AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening. I'm Amna Nawaz. GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett. On the "News Hour" tonight: The U.S. Supreme
Court mistakenly posts a draft opinion, signaling it may soon rule emergency
abortions in Idaho are legal for now. AMNA NAWAZ: As the trial of Wall Street
Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich begins, we take a look at what his
detention says about Russia today. GEOFF BENNETT: And Judy Woodruff on the growing
political divide within some Christian communities as religious affiliation declines. RYAN BURGE, Eastern Illinois University: If
you look at data in trusted institutions, we don't trust anything today as
much as we trusted 40 years ago, whether it be banks or unions
or the media or religion. (BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour." The U.S. Supreme Court handed down two
opinions today, but has left some of the most politically fraught cases
for the final few days of its term. One of those left undecided for now is focused on
abortion and the future of a strict ban in Idaho. AMNA NAWAZ: We may have clues about
how the justices will decide the case after a document was mistakenly posted to
the court Web site before being removed. The copy of the yet-to-be-finalized opinion
suggests a 6-3 decision that would allow hospitals in the state to perform abortions to protect the
life of the patient. But it also leaves the heart of the case unresolved, as the court appears
poised to say the plaintiffs lack standing. John Yang is here now to explain how the mistake
happened and what it could mean for the court. So, John, let's start with that. A document is posted briefly on the Web site and
then removed. What do we know about what happened? JOHN YANG: Well, unlike the case that
overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, this does not appear to be a leak. It appears
to be a case of what they call fat thumbs. Patricia McCabe, the court spokesperson,
issued a statement saying: "The court's Publications Unit inadvertently and
briefly uploaded a document to the court's Web site. The court's opinion in
these cases will be issued in due course." AMNA NAWAZ: And it got a
lot of attention, of course, because it is about abortion case in Idaho, a
law banning essentially almost all abortions, imposing a penalty of up to five years
in prison for doctors who perform them. What did the documents say about the case? JOHN YANG: Well, first of all, the caveat,
we don't know if this is a final draft. We don't know how many reiterations there
may be before it's formally released. But what Bloomberg posted says that the court
is saying essentially, this case is not ready for us. So we're sending it back. We're going
to reinstate the district court's injunction, blocking temporarily the Idaho law
pending appeal. And we're sending it back to that court for a trial, where
they can hear evidence on both sides. This is a -- it was a 6-3 decision.
The three most conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch,
all dissented. And one of the liberal justices, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, had
a little bit of a dissent. She said she thought the court ought to
go ahead and decide this now. She wrote: "While this court
dawdles and the country waits, pregnant people experiencing medical
conditions remain in precarious position, as their doctors are kept in the
dark about what the law requires." We should note, this is the second time this
month that the Supreme Court has avoided, sidestepped an abortion case. Two weeks
ago, they avoided a definitive decision the availability of mifepristone by saying that the
plaintiffs in those cases did not have standing. AMNA NAWAZ: So we should underscore
here the ruling has not been issued here But does the document tell us
how the case could be decided? JOHN YANG: It's hard to tell. The three
liberal justices all sided with the government. The Biden administration
and said that the Idaho law should be overturned. The three dissenters, the
most conservative of the three justices, said, the Idaho law is just fine
and ought to be allowed to stay. We don't know about the other three justices,
the chief justice, John Roberts, Neil -- I'm sorry -- Pat -- Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney
Barrett. Their positions aren't clear. So they're the ones to watch when this case comes back to
the Supreme Court, as it almost surely will. AMNA NAWAZ: You will be watching
and we will be following. Thank you for adding clarity to a rather
confusing day on the Supreme Court. John Yang, good to see you. JOHN YANG: Thanks. GEOFF BENNETT: We start the day's other
headlines with an unfolding situation in Bolivia, where the president says the
country is facing an attempted coup. Armored vehicles have rammed the doors
of the government palace in the city of La Paz. Tanks could be seen entering the city's main square and armed military police
with riot shields marched the streets. President Luis Arce took to social media
posting a video of himself flanked by his ministers to call fork, in his words,
democracy to be respected. Bolivia has seen increasing protests in recent months
over the nation's recent economic decline. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
said today there's been significant progress in addressing the issue of
U.S. weapons supplies to Israel. His comments came as he wrapped up a
visit to Washington. Last week, Israel's prime minister frustrated allies
after saying the Biden administration had been withholding arms shipments for months. U.S.
officials said they'd only held back one shipment. Netanyahu also said he was committed to a
U.S.-backed cease-fire deal after giving mixed messages about his stance. And, today,
Gallant affirmed that Israel fully supports it. YOAV GALLANT, Israeli Defense Minister: We
stand firmly behind the president's deal, which Israel has accepted and
now Hamas must accept. Al, bear the consequences. We are committed to
bringing the hostages home, with no exception. GEOFF BENNETT: On the ground in Northern Gaza, ambulances arrive today at the site of an
Israeli airstrike on the Jabalia refugee camp. A hospital official says at least
13 people were killed in the attack. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is back in
his home country of Australia. He arrived hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing
U.S. military secrets. Assange embraced his wife, Stella, who had long fought for his release.
