AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening. I'm Amna Nawaz. GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett. On the "NewsHour" tonight: Voters in more
than a dozen states cast ballots in Super Tuesday primaries. What the results could mean for November's
presidential match-up. AMNA NAWAZ: The families of Israelis taken
captive by Hamas on October 7 offer different perspectives on a potential hostage deal. GEOFF BENNETT: And what's behind the shocking
increase in alcohol-related deaths in the U.S., and what can be done to st
op it? KEITH HUMPHREYS, Professor of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University: Those who use it don't think of themselves
as using a drug, and, therefore, they don't worry about it as much as they should. (BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour." It is the biggest night of the primary election
season. Voters in 16 states and one territory are
making their picks for the Democratic and Republican nominees for president. AMNA NAWAZ: In a high-stakes election year,
with an arr
ay of domestic and foreign issues at the top of mind, voters today were weighing
their options carefully. DEBORAH PERGERSON, North Carolina Voter: I
want to vote for Trump because I think he's conservative. He was pro-life. FRED GRAY, Alabama Voter: Joe Biden. Overall, I think he done a great job, regardless
of what people think of his age. STEVEN REESE, Colorado Voter: I don't want
to have Donald Trump as the option the Republican ticket. So... CAROL BARDEN, Texas Voter: Well, I'm going
to vote
for anybody who says they're closing the border. CINDY SHEEHAN, Colorado Voter: Noncommitted,
yes. I am very concerned about this election. I don't feel like we have equitable choices. GEOFF BENNETT: To help us make sense of it
all, we're joined now by Republican strategist Kevin Madden, Democratic strategist Faiz Shakir,
and Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter. With a welcome to all of you. Amy, luckily, for us, this is known as Super
Tuesday and not suspenseful Tuesday. (L
AUGHTER) AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: That's
right. GEOFF BENNETT: Because the outcome of these
primaries are widely expected to just move Joe Biden and Donald Trump closer to a November
rematch. AMY WALTER: That's right. That's right. GEOFF BENNETT: Still, though, what are you
watching for? AMY WALTER: Well, what the margins are is
going to be somewhat interesting. I mean, we have seen from the very beginning
of this process on the Republican side Donald Trump go from 51 percent to 53
percent to
68 percent. In some polls that we have seen in these Super
Tuesday states, he's getting over 70 percent of the vote. So the consolidation does seem complete. There are going to be a couple of states we
will be watching that are traditionally more blue, where independent voters can show up
to vote. And we may see that Nikki Haley has a stronger
night there, but not enough to put a meaningful dent in the momentum that Trump has built
up. AMNA NAWAZ: Kevin, weigh in on that now. Let's t
ake a look at the latest delegate count
on the Republican side. As Geoff mentioned there, Mr. Trump is well
on his way to securing that 1,215 needed to secure the Republican nomination there. But he does still face a challenger in Nikki
Haley, one, we should mention, who's not facing 91 charges on four criminal cases. Could we see voters' concern over that show
up today? KEVIN MADDEN, Republican Strategist: Well,
so far, we have not seen it. I think a lot of the -- in a primary context,
the -- T
rump's legal problems have actually had a Republican antibody effect, in the sense
that they have rallied the strongest base MAGA voter to his defense. So -- but that's in a primary context. And so I think, after tonight, we will see
that Donald Trump will probably as a mathematical certainty be the nominee and Nikki Haley will
have a mathematical impossibility to the nomination. But I think we will also see the continued
challenges that Donald Trump faces in a general election. So, tonight, I'm
going to be watching some
of these suburban areas in places like Virginia and North Carolina, places that have traditionally
been the battleground areas of battleground states. And if we still see Trump struggle with those
voters, Republican-leaning, pragmatic, independent-minded Republicans, he's going to need those voters
that are now voting for Nikki Haley. He's going to need them in the general election
if he's going to beat Joe Biden and he's going to win the Electoral College to become th
e
next president. GEOFF BENNETT: And, Faiz, four years ago,
now-President Biden, he won 10 out of the 14 contests on Super Tuesday, a strong showing. Today, he's expected to sweep the entire thing
as the incumbent. Still, though, what might we learn about his
strengths and weaknesses as a candidate? FAIZ SHAKIR, Democratic Strategist: We're
trying to still see whether there's voter intensity for Joe Biden. In order to win, he's got to have a record
turnout like he had in 2020. According to recen
t New York Times poll, you
see some drop-off of his own voter base, people indicating, at least according to that poll,
maybe only 80 to 83 percent, 85 percent are sticking with him, those who voted in 2020
