to transform Syria and bring it back into the international fold. In May, the U.S. lifted decades of sanctions when Alshara had a historic meeting with President Donald Trump,

who later told the press he was impressed by him. Very good. Young, attractive guy, tough guy. You know, a strong pass. But the road ahead for Syria is paved with challenges, a fragile piece held by devices. factions that trigger violence against Syrian minorities and decades of historic conflict with Israel, which has completely seized the Syrian Golan Heights and currently occupies part of southern Syria. Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has bombed Syrian defense infrastructure and continues to attack what it calls terrorist targets, weapons depots, air bases, and military installations across Syria. Yesterday, U.S. Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barrack told reporters that

Syria and Israel are close to concluding a de-escalation agreement, but Al-Shara today urged the international community to stand beside Syria against Israeli attacks. Israeli strikes and attacks against my country continue, and Israeli policies contradict the international supporting position for Syria, which threatens new crises and struggles in our region. For a perspective on Al-Sharahara's trip to New York, and more broadly on his leader, in Syria, we turned to Ambassador James Jeffrey. He previously served as U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Iraq and was a special representative for Syria engagement during the first Trump administration. He's now a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East

Policy. Ambassador Jeffrey, thank you so much for joining us. This was a big moment for Al-Shera. How do you think he did? And what stood out to you about not just his speech today, but his whole trip to New York? I think that all in all, he was a hit. His speech was well delivered and well received. I think it calmed some people who are concerned, including at least some Israelis and some in Washington and in Congress. And he sketched out a good way forward that the bulk of the international community can accept because it realizes there is no other alternative in Syria and you cannot have a secure Middle East without a stable and secure Syria. Alshara called for Congress to remove some sanctions on Syria that it controls. What are the

chances of that happening? Well, that's still a bit up in the year. The Trump administration very strongly has advocated proposed sanctions known as the Caesar sanctions for a Syrian defector who revealed the atrocities under the Assad regime, which, by the way, Al-Shara correctly focused on today to remind people of the past. The Caesar sanctions make it very difficult to move money into the country. Congress has to act. Many in Congress are willing to move forward. There is some hesitation. The Trump administration is doing its best as long as the Al-Shaara government continues to support

integration and equality and peace throughout the country. And President Shara has also cultivated a seemingly good relationship with President Trump. Is he somebody that the U.S. believes it can work with? And will his connection with President Trump help him? When I was a Syria envoy, he was still officially on the terrorist list, but because he was not launching terrorist attacks, we did not use military strikes against him. Rather, we cooperated indirectly with him against the Assad regime and to keep three million displaced people. He mentioned that in his speech that were under his control in Idlib from fleeing into Turkey, into Europe and further destabilizing many of our

NATO allies. He was very helpful in that regard, and we were able to work with him then. We are able to work with him now on issues from the Druze in the South and Soweda to the Kurds and the North to relations with Turkey, with Israel, and with the Arab states. Again, it's not perfect, but nobody has an alternative. And speaking about those domestic dynamics at play, there are many that he is confronting. There are civil strife. There's deep sectarian divisions. The country is rebuilding after a decade plus of damaging civil war. Can he manage all those challenges? What we've seen is some good steps, and he listed them in his speech about investigations

and reviews of what happened with sectarian fighting in the south around the Druze areas and elsewhere in Syria, his willingness to invite the UN and conduct its own review of the situation. But he also stressed that Syria has to remain. a unified country. And I would underline that, too. If it breaks apart, countries all around it will try to find the best security situation for their own interests. That will further push the country into civil war again. Nobody wants that. Nobody wants to see the Iranians and his bullet to return. On the topic of Israel, Alshara criticized the strikes within his country,

but he also said that he's committed to de-escalation. Syria and Israel are involved in U.S. focused talks. Based on the speech, what do you think are the prospects for some sort of security arrangement between the two countries? I think they're good for several reasons. First of all, Israel's key concern, Israel has many concerns on Syria and on many other places as well, as we know, for good reason. But their main concern is the Druze minority, a small group in relative terms right along the Israeli border. That can be dealt with relatively easily, and they're talking about, Israel also wants unofficially freedom of maneuver to launch strikes through southern Syria against Iran. If that's needed, that's more difficult.

