amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz.

geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight, president biden and former president trump agree to debate, as yesterday's primary results -- the latest primary results offer a fresh glimpse into voters' minds ahead of november's election. amna: ukrainian president zelenskyy pleads for more weapons as russian forces advance in the northeast. >> coverage with no contract. that is kind of our thing.

the walton family foundation, working for solutions to protect water and climate change so people and nature can thrive together. supported by the macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org . and with the ongoing support of these institutions.

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. geoff: welcome to the newshour. president biden and former president trump have agreed to debate, one-on-one, but without the involvement of the commission on presidential debates, which has run those debates since 1988. amna: their agreement came after biden's campaign laid out terms and dates in a letter this morning, and biden issued this challenge. pres. biden: well, make my day, pal. i'll even do it twice. so let's pick the date, donald, i hear you're free on wednesday. amna: to which mr trump replied online, "let's get ready to rumble." both have accepted offers from

cnn and abc to take part in june and september debates, respectfully. for more on this, i'm joined by republican strategist kevin madden and democratic strategist faiz shakir. we must remember what it was like in the first debate. here is a clip. >> will you shut up, man? >> who is on your list, joe? >> gentlemen. amna: why did the biden campaign decide to do this now? faz: there's a lot of reasons. they have a sense that they are behind at the moment. you have to be remind people about -- re-remind people all those questions, they have to do sooner rather than later. they want to do it faster so they can bring some energy back into this race among the democratic coalition. amna: the biden campaign has laid out terms, no audience, in

a tv studio with the moderator, and the mics get cut off after an allotted time. will mr. trump agree to those and stick to those? >> i think he will. one of the important things about campaigns and debates in campaigns is managing expectations. i think we have to manage the american public's expectations around with her or not this is going to be a very substantive driven debate. you see it with the candidates, the way they are framing the terms of it. it has a little bit more of the wwf match quality to it than a real, substantive debate but trump want to demonstrate he has better command, better control over the issues, and he can put joe biden, in his view, on the defensive and also draw the age contrast which he thinks works in his favor. amna: there's primary results this week that show us what this race could look like, some of the issues, and where they could face challenges ahead. if you look at nebraska's results in particular, they show mr. trump the clear winner, 80%

of the vote, but nikki haley pulled nearly 8% and she dropped out in early march, kevin. she has been racking up sizable numbers in primaries. since then, 22% in indiana, 16% in pennsylvania. who are those voters and why don't they like mr. trump? >> it's an interesting trendline that she keeps holding this through late in the game. these are conscientious objectors within the republican party. they are not happy with donald trump as the nominee and they are operating -- offering protest votes. this should be an alarm bell for trump, for the trump campaign, but it is not necessarily a deathknell. this is his charge from here on the way through to november. he has to figure out a way to get these voters back. the good news for the trump campaign is the issues that are really motivating these voters are issues like inflation and immigration so he has a message frame that i think is still going to be able to bring these voters back into his fold by

election day. the big risk is that they stay home. amna: mr. biden faces some headwinds with black letters. in particular, there was new numbers from the new york times poll that showed in key battleground states, 60 3% of black letters went for president biden and 23% for president trump but while mr. biden has the clear majority, the analysis showed 23% would be the highest level of black support for any republican presidential candidate since the enactment of the civil rights act in 1964. what does that say about the campaign right now? >> if you look at latino voters in nevada, it is also a concern. young voters, we know that there's some challenges there. we have to start performing more strongly. i use that word -- strong. at this moment, one of the challenges trump has on biden is the question of who is a strong leader. for all of the progressive policymaking you have seen president biden do, it has not

been coupled with the politicking. if you look at the fact that the doj, they take on these big cases. we have people going after airlines. do you see the fact that this policymaking is taking on powerful interests, that this president is strong to take them on, big pharma, you name them? he's got the agenda but the politicking doesn't match that agenda yet and he has not to dial-up the question of and my strong leader with a strong, firm hand on the steering wheel and a vision for the next four years in the politicking, not so much on the agenda, just reassuring that voting base that this president is strong and ready to take them on. amna: there's a few senate primary results i want to put to you, too. democrats in the majority. in maryland, angela beats david in the democratic primary and she's going to face republican governor larry hogan for a seat