for Joe Biden. That number has to be much higher. For Donald Trump, it's actually 97 percent. Those people who voted for him are indicating
a high intensity of staying with him. The presence of Nikki Haley could have some
significance here. If she continues on in this race, as we saw
last tim
e, she triggers Donald Trump. I mean, he spent a lot of time calling her
birdbrain, attacked her husband, attacked her identity and her birth name. I think he's wanted her out of the race. And the longer she stays in it triggers him. And I think it triggers him in an unhealthy
way where he continues to affirm to a lot of these voters that Kevin was talking about
that he ain't for them. And so I -- that -- to me, that's the biggest
question of tonight. Does Nikki Haley choose to stay in, and if
s
he does, how she triggers Donald Trump in his worst elements. AMNA NAWAZ: Amy, we heard from some of those
voters there talking about what matters to them, what's animating them to the polls. State by state here, what are you going to
be watching for in terms of the issues that will either drive turnout or kind of keep
people unenthused and staying home? AMY WALTER: Well, in a number of these states,
we also have congressional primaries. And Alabama is a good example of this. The courts determin
ed that the state will
now have two majority-Black districts. And so they're -- for the very first time,
voters in this one district get their own representative. So you may see turnout up in some places because
of the competitive races lower on the ballot, rather than the -- usually, it's the top of
the ticket that's driving people out to vote. We have competitive races in California. We have competitive races in North Carolina
in primaries. So I think those things, I'm watching as well,
becaus
e it's going to tell us -- since so many of these districts are overwhelmingly
red or overwhelmingly blue, it's going to tell us a lot more about what the next Congress
could look like, because these folks, for them, this is the most competitive contest
they will have. By the time November comes around, it'll be
a foregone conclusion who will be coming to Congress. And so we get a pretty good snapshot or a
look into what -- the kind of people coming into Congress we will be talking about. GEOFF
BENNETT: Kevin, we will see how much
longer Nikki Haley stays in this race after tonight. If she drops out soon, where do her voters
go, do you think? KEVIN MADDEN: Well, I think they have parked
themselves in undecided. And that will be the big charge and the big
challenge that Donald Trump has from here all the way to November is, can he turn those
voters who right now are registering support for Nikki Haley in a sort of a protest against
Donald Trump -- and whether or not he can eventually by
November get them to hold their
nose and say, OK, I don't necessarily like Donald Trump, but he's better than Joe Biden. And that will be the big challenge for him
from here all the way to November. AMNA NAWAZ: Faiz, speaking of the protest
vote, we did see that protest vote when it came to President Biden in Michigan, over
100,000 people showing up to vote uncommitted in protest of President Biden's handling of
Israel's war in Gaza. Do we expect to see more of that today? FAIZ SHAKIR: Oh, for
sure, yes. You will see it in Minnesota and a few other
places where there will be people -- people will be casting this uncommitted vote. And we should all know and understand a couple
of things about it. One is, we want in democracy people to be
voting and expressing their pain and angst. Right now, it gives Joe Biden, quite frankly,
the time to address it. And the only way he can address it is by changing
policy. And he's got an opportunity to do that coming
up on Thursday. He's got his State
of the Union. By all accounts, he's working very hard on
trying to get a cease-fire deal, a six-week cease-fire deal that could be game-changing
for at least trying to move towards some resolution of the conflict and end it. But nothing's going to change for Joe Biden
until he can show policy change. And I know that they're breaking their necks
to try to figure that out. And, meanwhile, voters are kind of continually
going to put political pressure on the system, as they should, to see a change
happen. GEOFF BENNETT: And, Amy, quickly unrelated
to Super Tuesday, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced today that she's not seeking
reelection. What does that do to the Senate landscape? AMY WALTER: Well, this seat was already going
to be very, very competitive. What we see now is a battleground state with
very clear Democrat and Republican, but those Democrat and Republican very different from
the types that have come before them. They don't come from the moderate lane. They come more f
rom the more progressive and
more conservative lane, so winning over independent voters is going to be a challenge for both
of them for different reasons. GEOFF BENNETT: And her exit is Ruben Gallego's
gain, the Democrat in that race? AMY WALTER: Theoretically, although she was
also, Sinema, that is, taking a lot of Republican votes as well from those kinds of voters that
Kevin was talking about who in the era of Trump feel like they don't have a home and