But nonetheless, Alshara struck the right tone. He had to criticize the many Israeli strikes inside Syria, but he also underlined the importance of coming to an agreement with Israel on the basis of the 1974 ceasefire agreement with the old Assad regime, that preserved peace between Syria and Israel for many years. And that's a very good step. Ambassador James Jeffrey, thank you so much. Thank you. And we start the day's other news in Texas. A gunman opened fire at an ice facility in Dallas this morning, killing one detainee and wounding two others before taking his own life. It happened at a field office where ICE agents processed detainees.

Police say the shooter fired from a nearby rooftop. FBI director Cash Patel posted on social media what he says are the suspect's unspent shell casings, one of them engraved with the words anti-ice. At a news conference, investigators said it's too early to determine a motive, but they're treating the shooting as an act of targeted violence. This is just the most recent example of this type of attack. This will be a whole of government response. There will be no resource not utilized to bring all those individuals who are responsible to bring them to justice and to hold them accountable.

This is the third shooting in Texas just this year involving a Department of Homeland Security facility. Officials at today's press conference condemned what appears to be a surge in political violence nationwide. Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly today that the world, is in, quote, the most destructive arms race in human history. Zelensky's comments came a day after he met with President Trump, who offered renewed support for Ukraine, going so far as to say that it could win back all of the territory it's lost to Russia.

During his speech, Zelensky also appealed for more military aid to keep fighting Russia, saying that such help in the near term could prevent long-term disaster. Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the fourth. to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead. So we must use everything we have together to force the aggressor to stop. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters today

that Russian troops are making steady progress on the battlefield in Ukraine. As for President Trump's comments about Kiev gaining ground, he said, quote, the thesis that Ukraine can reclaim something is wrong. Also at the UN, China announced a new class goal today to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 7 to 10% over the next decade. President Xi Jinping made the pledge via video to more than 100 world leaders attending a climate

summit. China emits more global warming pollutants than any nation, but it also is the world's largest producer of renewable energy like wind and solar power. The commitment comes a day after President Trump dismissed climate change as a, quote, con job. The U.S. is not expected to set a climate goal of its own. Typhoon Ragasa slammed into southern China today, forcing residents across the region to hunker down and business owners to close up shop. In Hong Kong, waves taller than lampposts slammed into the shore in the early hours. Schools there were shut today and flights were canceled. In China's Guangdong province, nearly two million people were relocated to avoid the worst of the storm, one of Asia's worst in recent

years. Before hitting southern China, Typhoon Ragasa ravaged Taiwan and the Philippines killing at least 27 people. The family of one of the victims of this year's mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. is suing the government and the airlines involved. The lawsuit filed today is the first that aims to hold the FAA, the Army, American Airlines, and its regional partner PSA Airlines accountable for the crash. It claims that the carriers and officials utterly failed in their responsibilities to the traveling public. conference today, other families signaled they would join the lawsuit in the coming months. We are here to see this process through however long it takes to ensure that our family members have a lasting legacy that makes the world safer for everyone who flies.

67 people were killed when the airliner collided with an army helicopter over the nation's capital in January. It was the deadliest U.S. plane crash in more than two decades. The FBI says it found classified documents during a search last month. of former national security adviser, John Bolton's office. According to court records, the materials relate to weapons of mass destruction, the U.S. mission to the U.N., and strategic government communications. The raid was part of a Justice Department probe into whether Bolton held onto and then leaked sensitive material.

Bolton served during Mr. Trump's first term, but has since become a frequent critic of the president. In a statement, Bolton's lawyer said that an objective and thorough review will show nothing and appropriate was stored or kept by Ambassador Bolton. On Wall Street today, stocks drifted lower for a second straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 170 points. The NASDAQ fell 75 points. The S&P 500 also ended in negative territory. And late night host Jimmy Kimmel was back on air last night.

