April 9, 2024 - PBS NewsHour full episode

GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: Arizona's Supreme Court upholds a Civil War era abortion law, effectively banning the procedure in the state.

GEOFF BENNETT: Congressman Mike Johnson fights to remain as House speaker among a divided Republican Party.

AMNA NAWAZ: And reconciliation and rebuilding in Rwanda 30 years after the genocide that killed more than a million people.

AMANDA AKALIZA, Humeka: We decided to forgive, and we decided to move on.

But that thing still lingers.

It's a human, natural thing.

(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Arizona will soon be the latest state with a near-total abortion ban after the state's Supreme Court revived a 160-year-old law.

The law provides no exceptions for rape or incest.

And, in its 4-2 opinion, the conservative majority wrote -- quote -- "Physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman's life, are illegal."

AMNA NAWAZ: Doctors who perform abortions could face criminal prosecution and prison time, though the Democratic attorney general says she will not prosecute.

It's the latest test of the limits on abortion since the Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections from the decades-old Roe v. Wade decision.

And in this election year, there is already an effort under way to get a pro-abortion rights amendment on Arizona's ballot in November.

Arizona's Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs responded to today's court decision.

GOV.

KATIE HOBBS (D-AZ): Arizona's 2022 abortion ban is extreme and hurts women.

And the near-total Civil War era ban that continues to hang over our heads only serves to create more chaos for women and doctors in our state.

As governor, I promise I will do everything in my power to protect our reproductive freedoms.

GEOFF BENNETT: Carter Sherman covers reproductive health for The Guardian and joins me now.

Thanks so much for being with us.

CARTER SHERMAN, The Guardian: Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, the Arizona State Supreme Court lifted a stay on this 1864 law that was passed before Arizona was a state.

Help us understand how they arrived at this decision.

CARTER SHERMAN: So this ban has been the source of court battles and chaos since the overturning of Roe almost two years ago.

What happened is, after a very long period of litigation, the Supreme Court of Arizona decided today that, since there is no more Roe v. Wade, there is no reason why this 1864 ban should not go into effect.

Now, what's unclear at this point is when exactly that ban will fully take effect and be enforceable, in the words of the court.

Abortion providers and their supporters are at this time really trying to figure out what this decision means for all the people on the ground in Arizona.

GEOFF BENNETT: How is it that the Civil War era law supersedes the previous law that the legislature passed and the previous governor signed in 2022 that made abortion accessible up to 15 weeks?

CARTER SHERMAN: When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade in 1973, that meant that there were several laws across the country that dated back decades that were no longer going to be in effect.

And many of these laws were never really, truly dealt with.

They just went dormant.

And so, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022, suddenly, all of these states, including Arizona, had to deal with these so-called zombie laws that they had not ever really fully reckoned with.

Arizona had also in 2022 passed a separate 15-week abortion ban.

But what happened was that 15-week abortion ban and this near-total abortion ban from 1864 just sort of coexisted, and they weren't really harmonized in any kind of way.

In this case, in particular, Planned Parenthood has argued that these laws needed to be harmonized, and that's why that the 15-week ban should be allowed to stand over the 1864 ban.

That's not the argument that the Arizona Supreme Court accepted today.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, in the meantime, Arizona's attorney general, Kris Mayes, says she will not prosecute any doctor who performs abortion procedures.

Mayes says that this is a collective effort with the state's governor.

How is that being received by county prosecutors, who could potentially use their own discretion?

CARTER SHERMAN: I think that there are many, many questions about what it really means for an official like Mayes to say that she will try to hold off on any kind of prosecutions of abortion providers.

The providers that I have talked to and I have heard from don't necessarily feel like they are totally in the clear at this point, and they are confused about what it means moving forward if they were to provide abortions.

GEOFF BENNETT: What's the expected impact on women's health care in Arizona and in the surrounding region?

CARTER SHERMAN: Arizona has been a critical release valve for places like Texas, which have a total abortion ban on the books right now.

So, if we ban abortion totally, or almost totally, in Arizona, there's going to be plenty of people throughout the Southwest who previously might have fled to Arizona for abortions who will now have to travel even farther out.

Abortion rights supporters also say that this could have massive impacts on things like maternal mortality.

So there's going to be really wide-ranging effects really across the region in a variety of health areas.

GEOFF BENNETT: And there's also the political impact.

Arizona, as you well know, is among a handful of key battleground states.

An effort is already under way right now to put a measure on the 2024 ballot that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

How might this affect not just the presidential election, but that key Senate race, that hotly contested Senate race in Arizona?

CARTER SHERMAN: I think that this decision today is going to make Arizona one of the biggest battlefields, particularly in abortion, but also in the presidential race, also in the Senate race, in the 2024 elections.

What we're looking at here is a potentially very galvanized population outraged by the overturning of Roe, outraged by a near-total abortion ban, and those people might decide to go to the polls en masse and vote not just for abortion rights, but also for Democrats.

There's actually been, since the decision came out today, many Republicans in the state saying: This was a bad idea.

I don't support this decision.

And some of them had said that they will work to try to figure out a way back to this 15-week abortion limit and not a near-total abortion ban.

I have covered this issue for many years.

