GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.
I'm Geoff Bennett.
Amna Nawaz is away.
On the "NewsHour" tonight: The Biden administration warns Israel to change the way it is prosecuting the war with Hamas, or risk losing U.S. support.
Our exclusive conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on efforts to increase security cooperation in Asia.
FUMIO KISHIDA, Japanese Prime Minister (through translator): Russia's aggression against Ukraine is a reckless deed which shakes the foundation of the international order with a strong sense of crisis that today's Ukraine might become tomorrow's East Asia.
GEOFF BENNETT: And Amna Nawaz on the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona with migrants who've made the grueling journey through Mexico and those trying to help them.
(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour."
Today, for the first time, President Biden publicly threatened to condition support for Israel.
His remark came in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The president said his future policy was dependent on whether Israel took multiple steps to ease the civilian suffering in Gaza.
He also reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire.
Following all of this is our Nick Schifrin.
Nick,it's great to have you here.
And, look, as you well know, White House readouts of presidential phone calls with foreign leaders aren't always that illuminating, but we actually learned a lot today from the official White House summary of the call between President Biden and Netanyahu.
Tell us what you have learned.
NICK SCHIFRIN: The White House readout, but also U.S. officials who I have been talking to tell me that the president was -- quote - - "very direct" with the prime minister.
And the president said that following that killing of the World Central Kitchen aid workers -- you see the car that they were traveling in -- following the three cars that they were traveling in were hit by Israeli munitions, Biden said Israel had to, one, better protect aid workers, two, better protect civilians, and, three, reduce humanitarian suffering.
And this is a quote from that White House readout -- quote -- "President Biden made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on those three steps."
President Biden has not made that threat, at least publicly available, until now.
And until now, he said that, if he had a red line, that red line would be a full-scale military operation by Israel into Rafah.
That's what you see right there, where 1.4 million Gazans have fled.
And a few minutes after President Biden's call with Netanyahu, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was on that call listening both to the president and the prime minister, was even more blunt.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: If we don't see the changes that we need to see, there will be changes in our own policy.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Blinken also said something that he has not said before, that Israel's priority in Gaza is not, or at this moment, should be fighting Hamas or even protecting Israeli territory.
Those are the phrases that the U.S. has used in the past.
But, instead, Israel's priority in Gaza is this: ANTONY BLINKEN: Right now, there is no higher priority in Gaza than protecting civilians, surging humanitarian assistance, and ensuring the security of those who provide it.
Israel must meet this moment.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Israel has not responded to these statements publicly yet, but it has argued that the limiting of humanitarian aid is not its fault, but the fault of a lack of U.N. capacity in terms of distribution of aid inside of Gaza.
It called the killing of those aid workers inadvertent, the product of a misidentification, and it's promised exactly what President Biden is calling for, Geoff, an independent, open investigation.
GEOFF BENNETT: And the president also called for a cease-fire.
The explicit nature of that demand is noteworthy.
NICK SCHIFRIN: It is, because, up until now, the president has largely said there should be a cease-fire as part of a hostage deal.
And, again, a U.S. official tells me he was "very direct" -- quote unquote -- with the prime minister on this.
There is a hostage deal on the table, as you and I have discussed; 35 to 40 hostages would be released from Hamas custody in exchange for a six-week cease-fire.
But Hamas has insisted that part of that deal must be to allow all of those Gazans in Rafah to return north into Northern Gaza.
Israel has resisted that Hamas demand because, in Northern Gaza, there are both hostages, Israel believes, but also Hamas militants.
And Israel has said that it's too hard to either save those hostages or kill all those Hamas militants if all those civilians were to flood back into Northern Gaza.
But, today, a U.S. official told me that President Biden told Netanyahu -- quote -- "Get the hostage deal done, no more posturing," even, Geoff, if that means allowing Gazan civilians to move north from Rafah.
And the president also urged Netanyahu to find a compromise on another sticking point, the exact number of Palestinian detainees, including those convicted of murder, who would be released from Israeli detention in exchange for those 35 to 45 -- 40 hostages.
How far Israel is willing to go on that compromise, and, frankly, how far or whether even Hamas is willing to make a compromise, a lot of U.S. officials are skeptical of that, remains to be seen.
GEOFF BENNETT: Such valuable reporting.
Nick Schifrin, thanks, as always.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Thank you.
GEOFF BENNETT: In the day's other headlines: Israel's military suspended leave for all combat units, in case Iran retaliates for an airstrike in Damascus that killed two Iranian generals.
Prime Minister Netanyahu defended that strike and warned that Israel won't hesitate to do it again.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator): For years, Iran has been working against us directly and through its proxies, and, therefore, Israel is working against Iran and its proxies.
We will act according to the simple principle that whoever hurts us or plans to hurt us, we will hurt them.
GEOFF BENNETT: And, in Iran, state media reports suspected Sunni Muslim militants attacked Iranian security forces, leaving 27 dead.
It happened in a province in Southeastern Iran.
Officials said the militants struck in Chabahar and Rask, trying to seize Revolutionary Guard headquarters.
Russian drone attacks on Ukraine's second largest city claimed the lives of at least four people overnight, including three rescue workers.
Police video showed one of the explosions as drones hit two apartment buildings and a power plant in Kharkiv.
Firefighters worked in the predawn dark to extinguish the flames.
Ukraine says the Russians are deliberately firing drones in pairs, the first to cause damage and the second to target emergency crews.