Sinema's independence was attractive to
them. GEOFF BENNETT: Amy Walter, Faiz Shakir, Kevin
Madden, our thanks to all three of you. AMNA NAWAZ: Well, one of the most watched
non-presidential races of the day is in California. GEOFF BENNETT: Voters there are deciding who
should fill a U.S. Senate seat. And, as Laura Barron-Lopez explains, today's
primary will determine whether the race is just the beginning or essentially the end. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Super Tuesday's blockbuster
drama will be in California, where 11 Democrats and 10 Rep
ublicans are competing for the state's
open Senate seat. Only the top two finishers, regardless of
party, will remain in the race. ERIKA CAMPOS, Democratic Voter: I am still
doing my homework. I'm not completely ready to decide who my
next senator is going to be. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: For Democrats, there are
three leading contenders, all self-described progressives already serving in the House. REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), Senatorial Candidate:
This will set a new precedent. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Adam
Schiff is best known
for trying former President Trump's first impeachment trial. REP. ADAM SCHIFF: I think Californians are looking
for a senator who leads in the big fights. When our democracy was at risk, when we had
a man who would be a dictator as president, I was in the center of that fight, protecting
our institutions. REP. KATIE PORTER (D-CA), Senatorial Candidate:
This all totals up to 1,000. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Katie Porter became a
viral sensation with her pointed whiteboard interroga
tions in committee. REP. KATIE PORTER: I went in really prepared, asking
tough questions of people like bank CEOs about why their workers can't put food on the table,
asking tough questions, and, more importantly, getting answers. And I think that's a really important part
of the Senate and the House that, frankly, we aren't seeing Democrats or Republicans
do enough of. REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA), Senatorial Candidate:
I rise today really with a very heavy heart. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Barbara Lee's n
ational
profile dates back to a vote she cast more than 22 years ago. REP. BARBARA LEE: This unspeakable act on the United
States has really forced me, however, to rely on my moral compass, my conscience, and my
God. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The only lawmaker who
opposed authorizing military force in the days immediately following 9/11. REP. BARBARA LEE: I voted against that, and I said
it could escalate out of control, and it did. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Democrats outnumber Republicans
2-1 here in Calif
ornia. But with the party's vote split between three
well-known candidates and low expected turnout, a Republican could make it through to November. STEVE GARVEY (R), California Senatorial Candidate:
We need to build consensus now more than ever. It makes me think, hasn't anybody played a
team sport in Congress? LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Former L.A. Dodger and
Republican front-runner Steve Garvey leans on sports metaphors while claiming moderate
conservative principles. But the first-time candidate of
fers few specifics
or a concrete policy platform, saying he's just trying to listen right now. KEITH CURRY, Former Newport Beach, California,
Mayor: We're in a time where people are very angry with the issues. They're angry about homelessness. They're angry about crime. They're angry about the economy. And they're angry about the border. And that creates an environment where an outsider
with commonsense solutions like Steve Garvey can be heard and be an effective candidate. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: K
eith Curry, the former
Republican mayor of Newport Beach, is backing Garvey. KEITH CURRY: There's no doubt that it's difficult
for a Republican running statewide in California. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Curry says star power
can elevate California Republicans, like it did for Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But Curry never supported Donald Trump. And Garvey won't say who he's backing for
president this year. Steve Garvey voted for Trump twice. Is that a problem for you at all? KEITH CURRY: Mo
st Republicans voted for Donald
Trump. And he's probably going to be the nominee
this year. He's not very popular in California, but he's
going to be the nominee. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Garvey didn't respond
to our request for an interview. Over the weekend, Garvey surged in a new U.C. Berkeley poll from a virtual tie for second
place with Congresswoman Katie Porter to a statistical dead heat. NARRATOR: Two leading candidates for Senate,
two very different visions for California. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ
: Garvey's rise follows
massive ad buys from Schiff during the closing weeks, naming the Republican as his main competitor. REP. ADAM SCHIFF: He's attacking me repeatedly
on FOX. And in a jungle primary, you can't ignore