I have covered it long before Roe was overturned.

And I have never really seen this sort of immediate 180 from Republicans in this way on this issue.

GEOFF BENNETT: That is Carter Sherman with The Guardian.

Thanks so much for sharing your reporting and your insights with us.

CARTER SHERMAN: Thank you for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines: The Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on pollution from some 200 chemical plants from Texas to the Ohio River Valley.

Administrator Michael Regan said the new regulations offer -- quote -- "strong final standards to slash pollution, reduce cancer risk, and ensure cleaner air for nearby communities."

Also today, an appeals court upheld the EPA's decision to allow California to set its own tailpipe emissions limits and electric vehicle requirements.

Europe's highest human rights court ruled today that the Swiss government has not done enough to protect its citizens from climate change.

Experts say it's the first ruling of its kind.

A group of 2,000 elderly Swiss women brought the case.

The landmark ruling was read in a packed court in France.

One of the Swiss plaintiffs reacted afterwards.

ANNE MAHRER, Senior Women for Climate Protection (through translator): Senior women for climate senior women for climate brought climate and fundamental rights to court for the first time.

And the court recognized our fundamental right to a healthy climate and to have our country do what it failed to do until now, to take ambitious measures to protect our health and future.

AMNA NAWAZ: The court rejected two other climate cases on procedural grounds.

That all follows the E.U.

climate agency announcing that last month was the hottest March on record.

Rail operator Norfolk Southern has agreed to a $600 million settlement for last year's train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

The train caught fire and released more than a million gallons of hazardous material.

Residents within 20 miles of the crash who suffered -- quote -- "potential adverse impacts" are eligible for compensation.

The parents of the teenager who killed four of his Michigan schoolmates in 2021 have been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for failing to prevent their son's actions.

They are the first parents in the U.S. to be convicted over deaths caused by a child in a mass shooting.

Their son is serving life in prison without parole.

Hamas says it's reviewing the latest Israeli cease-fire proposal delivered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators at talks in Cairo.

It would include a six-week pause in fighting and a swap of 40 Israeli hostages for 700 Palestinian prisoners.

Speaking to military recruits today, Israel's prime minister doubled down on his pledge to eliminate Hamas forces in Southern Gaza.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator): We will complete the elimination of Hamas brigades, including in Rafah.

There is no force in the world that will stop us.

Many are trying to do so, but it will not help, since this enemy, after what it did, will never do it again.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, Israel says 468 aid trucks entered Gaza today.

That's the most since the war began.

Gaza was also top of the agenda during a visit to Washington today by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

Speaking at a joint press conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. had not received a date for a full-scale invasion of Rafah, but expects to meet with the Israelis next week.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: How Israel conducts any further operations in Gaza matters a great deal.

And, as we said, we're talking to them about alternative and, in our judgment, effective ways at solving a problem that needs to be solved, but doing it in a way that does not endanger the innocent.

AMNA NAWAZ: Blinken and Cameron also both addressed the need for Congress to take action military aid for Ukraine.

That comes as Ukraine says it struck a Russian aviation factory in the Voronezh region just across Ukraine's eastern border.

Security video showed an explosion in Borisoglebsk.

Russia says its forces shot down two drones.

Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian soil to target the country's military infrastructure.

Back in this country, former President Donald Trump has suffered a second defeat in as many days over his bid to delay his hush money trial.

A New York appeals court judge rejected his request to stall the proceedings as he fights a gag order.

Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 counts of falsifying business records related to payments to an adult film star.

Jury selection is set to begin next week.

On Wall Street today, stocks were little changed for a second day this week.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost nine points to close at 38883.

The Nasdaq gained 52 points and the S&P 500 added 7.5 points.

And the college basketball season ended last night with the University of Connecticut claiming the men's championship for a second year running.

Tristen Newton scored 20 points for the Huskies who cruised a victory over Purdue 75-60.

Some 14.8 million people tuned in to the game last night.

That actually lagged behind the viewership for Sunday's women's final, which drew nearly 19 million viewers.

Just saying.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": U.S.

Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on this week's state visit by the Japanese prime minister; a new series exposes abusive behavior behind the scenes of some popular children's shows; a vital Appalachian cultural hub continues its long recovery after devastating floods; plus much more.

GEOFF BENNETT: Congress arrived back in Washington today with a long list of priorities for Speaker Mike Johnson to accomplish and a razor-thin margin to get it done.

Our Lisa Desjardins has this report.

LISA DESJARDINS: It's been a cold spring in Washington, beautiful, but, for the House of Representatives, delicate and uncertain, with echoing sounds that are the most daunting yet for the new House speaker.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I will not tolerate a speaker of the House that I voted for to sell us out.

LISA DESJARDINS: Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in a town hall in Tunnel Hill, Georgia, last night again made it clear she wants Mike Johnson out.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE: I will not tolerate this anymore.

LISA DESJARDINS: Greene has filed a potent bill, just one sentence declaring the speakership to be vacant, in other words, removing Johnson.

She's not yet forcing a vote, but it's a threat... MAN: The bill is passed.

LISA DESJARDINS: ... one issued last month after she and scores of Republicans broke with Johnson over the compromise deal to keep government funded.

REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): That is not the way to do business.

LISA DESJARDINS: Beyond spending, Johnson has other dilemmas.

There's the border.

Conservatives decry a lack of progress, though nothing can pass both chambers right now.

There's FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Key powers are expiring next week, and Republicans are divided.

Then there's Ukraine and Israel, with increasing calls for conditions on Israel aid.

And if Johnson proposes Ukraine funding, he risks direct fire from a large group in opposition.

FMR.

REP. JOHN FLEMING (R-LA): He's really kind of standing at the dike trying to plug holes right now, so I have tremendous sympathy for my good friend Mike Johnson.

LISA DESJARDINS: John Fleming is now the treasurer of Louisiana, but over a decade ago, he was part of the Tea Party movement and a founder of the Freedom Caucus.

He defends the sharp motion to vacate.

FMR.

REP. JOHN FLEMING: I think Democrats, to their credit, they fight.

Even when they're underdogs, even when they're in the minority, they fight hard for their policies.

I can't say that about Republicans.

Republicans oftentimes give in way too quickly.

LISA DESJARDINS: But the problem for Johnson is that he has some members who want to fight, but he has a bare majority.

He doesn't have room to maneuver, nor does he have good troop morale.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): We're living a time of divided government.

Democracy is messy.

Sometimes, it's very messy.

This is part of that process.

And we're going to keep steady hands at the wheel.

LISA DESJARDINS: Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene do not want steady.

They want their way.

And she's using the tight margin in the House right now to try and get it.

In just over a week, that vote gets even one vote tighter.

That means, to pass nearly anything, including Ukraine funding, it must be bipartisan.

However, if Johnson pushes bipartisan bills, it would take just two or three Republicans to take away the majority from him as speaker.

Democrats could help him survive with their votes, but that would spark another major problem.

FMR.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA): I think it's a really, really untenable spot to be put in to be propped up by the opposition.

LISA DESJARDINS: Eric Cantor is a former House majority leader who lost to a Freedom Caucus opponent.

He says, if Johnson survives thanks to votes from Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democrats, that would undermine Republicans running in primaries across the country.

Cantor also sees the problem Johnson faces against all-or-nothing tactics from within the party.

FMR.

REP. ERIC CANTOR: I think that's really important to never, ever sit here and just throw your hands up and say, we're going to be part of the destruction caucus and never get anything done.

LISA DESJARDINS: You used the phrase destruction caucus.

FMR.

REP. ERIC CANTOR: For some, there is, and they have been quoted as such, saying nothing that Washington does is good.

And I sort of questioned to myself, how is it that you want to be elected and serve in Washington if you say it's all bad?

LISA DESJARDINS: For Speaker Johnson, who may control the fate of Ukraine aid, FISA reauthorization and most any issue in Congress at the moment, the question is, can he find a way to get anything done and also survive?

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.

AMNA NAWAZ: This month, Rwanda is holding observances to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the genocide in that East African nation, a 100-day killing spree that took one million lives.

Rwanda has won praise for its rebuilding efforts.

But democratic backsliding and conflict just outside Rwanda's borders have raised concerns over the country's future stability and fear among survivors of the genocide.

Fred de Sam Lazaro has our report.

And a caution: The story includes language and images of extreme violence.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The memories from 30 years ago, it seems, will never become distant, the horrors lurking just below the surface, in some places, literally.

Theodat Siboyintore brought me to this plot of land in Ngoma, about three hours from Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

It's yet another saturated crime scene from which volunteers began removing human remains late last year.

They are not done.

THEODAT SIBOYINTORE, Genocide Survivor: Here, there was a heavy roadblock.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: So, there was a roadblock just here?

THEODAT SIBOYINTORE: Yes.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: And people were slaughtered and buried here?

THEODAT SIBOYINTORE: Exactly.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: He belongs to a local group of survivors of what's officially called the genocide against the Tutsi.

The survivors group estimates that in just the last five years, up to 100,000 remains have been uncovered in mass graves.

This one in Ngoma is among the more recent, the body count here about 1,000 and counting.

Like others in the group, Siboyintore, 14 at the time, somehow managed to evade the murderous mobs, along with one sister.

But amid the panicked, terrified crowds, they were separated from their parents and five other siblings, none of whom survived.

Have you been able to locate where they are buried?

THEODAT SIBOYINTORE: Not.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: I'm sorry.

I can never fathom what you went through.

How do you keep from being angry?

THEODAT SIBOYINTORE: Because, in Rwanda, we have rules.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Rules?

THEODAT SIBOYINTORE: Rules.

So, we can't.

And that is the spirit from our president.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: President Paul Kagame, he says, has exhorted Rwandans to look forward, not back.

Kagame looms large over every aspect of Rwandan life.

In 1994, he led a force of exiles called the Rwandan Patriotic Front, or RPF, that defeated the genocidal regime, driving perpetrators from the rival Hutu tribe across the border into what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hutus and Tutsis share the same culture, but under Belgian colonial rule, the wealthier Tutsis received preferential treatment in education and jobs.

This 14 percent minority elite grew to be resented.

And after independence in 1962 brought a Hutu-dominated government, many Tutsis, including Kagame's family, fled into exile.