In Taiwan, the death toll rose to 10 after Wednesday's powerful earthquake, and rescuers spent another long day searching for the missing and stranded.
Search teams found one body on a hiking trail in a national park.
Some 50 others had been cut off on a highway in that park.
David Chen was one of them and was reunited with his family today.
DAVID CHEN (Earthquake Survivor): I am lucky to survive this disaster.
We were terrified, especially when the earthquake first happened.
We thought it was all over.
And that place, the place we all knew, I had been there for many years.
It was prone to rockfalls.
GEOFF BENNETT: Nearly 1,100 people were injured in that quake, and about 700 people were still stranded today.
Here at home, a federal judge in Florida refused to dismiss the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump.
He had argued the material was personal, so he could legally keep it.
And a Georgia judge rejected Mr. Trump's bid to dismiss an election interference case on First Amendment grounds.
The judge ruled that -- quote -- "Even core political speech is not impenetrable from prosecution if allegedly used to further criminal activity."
A federal court ruling in California means thousands of migrant children have to be moved out of open-air border camps and into indoor safer facilities, and soon.
The ruling came late Wednesday and puts new pressure on Customs and Border Protection.
The agency says it has greatly increased capacity at processing centers in San Diego, but can't keep up with the demand.
President Biden moved today to beef up job protections for federal workers in case former President Donald Trump wins in November.
It's a response to a Trump promise to radically reshape the federal work force.
The new regulations bar career civil servants from being reclassified as political appointees, which will make them harder to fire.
And on Wall Street, stocks sank after a top Fed official voiced new concern about persistent inflation.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 530 points to close below 38597.
The Nasdaq fell 228 points.
The S&P 500 dropped 64.
And still to come on the "NewsHour": what you need to know about the uptick in cases of bird flu in farm animals and the risk to humans in the U.S.; a look at how the Biden and Trump campaigns are raising and spending their advertising dollars; and a new documentary captures the story of a journalist's gender transition while embed with the Taliban.
The challenge presented by China is one of the main focuses of the Biden White House.
And, soon, the president will meet with the leader of one of America's strongest allies, Japan, in a bid to deepen the military partnership in East Asia.
In a moment, I will speak with Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, but, first, a look at the stakes of the coming summit.
Next week, a new plan to strengthen military cooperation is expected to be unveiled by two powerful leaders.
President Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington on Wednesday, followed by a summit among the two nations and the Philippines.
It's all part of Japan's shift in military strategy over the last decade, slowly abandoning its post-World War II inward-looking approach of pacifism to deal with the rising power nearby, China.
The PRC's military activities in the region are seen as increasingly aggressive, live-fire military exercises off the coast of Taiwan, sailing at ships dangerously close to others in the South China Sea, and ramming boats from the Philippines in disputed waters.
China also claims sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands, which Japan considers its own territory.
In turn, Prime Minister Kishida vowed to increase military strength to deter the PRC.
FUMIO KISHIDA, Japanese Prime Minister (through translator): In the face of a severe security environment, the drastic strengthening of our defense capabilities is an urgent task that we have no time to wait for.
GEOFF BENNETT: All of this is driving the U.S. and Japan to improve joint military operability, but, on the economic front, a new flash point.
The Biden administration last month came out against the Japanese company Nippon Steel's $14.1 billion offer to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, saying in a statement: "It is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated."
Nippon Steel fired back, saying the deal would "advance American priorities by driving greater quality and competitiveness, while strengthening American supply chains."
That's as the White House makes clear it does not want to damage its relationship with Japan.
JOHN KIRBY, NSC Coordinator For Strategic Communications: The president has also been clear about making sure that steelworkers in this country know that he has their back.
But that doesn't take away one bit from the terrific relationship that we have now and will continue to have with Japan.
GEOFF BENNETT: Overnight, I spoke with Prime Minister Kishida from his residence in Tokyo.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, welcome to the "NewsHour."
One of the key items on your agenda next week is focused on Nippon Steel.
President Biden is opposed to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, and he suggests that it's a national security issue.
In his words, he says: "The U.S. needs to maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers."
Do you feel President Biden is making a mistake?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): Well with regard to the specific case of U.S. Steel, since the individual discussions are going on amongst the direct parties concerned, I would choose not to directly comment on it.
However, with regard to the Japan-U.S. alliance, it is stronger than ever, and Japan has grown to be now the world's largest foreign investor in the United States and creates lots of jobs in the United States.
And it is expected that this investment is going to be expanded even further.
So, in order to make this trend for win-win more firm and definite, I think what we need to do is to ascertain sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the Asia-Pacific and work together so that rule-based economic order can be sustained and maintained.
And, based on that, the basic notion the economic front as well, I will continue to work strongly towards it.
GEOFF BENNETT: While you're in Washington next week, you and President Biden will agree to tighten military cooperation.
Japan wants to establish the joint command headquarters before the end of March 2025 because of the concern about China.
What will this strengthened U.S.-Japan military relationship be able to do in the future that it can't do right now?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): I have seen in the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the situation in Israel-Palestine, in terms of the international community, it is really faced with a historical turning point.
In that context, I'm of the view that the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance is growing even more.
And after World War II, I would say that, in terms of the inter-Pacific situation for Japan, it is the most severe and complicated situation.