one of your leading opponents who's attacking you. REP. KATIE PORTER: This is a huge choice for Californians. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Porter believes Schiff
is boosting Garvey to guarantee a win for himself in November. NARRATOR: Eric Early proudly stands with Donald
Trump. LAURA BA
RRON-LOPEZ: She's buying ads that
say another Republican, Eric Early, is the true MAGA threat. REP. KATIE PORTER: I don't think anyone should
think that Steve Garvey is going to be California's next senator, but having him in this race
all the way through November is a huge, huge gift to Republicans. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: For most Democratic voters,
the candidates differ more in personality than policy. JOSEF LAYA, Democratic Voter: It will be hard
for me to differentiate. A lot of the times, it f
eels like I'm just
tossing a coin in a bucket. CATHRYN POSEY, Democratic Voter: Picking the
right person feels really important, and it's pretty tough to narrow it down. ARI BARUTH, Democratic Voter: Many of their
policies are the same. It's hard sometimes to tell where they overlap
and where they don't overlap. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: All three candidates support
Medicare for all, have proposals to reduce the cost of housing, support abolishing the
filibuster, and all three are worried about young
voters' disillusionment with President
Joe Biden and their party. REP. BARBARA LEE: I want to make sure that young
people know that their voices are being heard. REP. KATIE PORTER: Right now in our U.S. Senate,
we don't have nearly enough younger voices. REP. ADAM SCHIFF: If I have a concern, it's about
the youth vote. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: In the final stretch,
they're fighting to separate themselves from the pack. REP. ADAM SCHIFF: I'm drawing the contrasts with
my Democratic colleagues based on
leadership and effectiveness. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Porter says she's immune
to big money's influence, refusing to accept cash from corporations or lobbyists. REP. KATIE PORTER: In my time in Congress, in my
five years, I have done Congress differently. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Lee had to fight her high
school's administration before earning a spot as the first Black woman on the cheerleading
team. And, unlike her opponents, she's experienced
living unhoused. REP. BARBARA LEE: We have families that ca
n't afford
childcare. I know what that's like. I have lived that. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: If Democrats finish in
first and second place, the race to November will be competitive. LORI VELTRI, Republican Voter: I voted for
Steve Garvey. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And why'd you vote for
Garvey? LORI VELTRI: Because I'm really tired of the
Democratic policies. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: But if voters pick a Democrat
and a Republican, November will be almost certainly sewn up for the Democrat that makes
it through. F
or the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Laura Barron-Lopez. AMNA NAWAZ: And we will have more live coverage
of Super Tuesday online and later tonight beginning at 11:00 p.m. Eastern right here
on PBS. GEOFF BENNETT: In the day's other headlines:
Ukraine claimed it sank a Russian warship, the third in recent weeks, with a high-tech
sea drone. Kyiv's military intelligence agency said it
happened in the Kerch Strait linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. Ukrainian video purportedly showed an explosion
tearing
into a Russian patrol ship. The vessel was part of Russian defenses against
drone attacks. The International Criminal Court issued arrest
warrants for two top Russian commanders today for their actions in Ukraine. The warrants charged Sergei Kobylash and Viktor
Sokolov with directing attacks on electric power sites and with crimes against humanity. Ukrainian officials welcomed the move. ANDRIY KOSTIN, Prosecutor General of Ukraine:
It's not only about war crime. It's about crimes against humani
ty, because
these crimes were committed on massive scale, and these attacks were committed far beyond
the front line, with no any potential even military -- military reason. GEOFF BENNETT: Moscow does not recognize the
court's jurisdiction and is expected to not hand over the generals for trial. China has set an ambitious economic growth
target of 5 percent this year. It comes despite lagging demand, deflation
and a real estate debt crisis. The National People's Congress -- that's the
country's
rubber stamp legislature -- listened today as the Chinese premier laid out the
spending plan and acknowledged the difficulties ahead. LI QIANG, Chinese Premier (through translator):
The complexities, severity and uncertainty of the external environment are increasing. The foundation for China's sustained economic
recovery is not yet stable, with insufficient effective demand, overcapacity in some industries,
weak social expectations and still many risks and hidden dangers. GEOFF BENNETT: The bud
get also includes a
7 percent hike in defense spending. China's overall military budget has more than