that a democrat is freeing up. in west virginia, meanwhile, jim justice, the governor, won the republican senate primary and that will be an open seat, being vacated by joseph manchin. when you look at those results, maryland is particularly interesting. he kept things local and focused on his estate. he will surely be pulled into national politics and how will he fare there? >> it's a tough question for national democrats when they look at that state. that should be a traditional democratic stronghold but you have a very popular governor, somebody who is seen as more of a moderate, somebody who is focused on a lot of the pragmatic issues that really drive suburban voters that i think are going to be important in that state so i think one of the big challenges for the democrats is how much resources

do they really put into that state? and if those resources are going into maryland, are they not going to a state like ohio or montana which is really going to affect the balance of the senate map. i feel like it has advantaged republicans when you look at the overall senate map. maryland is a traditional democratic state. this is going to be a race that is pretty hard-fought but the fact that you're are taking resources from other state i think bodes well for the republicans. >> could democrats lose control of the senate? >> maryland is a strong democratic contender. i would have been worried if it was david who spent his own money and did not win people over so i think you have a stronger candidate, biden will over perform. in order for hogan to win, he would have to weigh over performed trump that he will be tracked by his own problems to defend trump's record. it's hard to maintain the majority. however, it it is still lined up where you have a very strong chance to maintain a status quo. if you look at ohio, montana, the races that republicans were

hoping for pickups, democrats are in strong positions there. you look at wisconsin. bob casey continued to maintain strength. ruben gallego, a good candidate who will maintain that seat against kari lake and i think it is still set up but the fact that you are losing joseph manchin in west virginia, it is not clear where the pickup for a democrat would be this cycle. there's some outside the box candidates and one is in nebraska. unclear who he would side with but a prounion guy whose running -- that is my outside the box race. amna: we will take that any time. always great to see you both. thank you. ♪ ♪ geoff: the u.s. supreme court is ordering louisiana to hold congressional elections this year using a house map with a second mostly black district. that is despite a lower court ruling that called the map

illegal based on racial gerrymandering. about one third of the state is black and the ruling is seen as helping democrats chances of gaining control of the closely divided house. if it is not challenged by further appeals or another court decision. slovakia's prime minister was shot multiple times today in an assassination attempt that has shocked his country and the region. robert had been attending a meeting of his government before the shooting. the 71-year-old suspect is now in custody. the countries interior minister said the attack was politically motivated and slovakia's president expressed her outrage. >> i am shocked, we are all shocked by the terrible and vicious attack on prime minister robert fico. a physical attack on the prime minister is, first of all, an attack on a person, but it is also an attack on democracy. amna: -- geoff: fico's anti-american position has made

him a divisive figure both at home and abroad. he's called for an end to funding for ukraine, which has worried european leaders ahead e number of drug overdosethree deaths in the u.s. fell last year. initial data from the cdc shows there were around 107,000 such fatalities in 2023. that's down 3% from the year before. but experts warn the decline is relatively small, and that it's too soon to determine what was behind the fall. the trial of senator bob menendez got underway in a new york courtroom today, after more than two days of jury selection. in their opening salvos, prosecutors called the new jersey democrat corrupt, while his lawyers called the prosecutors dead wrong. menendez is charged with accepting bribes of gold bars, cash and a car in exchange for helping the governments of qatar and egypt. he has maintained his innocence. congress has passed a broad aviation bill aimed at increasing air safety and protecting consumers. the measure requires the faa to hire more air traffic controllers. it also prohibits airlines from charging families to sit

together. and it mandates refunds for canceled or significantly delayed flights. the bill now goes to president biden to be signed into law. in the middle east, there's been intense fighting across the gaza strip, including in the southern city of rafah. an israeli government spokesperson said today that israel will eliminate the four remaining hamas battalions there but not necessarily every hamas fighter. separately, an israeli airstrike hit a residential building in the jabaliya refugee camp near gaza city. medics say at least three people were killed and 20 injured. this all comes as palestinians marked 76 years since the which refers to their mass expulsion from what today is israel. some displaced gazans say the war now is even worse. >> my mother and father told me about the nakba, but this here is worse. this is destruction. what we have seen, no one else