That is why, at the end of 2022, Japan had put together the national security strategy, in which it was decided that the defense expenditure will be raised to 2 percent of GDP.
I hope that, in my visit to the United States at this time, Japan and the United States will be able to deepen into discussion how our security cooperation can be further expanded.
GEOFF BENNETT: Will this new headquarters be involved in actual military operations, or would it just be responsible for planning military exercises between the U.S. and Japan?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): Well, based on the national security strategy that Japan has formulated, we are now planning to form the joint headquarters.
However, the control, per se, will remain individually to each of the states concerned, namely, Japan and the United States.
And under that new system, I will make sure that Japan and the United States will make that coordination accordingly.
GEOFF BENNETT: Would this new command be involved in coming to the defense of Taiwan if China were to attack Taiwan?
President Biden has said on a number of occasions that the U.S. would come to the defense of Taiwan if China were to attack it.
Will Japan do the same?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): Well, I would refrain from answering your question, your hypothetical question, about Taiwan.
However, the peace and stability over the Taiwan Straits is very important, and not only for Japan's security, but also for the stability of the entire international community.
Therefore, we have always taken consistently the position that issues over Taiwan are to be resolved through dialogue in a peaceful fashion.
Of course, we will convey what we are thinking formally to China, and also continue working closely with allies like the United States and other like-minded countries, so that our position can be clearly communicated.
GEOFF BENNETT: What's your level of concern, though, about Chinese military activities in the South China Sea and elsewhere in Asian waters?
What do you believe is President Xi's ultimate goal?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): Well, with regard to China, without their affording adequate transparency, they are expanding military strength in this part of the region, inclusive of the nuclear and missile capabilities in a broad way and in such a speedy fashion.
They are increasing their cooperation with Russia as well.
So, in the Sea of Japan, in the Pacific Ocean and so forth, their military activities are expanding and also becoming much more intensified.
So, we are going to ask them to raise their transparency and act, along with the international code of conduct.
GEOFF BENNETT: During the visit, as I understand it, you will also be announcing cooperation in space.
Is Japan pushing to have the first non-American on the moon, and has the U.S. agree to that plan?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): With regard to space, it has been confirmed that Japan will extend its cooperation in this area.
So, this is the dream that a Japanese astronaut might be stepping his feet on the face of the moon.
I hope that, when I visit the United States, it will become one of the outcomes of the discussion.
GEOFF BENNETT: You mentioned Ukraine earlier.
Let's return to that.
Does U.S. military support for Ukraine make it harder for the U.S. to meet its commitments in Asia?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): While Russia's aggression against Ukraine is a reckless deed, which shakes the foundation of the international order, with a strong sense of crisis that today's Ukraine might become tomorrow's East Asia, I have been dealing with this issue, continuing the severe sanctions against Russia and the continuing strong support to Ukraine.
And on the 19th of February, Tokyo hosted the Japan-Ukraine Conference on Economic Growth and Reconstruction.
And based on that, of course, Japan will continue its cooperation to Ukraine.
And of course, the international community has to cooperate in sending strong messages constantly to Russia, because some of the Asian countries might take it wrong.
GEOFF BENNETT: Do you believe that support for Ukraine, as many in the U.S. argue, is important as a possible deterrent to China in the region?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): We really need to maintain international order, which is based on the rule of law and which is free and open.
And we should never allow any country to make it a habit to be aggressive against others.
And if that is allowed, then that would send the wrong message to countries all over the world, including Asia.
GEOFF BENNETT: The North Koreans launched another ballistic missile this week.
How much of this new military partnership is about containing the North and its aggression?
And what's your level of concern about the apparent military cooperation among China, Russia and the DPRK?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): Of course, the nuclear and missile development by DPRK threatens not only Japan, but also the peace and stability of the entire international community.
I sense that, very lately, the level of DPRK missile development capability is improving very significantly.
That is what I sense, and I have a deep sense of crisis over that.
Therefore, the cooperation amongst allies and with like-minded countries, specifically between Japan, the United States and the Republic of Korea, we really need to enhance our cooperation.
And, as you had mentioned, it is reported the DPRK is having a concrete cooperation with Russia.
So this is, of course, the concern shared by East Asian countries.
Therefore, the international community has to cooperate even more.
GEOFF BENNETT: And lastly, sir, Japan was one American ally that managed to get along with former President Donald Trump.
How were you able to do that?
And if Donald Trump is reelected, what advice do you have to U.S. allies about how to interact with him?
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): During the days of Prime Minister Abe with President Trump, efforts were made to make even more fulfilling the contents of the U.S.-Japan relationship.
And it continues to this day.
So I would say that, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming presidential election in the United States, because of this more complicated international situation, the Japan-U.S. alliance grows in importance even more.
And I believe this is a notion shared as a common recognition within the U.S., going beyond party lines, in a bipartisan way.
So that is why I have decided to visit the United States, this time to confer once again this relationship, the importance of our alliances, and to continue efforts so that we can further develop our relationship.
I hope that the Japan-U.S. alliance will be understood as very important, not only in the security area, but also in economics as well.
So I hope that the U.S. will be able to reaffirm once again how important Japan is as their partner, and we hope to confirm that during my visit to the United States.
GEOFF BENNETT: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, thank you for your time this evening.
We appreciate it.
FUMIO KISHIDA (through translator): Well, thank you.
I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I thank you once again for your cooperation.