His opening monologue has since gone online, with more than 19 million views on social media so far and counting. Kimmel was suspended last week for comments he made following the murder. of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In his return, Kimmel brought a mix of sincerity and defiance, as Dima Zane reports. A rousing ovation after his return, Jimmy Kimmel was back on the airwaves with an 18-minute opening monologue discussing his suspension and the fallout. I'm not sure who had a weirder 48 hours, me or the CEO of Tylenol.

Kimmel directly addressed his comments last week about the suspect arrested for the assassination of conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. You understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. But I understand that to some that felt either ill-timed or unclear or maybe both. And for those who think I did point a finger, I get why you're upset. If the situation was reversed, there was a good chance I'd have felt the same way. Kimmel made a strong defense for free speech throughout the monologue. This show is not important.

What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this. He even took jabs at the president. You almost have to feel sorry for him. He tried it as best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now. Before Kimmel was back on the air, the president made clear he did not.

favor the return. On truth social last night, Trump called Kimmel another arm of the DNC, and he warned, I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 million. The president's sentiments were echoed by the chairman of the FCC, Brandon Carr. Posting on X, Carr said, Democrats just keep digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole on Kimmel. We need to keep empowering local TV stations to serve their communities of license. For Charlie Kirk's friend and executive producer of his podcast, Kimmel's comments about the shooter were, quote, not good enough. Andrew Colvette posted on X that Kimmel should apologize for lying about the shooter. But over the last week, some conservative influencers

and lawmakers have stressed Kimmel's suspension was treading in dangerous territory. Senate Majority Leader John Thune today. Coercive use of government shouldn't be something that is used. This isn't an area that I think the FCC ought to be wandering into. Yesterday, right-leaning podcaster Joe Rogan warned those who might support Kimmel's suspension. You're crazy for supporting this, because this will be used on you. For his part, Kimmel thanked some of his usual critics who took issue with his suspension. It takes courage for them to speak out against this administration.

and they did and they deserve credit for it. While the show is back on on most ABC stations, broadcasters Nextar and Sinclair, who combined, operate almost 60 local ABC stations, have said they will continue to preempt the show. For the PBS News Hour, I'm Dima Zay. And still to come on the News Hour, Senator Chuck Schumer on negotiations to end a government shutdown.

Judy Woodruff travels to Northern Ireland to explore what the U.S. can learn from how the peace has been kept. since the Troubles. And the leader of the UNCF discusses a donation that could have a big impact on historically black colleges and universities. This is the PBS News Hour from the David M. Rubenstein studio at WETA in Washington, and in the west from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. The federal government is heading toward a shutdown one week from now with no potential insight, President Trump canceled a planned meeting with Democratic congressional leaders,

Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, saying what they're asking for in negotiations is unserious and ridiculous. Senator Schumer joins us now from New York. It's good to see you, sir. So why do you think President Trump canceled this meeting just a day after you announced it? And is there a path forward absent direct negotiation with him? Well, we hope there's a path forward to avoid this Trump shutdown. down. We've been trying for a long time to sit down first with the Republican leaders, Speaker Johnson, and John Thune, and they wouldn't sit down with us, and we wondered why. And then it came out clearly two weeks ago. Trump said we don't need the Democrats,

we can do it on our own. Now, obviously, he doesn't know his math. You need 60 votes in the Senate. They're only 53 Republicans, so of course he should be sitting down. And that's what, you know, he is derelict in his duty as president. He should be sitting down with us. He said he would. Jeffries and I requested that we sit down together. They called us up and said Thursday, 3 o'clock, and then yesterday he canceled it, and he said, yes, he said our proposals ridiculous and radical. Well, they're not radical at all. To prevent the average American who was on ACA's health care bill from going up $5,000 a year is not radical, to try to keep so many rural hospitals which are in danger of closing is not radical. These are things the American people

are totally on our side. The AC, the big, the so-called BBB, Big Beautiful Bill, which is a big ugly bill, is Americans don't like it. Sixty-eight percent of Americans don't like it. Just about every Democrat, two-thirds, up to two-thirds or three-quarters of independence, depending on which poll you look at, and even a third of Republicans. So, of course, he should sit down with us. And let me say one more thing on this, Jeff. He's derelict. When I was majority leader for the four years, we never had a shutdown because I sat down with the Republican leader and we came to an agreement. This president is just, he's not up to being president if he can't sit down and negotiate with the two Democratic leaders.