His return closes out a 14-year legal battle, which included five years in a
British prison. The White House said today it was not involved in
the deal that led to his release. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court sided
with the Biden administration over its ability to communicate with social
media platforms. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices rejected a challenge from
two Republican states that would have prevented officials from contacting companies
to remove posts seen to contain misinformation. The White House welcomed the
ruling, saying it helps the Biden administration "continue our
important work with technology companies to protect the safety and
security of the American people." Devastation across the Midwest and Central Plains
has come into clearer focus tonight as floodwaters start to recede. The flood left behind collapsed
streets and houses washed clear off their foundations. A house that we showed you yesterday
teetering on the edge of an eroding river bank in Minnesota fell into the rushing river overnight.
The family had been evacuated beforehand. Parts of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and
Minnesota have been swamped by torrential rain. Up to 18 inches of rain fell in some
areas, hundreds of people were rescued, and at least two people died
after driving in flooded areas. Kenya's president said today he
will not sign a controversial finance bill after protesters stormed the
country's Parliament yesterday. A human rights group says at least 22 people
were killed in the violence. Today, soldiers and police patrolled the streets of
Nairobi as workers cleaned up debris left behind. The unrest started as lawmakers passed a
bill that would have raised taxes to pay off the country's debt. Critics argued it
would have added further pain to Kenyans already living in poverty. In a televised
address, President William Ruto acknowledged that the bill caused -- quote -- "widespread
dissatisfaction" and he called for national unity. WILLIAM RUTO, Kenyan President: And I am therefore
proposing that, because we have gotten rid of the finance bill 2024, it is necessary for us to
have a conversation as a nation going forward. GEOFF BENNETT: The White House has
condemned the violence and urged the Kenyan government today to -- quote --
"respect the rights of all its citizens." The Episcopal Church elected Sean Rowe as its
new spiritual and executive leader today. The 49-year-old currently serves as Bishop of
the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania. He will replace presiding Bishop Michael
Curry, who was the first Black leader in the church's 239-year history. Curry was
an outspoken advocate of racial justice and LGBTQ+ equality. He rose to global
prominence in 2018 when he delivered a rousing sermon at the widely televised
marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. And Wall Street posted minimal gains today,
even as Amazon's market value topped $2 trillion for the first time. The Dow Jones industrial
average barely budged, adding just 15 points. The Nasdaq performed a little better, adding
87 points. The S&P 500 added modestly higher. Still to come on the "News Hour":
President Biden pardons thousands of veterans previously convicted under the
U.S. military's former ban on gay sex; a look at how immigration is shaping up
to be a key issue in November's election; and a new trial finds a twice-yearly injection
gives total protection from HIV infection. AMNA NAWAZ: For the first time since the Cold War, a journalist has gone on
trial in Russia for espionage. The Wall Street Journal's Evan
Gershkovich appeared in court today, accused of working on behalf of the CIA. Nick Schifrin is here now with that story -- Nick. NICK SCHIFRIN: Amna, the White House
calls the trial a -- quote -- "sham" and the charges against Gershkovich fiction.
The U.S. classifies him as wrongfully detained, but he will now be tried on charges with
a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. In a Russian court 900 miles from
Moscow, padlocked into a glass box, Evan Gershkovich managed today to flash
a smile. And yet the 32-year-old American journalist is a prisoner of Putin's penal
system, where conviction rates are 99 percent. Today's hearing lasted two hours and
brought Gershkovich back to Yekaterinburg, where last March police arrested
him on a reporting trip. He is the first American reporter accused
of espionage in nearly 30 years. MIKAEL OZDOYEV, Russian Prosecutor
(through translator): The investigation has established and documented that the
American journalist on orders of the CIA collected secret information about
the activities of a defense enterprise. NICK SCHIFRIN: The U.S. and
Wall Street Journal deny that, and today The Journal called the trial --
quote -- "shameful and illegitimate. Evan is a journalist who is accredited by the Russian
government, and journalism is not a crime." But the U.S. believes Gershkovich's trial and
anticipated conviction could help facilitate a prisoner swap, a possibility that Putin confirmed
earlier this month to international journalists. VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian President (through
translator): Such issues are not decided via mass media. They prefer a discreet, calm and
professional approach and dialogue between special services. And they certainly should
be decided only on the basis of reciprocity. NICK SCHIFRIN: Americans believe that means
two for two or one for one, as it went in 2022, WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for a
notorious Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout. Several Americans remain in Russian custody,
Paul Whelan, also convicted of espionage and also labeled wrongfully detained, active-duty
Staff Sergeant Gordon Black convicted of theft and threatening his Russian girlfriend. There
are also dual nationals, Alsu Kurmasheva, a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, accused of violating a foreign agent law, and Ksenia Karelina, accused
of treason for donating $51 to Ukraine. Today, the U.S. State Department said they're working privately to bring
Gershkovich and others home. MATTHEW MILLER, State Department Spokesman:
We will continue our efforts. Those have been happening before Evan's trial. They will continue
during the trial. And should he be convicted, which, of course, he will be -- it's not a free
trial -- they will continue after the trial, but we want to see him return home immediately. NICK SCHIFRIN: So what does
today's trial say about Russia and the possibilities of a prisoner swap? For that, we turn to Angela Stent, who
worked in the State Department during the Clinton administration and served as
a top U.S. intelligence officer on Russia during the George W. Bush administration.
She's now with the Brookings Institution and author of "Putin's World: Russia
Against the West and with the Rest." Angela Stent, thanks very much.
Welcome back... ANGELA STENT, Brookings
Institution: Good to be here. NICK SCHIFRIN: ...to the "News Hour."