There is growing concern tonight about the continuing spread of the highly contagious bird flu in the U.S. As William Brangham explains, while federal health officials say the risk to humans is low, the virus has now spread to dairy cattle and sickened one person -- William.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That's right, Geoff.
This strain of bird flu, called H5N1, has been sickening bird flocks across America for a few years now.
Millions have been killed to prevent further spread.
Yesterday, the country's biggest egg producer halted productions when chickens at one of its facilities got sick.
But this virus has also been infecting mammals, most recently dairy cows, in five different states.
This week, a person in Texas tested positive after working with cattle.
He's had mild symptoms and is expected to recover.
For more on this virus, we are joined again by Jennifer Nuzzo.
She runs the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.
Jennifer Nuzzo, so good to have you back on the program.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, the head of the CDC, says the risk to humans from this virus is low, they're monitoring it, and there's no reason to worry at this point.
Is that where you come down?
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO, Brown University School of Public Health: So I think it's true that the risk to the general public is quite low, and I think it's also important that we continue to monitor this virus to make sure that doesn't change.
The one thing I do quite worry about is the risk to farmworkers, people who would be exposed to the sick animals, because we do know that exposure to sick animals can result in human infection.
And we have already seen that now to date in two cases in the United States, the most recent one being in a worker that worked with sick cows.
So I do worry about protecting farmworkers.
But for the general public, the risk of contracting this virus is currently low.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Let's talk about that infection.
So, this was someone who apparently had been working with cattle, cattle that had been infected with this bird virus.
How should we see that route of infection?
Because this does happen every now and then, a widespread infection amongst animals, and it jumps to one human.
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO: Yes, so we have been tracking this virus for 20 years.
And in the last two years, I would say, it has become a lot more concerning in terms of the number of species that this virus has shown itself capable of infecting.
We have historically called this a bird flu virus because it has predominantly affected wild birds and domesticated birds.
But over the last two years, we have really seen the species range that has been affected by this virus grow quite a bit, to include mammals.
So that's quite alarming.
This is also the first time we have seen it in cows.
Cows haven't frequently been seen to get influenza A, which is the particular type of influenza virus this one is.
So that is also somewhat new and surprising.
But we have in the past see humans that have had direct contact with sick animals get sick.
It doesn't happen all that frequently.
But when it does happen, it's quite concerning, because, in many of these cases, that infection has been quite deadly.
Fortunately, in the most recent case, the infection has been quite mild.
In fact, the symptoms are a little bit different than what we have typically seen in the past.
The sick worker had conjunctivitis and eye inflammation.
And so while, we're glad to see a mild infection, we don't yet understand why that is.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, for now, at least, jumping from a group of animals to one human is one thing.
But if it were to go from human to human, that's when it would be really troubling; is that correct?
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO: The predominant reason that we're worried now is because we're worried that this virus may gain additional functionality and additional ability to infect humans, so that we could see human infections occur more frequently.
And the worst-case scenario that we worry about is this virus gaining the ability to be transmitted easily between humans.
In the past, there have been a few cases that we haven't been able to rule out limited human-to-human transmission, but that human transmission hasn't been sustained and it's been very rare relative to the number of human cases we have seen.
But we're watching this virus primarily to make sure it doesn't gain the ability to infect humans more easily and, worse, to be spread between humans easily.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And, right now, there is no evidence of that happening?
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO: No, there is not.
So we're not worried currently, but we don't often get head starts or sort of early warnings about future health threats.
And so why you're hearing a lot of scientists, experts and health officials talking quite concerned -- in a concerned manner about this particular development is because we want to make sure we get ahead of it.
We want to make sure we don't allow this virus to infect many more animals or many more humans to give it any ability to gain the functionality to infect humans more easily.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For people who are seeing that these are cases in dairy cows and egg-laying chickens and might worry, do I have to worry about milk and eggs, what do you tell them?
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO: Well, it's long been public health advice not to eat raw eggs or raw milk.
And that public health advice still applies.
As long as you're following that guidance, all the evidence we have so far is that you should be fine.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The U.S., as you well know, has been focusing on the threat of pandemic influenza for decades now.
But we saw how COVID punched all these holes in what we thought was a world-class, robust set of plans and preparations.
Are you concerned that if -- again, no evidence that this is happening now, but if this were to turn into something more severe, that we could respond in a smart and timely way?
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO: Well, I think that's why we're having this conversation now, is to talk about what triggers are going to make us act.
I think our recent experience with COVID was quite humbling in a lot of ways.
We have a bit more experience dealing with influenza and, in particular, dealing with a flu pandemic.
People may not remember that we actually had a flu pandemic in 2009.
That was not an H5N1 virus.
It was an H1N1 virus.
And in many ways, we do have more resources and more familiarity with flu.
So, in some ways, you could imagine it easier.
However, every type of event is going to be challenging.
So, I think that's why it's really urgent that we use this moment where we are getting some concerning signals from the animal world about potential future human health threats to make sure we have everything we need to be able to respond if this virus does take a turn for the worse.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, Jennifer Nuzzo, Brown University School of Public Health, always great to see you.
Thank you so much.
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO: Thanks for having me.
GEOFF BENNETT: The race for the White House takes money, a lot of it.
Yesterday, the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee said they raised more than $65 million in March as they try to catch up to the nearly $100 million cash advantage Biden and the Democrats had a month earlier.
Both candidates are using the campaign money to reach key voting blocs and to push their core messages.