So if Republicans refuse to agree to restore cuts to health care and Medicaid funding, would Democrats be willing to let a shutdown happen? Look, I hope it doesn't come to that. You know, we're on our front foot in three ways with the American people on this. First, the Republicans control the presidency, the Senate, and the House. So the average Americans are going to say, they're in charge, they've got to get this done. Second, when the American people hear that they won't even negotiate with us, they're appalled. And the data we've shown shows that when people are asked if Republicans won't even sit down and negotiate with Democrats, Democrats, 59% blame Trump for the shutdown, and only 31% blame Democrats.

But finally, and most importantly, we're trying to get things done that the American people want us to get done. And so I hope it won't come to that. I hope Trump will come to his census. I hope other Republicans will quietly or otherwise whisper to him that this is not, it's just not what a president should do. It's not how the government should function. In March of 2025, you joined several Democrats in voting to avoid a shutdown,

and you said on this program at the time that as bad as that spending bill was, this is a quote, a shutdown would be 15, 20 times worse. What's different this time around? Three things are different. One, we've seen how bad, and the American people have seen how bad Trump's policies are. They are just people are saying that Trump is not doing anything he wants. They're angry with Trump because of higher costs. Some of it's the tariff.

Some of it's what he did with electric rates. But a lot of it is due to health care. So that's a lot different than it was then. Second, they have shown that they're willing to go around the law if we don't stop them from that. And they've had these recisions. They've had these impoundments. And they've just illegally in certain ways not funded the government. that's even without a shutdown. And third, we Democrats are united now. We are totally united in saying

we want to sit down, we want to negotiate. We're not going to get everything we want. They're not going to get everything they want. But to help deal with the chaos in health care caused by this big, so-called beautiful bill. And to what degree are you feeling pressure from Democrats who say that elected leaders should hold firm and fight? Look, the bottom line is the majority of the overwhelming majority of Democrats, both House and Senate, are united on what we, on the fact that health care is a mess and we have to fix it. And my caucus, and I believe the House caucus, is just appalled that the Republicans won't even sit down and negotiate with us. So it's not pressure from one group or another. It's sort of a universal feeling that what they're doing is totally, totally derelict.

and if there is a shutdown, it's going to be a Trump shutdown on their shoulders. Who doesn't sit down and try to talk and work this out? Only people who don't really know how to be a president. We'll sit down anywhere with them, Jeff. We'll go to a golf course and sit down with them. We'll do anything to try and get something. We'll go anywhere, rather, to try and sit down and come up with an agreement. We're going to fight for health care, of course, in that.

they're just, they're just totally derelict Trump is in his responsibilities. If the American people know it, and they will know that if God forbid there's a shutdown, it's a Trump shutdown because he won't even talk to us. If a shutdown occurs, what direct consequences should the American public expect? Well, look, that'll be, again, we hope we can avoid a shutdown. We hope that better heads will prevail. But we will fight tooth and nail if they try to use the shutdown to hurt the American people. But that's why we want to avoid it.

And that's what we're doing everything we can to avoid it right now. And hopefully Trump, in the next few days, will come to his census. You know, one of the questions I've had for you, and I'll use this occasion to ask it, you know, Democrats are outraged by what they see as President Trump's abuse of power. but has the way he's wielded power made you rethink how Democrats should govern if you regain the White House, given the tools, the expanded executive authority, and the approach that he will have left behind? Well, look, he's done so much damage. And so every day it's something else. I mean, what they're trying to do, what Brendan Carr is trying to do, and thank God,

Jimmy Kamel is back on the air, is just so un-American. I mean, the First Amendment, for instance, the core of things. And what Trump has tried to do is just make the government shut down any opposition to him in so many different ways. And I think we Democrats, should we get back power and the chances are increasing that we will because there's such negativity towards Trump and because people know we're fighting for them, we were going to have to undo a lot of the bad things that Trump did. But is there any thought about what a Democratic inverse would be to all that Trump has done and likely will do in the remaining three years? Well, we're going to have, we're going to have so, if, when we get back in, even in 2026,

and as I said, the odds are looking better and better that we can retake the House and retake the Senate, there are going to be so many different things to do, and we will figure out the best way to get each one done. Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, we hope you will join us back on this program as we get closer to October 1st. Thanks for your time, sir. Thank you for having me, Jeff. Appreciate it very much. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is facing a lawsuit that claims it's violating the First Amendment.