Years of periodic upheaval ensued.

Then, in 1994, amid peace talks, a plane crash killed the country's Hutu president, and hell came to Rwanda.

SCOTT STRAUS, University of California, Berkeley: You had a civil war, and you had a genocide, which devastated the country.

The RPF leadership took over.

They had a vision, and they have implemented that vision.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: University of California Professor Scott Straus has written extensively about Rwanda.

SCOTT STRAUS: Much of that is pretty -- is amazing.

Let's lead people to change the way they think about who they are.

They should invest in development.

They should forget about Hutu and Tutsi.

They should think about themselves as Rwandan.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: The RPF banned the designation Hutu and Tutsi, instituting a combination of restorative justice and reconciliation efforts.

Economic growth has been robust, and social welfare indicators have improved markedly in literacy, public health and female participation in government and the economy.

SCOTT STRAUS: I think the flip side for Kagame and for the leadership around Kagame, is that, effectively, it's a dictatorship.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Kagame won praise globally for bringing stability and development to a desperate nation, but he has increasingly ruled with an iron hand... PAUL KAGAME, Republic of Rwanda President: You value national unity.

LISA DESJARDINS: ... amending the Constitution to extend his tenure and cracking down hard on journalists and political opponents.

SCOTT STRAUS: The critics are run out of town or, in some cases -- in some cases, assassinated.

This is not a democracy story.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: And Rwanda has been accused of stirring instability in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, its forces fighting exiled Hutu rebel groups and supporting the notorious M23 militia, which the U.S. government has condemned for atrocities, including widespread rape and murder of civilians.

SCOTT STRAUS: The RPF and Kagame, they came to power through rebellion by invading from Uganda.

But their primary purpose is to secure the sort of zone around the country, so that there could be no insurgency or rebellion that is going to invade from Congo or from a neighboring country that could destabilize Rwanda.

At some point in time, there's going to be a transition in Rwanda.

Historically, transitions in Rwanda have been very violent.

I think the concern is that the resentment that we can't see right now will also be violent.

ODETTE MUKADATA, Genocide Survivor (through translator): They're planning to come again and finish what they didn't finish in Rwanda, the genocide.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Among survivors living near the Ngoma mass grave, there's constant fear of the Hutu groups living next door in Congo, of perpetrators with unsettled scores.

JULIENNE MUKANDIYE, Genocide Survivor (through translator): We remember the genocide every single day, not only when we discover bodies.

It's an everyday process.

AMANDA AKALIZA, Humeka: The toxic part -- the most toxic part of it is that it continues for generations.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Amanda Akaliza, like most Rwandans today, was born after 1994.

But she says they have inherited the post-traumatic stress, with little guidance on how to deal with it.

AMANDA AKALIZA: If I look back right now, my college years, I felt like I was constantly outside of myself, right, because I always felt on high alert.

It's like a fire alarm going off in your system.

But there's no fire.

Have you guys ever heard of social anxiety?

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Having battled her own depression, she started an organization called Humeka to help young people grapple with their anxieties.

There's stigma attached to mental health issues,so they connect through socially comfortable activities, like this basketball camp.

The long shadow of 1994 is inescapable, Akaliza says.

AMANDA AKALIZA: If you go to the genocide memorial, and you see just how graphic it was, the heaviness of seeing children dying, you know, that's the heaviness of seeing women being raped, your families being killed.

We decided to forgive, and we decided to move on.

But that thing still lingers.

It's a human, natural thing.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: Everyone, it seems, is struggling to find closure.

For survivors back in Ngoma, that can only come when more exiles return.

ODETTE MUKADATA (through translator): We have neighbors who have come back from Congo who live in harmony with no issue.

YVETTE IVANOVA, Genocide Survivor (through translator): We deserve to have closure, and they deserve to have it for themselves.

FRED DE SAM LAZARO: They say it's the exiled genocide perpetrators who can help bring closure.

They, more than anyone, can locate the graves of hundreds of thousands of victims who remain unaccounted for, their survivors hoping to find a piece of clothing or personal effect that might bring a positive I.D.

So far, Rwanda has reburied at least 400,000 victims at officially designated memorial sites across the country.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in Ngoma, Rwanda.

AMNA NAWAZ: Fred's reporting is a partnership with the Under-Told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

GEOFF BENNETT: Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is here in Washington, part of a state visit to the U.S. and a trilateral summit with the Philippines tomorrow.

Japan is changing its defense posture, rearming in the face of a surging China.

Ahead of tomorrow's presidential meetings, we're joined from the White House by the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel.

Thanks for being with us.

Welcome to the "NewsHour."

RAHM EMANUEL, U.S.

Ambassador to Japan: Geoff, thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, among the many agenda items when these two leaders meet tomorrow is increased military cooperation, enabling military commanders from the U.S. and Japan to better work together.

What's the practical impact of that, especially when it comes to containing China?

RAHM EMANUEL: Well, I would actually not use the word containing.

I would use the word deterring from doing something that would change the status quo.

Second is, the structure we have was actually established over the years since 1960.

It's not appropriate for the future and the type of challenges we face today.

Second is, Japan has done a series of things, major changes.