doubled in the last decade. Back in this country, Liberty University will
pay a $14 million federal fine for not reporting data about crimes on its Lynchburg, Virginia,
campus. It's the largest fine ever under a law that
mandates collecting crime information and alerting students. Liberty is one of the world's largest Christian
schools with more than 15,000 students. The men's basketball team at
Dartmouth voted
today to form the first labor union for college athletes. Players said the age of amateurism is over. The school said academics, not athletics,
are paramount for Ivy League students, so there's no cause to unionize. Dartmouth could file a legal challenge to
the move. The Biden administration is proposing a new
ceiling for credit card late fees. The president announced it today as he met
with his so-called Competition Council. Fees would be topped at $8 per transaction. Currently
, they average $32. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it will
sue to block the rule. And on Wall Street, weak economic data and
a slide in big tech stocks drove the market downward. The Dow Jones industrial average was down
404 points to close at 38585. The Nasdaq fell 268 points. The S&P 500 dropped 52. Still to come on the "NewsHour": journalist
Kara Swisher discusses her new book on her life and her complicated relationship with
the tech industry; and a theater company in Texas that's promoti
ng and preserving Latin
American culture and history. AMNA NAWAZ: Israeli war cabinet member Benny
Gantz is still in Washington today meeting with top U.S. officials, including Secretary
of Defense Lloyd Austin. His trip comes as negotiators met for a second
day in Cairo, working towards a deal between Israel and Hamas to pause fighting in Gaza
and free Israeli hostages. But, so far, there's been no breakthrough. Nick Schifrin looks at the status of the talks
and speaks to two hostage family mem
bers. NICK SCHIFRIN: Negotiations between Israel
and Hamas are at a critical moment. U.S. officials tell me that Hamas has responded
to the most recent outline that would pause the war for six weeks for the release of 35
to 40 hostages, but it will take some time for Israel and international mediators to
reply. The U.S. had hoped to secure a deal before
the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins next week. Today, once again, President Biden put the
onus on Hamas. JOE BIDEN, President of the United
States:
It's in the hands of Hamas right now. The Israelis have been cooperating. There's an offer out there that's rational. We don't know what -- we will know in a couple
of days if it's just going to happen. But we need the cease-fire. NICK SCHIFRIN: Central to that cease-fire
are the lives of 100 or so Israeli hostages who've been held in Gaza for nearly five months
and their families waiting for their release. But not all the families agree on how to best
bring their loved ones back home.
I'm first joined by Yair Glick, the cousin
of Eitan Mor, who was a security guard at the Nova Festival when Hamas terrorists launched
their assault. Thank you very much, Yair Glick. Welcome to the "NewsHour." I appreciate it. Do you believe, bottom line, that if a deal
is possible this week, the Israeli government should accept it? YAIR GLICK, Cousin of Israeli Hostage: Hi. Thank you for having me. And, no, I think that we should not have a
deal with terrorists. We should not negotiate with them
. We want them all back. We want all our families come back. But we think that we need to do it in a different
way. NICK SCHIFRIN: So what is that different way? What do you believe is the best way to get
Eitan Mor back? YAIR GLICK: We need to make Hamas, the terrorist
that attacked Israel, kidnapped people, tortured people, murdered people, we need to force
them to give all the people back. We cannot let these terrorists to get what
they want and what they did it for. NICK SCHIFRIN: Do you beli
eve that the way
the Israeli government is going about the campaign in Gaza, do you believe that is beginning
to force Hamas to do, as you say, to avoid giving Hamas -- giving into Hamas demands? YAIR GLICK: Yes, we can see that we are really
continuing to fight Hamas and we are winning there. We are forcing them to go back and to hide. And we need just to continue it. We don't want the terrorists to be there. We don't want the terrorists to be able to
do again these terrible attacks. And we can
continue doing it and trying all
the time, of course, to take care of the people in Gaza. NICK SCHIFRIN: And what do you say to the
people who point out that the IDF has managed to release a few hostages, but the vast majority
of hostages who have been released came during a cease-fire that the Israeli government accepted
back in November, when more than 100 hostages were released? YAIR GLICK: So, first, I think that we should
look on the differences between the deals. So, during November, we g
et one week of cease-fire. Now they are offering six weeks to give us
less people. During this time, they had time to get more
weapons, more ammo, these kind of deals. We just give them more will to do it again
and again. NICK SCHIFRIN: The argument you're making