The suit filed by its own law professor, Tim Bakken, alleges the academy is banning professors from expressing opinions in the class. and demanding they seek approval to speak publicly. Bakken, who is the longest-serving law professor in West Point's history, says this crackdown undermines free speech and academic freedom. He's now seeking class action status on behalf of his fellow faculty. Tim Bakin joins us now in an exclusive interview. He is in New York City. Thank you for being with us.

You're welcome. Thanks, Jeff. Professor Bakken, you have argued that West Point went beyond what President Trump and the Pentagon directed on issues of diversity, race, and gender, imposing restrictions that were never actually required. What exactly did West Point do that, in your view, crosses the line? My focus is on a regulation that West Point created in February of this year that requires professors. If they're naming their employer, they indicate who they work for, then they have to seek

approval of department heads at West Point. To me, that's contrary to the notion of freedom of. of expression. In fact, professors are hired specifically to teach, speak, and write according to their conscience. And if they have to submit what they're speaking or writing or teaching about to someone else, then we wouldn't really know what they truly believe.

And as a result, people would trust each other less. And certainly, from the perspective of anybody who's a teacher, we'd have less knowledge produced both in the classroom and outside of the classroom in the public arena. And that's the least. of what we want from our public servants, our public employees, and certainly our public teachers. Tell me more about that, because the lawsuit says that West Point is barring professors

from expressing their opinions in class. Give us a specific example where you felt silenced or unable to teach effectively under this policy. In my example, for instance, I wouldn't be able to opine on the value of a majority opinion of the Supreme Court or question a dissenting opinion of the Supreme Court, if, in my opinion, those majority or dissenting opinions were right or wrong, my opinion, according to the application of this regulation at West Point, would be invalid, and therefore I wouldn't be able to share what I know about that case. And in fact, everybody would be lesser for it, because knowledge certainly wouldn't be progressing. And the cadets at West Point, and students anywhere else wouldn't have the opportunity.

to question Supreme Court decisions or government decisions elsewhere. On the larger point, I'm sure there are people watching this discussion who would ask, who would make the point that West Point is a military academy, the president is commander-in-chief. If the commander-in-chief can dictate what's taught and how it's taught, why shouldn't West Point have the authority to create mechanisms to enforce that executive order? The military is not all-encompassing, in fact, like military officers, I've sworn an oath to the Constitution, which includes protecting the First Amendment rights of everyone.

It's a sometimes thought that employer can dictate what employees speak about or write about. But the Supreme Court has noted that with regard to academic freedom, there's a special constitutional niche for college teachers. That niche is necessary to prevent overbearing and unconstitutional prior restraints on expression. so that there can be at least one place in American society where everybody can go and speak freely. Not everybody will agree with what a college teacher says, but that's not the point. The point is that what's most important is that we have a place to express ourselves. And in those places, when young people, for example, professors at West Point teach the future generals of the United States, those people will learn from the professors and when they go on and be successful in their careers,

including leading our country in wars, we will be more confident that they know the critical points that are necessary to win those wars. We've had some difficulty in that in the past generations, and I think one of the reasons is that we haven't been able to speak freely. And certainly in the military, our officers have not been able to speak freely. And I hope from what I'm trying to do and from what other people want to do with regard to the preservation of the First Amendment,

no prior restraints on what we're speaking about, we can encourage military officers to speak up and tell more about what they believe is necessary to win wars. You're seeking class action status, as we mentioned, on behalf of more than 100 faculty members. Have colleagues signaled their support, either privately or publicly? One of the great difficulties of society or any institution,

and I'm not speaking about a military academy necessarily or any organization is that when people are not free to speak and when they have to run their ideas through the person in charge, then they're less likely to speak. And for those people who do speak, they are less likely to be able to connect with other people and knowledge is lost. With regard to trying to seek legal remedy in this instance, the main point is that everybody in this kind of position has the same interest. whether it's in a private organization or a public organization, but especially in college,