Domenico Montanaro of NPR has been following the money.
And he joins us now.
It's always great to see you.
So, President Biden, the Biden campaign, they have a clear cash advantage over Donald Trump.
How much does that matter in a race like this one, where the candidates are so well-known, they're so well-defined?
And what does it matter seven months ahead of Election Day?
DOMENICO MONTANARO, Political Editor, NPR: Yes, I think it's a very strong argument to say that these guys are so well-defined, people know who they are, they know what their brands are, that maybe all that TV money doesn't really matter as much.
But I would say that this is kind of like a World War I election, where you're spending a lot for a few feet of really important ground.
It's pretty marginal as far as the groups that they need to win.
I mean, Biden, for example, it's very important for him and it's why he's sort of outspending Trump as much as he is right now, because he's behind in the swing states.
We have seen that Biden's campaign and groups supporting him are spending about $13.5 million since Super Tuesday to only about $3 million or so for Trump and his team.
And a lot of that money that Trump is spending right now is to raise money.
Actually, about $2.5 million of that they're using are digital ad pitches from Save America asking people for more money.
So, eventually, the money will be there, but, right now, they're needing to get more of it.
GEOFF BENNETT: That's interesting.
So what groups are the campaigns trying to reach with all of this money?
DOMENICO MONTANARO: Yes, so one of the big things that you need to do if you're going to -- why early advertising can really matter is because you want to win over some groups that you might have vulnerabilities with or you want to try to define your opponent.
And I think that one big thing that the Biden campaign understands is that Trump's been off the airwaves for three years.
And some people might not see him as urgent as a threat for the people who already voted for Biden, for example, in 2020, who then the Biden campaign needs to win back over.
So they're going to run a lot of Trump's words.
But, again, another piece of this is, you're shoring up your own vulnerabilities.
And part of that for Biden is Latino, Black voters, young voters.
We saw in our NPR/"PBS NewsHour"/Marist poll that young voters 18 to 29, 61 percent disapprove of the job that Biden is doing.
He needs them back on board.
And Latinos, 56 percent disapproving, and that's why we're seeing the ads that we're seeing right now from Biden.
Maybe let's take a listen to that.
NARRATOR: For our abuelos.
NARRATOR: Insulin that costs $35.
NARRATOR: Or hundreds.
NARRATOR: That is the difference between Joe Biden.
NARRATOR: And Donald Trump.
NARRATOR: For women, the freedom to control our own bodies, or doctors going to jail for an abortion.
NARRATOR: This is the difference between Joe Biden or Donald Trump.
DOMENICO MONTANARO: Now, Trump taking a very different tack.
Let's listen to what he's doing with an ad that he also ran in 2020 quite a bit.
(MUSIC) GEOFF BENNETT: Definitely a different approach.
DOMENICO MONTANARO: Good luck getting that out of your head in the next couple of days, Geoff.
GEOFF BENNETT: All right, Domenico, so how are the campaigns really using these ads to reinforce their positions on important issues?
DOMENICO MONTANARO: Yes, so a big piece of this obviously is getting your message out.
And one of those big issues, we know, for the Biden campaign is on abortion rights, on women's reproductive rights.
And using Trump's words is one of the ways that they're now going on the airwaves.
And let's listen to that.
DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential Candidate: Because, for 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated.
And I did it.
And I'm proud to have done it.
JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: In 2016, Donald Trump ran to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Now, in 2024, he's running to pass a national ban on a woman's right to choose.
I'm running to make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again.
DOMENICO MONTANARO: And that ad is running everywhere.
It's going to be across a lot of different states.
One place I'm looking at, curiously, is Florida, whether or not they're going to run that ad there.
They have just put a little bit of money into it there.
But where they're really spending money on this is Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania.
Gee, I wonder why.
It's the blue wall.
They're really running to build the blue wall back again.
GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.
Another bit of news, the third-party group No Labels announced today they're not going to field a presidential candidate after spending millions of dollars to find candidates and ultimately get on the ballot.
Tell us more about that.
DOMENICO MONTANARO: Yes, they got on the ballot in 19 states.
They raised millions of dollars, but they couldn't field a candidate.
So they abandoned their effort.
And it really -- it's a lot of money that they wound up having to spend.
I know that the Biden campaign is thrilled about this.
I have already gotten lots of texts and e-mails from interest groups on the left who are fighting against No Labels, because they feel like the path for Donald Trump to the White House is getting a third-party candidate who siphons votes from Biden, because they don't expect that Trump can get above 46, 47 percent, the two percentages that he got in 2016 and 2020.
So having one of these groups out is important for the Biden campaign.
The next target is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and why we have seen ads that are groups on the left that have popped up now to sort of target him.
GEOFF BENNETT: Domenico Montanaro, it's great to have you here.
Thanks so much.
DOMENICO MONTANARO: Oh, thank you, Geoff.
GEOFF BENNETT: Last night, we reported from Mexico on the increasingly global migration making its way through that country to the U.S. southern border.
And, tonight, Amna Nawaz continues that journey starting in Green Valley, Arizona.
How often do you do this drive?
PASTOR RANDY MAYER, Green Valley-Sahuarita Samaritans: I do this at least once a week.
AMNA NAWAZ: OK.
It's about an hour-and-a-half drive from Pastor Randy Mayer's church to the rugged border between Arizona and Mexico in the Sonoran Desert.