has seen. every day is a catastrophe , the catastrophe of hunger, the catastrophe of illness, every day we move from place to place. the children are sick. i don't know what to say. geoff: the u.n. says more than 80% of gaza's population have fled their homes since the start of the war. many have relocated more than once. experts in brazil are warning that flood waters in the country's southernmost state could take weeks to recede. parts of rio grande do sul have been walloped by 25 inches of rain so far this month. the flooding has killed 148 people and forced more than half a million brazilians from their homes. forecasters say the timeline depends on rainfall, but it might not ease completely until mid-june. in texas today, a barge crashed into a bridge connecting the city of galveston to a small island nearby. aerial footage shows the scene of the collision, and the streak of oil that was released into the surrounding waters. officials say a tugboat that was pushing the barge lost control due to bad currents and the high

tide. there were no immediate reports of injuries. on wall street today, stocks bounded higher after a reassuring update on inflation. the down jones industrial average jumped nearly 350 points to close at 39,908. the nasdaq added more than 230 points to close at a new record. the s&p 500 gained 61 points, also ending the day at a new high. and it's part tradition, part challenge, part spectacle. the u.s. naval academy hosted the annual herndon climb this morning. dozens of freshmen -- known as "plebes" -- worked together to climb the 21-foot herndon monument, which had been coated in 200 pounds of lard. it took 2 hours and 19 minutes -- and a lot of slipping -- for one to reach the top and replace a plebe's cap with an upperclassman's hat. the annual event marks the end of their first year at the institution. still to come on the "newshour", a key indicator shows infaltion cooling, but worries about rising prices still dominate

americans' view of the economy . judy woodruff has another installment of her crossroads series. and a south african musical group continues to spread nelson mandela's message of reconciliation and healing. >> this is the pbs newshour from weta studios in washington and in the west from the walter cronkite school of journalism at arizona state university. geoff: israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu pushed back today against criticism of his gaza strategy from within his own government. israel's defense minister accused netanyahu of "indecision" and leading israel down a, quote, "dangerous

course." the public infighting comes as the biden administration this week said israel did not have a political plan for what's next in gaza. nick schifrin has been following this and is here with us now. what happened today in israel? it looks like the private infighting has burst into public view. nick: for months, the israeli -- and lay out a political plan for the future of gaza, lay out the goals that ans option for the state of israel,

strategically, and from a security standpoint. we must make tough decisions for the future of our country, favoring national priorities above all other possible considerations. even with the possibility of personal or political costs. >> c

-- >> and must be replaced. geoff: how does the biden administration view this? nick: they want the palestinian authority to run gaza after the

war and that would unlock some of the larger proposals that the biden team has been pursuing especially unlocking their participation in the day after plan and this week, jake sullivan made another criticism public. netanyahu needed to embrace some kind of political strategy. u.s. officials tell me that call has not been heeded. geoff: israeli forces are expanding their operation in route 5. is this the same operation that biden administration has been advising israel against? nick: the operation so far has been targeted at the border to prevent hamas from smuggling and officials say they have been doing that as well as in the eastern part of route 5. netanyahu said half a million people from rafah had fled and that "the humanitarian catastrophe that has been spoken of has not been realized nor will it. " we spoke with one of 10 american doctors who has been stuck there since israeli forces seized the border and closed the border. he served in iraq and he helped

save the life of senator tammy duckworth in 2004 when she was injured. that injury cost her both her legs. she said today that the conditions in his hospital were both dire and tragic. >> the hardest thing for me is honestly the little children that are coming in with life-changing injuries. the boy i took care of today that lost an arm, two legs, and part of his remaining hands. i took care of both u.s. military, iraqi military, i took care of contractors, i took care of civilians that were injured in the fight, but the degree and the level of casualties that are innocent civilians, most of my patients have been young children, women, and elderly people that are in their 60's

and 70's. amna: israel blames hamas for all of the casualties and she is appealing to both the israeli and u.s. government to try and get them. amna: nick schifrin, we appreciate it. thank you. inflation cooled somewhat last month, according to new numbers from the bureau of labor statistics. the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 3.4%, in line with expectations. but overall, inflation hasn't yet come down quite to the levels that many people have been hoping for. our economics correspondent paul solman has the story. paul: the latest cpi data prices , of goods and services did rise last month, but at a slightly slower pace. chris: i think this is good news, particularly because what the federal reserve generally looks at is core cpi, and that's down to 3.6% year on year, which is actually the lowest level since april 2021.