the interest is in speaking and teaching and writing according to your conscience. And if you can't do that, then everybody has a shared value in trying to ensure that we can make some changes and go about deciding how to do that and do it effectively. Our team reached out to West Point for comment, and the U.S. Military Academy Public Affairs Office said, only we are aware of the lawsuit filed Monday respecting the rule of law we do not discuss ongoing litigation. In your view, what does success in this lawsuit look like for academic freedom, not just at West Point, but other service academies? I would include, Jeff, not only service academies, but colleges around the country, as well as any other organization that is having

difficulty with freedom of expression, but especially at colleges. Sometimes we forget that academic freedom is a niche within the U.S. Constitution. And the reason that it's, a niche there. The reason that it's protected is so that people who have dedicated themselves to speaking and teaching and writing will have the opportunity to speak according to their conscience. That's the essence of the First Amendment speaking according to our conscience. It's difficult to imagine any greater value in our Constitution. I'm encouraging everyone to think about that and to understand, even if we disagree about a position or that position or a government position, in the end, the most important thing is to be able to speak according

to our conscience and disagree with everybody. That doesn't mean that there won't be hurt feelings sometimes, but the point is that we have to have that opportunity to speak or we can't advance as a society, as an institution, and our knowledge will be a whole lot less if we're disabled by prior restraint of our speaking, if we're subject to the approval of someone else before we speak or write or teach. West Point Law Professor Tim Bakken. Thank you, sir, for your time. We appreciate it. You're welcome. In a recent report, Judy Woodruff explored the history of violence in Northern Ireland,

as a warning to our own country about how quickly identity-based conflicts can spiral out of control. Tonight she returns to Belfast with a look at efforts to bridge the deep divisions that remain there, decades after that conflict officially ended. It's part of her ongoing series, America at a crossroads. Opening early each morning on Belfast-Lanark Way, this peace gate, a symbol of ongoing separation between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods, allowing easy passage between the Shankle Road, representing Protestant loyalty to Britain, and the Falls Road, representing Catholic Republicans in their long fight for independence. The summer months are cool but tense in Northern Ireland when Protestants march through Belfast on Saturdays. In mid-July, they light huge bonfires to mark long ago British victories over the Irish, antagonizing their Catholic-Republican neighbors. In August, Catholics take their turn,

marking the Feast of the Assumption and the internment of prisoners without trial during the Troubles. There was a two-day running gun battle with the Republicans. Running gun battles. Right around here, right where we are. Alan Waite grew up during the Troubles in Highfield Estate, a working-class Protestant neighborhood in West Belfast. We still live in a divided community and we're still... It's still as divided as it was?

that is debated, but in terms of where we live and in terms of how we go to school and spend our time, it's still very much, you do your stuff on your side of the wall and we'll do ours on the other side of the wall. Pierce McConnell grew up on the other side of that wall. It defends a lot in terms of a young person's upbringing, their culture, what they believe in. Born in 1997, a year before the Good Friday Agreement, he was raised in the Ardoin, a mostly Catholic working class neighborhood, less than two miles from Highfield. You're constantly told, do not go there, do not engage with those people, do not do this. So then automatically you're curious, but you're also, there's a bit of a fear.

27 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the political accord that mainly ended the violence, many neighborhoods, communities, and the vast majority of schools here in Northern Ireland remained divided by identity. But a number of groups are working across that divide to try to maintain the peace and build a more integrated future. More than a decade ago, Alan Waite founded Our City to integrate young people from single-identity neighborhoods like Highfield and Ardoin.