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: It's a time-honored tradition of giving help to the stranger.
AMNA NAWAZ: Mayer is the founder of Green Valley Samaritans.
And for nearly a quarter-century, he's been providing aid to migrants.
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: A year ago, we were running into groups out in the desert, but it was eight, 10, 15 people a day.
Now we're out there some days and we're running into 300, 400.
AMNA NAWAZ: Three or 400 people a day?
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: A day yes.
AMNA NAWAZ: But it's not just more people.
It's where they're coming from.
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: Hey, do you guys need anything?
MAN: Bangladesh.
AMNA NAWAZ: Bangladesh.
(SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) MAN: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) AMNA NAWAZ: Within minutes of reaching the border wall, Pastor Randy is out of the truck and handing out granola bars and water to a group of men from Bangladesh.
They have been traveling for three months and just arrived at this makeshift border camp.
Before long, more arrivals.
They're from Guatemala, finding the Samaritans after walking for five hours.
The group, including a 5-year-old, had been traveling for a month.
A five-minute drive further down the border road, another large group that recently crossed, including this father and his children from Senegal.
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: Six months ago, we had never seen somebody from Bangladesh or Africa in this part of the desert.
It was all Mexicans and Central Americans, and sometimes it would be a few people from South America, but now this is pretty regular.
AMNA NAWAZ: I notice one of the first things you say is welcome.
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: Yes, we want to make sure that at least their first encounter is one of great welcome and saying we are glad you are here.
AMNA NAWAZ: Among the group are three sisters, 13-year-old Nicole, 14-year-old Genesis and 8-year-old Valeria.
They're traveling alone from Chiapas, the southernmost state in Mexico.
Did you see any other kids traveling alone along the way?
NICOLE, Mexican Migrant (through translator): No.
Most just had their families or their parents or their aunts and uncles or even close cousins.
Everybody had somebody.
AMNA NAWAZ: And you had each other?
NICOLE (through translator): Yes, just us three.
AMNA NAWAZ: The sisters are heading to reunite with their mother, their sole provider, who came to the U.S. 7.5 years ago to support the family.
Over the phone, she shares her relief that her daughters made it safely across the border.
WOMAN (through translator): I was desperate and I was so scared because I didn't know what was going on.
AMNA NAWAZ: The girls, like everyone here, are now just waiting to turn themselves into Border Patrol.
Virtually all will seek asylum in the U.S., a legal protection that takes years to formally determine.
But, for now, with a snack, water and reassurance from Pastor Randy that transport would eventually come, spirits seem high.
But in this remote stretch of the Sonoran Desert, the journey can quickly turn dire.
It's 2:00 in the afternoon.
I just met this group of folks who just crossed over earlier this morning, they said, in the middle of the night.
Two are from Mali.
One is from Mauritania.
One is from Guinea.
Two of them are very, very sick.
They said that they have been waiting for Border Patrol to arrive for hours, and it looks like they have now arrived.
So they will start to get some medical help and see what happens next.
An hour passes.
The group is taken by ambulance to a hospital more than 90 minutes away.
It's these moments that show why this border is the deadliest land migration route in the world.
In Arizona's Pima County, more than 3,000 migrants have died in the last 30 years.
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: This shouldn't be so deadly.
By our people being out here, we literally are saving lives day in and day out.
AMNA NAWAZ: Along the same span of rugged terrain, Stephen Cristinzio with U.S. Customs and Border Protection echoes that sentiment.
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO, U.S. Customs and Border Protection: When the organizations are pushing family groups across in the middle of nowhere, that's been a big challenge.
AMNA NAWAZ: When you say the organizations, you mean the cartels?
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: The cartels.
The cartels.
The cartels control everything here.
AMNA NAWAZ: Cristinzio helps lead Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, which covers 262 border miles in Arizona.
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: Tucson Sector is the most inhospitable terrain on the Southwest border.
AMNA NAWAZ: I mean, how does that impact your resources?
You have got larger groups, more people coming across and more remote crossings.
What does that mean for your team?
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: It makes it incredibly difficult for us to respond in a quick manner.
For us, the number one thing with the give-up groups is safety and preservation of life.
We triage things in that manner.
AMNA NAWAZ: Driving that border with Agent Cristinzio, we quickly get a sense of what his team is managing.
This group of 17 migrants, all Mexicans, crossed the border just moments earlier through a broken section of the border fence.
The pace of what Border Patrol calls give-ups, or people turning themselves in, is relentless.
Apprehensions in this part of Arizona were up 30 percent in March compared to a year ago and just down from record levels a few months ago.
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: Probably can't get them all in, right?
AMNA NAWAZ: The group is loaded onto a van to be taken to a nearby facility in Nogales, Arizona.
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: We will get a medical screening.
Basic biographical information will get taken.
That will happen first.
Yes, they're coming across right there.
AMNA NAWAZ: Before Cristinzio can finish his thought, he sees another group approaching.
Do you have space, staff, resources to support all of them?
(LAUGHTER) STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: Yes, we might - - I don't know when we can get the next van.
It might be a little bit before he comes back, and then... AMNA NAWAZ: Over the course of an hour, we document at least 70 people, minors, families, children as young as 6 months, crossing the border to turn themselves in at this one remote spot.
But it's not just asylum seekers.
Agent Cristinzio says a masked man on the border fence is likely a scout for a cartel.
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: He will watch us.