paul: core cpi in other words, , explains new york university's chris conlon, everything but food and fuel prices. chris: one of the things that's been pushing up cpi this month has been the increase in gasoline prices. paul: but we shouldn't necessarily be looking at that. chris: yeah, i think there are a lot of reasons why gasoline prices tend to be volatile, particularly this time of year. that have nothing to do with sort of overall inflation. crude prices are actually been heading downwards. paul: and food prices can be similarly jumpy, for short-term reasons, in contrast to the longer-term causes of, say, the great covid inflation that started all this. though by now, you may be as tired of hearing them and seeing the footage as we are. backed-up supply chain ships due to the stuck-at-home spending spree, stimulus checks, labor shortages, firms hiking prices above their own costs, but today, that's pretty much behind us, according to the harvard business school's alberto.

alberto: goods inflation has come down significantly. and we are back to pre-pandemic levels. what still remains is the impact of shelter inflation or rents, which is a category that tends to lag a lot. paul: shelter costs, measured mostly by rents, are more than a third of the cpi and a clear source of lag, says cavallo. alberto: landlords putting their houses, for rent. they don't have a very good idea of what's happening with supply, with demand. they may test, you know, high rents for a while, and it takes longer for them to internalize and realize that the conditions will require lower rents. and naturally, that, you know, makes the inflation rate take longer to come down. >> go nasa! paul: economists have a phrase to describe this, says conlon, "rockets and feathers." christopher when costs go up, : prices go up like a rocket. they go up really fast. and when costs go down, prices fall like a feather. that is, they float to the ground really slowly.

paul: but though inflation has swooned since peaking above 9% in 2022, we remain preoccupied. why? stefanie: people tend to associate inflation with a bad economy. we feel like it is eroding our living standards. paul: harvard university's stefanie stantcheva. stefanie: when i ask people what emotions, you know, do you feel when you see rising prices? predominantly, it's very negative emotions such as anger, fear, and stress. and while they're quite widespread, they're especially concentrated among lower income respondents. paul: and crucially, that's because inflation hits different folks differently, says cavallo. alberto: we all tend to focus on what we call average inflation for an average consumer. but each one of us experiences an actual different inflation based on the products we do buy. we have, for example, low income households consuming a lot more food, than high income households if they're suddenly a lot of inflation in food. the low income households actually experience more

inflation. paul: so yes, the data show price hikes tapering, but not for everyone equally, echoes stantcheva. stefanie: we know there's inflation inequality where the basket of goods that people consume will vastly shape the inflation experience. i think this is very important to bear in mind when thinking about people's, you know, stress responses, reactions, lived experience that might just not well be captured by our official statistics. paul: which may help explain why consumer sentiment sank in may. many americans worried that inflation hasn't dropped fast enough, and could even get worse. for the pbs newshour, paul solman. amna: today, ukrainian troops fell back to defensive lines amid one of russia's largest offensives since the beginning of the full scale invasion more than two years ago. president volodymyr zelensky has postponed all foreign travel,

and the u.s. secretary of state announced new weapons deliveries while in ukraine. but as nick schifrin reports, in north-east ukraine's kharkiv, the front is fragile. nick: along try to hold the line. this is the kharkiv region where ukraine long ago pushed russia out. now, it needs reinforcements to hold russia back. just 2.5 miles from russia, the center has been ripped apart. a ukrainian soldier fighting in the city sends us videos of russian shelling and russian troops on the cities tour edge. he says, with the help of drone attacks on russian tanks today, they push russian troops back but he fears russia could take the city. >> the situation is very dire. for the sixth day in a row, the enemy has been parting with all possible munitions, rockets, artillery, and bombs.