U.S. officials and The Wall Street Journal both today called the trial a sham and
illegitimate. Is that how you see it? ANGELA STENT: Oh, yes. It's a travesty.
It's not a trial. They already know what the verdict is going to be. They
know what the sentence is going to be. And Evan Gershkovich is a fine, talented
journalist. He was writing some excellent stuff on the wartime economy. He was accredited in
Russia. And when he went to Yekaterinburg to go to this factory and see how they were replenishing
their tanks, that's when they arrested him. So it really is a sham, as
the government has said. NICK SCHIFRIN: The White House
also called him a bargaining chip. Are a trial and the expected conviction the
requirements almost to begin the process of possibly having a prisoner
swap that would release him? ANGELA STENT: They definitely are. And
Putin has said as much. His spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has said that. So we don't know how long the trial will take. The next
hearing is until August the 13th. Since everything is completely secret, we
won't know anything about the proceedings. And once it's over and once they announce that
he's been sentenced, presumably to 20 years, then I think they will talk more
seriously about exchanging him. I mean, this really is completely a political
arrest. And it's a hostage negotiation. NICK SCHIFRIN: The trial is opaque, as you point out. But, also, the
hostage negotiations are opaque. But we do have one name that has emerged from
Russian officials to American officials. And that is Vadim Krasikov, believed to be
a Russian intelligence officer convicted in Germany of murdering a Chechen
who had fought Russian soldiers. We don't know for sure, but is
there either one-for-one deal or a two-for-two deal that would include Paul
Whelan somewhere out there on the table? ANGELA STENT: So, Putin a few months ago
gave us a hint that that was on the cards. But this was when Alexei Navalny was alive.
And then he died. And then Putin said there would have been an exchange for Navalny and Evan
Gershkovich for this FSB assassin, Vadim Krasikov. Now that Navalny's dead, the question is,
what happens? The Germans really wanted Navalny. They would have to give
up Krasikov because he's sitting in a jail in Berlin. But I do understand
that there are negotiations going on. And, hopefully, Paul Whelan will
be part of them now too. NICK SCHIFRIN: That word reciprocity that
we heard Putin use earlier, that is what U.S. officials believe is either a one-for-one
or two-for-two. Is that how you see that word? ANGELA STENT: Yes, that's how I see that. Unfortunately, I think the other two
people who were mentioned in your story, they're not part of that
negotiation at the moment. NICK SCHIFRIN: Dual nationals.
ANGELA STENT: Dual nationals. NICK SCHIFRIN: U.S. officials tell me that
Russia treats the dual nationals differently. ANGELA STENT: Oh, yes, and it wants to punish them for going to the United States and
getting American citizenship too. NICK SCHIFRIN: In terms of other possible
Russian intelligence officials or anyone at least accused of espionage, as
Whelan and Gershkovich mostly are, a senior State Department official recently told
us about a full spectrum of hybrid activities and subversion campaigns across Europe and highlighted
some arrests that have recently been publicized. Czech authorities charged a man with terrorism
for allegedly trying to set buses on fire on behalf of Russia. The U.K. recently expelled a
military attache after an arson attack. German officials are talking about another
possible arson attack by Russians. Are these the kinds of people that
the U.S. and European allies would be looking to detain in order to possibly
have a trade for people like Gershkovich? ANGELA STENT: Well, first of all,
the U.S. and the Europeans don't detain people just to exchange them, right?
I mean, these people carried out these acts. It's possible. It gets very complicated when other
countries are involved. With Brittney Griner, we were just talking about someone, Viktor Bout, who was in the U.S. It doesn't mean it
couldn't happen, but that would make it much more complicated than that. Then how
would you choose which one to exchange? As far as we know, there's no one in
the U.S., Russian, in jail that's of high enough value that the Russians would be
willing to trade Evan Gershkovich for him. NICK SCHIFRIN: What do these activities in Europe say about what Putin
and Russia are doing in Europe? ANGELA STENT: Putin thinks that he's at war
with the West. He's determined to win this war with Ukraine. And they're really upping
all of these sabotage activities. We know that there's election interference going on
in Europe, in the United States, as we speak. They had a deepfake video of the State
Department spokesman the other day saying things. So they're really -- he -- I think
Putin is more confident than he was before, and he is determined to do anything he can to
wreak havoc in Europe or the United States. NICK SCHIFRIN: We saw obviously the
peak of Russian interference in the U.S. election in 2016. U.S. officials say
the interference in 2020, 2022 was lower. What do you anticipate this year? ANGELA STENT: I think it will
probably be lower than it was in 2016, but I think it's still going on. I mean,
the use of social media and things like that is -- as we speak is going on, and then
supporting different groups against each other. What the Russians want is chaos
in the United States and Europe, and that's what they're promoting. NICK SCHIFRIN: Very briefly,
Angela Stent, while I have you, Putin has done something that we
haven't seen him do in the past, and that is appoint a number of relatives
to high jobs in the Russian government. Why? ANGELA STENT: So this is, I think, part
of an elaborate succession plan. I'm not saying that Putin's going to step aside any
time soon, but his first cousin once removed, she was just made deputy defense minister.