As early as age 12, they begin building friendships across the divide at its community center, traveling to the beach for summer camp. They like to take the young people out of their community, out of their surrounding environment. And even overseas, to places like South Africa, where they learn about conflicts beyond their own borders. Alan Waite says it's about trying to break the generational cycle here. Unfortunately, when you're brought up, you're brought up in a community, you're brought up in a family who may be staunch and pass a lot of their values and a lot of their beliefs to the younger generation below them.

them and therefore if you're only hearing the stories that's around you then you're getting the same thoughts and feelings that those older generations had many years ago my grandda was really forceful on don't go into areas they're bad people Padraig Green is 17 years old and grew up in the Ardoin the Catholic enclave he joined our city when he was 13 and says through friends he's learned about the Protestant traditions he once feared so I got to learn more about their culture but also not only that there I also got to learn that they are actually just human they're just like us they live them more less the same life like same houses same

families stuff like that there people my age car about catholics and protestants but they weren't alive to witness what actually properly happen 17 year old darcy montgomery grew up in highfield the protestant neighborhood through our city she's become friends with more catholics but she says change is slow here these peaceful this shouldn't still be up why Why would they need to be up, but there if you try to take them down, they'll be fighting. So there needs to be a problem with the fighting going on and with the conflict between the two communities. Pierce McConnell is now the program manager at R-City, but was also part of its inaugural class. He says they're trying to build the shared space that society still hasn't,

where over many years young people can build relationships stronger than the divisions of the past. If you look at every relationship and positive relationship you have in your life, it probably came through having suffering with longevity on it. So your friends came through your job that you've maybe been in a long time, your school that you went to, you're at university, a sport you play, a hobby you had. You need that time spent together. You need to build those relationships and build that understanding. Most importantly, they're speaking to each other from other sides

where in my day I'd never had that opportunity. Monica McWilliams was 14 when the trouble in Northern Ireland broke out. This is us the first day of the peace talks. She was 44 when she signed the Good Friday Agreement after co-founding the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition and being elected to the multi-party negotiations. A trailblazer for women's rights,

she has since worked around the world on peace building efforts and says grassroots efforts like our city are a key feature. Politicians think we were elected, so we're the only people who can speak as representatives. Uh-uh. The people on the ground are participating every single day as much as you are in politics. It might be small P politics, but every single thing they're doing is political. And that's my message to those who are losing faith in other parts, particularly in the States.

They say, what difference can we make? If you get together, if you're a collective, if you get organized, information, education, agitation. And it works. But do not disparage the politicians either, because you have to be in the system to change the system. They've recognized that you can't ask people to compromise completely on who they are. Former Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy served as special envoy in Northern Ireland under the Biden administration, and he says there's another lesson for Americans about identity and politics. A Protestant shouldn't tell a Catholic in Northern Ireland, they can't be Catholic.

a Catholic can't tell a Protestant, you can't be Protestant, a nationalist, can't tell a unionist not to stay true to their loyalties and vice versa. Those are ingrained traits as to the identities of who those folks are. Yet they have found a way to try to build a community on top of that, recognizing that an essential way for peaceful coexistence to make sure that my kid has a healthy and safe and vibrant future is to make sure that your child does as well. The main thing for us is that we build a relationship so strong that when I'm comes to talking about hot topics, more importantly is our relationship rather than the topic. Whether it be the colour of the flag on top of the city hall or maybe an Irish language speaking

act, we can have debates about that, but what's more important is what we've got, what me and you have as friends. Today, older generations marvel at how much progress society has made since the troubles when they grew up. For young people like Podrick Green and Darcy Montgomery, there's so much more to be done. 20 years from now, what do you want Northern Ireland? I would like there to be more like mixed schools, so Protestant and Catholic schools learning the same thing. I would love for it to be no peace gates, no peace walls, just a completely integrated community, like Nation Wade. But back on Lanark Way, each evening the Peace Gate, painted to commemorate the 25th anniversary

of the Good Friday Agreement closes again until tomorrow. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Judy Woodruff in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The UNCF has just received a landmark $70 million gift from philanthropist McKenzie Scott in what amounts to one of her largest gifts ever. The money will be used to bolster the endowments of historical, black colleges and universities, helping to close longstanding gaps in resources and financial stability. It's part of a billion-dollar capital campaign that UNCF is leading to ensure that HBCUs can thrive well into the future. For more on what this gift means and the broader

outlook for HBCUs, we're joined now by Dr. Michael Lomax, UNCF president and CEO. It's always great to see you, sir. So let's start with the basics. This is a $70 million gift, a historic gift. how will the money be used, and what immediate impact will students at HBCUs see? Yeah, it is a $70 million gift, and it follows on a $10 million gift, which McKenzie Scott made to UNCF five years ago during the early days of the pandemic. It's an opportunity for us to try to close the endowment gap between HBCUs and their non-HBCU peers. Now, HBCUs, if you put all 100 and one of them together, their total endowments would probably be in the $6 billion range.