They went from 1 percent of their GDP towards the defense to 2 percent.

They're acquiring counterstrike capability that didn't exist before.

They're willing to start to export defense technology that they had prohibitions on before.

And so the force structure change is to better integrate with the new joint command structure that they're setting up.

Today, all our decisions have to go back to Honolulu.

Putting it forward brings an integration and an effectiveness and it brings the credibility to the deterrence that didn't exist before.

And, to me, it's more appropriate because the challenges we faced in the 1960s are not the challenges we face in 2024 and beyond.

GEOFF BENNETT: So... RAHM EMANUEL: That is why it's a demarcation point.

GEOFF BENNETT: We spoke with the prime minister on this program last week.

And, to your point, we have seen a real shift in that country's post-World War II pacifist stance.

What is the U.S.' expectation for how Japan would help the U.S. in -- against China if China were to attack Taiwan, which is a real threat?

RAHM EMANUEL: Well, I think the main thing - - well, wait a second.

You also have a state visit.

And, again, I don't -- Geoff, I would try to slightly look at it a different way.

Right now, this week started with something that hadn't happened before.

The United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines did a joint naval exercise, where you have a very small, small-K, kinetic effort by China to target, isolate the Philippines.

We're putting together an alliance, multiple nations, say this is not consequence-free and the Philippines are not going to be isolated.

It's China that's isolated.

And if you ask me where the effort here, it's not, again, containment.

It's deterrence and bringing credibility.

At the end of this week, at the end of the state visit, you will have a first ever historic trilateral meeting between the president of the United States, the prime minister of Japan, and the president of the Philippines.

That is also credibility on the diplomatic side, working with your defense preparation and credibility there, where the defense and the diplomatic efforts bring one level of deterrence to China.

And, again, it isolates China, doesn't contain them, and makes it sure that there's a calculation and an understanding and appreciation of a consequence to the actions China takes.

So, what Japan's doing is what it used to do was think consequentially about Japan and its self-defense forces.

We were an insurer of that from its own security, but it is now with the alliance.

I think this era, the past was known as alliance protection.

The era going forward is going to be alliance projection.

And Japan's a full partner, whether you're dealing with trilateral relationships, whether you're dealing with the Quad, whether you're dealing with development and economic assistance and economic integration with the Philippines or with Korea.

This is a -- the constant now is Japan going step by step, shoulder to shoulder with the United States on behalf of a view that we have rules, and they are to be adhered to throughout the international system, and they're not the raw exercise of power, but rules and the rules of law that will be the modus operandi.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, as these two countries stand shoulder to shoulder, as you say, there is this point of contention over Nippon Steel.

President Biden says he's opposed to this to the sale of Nippon -- of U.S. Steel to Japan based Nippon Steel.

He sees it as an economic and a national security issue.

How do you see this matter resolving?

RAHM EMANUEL: Well, look, let me just also put that in context.

First of all, Japan's the number one investor in the United States for the last four years.

They employ nearly a million Americans.

We're the number one investor in Japan.

And we have been for the last four years.

Second fact I put out there, about six, seven weeks ago, Mitsubishi Corporation -- no, rather Mitsui Corporation from Japan won a $20 billion dollar contract to build a crane -- ship crane factory here in the United States to replace all the cranes and not have China's cranes in our shipyards across -- rather, in our ports across the United States.

Nothing says trusted ally like that.

(CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNETT: So, in that case, what difference would it make if Japan owned U.S. Steel?

RAHM EMANUEL: Second is, in 2021, when some foreign entities were thinking of buying Toshiba, Japan invoked national security.

So the relationship is deeper, the relationship is more complex than a single commercial deal.

And the president has said straight up that he's going to have the back of the United States steelworkers and other workers.

He's a man of his word.

And he's also going to say we're going to invest in the alliance, and they're not in conflict with each other.

And I do -- I think that, looking at this relationship -- and I started my politics nationally back in 1992 for Bill Clinton -- this relationship has never been stronger and more solid foundation than where it is today.

And there's more at stake than a singular commercial deal or transaction where the two parties have a different view.

(CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNETT: Yes, I understand your point, but if the U.S. and Japan are such close allies, then what difference would it make if Japan actually owned U.S. Steel?

RAHM EMANUEL: Well, first of all, Japan wouldn't.

It would be a Japanese company.

Second of all, what I would say to you, Geoff, is that, when it comes to steel, given its national security interests, that is what being invoked and a priority for the United States and clearly stated by the president.

GEOFF BENNETT: How is it... RAHM EMANUEL: And it doesn't change the relationship or the economic interests or the confidence both countries have and the companies in both countries have in investing in each other, which is why, for four consecutive years, Japan's the number one investor in the United States, and will continue to be, and creating over a million Americans working for Japanese companies.

GEOFF BENNETT: How is the administration aiming to future-proof some of this work, so that these efforts which you see as so vital to stability in the Indo-Pacific aren't tied to whomever occupies the Oval Office post-November -- or post-January?

RAHM EMANUEL: Well, first of all, let me -- I mean, the way I look at it is, that's a yes and a no.

And I think, on the yes part is, you have things like what we're going to do on missile defense technology or what you're going to do on exercises and shared security arrangements that go into the -- kind of the bones and the DNA of the institutions and the relationship.