The sons of various close colleagues of Putin have been promoted to high positions
in the Kremlin, in the government. So they're setting the stage for the next
generation to take over at some point, but people who share their views and want to
continue the system. And it's also a way, I think, for Putin to ensure that nothing will happen to
his family when he's not in the Kremlin anymore. NICK SCHIFRIN: Something, of course, that
he guaranteed to Yeltsin when he took over. ANGELA STENT: Of course he did, yes. NICK SCHIFRIN: Angela Stent, always
a pleasure. Thanks very much. ANGELA STENT: Thank you.
GEOFF BENNETT: Major news from the White House today. President
Biden announced pardons for former U.S. service personnel who were convicted under a military
law repealed in 2013 that banned gay sex. The move today would potentially cover
thousands of veterans who were forced out of the military because
of their sexual orientation. Lindsay Church is executive director
of Minority Veterans of America and joins us now from the White House,
where they are attending an event. Thanks for being with us. LINDSAY CHURCH, Executive Director and
Co-Founder, Minority Veterans of America: Thank you so much for having me. GEOFF BENNETT: Help us understand
the details of this pardon, how it works and how it would affect veterans
who were previously criminalized under the law. LINDSAY CHURCH: So, today, the announcement
was made that President Biden would use his clemency authority to pardon service
members who received a discharge under what's called Article 125, which
criminalizes gay sex, as you mentioned. So folks that were kicked out and sent to
court-martial based off of autonomy laws are -- now have the opportunity to apply
to have that -- to have the pardon in that court-martial and to eventually
have their discharges upgraded. As you mentioned, this is expected that it
could be up to a few thousand service members that were impacted by this. The process would not
be automatic. The service member would still have to apply for the program under the pardon, and
they would then go through the discharge upgrade process, but they would be entitled to -- as
long as they meet the certain requirements, to be able to have their discharges upgraded
to honorable, and which would allow them to be entitled to benefits that they have otherwise
been denied for the last however long. Sodomy laws were in place between 1951 and 2013,
so many of these service members are long past, and their families will be able to apply for
the benefits as well posthumously. So they would have anything up to and including
burial rights in National Cemetery. GEOFF BENNETT: What about service members
who were also discharged and criminalized in different ways, not under Article 125?
How does this apply to them, if at all? LINDSAY CHURCH: It won't. There is a very
specific group of folks that are pardoned, that they're going to be specifically
discharged under Article 125. There are different programs that allow for
people to apply for discharge upgrades should they have gone through or been discharged under
what's called the don't ask/don't tell policy or for homosexual acts. So there are processes in
place in which that service member can apply for a discharge upgrade, and they can do that through
the review boards for the military services. So many of those service members are
already eligible and have the ability to apply for the program. But, like I said, one of the biggest problems with both of
these programs is that they're not automatic. And so it requires that the service
member, former service member and their family actually apply for the clemency, so that
they would actually -- it's not automatic and they wouldn't just automatically get it. They
would actually have to go through the process. The VA issued a Web site today for
anybody who is possibly entitled to the benefits of the clemency about Article
125, along with an FAQ section that says the criteria for which you would have
to meet and the criteria in which you wouldn't apply -- or you wouldn't be able
to meet the requirements for the program. GEOFF BENNETT: Do you have a sense of why the Biden administration is
making this move right now? LINDSAY CHURCH: I think we're at a point
where we are correcting past wrongs. This -- like you mentioned, this -- sodomy laws
were repealed in 2013. It's now 2024. It's been a decade, long past that we have been waiting for
people to be able to access these benefits. And, right now, obviously, it's Pride Month. It's an
opportunity for us to celebrate the accomplishment and to recognize that our country did a disservice
to a generation of service members that were truly, truly criminalized for nothing more than
their sexual orientation or gender identity. And there's no one-size-fits-all solution
to the people that were discharged under just -- under these policies. And it's
going to take small solutions like this for 2,000 service members at a time to
reach the generation of service members like myself and those who served before 2011,
when don't ask/don't tell was repealed. GEOFF BENNETT: You served in
the military for four years, as I understand it, most of those years under
don't ask/don't tell. What was that like for you? LINDSAY CHURCH: I served all of three months under don't ask/don't tell. And
it was a really hard time. You live under intense fear that you could wake up
today and somebody would find out your secret, and you would go from being a linguist in the military
to being dishonorably discharged and sent home with the equivalent of a felony on your record. I spent a lot of time in the hospital because I
got hurt in the military, spent 65 days in the hospital. I couldn't have my partner with me. I
couldn't connect with the people that I needed to most, because the military, if they found out
that I had a girlfriend or a partner back home, could potentially kick me out, and I would
lose access to everything, including the health care that I desperately needed because
of the injuries that I incurred in service. So it was a very hard time, in which you spend
all this time waiting and hoping that you aren't going to be next and picked out of a lineup
for nothing more than just who you are. Many of us served our country. I'm transgender
and very proudly served my country. And one in five transgender Americans before the
ban was lifted would serve in the military, which means that we're more
patriotic as LGBTQ people. We serve at twice the rate. And we have lived
under these criminal laws for a long time. And so, little by little, we are working
towards righting these wrongs. But it's been a long process to get to a
place of healing around that policy. GEOFF BENNETT: Lindsay Church is executive
director of Minority Veterans of America. Thanks for being with us. LINDSAY CHURCH: Thank you so much for having me. AMNA NAWAZ: Immigration has become
a flash point this election cycle, and it's expected to be a key issue
in Thursday's presidential debate. White House correspondent Laura
Barron-Lopez has more -- Laura. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thanks, Amna. On the trail, former President Donald Trump
has repeatedly made baseless claims blaming undocumented migrants for a violent crime wave.