>> he is the regional administrator. he says that offensive line's built in other areas including trenches and antitank dragon's teeth are not as robust. >> after the d occupation in september of 2020 two, military and engineers built defensive lines but because we are so close to the russian border and because of the constant fighting and shelling, perhaps we were not as successful in putting these defensive lines again as we were in other areas. nick: the russian offensive has captured more territory than any point since february 2020 two. u.s. and ukrainian officials say russia's goals are to push far enough into the kharkiv region to be able to reach kharkiv city with artillery and to draw ukrainian forces away from pierce fighting in the donbas. inside, soldiers go door-to-door to convince villagers to evacuate including natalia, who has been in hiding. >> for five days, we never left

the house. we did not see anyone. we were so afraid to go out, we never even opened the door. >> it is pretty hectic and you know, a lot of showings and it is almost everywhere. nick: a humanitarian worker with the international rescue committee. they provide medical and psychological support to thousands of the newly displaced including the most vulnerable. >> some of the children, their moods are up and down and they might start crying straightaway without any reason from the sound of the door closing, kind of very loud, they get fright reactions. you know, some of them burst into tears and you would have to calm them down so you are safe. >> scars from russia 2022 campaign have not yet healed. but today, the buildings bear new wounds and residents flee with only their most precious belongings. >> there was an explosion and

then a cloud of dust. this is what our life looks like. our building was hit but we will get over it. >> in kyiv today, they paid tribute to ukrainians killed fighting russia since its initial invasion in 2014. and blinken announced $2 billion of additional weapons deliveries. ukrainian officials watched russia's buildup on the kharkiv border, frustrated by u.s. demands not to fire u.s. weapons into russia. today, blinken said that policy would not change. >> we have not encouraged or enabled strikes outside of ukraine, but ultimately, ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it is going to conduct this war. nick: u.s. officials have faith that ukraine can protect kharkiv city but weapons and manpower shortages means it remains vulnerable and russia is determined to keep inflicting

pain. for the pbs newshour, i am nick schifrin. amna: -- geoff: the continuing outbreak of bird flu in the u.s. has alarmed researchers, and prompted new efforts to track the virus that's already caused the deaths of tens of millions of birds from europe to antarctica. but as william brangham reports, as "h5-n1" continues to jump into mammals, most recently into dairy cows, many scientists are concerned that we're not watching closely enough as this virus continues to spread. a warning, this story contains scenes of animals in distress. william: evolutionary biologist michael worobey at the university of arizona is one of many scientists around the world trying to untangle bird flu's latest twist, how and when it spread to dairy cows. michael: the jump into cattle probably took place between

mid-november and mid-january, and so we're months into this already. william: and since then, it's spread like wildfire, infecting dairy cows in at least 46 herds across nine states. michael: it seems to be spreading cow to cow in some fashion, but we don't know exactly how that is. for example, it could just be mechanical transmission as one cow leaves a milking machine, leaves virus on it, and then the next cow comes in. or is this going respiratory like flu does with humans? william: in late april, the usda mandated that milking dairy cows being transported across state lines need to be tested for bird flu. william: do you think we have got now enough surveillance out there to know what this virus is doing and where it's moving? >> i think we still have a long way to go, honestly. we are still sort of dealing with a pretty limited, number of -- a pretty limited number of

samples from a limited number of farms. and that limit -- you know, how much we can understand, for example, you can actually figure out, just like we did with covid, you know, the number of people infected is doubling every two days. ttle.ill don'know that with william: but even the initial discovery that bird flu had jumped species and was now circulating in cows was thanks to a bit of epidemiological work by a handful of veterinarians. >> the main common denominators with the cattle were a sudden decrease in feed intake, a sudden decrease in milk production, variable fevers, variable manure consistency. william: doctor drew magstadt is a veterinarian at iowa state's vet diagnostic lab. he was helping colleagues in the texas panhandle and kansas who were dealing with a bunch of sick cows, but then a new clue emerged. on these same farms where cows were sick, a lot of cats had gone missing, gotten sick, or had died.

so you thought we have to check h5n1, the bird flu, because it's been in this area, but you really didn't think that was going to be the case. >> well, yeah and we didn't end up ruling it out, we ended up finding the virus. the intriguing part here is that this virus in cattle doesn't seem to be causing any mortality. after several weeks, the animals recover, so it's very different from the infection in other mammalian species. william: in fact, unlike cows, this bird flu has been deadly to the nearly two dozen other mammal species that've been infected in this u.s. from a polar bear in alaska to a mountain lion in colorado. to racoons and foxes, many of those animals were likely infected by eating dead animals that were carrying the virus. but by far, the biggest impact here in the u.s. has been on birds. since this strain of avian influenza first arrived in the u.s. in early 2022, brought here by migratory birds, more than 90