is echoed by the Tikva Forum, a group of families that was created by Eitan's father. Many other families believe that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to prioritize the securing of hostages. Do you believe that you
're in the minority? YAIR GLICK: I think that yes, because when
you're talking about families of hostages, I think that the rational and the normal reaction
will be to do whatever they need to get them back. And I can't judge them, and I really understand
them. But I'm not talking about the families. I'm talking about the country. I'm talking about the decision-makers. And they need to think in a different way. They need to be rational, not emotional. So, we need to think about the future. We ne
ed to think what will happen next time. NICK SCHIFRIN: And finally, Eitan Mor, your
cousin, is 23 years old. What should we know about him? YAIR GLICK: So he's really a young, young
man that's just starting his life. He's turning from teenage to a man. And he moved to his own apartment and started
thinking about studying, learning what to do. And now this terrible thing happened. And we need to talk about how to get him out
of Gaza. NICK SCHIFRIN: Yair Glick, thank you very
much. YAIR GLICK: Tha
nk you. NICK SCHIFRIN: And now we turn to Jonathan
Dekel-Chen. His son Sagui was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists
from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where one in four people were either killed or kidnapped on October
7. Jonathan Dekel-Chen, thank you so much. Welcome back to the "NewsHour." As I have just laid out, there is a deal that
Israel and Hamas are negotiating that would stop the war for about six weeks, at least
in the first round, for the release of 35 to 40 hostages or so. Do you believe the Israeli g
overnment, bottom
line, should accept that deal? JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN, Father of Hamas Hostage:
I believe the Israeli government should be doing its job and returning as many of the
hostages as possible in as early time frame as possible. Right now, we don't know how many are still
alive. Every day, every hour, the possibility increases
that there are fewer of them to return alive. So, yes, I'm absolutely in favor of it. NICK SCHIFRIN: Do you believe the Israeli
government right now is doing all
it can to release your son and the remaining hostages? JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: It's hard for me to give
you a solid answer on that. We will only know that they have done everything
that they must do when all of the hostages that are alive and the bodies, unfortunately,
of those that we already know Hamas is holding, when they all return home. That will be the sign that the Israeli government
has done all that it must to bring back these people and not sacrifice them a second time
after October 7. N
ICK SCHIFRIN: The Israeli government and
its supporters have argued that military pressure needs to increase in order to convince Hamas
to release the hostages. Do you agree? JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: Unfortunately, I don't. I mean, the Israeli soldiers, these are my
brothers, my sons, and I completely support what they are trying to do. However, there's no proof of concept that
military action is going to get any of the hostages home alive. The three hostages that were rescued by the
IDF are the exc
eption that proves the rule. The rest of the, we hope, 130-something hostages
are being held very closely by Hamas in the tunnels. And so this idea that Israeli soldiers are
going to go knocking on Sinwar's door and he will then turn over the hostages, it's
fantasy. There's absolutely no proof. And, on the contrary, there's proof that before
giving them up, the Hamas leadership will, in all probability, execute them all. So, no, absolutely, I do not support that
idea that military action priorit
ized or certainly on its own is going to get even one hostage
home alive. NICK SCHIFRIN: Do you believe that you represent
the vast majority of the families of those being held in Gaza? JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: Absolutely,there's no
question, also, the vast majority of the people of Israel. We see that in the streets. We see that in the press. There's no question that Israelis understand
that we simply cannot be whole again after the disaster of October 7, the disaster overseen
by our own government
. We can only be whole again when the hostages
come home. We won't be able to look at each other if,
God forbid, the hostages are not returned alive or those whose bodies remain in Gaza,
for them to be returned. NICK SCHIFRIN: On October the 7th, your son
fought off Hamas terrorists trying to protect his wife and two daughters. Your daughter-in-law has subsequently had
a baby. She was pregnant on October the 7th. What do you want people to know about your
son? JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: Well, my son i
s the kind
of guy where, not just our community, our kibbutz community, not just our country, but
I really do believe that large parts of the world can benefit by people like that being
active parts of this world, of doing good, of creating, of constructing. And that is my son in a nutshell. And you're right. The time has come for him to be reunited now