But, nationwide, violent crime is down 15 percent and undocumented immigrants are 26 percent less
likely than native-born Americans to be arrested and convicted of murder, according to a new report
in Texas from the libertarian Cato Institute. On the southern border today, Homeland
Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said President Biden's policies are working.
Weekly average border encounters have decreased more than 40 percent, the lowest
level of encounters since January 2021. For an on-the-ground perspective of the
situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, first, we're joined by Sheriff Mark
Dannels of Cochise County, Arizona. Sheriff Dannels, thank you
for joining the "News Hour." I wanted to ask you. The Biden
administration today says border encounters are down, including in your area
of the border. Are you seeing that decrease? MARK DANNELS, Cochise County,
Arizona, Sheriff: Well, I went back and looked and I asked my border team to
give me some stats. And we are down. And we saw this trend come in here about
a month ago when we look at the stats. So they are down. But I think, if you look
at the overall picture, what's going on, two years ago, this was a crisis, even
with the numbers we're seeing today, and which means it's still a crisis. I love to see
the success, but we're not where we need to be. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Your county is
along the southeastern border of Arizona with Mexico. Help us understand what
the day-to-day is like for you and your team. MARK DANNELS: Well, we deal with the
got-aways, which these are people that are not given up. These are the people that
are smuggled under the control of the criminal cartels. They jump in vehicles. They go
100 miles an hour through my communities. Again, over 28 months, we booked just
under 3,400 people for border-related crimes in my county. The smuggling is
still going on. It's not like it's gone away. And the -- it's nice to celebrate what's
going on, like Secretary Mayorkas is doing. But let's not forget, for three-and-a-half
years, we have seen tragedy after tragedy, up to death, not just in Cochise County, but
throughout our Southwest border and beyond, now within our community. So we need to
be real to it too and not celebrate too early. There's nothing to be celebrating
about yet. Let's get a handle on this. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: You said you're dealing with a
lot of border-related crimes. What kind of crimes? MARK DANNELS: Everything from drugs, stolen vehicles, people with warrants.
And these are the ones coming here. I think it's important to note, out of the
almost 3,400 people that were arrested and booked into our three jails here in my
county, only 190 were foreign-born or legally in the country. These are people that
are coming from all over the United States. A lot of them have criminal histories.
They come down here and sell them cars. They bring their fentanyl with them. They
bring their crimes with them. And that's what we're addressing as they come into my county
to disturb our quality of life here. And then you look at the pursuits. They pick up, they go 100
or some miles an hour through our communities, which ends up a lot of times in crashes.
People are injured. People are killed. Again, sad situation, and that has not stopped. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: You say that the
border encounters are down in your area of the border. President Biden
recently put a crackdown in place, temporarily blocking asylum
seekers between ports of entry. What else do you want to see him do? MARK DANNELS: Well, we still
need to follow the rule of law. Again, what I was briefed on a couple
of days ago was the numbers. This was a -- they used like 4,000 -- like 4,200
people had crossed the day before, when I was in Oklahoma City. Out of those 4,200
people, let's just be real with the math, he stated 1,900, almost 2,000, were released into
the country, not deported, not told to go back. We still need to look at coming across
the border illegally is a crime. It needs to be addressed. It needs to
be -- persons need to be expelled, as federal law states. We're not
doing that. We are now accepting what I call a celebratory new norm, which is,
it's OK to come across the border illegally. A percentage gets to stay, and the
rest, we will address accordingly. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So what else do you
think, though, that the federal government should do? Would you support that bipartisan
border deal that Republicans voted against? MARK DANNELS: I think we need to support
bipartisan laws, measures and reform. I truly do. I'm all about that, because
they were elected no different than I was. And that is to protect our communities, protect
our citizens and protect our country. And when you put your political party above the people,
you're going to fail every time. And that's what I think Congress is doing. Even
parts of White House is doing this. For three-and-a-half years, we have been
dealing with a tragedy on the border. And let's do this collectively with our
federal government. And let's do it right. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Sheriff Mark Dannels of
Cochise County, Arizona, thank you for your time. MARK DANNELS: Thank you for having me. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Now, for another
perspective, from the Texas-Mexico border, we're joined by immigration attorney Jennifer
Babaie, who works with asylum seekers in El Paso. Jennifer, thank you so much for joining. President Biden recently put new restrictions
on asylum seekers. And we just spoke to Sheriff Mark Dannels in Cochise County, who said that
he's seen some decrease in border encounters, but still called it a crisis. What
are you seeing at the El Paso border? JENNIFER BABAIE, Director of Advocacy and Legal Services, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center: We are seeing so much fear, confusion and just overall frustration from the families and the individuals I have spoken
to since the suspension came down. People are at a loss of what to do. They're
trying their best to understand the new rules and to comply with them. But I have got
to say we haven't seen new appointments issued by the administration since
CBP-1 was rolled out late last year. And we are also cutting off all access to asylum. So families are at their wit's end of
where they're supposed to go from here. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: CBP-1 meaning the Customs and Border Protection app for --
that asylum seekers can use. What are you hearing from migrants that you're
speaking to? Are they aware of the crackdown at the border? And are more families
deciding to send their kids over alone, since unaccompanied minors are still allowed in? JENNIFER BABAIE: We're going
to be seeing lots of troubling patterns increasing in the next few months. Already, in these last three weeks, we have seen
single mothers with children turned away for something as small as CBP didn't believe they had
a translator available to interview the person. And most people are not aware or understand the
change in the rules, because they are so complex. The executive order does nothing to actually stop
or prevent someone from coming up to seek asylum. But what it does do is brutally then close the
door in their face and say, go back to Mexico, go back home or stay in detention, and we will