million domestic birds , mostly chickens and turkeys, have died or been intentionally killed across 48 states. and unlike previous outbreaks, this variant has affected more wild birds, and spread across a wider geographic area, crossing down into south america at the end of 2022. dr. vanstreels: i think the alarm really went off when it reached peru, and that's a massive seabird community and we saw just unprecedented mortality in the seabirds there. william: uc davis' dr. ralph vanstreels is a wildlife veterinarian based in argentina, and he watched as the virus arrived and decimated bird populations, and then made another jump into mammals. an estimated 24,000 sea lions died from the outbreak. it was one of the earliest known mass mortality events from bird flu in mammals. dr. vanstreels: at first, we weren't sure if each of those

sea lions was getting infected by eating a bird. but it became pretty obvious pretty quick that this was spreading from mammal to mammal. william: in argentina, dr. vanstreels estimated that the virus killed 17,000 elephant seal pups and an unknown number of adults, a blow to that population that may take decades to recover. dr. vanstreels: it's definitely very distressing. i can say we've worked with these animals for many years. so we've known these populations, we've seen these colonies. and on the one hand, we are prepared because we expected it on the other. -- expected it on the other, nothing can prepare you for it . william: earlier this year, researchers confirmed that bird flu had spread all the way to antarctica, primarily affecting birds known as skuas, but so far, antarctica's iconic penguins haven't been affected . dr. vanstreels: but this virus can mutate quite quickly, right as it did when it started infecting mammals, so it could

mutate again and start infecting penguins. so we're not quite out of the woods yet. william: and it's that possibility of mutation, where the virus adapts and becomes better suited to spreading from mammal to mammal, that has many on edge. particularly now that h5n1 was discovered spreading in all those dairy cows. while experts stress it's still very unlikely that this outbreak will lead to the next human pandemic, and government officials say pasteurization kills the virus in milk and dairy products, there are real risks for those who work in close contact with cows. in march, a farm worker in texas was infected, but had mild symptoms and recovered. the cdc says it's monitoring people exposed to infected cattle, but admits that only 33 people have been tested. >> what we have is a situation where the virus, in a sense, has more shots on goal to jump from a related species, mammal like us. and now, people are no doubt

being exposed on a daily basis in pretty large numbers. william: worobey says it's a stark reminder that we have not learned as much as we hoped from the covid pandemic. michael: we need to be spending billions more to do things like routinely monitor not the tip of the iceberg of cattle who are visibly ill, but routine monitoring to just fine, ok is , there something that shouldn't be, spreading in this animal species or in humans? and we are still not doing that. william: and with more than 9 million dairy cows in the u.s. alone, getting eyes on where this virus may go next remains a monumental challenge for animal and human health. for the pbs newshour, i'm william brangham. ♪ amna: latino americans make up

nearly 20% of the u.s. population, and this year are expected to be a critical constituency for both republicans and democrats in swing states. and yet, as judy woodruff reports, the very idea of latinos voting as a block betrays the diversity of history, culture, and perspectives within that community, which may also help strengthen it against the polarization we see in the country more broadly. this report is part of her ongoing series, america at a crossroads. judy: >> dad. judy: sylvia gonzalez andersh is a 67-year-old united states air force veteran. >> well, we we were considered mexican americans. that's what everybody, you know, called us. >> i am getting promoted to lieutenant commander. judy: raf polo is a 73-year-old united states navy veteran. >> at home, we spoke spanish. we drank the cuban cafecito.

heavy overhead that? when we left the house, from the moment we stepped out, we were americans. judy: they both live in tucson, arizona. they consider themselves latino, and they are both politically active. but when it comes to the issues , like undocumented immigration, they simply don't see eye to eye. how do you view the people who are trying to come into this country without documentation? sylvia: they must be pretty desperate to walk thousands of miles to to get here and to go through all that agony. but as far as being on the border, i've been down there. i mean, we're 100 miles from nogales, from the border. we're not getting overrun by millions of immigrants. judy: that's not how polo sees it. raf: i think they need to come in legally. a lot of the folks that are coming through, they're not good people. rapists. murderers.