And that's to serve 250,000 students. And there are PWIs in this country, non-HBCUs, which have $6 billion of their own in their endowment. So we're way behind on the wealth gap if you're gauging wealth by. what the size of your endowment is. PWA's meaning predominantly white institutions. Beyond the dollars themselves, how do you plan to leverage this gift

in your messaging, in your partnerships to attract more donors and more institutional support? We're trying to make sure that people understand that we're a good bet and that their funds will be very well used and gifts like this will help tell that story. But we're also trying to tell people just how important this gift is for the

In the case of UNCF, we have 50,000 students attending the 37 institutions that we represent. And we really just don't have enough support to help those students get to, through, college, and onto careers without taking out tremendous debt. So scholarships are very important for us. It's what we're best known for. And these endowments will help our institutions cover more of the costs of their students, of faculty, of facilities and make them less reliant on debt to borrow to get those things done or for their students to borrow and pay their tuition. At the same time, there can be this concern around large philanthropic gifts in that they unintentionally let federal and state governments off

the hook. So how will UNCF make sure that philanthropy doesn't become the substitute for longer-term structural support provided by state and federal governments. Well, right now, philanthropy is not going to be leading what the federal government does. The real question is, in my mind, whether philanthropy is going to raise the bar on the amount and size of the gifts that they make available to HBCUs. You know, I've been doing this job for 21 years, and we didn't start receiving gifts for the operations of our schools or unrestricted gifts for them in the $10 plus million category until five years ago. Since then, UNCF, which receives no federal funding, has raised

over $1.3 billion. And we've used those dollars to strengthen and support our private historically black colleges and universities. At the same time, the federal government has gave billions of dollars of additional support to HBCUs during the pandemic. And as recently as last week, the Department of Education released over 435 million additional dollars to HBCUs. So we believe that right now HBCUs are recognized as an extraordinary value in American higher education, accessible to all, and that we're really showing what you can do to support low-income students go to and through college. And we believe the federal government's going to step up. When we announced this gift this week, one of our individual institutions, Houston Tillotson University,

and their president, Melva Wallace, announced a $150 million gift from a Texas Foundation, the Moody Foundation, I don't think in my entire time as president of UNCF, I've seen a gift of that size and magnitude to an individual private college. Last year, Michael Bloomberg gave $175 million to HBCU medical schools. So we're seeing good signs of increased philanthropic support. I think McKenzie Scott is showing what individual donors can do to support. that have been doing the work with too few resources in the past. Well, take me back to that moment. What was your reaction when you got the phone call about this $70 million gift?

I got a call with one of McKenzie Scott's representatives, and they said, you know, this time we believe in what you're doing, we're going to give you a gift, you'll be able to announce it immediately, and you can say it came from us. And then I said, oh, by the way, what's the amount of the gift? and the individual said $70 million. Well, uncharacteristically, I was speechless and taken aback and very excited and profuse in my gratitude as I remain today. I've been doing this work for a long time, and I've asked a lot of people for support,

but this is one of the rare instances when someone I don't know, reaches out to me as the CEO of UNCF and says, we've been watching what you do, we respect what you do, we value what you do, and we want to contribute to what you do, and we want you to decide how those funds are used. McKenzie Scott is rewriting the book on individual philanthropy, and she's making a huge difference.

And what I say today is God bless McKenzie Scott, and thank you. Michael Lomex, UNCF President and CEO. Great to see you and always good to speak with you, sir. Be well. Thank you. Have a great day. And there is much more online where we continue to update one of our top stories. That's the deadly shooting at an ice facility in Texas.

You can see the latest. at the PBS.org slash news hour. And that is the NewsHour for tonight. I'm Jeff Bennett. For all of us here at the PBS NewsHour, thanks for spending part of your evening with us.