give you a removal order before you do leave. So it's a brutal mechanism. And trying to
explain this to families who are at the end of their journey and hoping to find
safety in the U.S. is a complex matter. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That executive order that
President Biden issued about three weeks ago now, the administration said, was about taking
pressure off of an overwhelmed immigration system. And it makes it so asylum seekers
can't declare asylum between ports of entry. Are you seeing any progress
in that area when it comes to helping an overwhelmed immigration system? JENNIFER BABAIE: Absolutely not. The facts on the ground are that, although
the executive order reads innocuous and the stated goals are efficiency,
what's happening is that we are simply telling more and more people they're
ineligible for asylum, but the government, meaning Border Patrol, law enforcement,
still has to process them at the border. So nothing in this suspension is targeting
the reason for the backlog, which is, people need access to information,
they need access to attorneys, they need court dates. And this order
does nothing to fix any of those issues. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: What's
next for the migrants that you're working with? What
options do they have left? JENNIFER BABAIE: It is a dismal
time as an advocate to speak with individuals about their options,
because there are close to none. For individuals that I have interviewed
in Mexico, many have traveled days, weeks to come to that area. And they're also
facing discrimination by law enforcement officials in Mexico. So not only are they meeting
a closed door when they are attempting to seek safety here, but they are getting pushback and
altercations with law enforcement in Mexico. We're even seeing that unaccompanied children
are being prevented from coming to the port of entry and trying to seek safety. And it's
leading to family separation, meaning it's leading to families making impossible choices
about how will they try to leave a shelter, walk up to the border and try to seek
safety with or without other members of their family because of their fear of what will
happen if they remain in Mexico another day. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Jennifer Babaie in
El Paso, Texas, thank you for your time. JENNIFER BABAIE: Thank you for having me. GEOFF BENNETT: The long fight against
HIV/AIDS may get a powerful new weapon. A new drug taken by injection only
twice a year shows great promise in preventing new HIV infections. That
could have far-reaching impacts, especially in lower-income countries
that are facing rising infection rates. William Brangham has the details. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That's right. This drug is called lenacapavir. And
it is made by the drugmaker Gilead, which recently said that in a clinical trial
of 2,000 patients in South Africa and Uganda, not one person taking the
drug was infected with HIV. So if this drug pans out as hoped, what
would that mean for global HIV care? To understand that, we turn to one
of the world's leading experts in HIV treatment and prevention. Salim
Abdool Karim the head of CAPRISA, one of South Africa's top HIV/AIDS research
centers and which helped run this study. Salim Abdool Karim, so nice to
have you back on the program. As I mentioned, this drug is not yet approved
for use in the marketplace, but let's say these results hold up. What would this mean? How potent
a tool would this be in the fight against HIV? SALIM ABDOOL KARIM, Director, CAPRISA:
Great to be here with you, William. Well, in my 40 years of doing AIDS research, I
have never seen a result like this. Absolutely amazing to see a drug like this that provides
100 percent protection. So when you look at a drug like this, and given that it's in a
completely new class of antiretrovirals, we do not have circulating
resistance to this drug. And so we are seeing high levels of protection
because it's not a drug that the virus has already been exposed to. But its potential
as a highly efficacious prevention mechanism is enormous. Given that our goal is to
try and end the AIDS pandemic by 2030, and this is ending it as a public health threat, we need to focus on the three key groups
where HIV continues to be a major challenge. And those three groups are men who have sex
with men, in particular, younger men who have sex with men, injecting drug users, and, in
Africa, young women. Indeed, young women bear the brunt of the HIV pandemic in Africa. And
the study was undertaken in exactly that group. And if we can get this drug rolled out
to large numbers of high-risk women, we could make a huge dent on the pandemic. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But given that there is already
a prevention pill, Truvada, or PrEP, as it is known, that people take every single day, why does
this twice-a-year shot make such a difference? SALIM ABDOOL KARIM: So, studies done
with antiretrovirals taken as a daily tablet or daily pill have shown that
we have a challenge in individuals maintaining the ongoing use of these drugs,
what we refer to as adherence or compliance. The big challenge you have is that the individuals
taking the drug are well and healthy people. They don't have HIV. So, it requires an extra moral
effort for them to be able to remember that every day that they are at risk of HIV and they
need to remember to take their tablets. It also places an onus of the individuals to
go to the hospital to collect the medications at a regular interval. And that becomes a
high bar when we are dealing with people who are essentially well. The difference
now is that, basically, individuals who are at risk need to think about their risk
of HIV twice a year, and they need to make the effort to go to a clinic or a hospital to
get this injection just once every six months. That sits a much lower bar. And, therefore, we think we will have better adherence and
will lead to a larger number of patients taking it up and maintaining their
long-term use of this injectable. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In the U.S. and certain
parts of the West, new HIV infections, certainly deaths from AIDS, have
really dropped off people's radar. I know that's not the case elsewhere in the
country, certainly not where you are in South Africa. Can you remind us the challenges
you still face fighting this pandemic? SALIM ABDOOL KARIM: Well, the problem
was that COVID-19 literally came in with such gusto that it consumed
all of the world's attention. I think we're seeing that there's
a lot of what I call fatigue, AIDS fatigue, people just tired of
this problem. They moved on mentally, physically. And so the other pandemics
that were occurring, they haven't gone away. They remain with us. And the three big
pandemics are malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. And of those, in terms of HIV, in places, in
many countries in Africa, AIDS remains one of the biggest challenges. In South Africa, it remains
one of the top 10 causes of death. If you take at a global level, just last year, there were in
the region of around one-and-a-half-million new infections. That's a lot of new infections
still continuing at the global level. But it's not just that we're seeing new infections
occurring. We continue to have a high number of deaths. Around 700,000 deaths occurred last year.