If it's people or drugs, whatever that guy is looking to push across, he's just trying to tie up our resources, get us out of the area.
AMNA NAWAZ: In fact, moments earlier, agents on ATVs marched two men out of the brush who'd been evading Border Patrol.
It's a sight that fifth-generation rancher Jim Chilton says he's increasingly seeing at his ranch, which spans 50,000 acres, including 5.5 miles along the Mexico border.
JIM CHILTON, Cattle Rancher: Through the Obama and Trump administration, averaged about 230 people coming through the ranch.
In the last three years, it's been at about 1,200 people.
AMNA NAWAZ: Chilton tracks the solicit traffic using motion-activated cameras on his property.
What do you think should be done to stop those guys from cutting through your ranch?
JIM CHILTON: President Biden made a huge mistake stopping the wall.
The wall is a very helpful tool.
It would require the Border Patrol being at the wall, and anybody trying to cut it or crawl over it or under it, they apprehended them and kick them back into Mexico.
AMNA NAWAZ: He says he supports more legal immigration pathways, but the current flow of people claiming asylum between ports of entry is untenable.
JIM CHILTON: I feel for the undocumented immigrants.
They're just trying to get into the country.
But we can't accept everybody that has an issue.
AMNA NAWAZ: A lot of folks on the outside looking in say there's a siege going on, there's an invasion going on at the border.
Is that how you see it?
JIM CHILTON: When you have eight to 10 million people coming into the United States, one could almost say it's an invasion.
AMNA NAWAZ: But opinions on this frontier differ.
Chilton's neighbor, just down the road, doesn't see it exactly the same way.
Cattle rancher Lori Lindsay's property also runs along the Mexico border.
LORI LINDSAY, Cattle Rancher: It's super peaceful.
It's beautiful.
I have lived in nine states.
This is my favorite place.
AMNA NAWAZ: And this comes with the view of the border wall.
(LAUGHTER) LORI LINDSAY: It does.
AMNA NAWAZ: Right here.
LORI LINDSAY: Oh, I hadn't noticed.
AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.
(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: Lindsay says she's never felt threatened here.
And she doesn't put much stock in the immigration debate among people thousands of miles away.
LORI LINDSAY: If you're not familiar with the border, it sounds very scary.
It sounds like we're being invaded, criminals are coming in to get us.
And it's just not true.
I mean, not that there isn't a problem.
There is a problem with the cartels.
We need to deal with those.
But there are two separate issues going on.
You have got that, and then you have got a mother who's come seven countries away with her young children.
I think, how desperate are you?
Because I wouldn't want to do that with my kids.
AMNA NAWAZ: Back at the border, Division Chief Stephen Cristinzio and Border Patrol agents are on the front lines of disentangling these two issues and managing a humanitarian mission that many Border Patrol agents didn't necessarily sign up for.
Do you worry, after seeing hundreds of people a day, thousands of people every week, that there's compassion fatigue, burnout?
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: I don't think so.
It's hard to look at a group like this and see all these little kids.
Those kids didn't ask to be here.
And you can put yourself in that situation.
Imagine you having to make those sacrifices, make those decisions to travel hundreds or thousands of miles with that little girl right there.
She's probably 9 months old.
AMNA NAWAZ: Maybe a year.
STEPHEN CRISTINZIO: Maybe a year.
And so, no, I don't worry about compassion fatigue.
I don't.
AMNA NAWAZ: Pastor Randy and the Green Valley Samaritan volunteers say they're frustrated by elected officials' failure to act.
PASTOR RANDY MAYER: For over 30 years, our politicians, both the Republican and the Democrats, have not chosen to do anything but throw money at security And it hasn't changed a single thing.
In fact, it's probably brought more people here.
AMNA NAWAZ: As the sun starts to set, dozens of migrants wait for Border Patrol to arrive, including Sisters Genesis, Nicole and Valeria, eagerly anticipating seeing their mother for the first time in more than seven years.
GENESIS, Mexican Migrant (through translator): I'm very excited to see her.
It's been so long since I have seen her.
AMNA NAWAZ: But, after we leave, that excitement turned to worry.
In a moment of confusion, as night fell over the desert, the girls are left behind by a Border Patrol van.
Their mother alerted "NewsHour."
We alerted Border Patrol, who carried out an overnight rescue of the girls.
Last week, the sisters reunited with their mother, three more survivors of a dangerous journey who've reached their next safe space, whatever the path ahead.
GEOFF BENNETT: A new documentary now available on Amazon Prime and Apple TV offers a unique look at the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The film "Transition" follows queer Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon as he embeds with a Taliban unit he is documenting for The New York Times.
But Bryon is undergoing his own transformation as a transgender man and has to keep his identity a secret.
Bryon and co-director Monica Villamizar spoke to Amna Nawaz earlier this week about this turning point in Afghanistan and the risks of navigating a relationship with the Taliban.
AMNA NAWAZ: Jordan Bryon and Monica Villamizar, thank you so much for joining us here on "NewsHour."
Pleasure to speak with you both.
MONICA VILLAMIZAR, Co-Director, "Transition": Thanks for having us.
AMNA NAWAZ: Jordan, I'm going to start with you, because, at the beginning of this film, you had already been living in Afghanistan for a number of years, about five years, working as a filmmaker for The New York Times.
You begin documenting one group of Taliban fighters after the Taliban retake control of the country.
And, at the same time, you are in the process of your own gender transition.