with his three daughters and his wife. His wife is truly the hero of our family story,
both surviving an impossible ordeal on October 7 and keep
ing the lives of her daughters moving
forward, despite this utterly impossible situation that we find ourselves in. NICK SCHIFRIN: Jonathan Dekel-Chen, thank
very much. JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: Thank you. AMNA NAWAZ: Few journalists have been covering
Silicon Valley as long as Kara Swisher. And even fewer are as respected, liked, and
feared by the tech industry and its most iconic leaders. For the first time, she's opening up about
her own life in her latest book, which we recently discussed, entitl
ed "Burn Book: A
Tech Love Story." Kara Swisher, welcome back to the "NewsHour." Thanks so much for joining us. KARA SWISHER, Author, "Burn Book: A Tech Love
Story": Thanks for having me. AMNA NAWAZ: So I think it's fair to say that
you don't mince words and you don't suffer fools. KARA SWISHER: I don't. AMNA NAWAZ: You call it as you see it... KARA SWISHER: That is correct. Check. Check. AMNA NAWAZ: ... in particular with people
in positions of power And in your memoir, it seems like you have
a
lways been that way, even when you were a kid. KARA SWISHER: Yes. AMNA NAWAZ: You were unafraid to question
authority. I'm wondering where that comes from, but also
how you hang on to that over the years in a world that often kind of squashes that in
women. KARA SWISHER: It does. I don't know. I don't know what's happened here. It just won't stop. I was like this as a kid. My nickname as a baby was Tempesta. And, of course, that's the name they would
put on a woman, right? Like, oh, difficult, b
ossy. I used to get bossy all the time. And I was like, I just have executive function. (LAUGHTER) KARA SWISHER: I don't know what to tell you. I don't know. I just am the way I am. And I kind of get irked when people just tell
you or explain things to you. I'm not one that's easily mansplained at kind
of thing. AMNA NAWAZ: Yes. KARA SWISHER: And so I just was always like,
why? Why? Why was my favorite word. And over the years, persistent obnoxiousness
has been a career highlight for me. AMNA NA
WAZ: Well, it's a good question to
be asking in journalism in particular. KARA SWISHER: Yes. AMNA NAWAZ: And you joined the journalism
world early. I do want to point out journalism was not
your first choice for careers, right? KARA SWISHER: No, I wanted to be in the military. My dad was in the military who had died many
years before. And I was very -- I'm unusually -- unusually
wanted to do that. I thought it was important to serve your country. I wanted to do military intelligence. I was very
interested in -- I thought about
the CIA. I thought about State Department, all those
places. But I was really oriented toward the military,
but I was gay. And at the time, you could not be gay and
be in the military. And it took a very long time and a ridiculous
amount of -- so many good people could have served. I would have been an admiral. And I think I would have done a very nice
job. AMNA NAWAZ: You mentioned your father. You were very young. You were just 5 years old, right? How you -- ho
w you look back on that now,
the impact of losing your father that early on who you are now, on how you live now, on
how you parent now? KARA SWISHER: Well, there's not a day that
goes by I don't think about my dad. This is some 50-some years hence. And I think about him all the time. He's -- he was the most important, one of
the more -- when a parent dies at a young age, half your life goes away, right, like,
because you have two parents, many people. Not everybody does, but it's a real -- it's
a real blow. And I didn't realize the disaster of it, for
me, at least, because what happens is, you often get very -- it's called highly functional. And you're like, I can do it. I'm fine. Everything bad happened, and I'm fine. And so you get really good at running over
road -- running through roadblocks, essentially. But when I had my first -- I have four kids
now, but when I had my first -- my son, and I remember when he turned 5, which is around
the age my dad died, he knew me so well. And
I was like, oh, my God, I really -- it
really was someone I was very close to who died. And you don't have memories or ability to
express things as well at 5. So it's informed everything I have done. And it's made me realize more than most people
that life is too short. And it's that's a cliche, but I don't got
any kind of time for nonsense. That's -- I think that's what it brings to
me. AMNA NAWAZ: I was interested to learn in your
academic career, when you were studying at Georgetown, your foc
us in history classes
in particular was on Nazi propaganda. And you wrote in your book: "What struck me
was how easily people could be manipulated by fear and rage, and how facts could be destroyed
without repercussions." How much of a parallel do you see between
what we are living today and what you were studying back then? KARA SWISHER: It's the same thing. They call it misinformation, disinformation,
digital, all kinds of bots. It's propaganda. And so now, with -- and especially since we're
a
ddicted to these devices, it gets even worse. So, it's -- I always say -- I say this a lot. Like, Hitler didn't need Instagram, right,