But we should be very clear.

President Biden believes that allies and alliances make America safer and stronger.

That also then requires not kind of hitting an equilibrium, but constantly investing in it.

And the reason President Marcos is coming here and the reason the Japanese prime minister has agreed to a first-ever historic is because they trust America.

And if we think that we're going to accomplish anything in the Indo-Pacific solo, we don't understand.

That is a different view from the strategy we have had, the different view that isolating China, rather than China's being able to isolate a Philippines or a Japan.

And so it's not an equilibrium.

This has some value that will go past any one administration because it's in our strategic interest.

But it also requires a commitment by a president who believes fundamentally that the strategic value of allies and alliances in the safety and security, not only of the United States, but the values that we have and the interests that we want to see advanced.

GEOFF BENNETT: That is the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel.

Thanks for your time this evening.

We appreciate it.

RAHM EMANUEL: Thanks, Geoff, yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: The kids network Nickelodeon helped shape pop culture for decades.

But a new docuseries, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," is exposing the toxic culture behind some of the most iconic children's shows of the '90s and 2000s.

As young viewers flocked to the channel for beloved programs like "The Amanda Show" and "All That," sexual abuse and harassment were rampant behind the scenes.

Here's a quick look.

WOMAN: A lot of these kids in the entertainment industry are vulnerable.

The power balance between a child and an adult is so striking already.

And then on top of it, you add that it's an employment situation.

These are 8-to-15-year-olds, and they are often responsible for the entire economic success of their families.

What are they going to do if they get in trouble?

What if all of this goes away because they complained?

WOMAN: And so you spend your time working, hoping that people don't poke the soft spots on your body and in your brain.

AMNA NAWAZ: "Quiet on Set" directors Emma Schwartz and Mary Robertson join me now.

Welcome to you both.

Emma, start us off here.

Your docuseries includes allegations of sexual assault, of pervasive harassment, the overt sexualization of children on these sets.

How did you first hear about these allegations, and how hard was it to get people to talk about it?

EMMA SCHWARTZ, Director, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV": You know, we first started looking into this because a number of years ago we saw clips online, clips of -- from these shows where you could see the actors who were being very sexualized, clips like Ariana Grande massaging a potato online.

And we began to ask questions about what was happening behind the scenes.

Fast-forward, there was a -- Jennette McCurdy came out with a memoir about her experience growing up on these sets.

Kate Taylor of Business Insider wrote an article beginning to sort of delve deeper into what was happening behind the scenes.

And we decided to dive even further.

It was very difficult to get people to speak, but we reached out to many, many people, and I think those that participated felt that they had been holding a lot of secrets, a lot of trauma, a lot of darkness, and that, by sharing their experience, that hopefully others would not have to walk down the same path as they had.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mary, why was this a story that you think a larger American audience needed to know about?

MARY ROBERTSON, Director, "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV": When we were first looking at those clips that Emma references in which you see young teens in situations that are arguably sexual in nature, arguably evocative of pornography, we also saw questions swirling on social media platforms from many adults who were once children watching these shows.

And these now-adults said, how could it be that this material was made?

Was I watching a lot of content that was in fact sexualized, but because I was a kid, the jokes went over my head, and I didn't know it?

And if this arguably sexual content had been created on these sets, who said yes to the creation of this material?

Who said no to the creation of this material?

And if this material exists, what might it suggest about what inappropriate, illegal behavior was happening behind the scenes?

Those feel like meaningful questions to us because they pertain to working conditions for children, and we all have a responsibility to protect minors, and because the content that was created on these sets was ultimately consumed by generations of children, impressionable young minds.

And it shaped their sense of normal and their understandings -- understanding of what is appropriate behavior.

AMNA NAWAZ: Emma, the man who created many of these shows, someone named Dan Schneider, The New York Times once called him the Norman Lear of children's television, and you document a number of instances in which he really sexualized shows and themes in the show.

He's, since your docuseries came out, posted an apology of sorts.

He's saying that he watched the series.

He said it was difficult to watch.

He regrets his behavior.

He owes people an apology.

What do you make of his response?

EMMA SCHWARTZ: You know, in the process of putting together our documentary, we reached out to Dan to ask if he would participate and sit down for an interview.

He declined to participate on camera, so we sent him a series of questions and incorporated those written responses into the documentary.

As you will see in the episode five that came out on Sunday, a number of the participants felt that Dan's response video was insincere and raised questions about why it happened just now, after many people had raised questions for a long period of time.

AMNA NAWAZ: There's also Mary, the story of this former dialogue coach at Nickelodeon named Brian Peck.

He was convicted of sexually abusing a minor in 2004.

And we learned through your work that was actually child star Drake Bell, who comes forward.

We also learned there's a number of powerful Hollywood figures who came forward on behalf of Mr. Peck, offering letters of character support for him.

What should we make of that?

MARY ROBERTSON: You mentioned these letters of support that were written by many Hollywood insiders on behalf of convicted child sex offender Brian Peck.

And throughout the course of our reporting, our company petitioned the court to unseal these letters, which had been sealed for decades.