At what point do you decide, I need to start turning the cameras the other way and start telling my own story as part of this?
JORDAN BRYON, Subject and Co-Director, "Transition": I started the medical transition like five months before the Taliban took over.
And, objectively, as a filmmaker, I was thinking it could be interesting to document this process in a place like Afghanistan and because I wanted to use my story to show the version of Afghanistan that I had experienced, which was a really beautiful, loving, welcoming Afghanistan.
AMNA NAWAZ: And, Monica, you have covered conflict around the world before this project.
How did you come to collaborate with Jordan on this?
MONICA VILLAMIZAR: I had heard about him before as this Australian D.P., cinematographer who had really, really intimate access to the Taliban.
So, in my imagination, I was already wondering, who is this guy and how did he get such intimate access?
And that's when we met.
And Jordan said, "Come here, but I'm not sure I want to do a film about myself."
And I convinced him, because I really think it takes enormous courage to do something so intimate about your own process, but I really thought his story was extraordinary.
AMNA NAWAZ: Jordan, there's one scene in particular, though, which speaks to sort of the everyday navigation that you had to kind of manage, when you're deciding whether to go through the men's security line or the women's security line at the airport.
Here's a quick clip of that moment.
JORDAN BRYON: Should I go through the men's or the women's security check?
MAN: Women.
JORDAN BRYON: Why?
MAN: Because they're -- if you wear a mask and close your face, they will know you're from me, because they know me, that I am with you always.
JORDAN BRYON: I'm so sick of being stressed about this.
MAN (through translator): What's this?
JORDAN BRYON (through translator): A microphone.
MAN (through translator): Take it off.
JORDAN BRYON (through translator): I'm a journalist.
MAN (through translator): Take if off and show me.
AMNA NAWAZ: Jordan, in a country like Afghanistan, especially at that particular time, how difficult were those kinds of choices for you to navigate?
JORDAN BRYON: It was terrifying, honestly, because there's no precedent for something like this.
To my knowledge, there's not been another transgender person, Afghan or foreign, who was pre-surgery, but living amongst the Taliban as their desired or their felt gender, rather than their assigned-at-birth gender.
I mean, for Teddy as an Afghan, my Afghan cinematographer, colleague, the stakes for him were so much higher.
The trauma of having to bond with these Taliban fighters that we were filming with was far more difficult for him because they had destroyed his country.
So, as much as I was worried for myself, I was always -- also really worried for Teddy the whole time.
What would they have done if they'd found out?
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't want to know.
AMNA NAWAZ: And, Monica, to broaden this out, we should point out Jordan was allowed to embed with these Taliban fighters because they believed he was male.
You were not allowed to embed with them because you are a woman.
But, at the same time, this is a moment in Afghanistan's history when women and girls are being banned from public increasingly.
What was that like for you as a storyteller?
MONICA VILLAMIZAR: I remember, Amna, when I was there, I had to be locked up in a hotel, not leaving obviously, because I was so scared to be alone.
And you can't really leave or go as a woman in these places without a male companion.
And Jordan and the crew went on a car ride that took about eight hours with multiple checkpoints.
And I could not go through any of those checkpoints.
They would just not allow a woman in the car.
It was a very rural, remote area.
And that was really hard, just to know that I had no access, and I wished I could be there with them, and I couldn't.
AMNA NAWAZ: It's a very personal film.
Jordan, it is your story.
But it's also the story of this country transitioning from what it was to what it is today.
There is a moment when you struggled in a way that a lot of journalists did with the idea of when and how to leave.
Here's that moment.
JORDAN BRYON: So many foreigners have built - - me included, we have built our careers, we have built our bank accounts, we have built our networks, we have built our status and our reputation off the misery of Afghanistan.
For me, the least I can (EXPLETIVE DELETED) do is stick it out when the going gets tough and give back.
AMNA NAWAZ: Jordan, you did eventually have to leave.
I just wonder how you reflect on that decision now.
JORDAN BRYON: It was a big decision.
I lived in Afghanistan for six-and-a-half years, and it's the most significant relationship I have ever had.
It is an incredible place.
And, as a filmmaker, it's a gift.
But when Mon convinced me to make the film, I knew then that the film would mean that I would have to cut my ties with Afghanistan, most likely for the foreseeable future at least.
And I'm hoping that the film adds value to the world and adds conversations to people that make it worth having to end that relationship for a while.
AMNA NAWAZ: Monica, what do you want people to take away from this film?
MONICA VILLAMIZAR: For me personally, I just admire what reporters in war zones do.
I want people to take away from it that they watch it and they know what a hard sacrifice on a personal level it is to go to these war zones and report, and how important it is that we keep on doing this, because there are many urgent things happening in the world, in Ukraine, in Gaza, in many places.
And the job that we do is important.
And we all sacrifice parts of our personal lives in order to do this.
And I think it's almost like a love letter to journalism, because I think it's a profession that is so worth it.
AMNA NAWAZ: Monica Villamizar and Jordan Bryon, thank you so very much for joining us.
Pleasure to speak with you.
GEOFF BENNETT: And there's a lot more online, including a look at veterans with debilitating lung ailments and their struggle to get disability benefits.
You can read more at PBS.org/NewsHour.
And join us again here tomorrow night for our guide to everything you need to know about Monday's solar eclipse.
And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.
I'm Geoff Bennett.
Thanks for spending part of your evening with us.