So we have got to change that narrative. We have got to slow down the spread of this virus.
And we have got to protect people from dying. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, Salim
Abdool Karim, the head of CAPRISA in South Africa, it is always good to see
you. Thank you so much for being here. SALIM ABDOOL KARIM: It's a pleasure. AMNA NAWAZ: More than a quarter of Americans
now claim no religious affiliation. That's according to the Pew Research Center.
That group now comprises the largest bloc of Americans and follows decades of
declining attendance among white Christians, as well as Black Protestants and Jews. Judy Woodruff reports that, for white Christians,
there's also been a growing political divide within some faith communities. It's her
latest installment of America at a Crossroads. JUDY WOODRUFF: Across America, each
week, a familiar sound, Christians of different denominations gathering
to sing, worship and find community. Yet, in a growing number of places in the
country, especially away from major cities, that sound has been growing softer. And, in
some, like this American Baptist church in Southern Illinois, which has existed in some form
since 1868, it will soon grow quiet altogether. RYAN BURGE, Eastern Illinois University: I have
done a handful of baptisms while I have been pastor here, but I have done over 25 funerals.
So we're just not offsetting the losses at this point. And once you get to a certain point, it's
almost impossible to pull out of the nosedive. We have had a bunch of birthdays because we
haven't been really meeting last couple of weeks. JUDY WOODRUFF: For more than 17 years,
Ryan Burge has been the pastor of First Baptist Church ABC in Mount Vernon,
one of the many mainline Protestant denominations that once dominated the
nation's cities, towns and countryside. Yet, since 1972, even as the country's
population has grown over 60 percent, the proportion of white Americans attending
churches like these or even identifying as a Christian has fallen precipitously.
This church will close for good in July. RYAN BURGE: Religion is just not a central
part of life for lots and lots of people. Today in America, about 25 percent of
people report weekly church attendance, which puts us on par with a country like
Italy. We were above 40 percent at one point. Amongst Catholics, 50 percent were weekly mass
attenders in 1972. It's 20 percent today. So we're seeing a decline in religious attendance
across almost every religious tradition, not just Protestants, but also Catholics as well. And Jesus answered, very
truly, I tell you, no one...
JUDY WOODRUFF: In addition to being a pastor,
Burge is also a political scientist teaching at Eastern Illinois University, where
he studies the intersection of faith, politics and the data behind it, describing these
broad trends in his 2023 book, "The Nones," about the growing share of Americans who identify as
atheists, agnostics, or nothing in particular. RYAN BURGE: Ninety percent of Americans
used to identify as Christians in 1972. It's about 65 percent today. And
the share of Americans who are white Christians is now below half. The
nones have gone from -- N-O-N-E-S -- have gone from 5 percent of America in 1972
to almost 30 percent of America today. Amongst young people, it's over 40
percent of America. So we're facing an entirely different religious landscape
today than we did even 30 years ago. JUDY WOODRUFF: What is your best
understanding of what's happened, why fewer and fewer Americans feel some
connection with a church or with a faith? RYAN BURGE: I think a lot of it is that
Americans are anti-institutional now. And if you look at data and trust in institutions,
we don't trust anything today as much as we trusted it 40 years ago, whether it be
banks or unions or the media or religion. They're not seeing the value that religion
plays in people's lives. And they're also thinking -- and I think this is the
thing that I push back against the most -- that religion is only about belief.