And after arguing before the judge, he ultimately agreed to unseal these letters.

We now do have these letters in the public record, and they raise many questions.

And many of those questions remain for us, questions around what information the letter writers had at the time of writing them, who may have asked them to write the letters, if any pressure was exerted, and what the nature of that pressure may have been.

AMNA NAWAZ: Emma, there's also the bigger question here of the idea that these men weren't working in a vacuum, right?

And you wonder, for a system that is built around children, for children, how was this kind of abuse and assault of women -- of children allowed to continue?

EMMA SCHWARTZ: There's a lot of layers to the abuses that people experience.

Some of it -- and not everyone saw all of the different kinds of abuses, right?

So you have the adult women that we hear from, Jenny and Christy, who endured a lot of what they say is sexual harassment and other forms of abuse inside the writers room.

But if you were a child on set, you might not have seen or even known what was happening behind those closed doors.

Likewise, some of these child sex offenders like Jason Handy and Brian Peck, they often met their people on the sets.

But some of the actual abuses occurred outside of the sets themselves, because there was a closeness and relationships that formed in what people often described as sort of families on these sets.

But they were families with a lot of dysfunction beneath them.

AMNA NAWAZ: Mary, what has been Nickelodeon's response to all of this?

And is there any kind of accountability here?

MARY ROBERTSON: We offered Nickelodeon an opportunity to send a representative who would appear on camera in the project.

We also included written questions.

We also sent them written questions and include their responses in the project.

What we're hearing right now amongst many of those who've watched the film is a call for industry-wide reform.

It has been noted by some that, at the moment, there's a real absence of federal legislation that could or would protect children working in entertainment.

At the moment, there's merely a patchwork system of state laws in place.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, all episodes of this docuseries "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV," are available to stream on max.

Directors Emma Schwartz and Mary Robertson, thank you so much for joining us.

EMMA SCHWARTZ: Thank you.

MARY ROBERTSON: Thank you for having us.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the summer of 2022, historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky washed away homes and entire communities, claiming more than 40 lives.

It also devastated an important cultural hub for the larger region, Appalshop, home to a large archive of Appalachian history and culture.

Jeffrey Brown first brought us Appalshop's story back in 2018.

He recently returned for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: Oh, boy, not like what I remember.

ROGER MAY, Operations Director, Appalshop: A lot different?

JEFFREY BROWN: It's a center for cultural preservation now struggling to preserve itself, Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Operations director Roger May recalls the mess of water and mud he found when he first entered after the floods.

ROGER MAY: It was hard to reconcile what I was seeing with what I was supposed to be seeing.

JEFFREY BROWN: For most of Appalshop's 55-year history, this building teemed with the vibrant sights, sounds, and stories of Appalachia, first through filmmaking, expanding to the renowned Roadside Theater, a radio station, and music classes, all while building an ever-growing, one-of-a-kind archive that documented everything from music to mining.

The central idea, to allow the people of this region to tell their own stories, the good, as well as the hardships.

WILLA JOHNSON, Director of Film Department, Appalshop: I didn't know that you could do journalism in your own community.

I didn't know you could tell a story in your small town.

JEFFREY BROWN: Willa Johnson runs the youth media program at Appalshop, the same program that first brought her in the door as a 21 -year-old aspiring filmmaker.

WILLA JOHNSON: It was a life-changing moment for me.

JEFFREY BROWN: Like everyone here, she says she'd experienced flooding,but nothing like what happened in July of 2022.

WILLA JOHNSON: When we were flooded, it took out the bridge to our community.

And so we didn't have cell phone, we didn't have Internet, we didn't have water.

We didn't have a way out.

I just kept thinking, man, I hope they realize why I'm not at work.

I didn't even know Appalshop was underwater.

Seeing it underwater was like seeing such a pivotal place, like a home place being lost.

JEFFREY BROWN: One response, do what they have always done.

Filmmaker Oakley Fugate.

OAKLEY FUGATE, Filmmaker, Appalshop: After this happened, your instinct as a filmmaker was, we have to document this?

OAKLEY FUGATE: There was a period where we had to make sure everyone was OK.

But when we all got together, we're like, we need to tell this story.

This is our community.

Appalshop has been documenting it for years.

JEFFREY BROWN: Fugate was part of a team that produced "All Is Not Lost" documenting the toll the flood took on their community.

MAN: You could see the water.

It washed houses away.

JEFFREY BROWN: So, why did you call it "All Is Not Lost"?

Because a lot was lost.

OAKLEY FUGATE: Yes,but from that came the community itself reaching out, like, strangers just checking in.We have our community.

We can build back.

JEFFREY BROWN: But building back hasn't been easy.

Appalshop, which always relied on a mix of funding sources like grants and private donors, has been forced to ramp up its fund-raising efforts since the flood.

ROGER MAY: The high watermark in here was almost up to my shoulder.

So everything in here, and to our theater, our radio broadcast booth everything was underwater.

JEFFREY BROWN: The building is now, quite literally, a shell of its former self.

It's location in the floodplain means Appalshop will need to find a new home.

The radio station operates out of an R.V.

parked outside.

Theater productions are on pause, and the staff relocated to a temporary office 14 miles away.