and i'm pretty convinced that terrorists are here. judy: when it comes to former president trump, who famously launched his campaign by denigrating mexicans -- >> they are bringing drugs, they are bringing crime. they are rapists. and some, i assume, are good people. judy: he has repeatedly disparaged immigrants as he calls for more restrictive policies. sylvia his first comment was : that all mexicans are rapists and murderers. am i supposed to have open arms? that's not true. my family is nothing like that, and most immigrants are nothing like that. i'm not going to stand by and let them say mexicans are terrible or, you know, latinos are terrible. that's that's not acceptable. that is not american. raf: you know, i'm from new york, so i grew up with people like donal so it doesn't bother me. judy: and do you think he'd be a good president? raf: i think he'd be

outstanding. judy: that division reflects one playing out across the country. and while latinos have long been a key constituency of the democrats recent polling shows , that the gap between the parties is tightening, with 44% of registered latino voters favoring donald trump and 52% supporting joe biden. dr. klar: the latino community is so diverse that we want to look at every group really based on their country of origin more than anything else. judy: samara klar is a professor at the school of government and public policy at the university of arizona. she tells us these differences of opinion should not come as a surprise. dr. klar: so, you know, to say, how do cubans compare with mexicans is almost saying, like, how do canadians compare with japanese immigrants? because you're from two completely different countries, people who come here at different times under different circumstances. judy: she studies how an individual's personal identities and social surroundings influence their political attitudes and behaviors, and says because of common

experiences among latinos, she sees less partisan hostility. dr. klar: so for white democrats and white republicans, there's not a lot that really bonds them. for latino democrats and latino republicans, we see linguistic ties. we see religious ties. we see experiences with discrimination. we see experiences as in the minority or as an immigrant. judy: so as you think about latinos as a voting bloc now, what should we think about it? dr. klar: well, first, i would not think about latinos as a voting bloc. latinos are an incredibly diverse community of people. we have latinos who come from dozens of countries all over the world. different nationalities, different backgrounds, different histories, different immigration patterns, different immigration eras. it can be a little confusing because it makes it harder to understand voting patterns within this very diverse group of people. judy: at the same time, the sheer size of the latino community hasn't always translated into political power or representation. marie: we're very often not, not made to feel that we fit in. we're not in the school books.

we're not in the textbooks. so the -- this is really good representation. judy: marie arana is an award winning author, journalist, and the former inaugural literary director at the library of congress, where we met. in her new book, latinoland, she has taken on an admittedly difficult task by attempting to cover 500 years of latino history in the united states. marie: even though there are we have a great number of millions of eligible voters, we do not necessarily register to vote. and that is a problem for us. that is a real problem. judy: where does that come from? marie: it comes from the fact that you're discriminated, prejudiced, a sense of not fitting in. there is this sense that, you know, why should we vote? we're not paid attention to anyway.

judy: she believes that during this polarized period in our country, a diverse latino community can help moderate american politics. marie: there is within the latino population itself, we represent diversity within within us because of the many races that we are. and i think in general, we are a moderating force. judy: back in tucson, professor klar says her research bears that out, showing a key difference between most latinos and non-latino white voters. dr. klar: we find that for latinos in arizona and elsewhere across the country, they express much warmer feelings toward the other party. their feelings toward their own party are about the same. so it's not like they're cheerleaders for every party, but there's much less affective polarization or personal dislike between the parties within the latino community. judy: and what is this over here on the left, upper left? 2020? that is true for raf.

polo -- raf polo. he says he hasn't let politics get in the way of his relationships. can you talk to your friends who are democrats about your issues? raf: yeah. yeah. we're all educated. experienced, successful people that don't need to use short words to express themselves. judy: we would not build a wall between your house and the neighbor who is a liberal? >> no, we have a bunch of liberals right down the street. [laughter] judy: but sylvia gonzalez andersh prefers to steer clear of politics with her republican neighbors. she told us she has family members who support former president trump, and that she struggles with the fact that other latinos have a more negative view than she has toured new immigrants. sylvia: well, i could get really dark about that. i could really think, well, if you are willing to turn against your own people and pull up the ladder behind you, that means that you have the same traits as

you know, somebody that just , wants to get ahead at any cost. it's just a lack of empathy, a lack of "i got mine and i don't care if you get yours." judy: it's anyone's guess how this will break in such a hard-fought election year. but what is clear is that both campaigns will be making their case to the 36.2 million eligible latino voters. for the pbs newshour, i'm judy woodruff in tucson, arizona. amna: south africa recently celebrated 30 years since its first racially-integrated elections, marking the official end of apartheid and making nelson mandela the nation's first black president. here in the u.s., a south african musical group continues to spread mandela's message of racial reconciliation and healing, while also reminding us that the fight for equality in both nations is far from over.