Religion is also a social enterprise. You come here, you sit next to people who are
different than you. You learn how to volunteer, you learn how to run meetings, you
learn how to fund-raise. You learn about the Bible, but you also learn
that other people are good people. MAN: How about some pulled pork? JUDY WOODRUFF: Just a few miles away, some of those volunteers are helping the
needy at this once-a-month-food pantry, Angels on Assignment, where they provide
free food, clothing and help with expenses. The population of Jefferson
County is shrinking as it ages, and its politics have swung further to the
right, in 2000, voting 54 percent in favor of George W. Bush to nearly 72 percent
in favor of President Trump in 2020. Volunteers here joined from across local
denominations, but this outreach is organized by another mainline denomination in steep
decline. The United Methodist Church has fallen from 11 million people in 1967 to half
of that today, and, in just the past two years, lost about a quarter of its churches over issues
surrounding same-sex marriage and LGBTQ clergy. REV. VICTOR LONG, First United Methodist:
The lord's table is the place where the distinctions between rich and poor,
powerful and powerless, are erased. JUDY WOODRUFF: On a recent Sunday morning, though,
First United Methodist pews were mostly full, with more joining online, and a full choir leading
the congregation, including Keith and Cheryl Cox. CHERYL COX, Member, First
United Methodist: One more time. JUDY WOODRUFF: A decade ago, Keith,
a retired choir director, and Cheryl, a former German teacher and school administrator,
moved from Northern Illinois to the family farm here. The first church they joined
closed, with too few members to sustain it. The next one, a Methodist Church close to home, didn't align with their views on supporting
border migrants through UMCOR, the church's relief agency, and the decision to close
churches during the COVID-19 outbreak. KEITH COX, Member, First United Methodist: When I
was on the church council and I heard the church leaders in that council being very unhappy about
the fact that UMCOR was helping migrants, and that the bishop was a terrible person for trying
to keep people safe, that truly troubled me. And so I was not as interested in being a
part of that church at that point in time. JUDY WOODRUFF: Now Keith and Cheryl drive
45 minutes each way twice a week to sing in the choir and worship at First
United Methodist in Mount Vernon. KEITH COX: It's the best 45-minute
drive that I have on a regular basis, because I do feel uplifted when I
go to the church. And I can't say that that's been true even at the other
Methodist churches that I have been to. JUDY WOODRUFF: And recognizing that politics was now a part of the church set of
beliefs, how did that make you feel? CHERYL COX: I think politics has invaded schools
and health care and just about every aspect of our lives. So I shouldn't be surprised that
it is invading in some ways in the church. But did it make me feel uncomfortable? Absolutely. JUDY WOODRUFF: Singing alongside
Keith and Cheryl Cox is Seth Calvert, who was drawn to this church first
by its music, then by its message. REV. VICTOR LONG: The lord's table is the
place where gay and straight and every other orientation in between can discover and
receive the gift of God's life-giving grace. SETH CALVERT, Member, First United
Methodist: It honestly kind of rocks my world that there are people who are
Christians who are actually open-minded. JUDY WOODRUFF: Calvert lives in Mount Vernon with
his husband, Brandon (ph). He was raised Southern Baptist, but felt increasingly uncomfortable
with that branch as he aged, especially as he heard things from the pastor that conflicted
with his realization that he was transgender. SETH CALVERT: One of the examples that actually
was the reason I ended up leaving that church was, he was going on a tangent about how trains
rights was all bad and all that. And he said the civil rights movement was a mistake
because now we have the gay rights movement. And it was like, that's wrong. JUDY WOODRUFF: You were hearing that,
and then what were you thinking? SETH CALVERT: I had been taught, if you see
things going wrong, you always stay there and try and fix them. And that's what I was trying to
do for years and years in that church. And then it got to the point that it's like, there's no way
I can fix this. There's no way that me sticking around is going to be able to help these people
see that what they're saying and doing is wrong. REV. VICTOR LONG, First United Methodist:
It's almost like we have become a safe haven for refugees from other traditions and even other
United Methodist churches who have felt excluded. JUDY WOODRUFF: Victor Long leads this
congregation of the United Methodist Church, whose motto is "Open Minds,
Open Hearts, Open Doors." REV. VICTOR LONG: The churches they often
come from are very rigid and narrow. And, now, some have come from churches where politics
was really the theme of the messages they heard. And they're looking for a safe place
where they're not told what to believe, where they have freedom to ask questions,
and room to grow in their faith. JUDY WOODRUFF: On the day we visited, long
delivered a sermon the importance of unity. REV. VICTOR LONG: The lord's table is
the place where Democrats can kneel alongside Republicans. Where else in
the world are you going to see that? I just felt like it was the right
time for people to be reminded of that. And communion is the perfect setting for it, because that's when we come together
as one and receive the bread and wine. JUDY WOODRUFF: And when you say it's the right
time, what's made it the right time, do you think? REV. VICTOR LONG: Because all the other
voices that get airtime in the church are about division and who's right and
who's wrong and we need to leave. And people need to hear that I believe Christ
calls the church to unity, in spite of our differences. It's not uniformity,
but it's unity in the body of Christ. JUDY WOODRUFF: Long says his
congregation includes Republicans, Democrats and everything in between, a
hallmark of mainline Protestant churches. But that is becoming increasingly
rare, according to Ryan Burge. RYAN BURGE: For a long time, we always
thought that religion was the first lens and politics was downstream of that. So,
what party I voted for, I looked at the Bible, I think about theology, how I view the world,
and then I picked Republican or Democrat. Now things have changed. The recent data says that we pick our religion based off our
politics. So, if I'm a Republican, I'm going to seek out a congregation that
affirms my views and really tells me what I want to hear. So that's why a lot of people
have left religion over the last 50 years. So even today, amongst liberals, 50 percent of
them are non-religious. Among conservatives, it's only 12 percent. So what we're seeing more
and more is people go, well, I can't do that. JUDY WOODRUFF: In our next story, we will visit
an evangelical church in Tennessee that has leaned heavily into politics and President
Trump, but is now having second thoughts. For the PBS "News Hour," I'm Judy
Woodruff in Mount Vernon, Illinois. GEOFF BENNETT: And join us again here tomorrow night for a
preview of Thursday's CNN presidential debate. And that is the "News Hour"
for tonight. I'm Geoff Bennett. AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz. On behalf of the entire "News Hour"
team, thank you for joining us.