ROGER MAY: This is the archive.

So this is the door to the archive back there now.

JEFFREY BROWN: Most concerning, even irreplaceable is the film, video, and audio archive.

WOMAN: We consider it all valuable.

JEFFREY BROWN: On our last visit, we'd seen shelves filled to the ceiling,now a dark, mostly empty vault.

What was damaged?

ROGER MAY: Well, everything, reel-to-reel films, audio, photo negatives.

Every one's a story.

Every one meant something.

Meant enough to someone at the time to say, hey, I need to record this moment.

This is some type of Appalshop event, a concert, looks like.

The flood left its own filter.

It's just a whole treasure trove of Appalachian culture that was knocked around and invaded with floodwater.

And some of these film canisters were found miles downstream.

JENNIFER GRIMAUDO, Senior Director of Sustainability, Iron Mountain: We spend a lot of time talking about how climate change could impact our future.

We spend less time hearing about or thinking about how climate change is impacting our past.

JEFFREY BROWN: For Jennifer Grimaudo of data management company Iron Mountain, what happened at Appalshop is part of a much larger problem.

Extreme weather events like the so-called 1,000-year flood that hit Kentucky are becoming more frequent, threatening numerous heritage sites all over the world.

JENNIFER GRIMAUDO: All of those things aren't just impacting our land and our ability to thrive tomorrow.

They're impacting our memories.

They're impacting these really important sites that help us connect with prior generations.

And if we didn't step in to help Appalshop, there was a real risk that that would be lost forever.

JEFFREY BROWN: Since last spring, Iron Mountain has housed more than 9,000 recordings from Appalshop's collection in its cold storage facility free of charge to prevent further degradation.

They also developed a cleaning process so far tested on a handful of videotapes, including this unedited interview from the famed documentary "Stranger With a Camera" about a Canadian filmmaker killed by a property owner while filming in Kentucky in 1967.

MAN: He turned and said: "What are you doing?"

And I looked at him, and I saw blood spurting out of this -- the side of his chest.

JEFFREY BROWN: What do you think when you see this, when this came back from Iron Mountain?

ROGER MAY: Was just emotionally overwhelmed.

It brought tears to my eyes to see this preserved and kept.

It's such important work.

JEFFREY BROWN: In fact, says May, there is a potential silver lining, if more of this material can be preserved and digitized for the first time.

ROGER MAY: We had a vault in this archive full of material, but we didn't know what was on those reels or on those negatives, you know?

And now, as we begin to get those digitized, and they're coming back to us, some of this material we're seeing for the very first time.

JEFFREY BROWN: The effort to save the archive revived not only important cultural gems, but also significant personal histories.

A friend came upon a box containing Willa Johnson's notes and material from her very first student film.

WILLA JOHNSON: I said: "How did that survive?"

And he said: "It was on a higher shelf."

And then I cried because I was like, much more important things should have been on that higher shelf.

A do-list.

JEFFREY BROWN: Including finish.

WILLA JOHNSON: Finish, yes, that's pretty important.

It was just amazing to see and felt so good to see that survive, survive everything.

JEFFREY BROWN: What else will survive?

And what of the organization itself?

Roger May looks to the long history of this region.

ROGER MAY: I'm confident that we will figure out how to adapt, just like folks in communities like this have for generations.

You know, through natural disasters, through the boom and bust of the coal industry, we have figured out ways to stay and to adapt.

JEFFREY BROWN: For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

AMNA NAWAZ: Britain's King Charles was presented with the new banknotes of his reign today.

The king, who's being treated for an undisclosed cancer, received the notes bearing his portrait at a brief ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Royal editor Chris ship of Independent Television News reports from London.

CHRIS SHIP: The Bank of England governor does many things, but rarely does the holder of the post get to present a monarch with the new set of banknotes bearing his or her face.

From the 5th of June, this will be the new five pound note and new tenner, and this the new 20 pound and 50 pound notes, perhaps one of the most visible changes of the new reign of King Charles.

SARAH JOHN, Chief Cashier, Bank of England: The portrait was taken from a photograph that was given to us by the royal household, and we used the photograph to create an engraving, which is turned then into the image you see on the banknotes today.

MAN: We have come to present you with your banknotes.

CHRIS SHIP: And the monarch always gets the very first ones.

Look at the serial number,0000001, and this is the first time the bank has ever changed the sovereign on the front.

MAN: The queen was the first sovereign to be on the banknote.

CHRIS SHIP: Surprising because Bank of England notes did not feature the monarch until 1960, when Queen Elizabeth became the first to appear on the new one pound note.

And, of course, the late queen would be the face of Bank of England notes for the next 64 years.

She saw them being printed for herself in 1981 at the bank's printing works in Essex.

KING CHARLES III, United Kingdom: I'm sorry for the delay.

CHRIS SHIP: The king apologized for the delay in receiving the notes caused by his cancer treatments, but, today, the phrase cash is king felt more than appropriate for this particular moment.

AMNA NAWAZ: And join us back here tomorrow night, as Judy Woodruff travels to Oregon for a look at the growing political divide between rural and urban areas in the U.S. And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

For all of us here at the "PBS NewsHour," thanks for joining us, and have a good evening.