special correspondent megan thompson reports for our arts and culture series, canvas. ♪ megan: dance lines, whistles, electric guitars, and the full minnesota orchestra. the house was packed with school children at this recent performance in minneapolis by the south african group "29:11 international exchange." ♪ >> the country of south africa was ruled and governed by a system of racial discrimination and segregation known as apartheid. ♪ megan: today's themes also included inequality, resistance, and reckoning with history. >> we stand for truth, we stand for transparency. we stand for openness to speak about difficult topics like race.

>> we are here initiating forgiveness and reconciliation. not to just look at each other in color, but look at each other as a human race. megan: 29:11, whose name comes from a bible verse, has been working with the minnesota orchestra since it toured south africa in 20. -- 2019. and in adams grew up in a poor cape town neighborhood during apartheid, not even able to enter a music hall. >> as a child, i have seen a lot , which any child should not see. megan: when he was eight years old his best friend was killed , in front of him by white soldiers. >> it was that time where i realized that my skin color is a sin. megan: apartheid ended in the early 1990's, and adams eventually met and married an american, gaylene.

he moved to her home state of minnesota in 2000. ♪ megan: adams wanted other south african musicians to have the opportunities he had in the u.s. so he and gaylene started 29:11 international exchange. >> 29:11 was founded to create hope where there seems no hope. and it's also to make sure that people understand africans from a deeper place. >> let's go. megan: adams now spends four months a year in cape town rehearsing with the group, which is as diverse as south africa itself. members hail from five different tribes and there are two refugees from congo. the group arrived in the u.s. in january for four months of performances and workshops around the midwest. >> one, two, three. megan: including visits to more than 60 schools. >> ♪ celebrate africa ♪ megan: at cityview, an

elementary school in a low-income section of north minneapolis 29:11 partnered with , the university of minnesota to provide an after-school music and movement program. >> there we go. megan: adams sees himself in these students, and aims to instill a sense of connection and pride, even buying them drums with money the group raised for its tour. >> ♪ africa to america we are the drum ♪ >> that excites us, the opportunity to actually tell the truth better than any history books. megan: in addition to african songs, the group performs original pieces about their lives, struggles, and lessons learned. >> i thought america was free. megan: adams says it didn't take him long to realize he had not escaped racism when he came to the u.s. more than 20 years ago. he wrote the song "still love" about his fury at the killings of black men like george floyd at the hands of police. >> ♪ through the fire and smoke

♪ megan: and the unity he witnessed at the peaceful vigils that followed floyd's death. >> it wasn't a thing of black and white. it was one tribe, one culture. there is forgiveness happening. all i can say is, still love, still peace, still have your >> ♪ your joy, your joy, your joy ♪ megan: this daily work of singing and talking about forgiveness has helped the group's members heal, two. growing up, they experience trauma during childhood that led to alcoholism as an adult. >> as i was spreading the word of reconciliation to different people in america, i felt the forgiveness in me and i felt the piece. megan: she says 29:11 has kept

her sober and the monthly $500 stipend she earns on tour helps support her three kids back home. she'd never traveled outside south africa before she joined the group five years ago. now, she's soloing in front of a major american orchestra. >> ♪ shosholoza ♪ >> 29:11 has helped me know my self-worth. >> final piece was shosholoza, a song of unity sung by protesters during apartheid. >> and here it is, years later, still a joyous occasion, and you see other cultures singing it. not only singing, but celebrating it. that is a good feeling. >> ♪ shosholoza ♪ megan: for the pbs newshour, i'm megan thompson in minneapolis, minnesota.

amna: take a little music and hope as we say goodbye and that is the newshour for tonight. geoff: for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thanks for joining us and have a good evening. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by -- the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. and friends of the newshour including jim and nancy build their -- jim and nancy and the schiller foundation. >> professionals are proud to support pbs newshour. professionals are committed to acting in their client 's best interest. more information at the website. >> a proud supporter of public television. on a voyage with us, world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations, and immersive experiences. a world of leisure.

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♪ hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up. physical fights in parliament as georgia passes a controversial russia-style security bill. as thousands protest, the stakes are huge. president salome zourabichvili join me.