or Mussolini didn't need Snapchat. But can you imagine if they had these devices? Very problematic. And they did fine with just paper or radio
or whatever. So did many other terrible leaders over the
course of history. But this presents tools to people who are
bad on a global level in a scale that is unprecedented. AMNA NAWAZ: In your career, you have covered,
go
tten to know interview is some of the world's most powerful tech leaders, mostly men, I
think it's fair to say. KARA SWISHER: Mostly. AMNA NAWAZ: I'm curious, over time, if you
have found that they all have one thing in common. Is there something that stood out to you? KARA SWISHER: Besides being straight white
men? (LAUGHTER) KARA SWISHER: Let's see. They have different versions of this, but
persistence, the ability to persist despite mistakes, right, to be able to pivot very
quickly, to be abl
e to sort of believe the unbelievable, in that -- that's a good part,
but it can also be a bad part, right? You -- if you -- you are like, I'm going to
do it anyway. But they -- the really good ones, they have
that ability to keep going no matter what and believe the unbelievable, but then pivot
when they need to. AMNA NAWAZ: Your book is, as you say, a tech
love story. And I think tech has undoubtedly made our
lives better in so many ways. (CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: But there are so many risks and
dangers. And those are real. And I wonder what you make of the efforts
to try to control those, lawmakers, in particular, trying to regulate them, pressure on tech
leaders to have moral or morality infused in their decisions. I mean, how do we get rid of the risks and
dangers and still have the benefits? KARA SWISHER: Well, we haven't tried, because
it hasn't worked. We haven't done anything. So, I mean, if there was one law, if you could
name a law for me that protects us against technology sp
ecifically, I -- you can't find
it. The law that exists actually benefits them,
Section 230. It gives them broad immunity. They can't be sued. You can't have the biggest industry in the
world, in terms of value and power, not have any liability. It would be unimaginable if it was pharmaceuticals
or insurance or Wall Street. But here we are. AMNA NAWAZ: You quote the line in your book,
"Babylon was," meaning every major power at some point will meet its end. KARA SWISHER: Always. AMNA NAWAZ: Do y
ou think the same is going
to happen to the giants in tech? KARA SWISHER: One of the things about tech
is, the young tends to eat its old, although, in this new shift to AGI, artificial general
intelligence, it's dominated by big companies and companies that have been around, whether
it's Microsoft or Meta or Amazon. It's -- and, of course, Alphabet, Google. So, it's still dominated by the big players
because it's so costly. The cost of compute here is so high. And so, right now, it's kind of an
interesting
shift. The younger companies, of which they're getting
funded, a ton of them, none of them has broken through to beat the bigger companies. And I doubt they will in this particular era. AMNA NAWAZ: All right, the book is "Burn Book:
A Tech Love Story." The author is Kara Swisher. Kara, thank you so much. Great to talk to you. KARA SWISHER: Thank you. GEOFF BENNETT: One of the most commonly used
drugs in the U.S. is also one of the deadliest. That's alcohol. Over the last 20 years, m
ore and more Americans
have died from alcohol-related causes, and a new study reveals how those deaths have
surged recently. William Brangham takes a closer look. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The CDC issued this new
report, and it looks at both deaths directly tied to alcohol, like cirrhosis of the liver,
as well as indirect deaths, like injuries and certain types of cancer. It found that, in just five years, alcohol-related
deaths rose by 29 percent. By 2021, alcohol contributed to the deaths
of more than
178,000 Americans that year. That's about 500 people a day lost because
of consuming wine, beer, or other alcohol. For a broader look at these findings, we're
joined again by Keith Humphreys. He's a professor of psychiatry and behavioral
sciences at Stanford University. Keith, very good to have you back on the "NewsHour." Were you surprised? I mean, this is your field of study. Were you surprised by these numbers and how
much they had ticked upwards? KEITH HUMPHREYS, Professor of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University: Sadly, I am not. We noticed during the pandemic that certain
groups of the population were increasing their drinking, including drinking alone and drinking
in large amounts. And, also, there's been a long-term trend. Although cost of living is going up for many
things, it is not for alcohol. Alcohol is very cheap in the United States
right now, in historical terms. And when it's cheap, Americans tend to drink
more, and that's where you get, unfortunatel
y, these kinds of really tragic numbers. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And are those the principal
drivers, low price and all the stresses associated with the pandemic? KEITH HUMPHREYS: Those two things are absolutely
critical to producing this kind of increase. I mean, we have -- federal alcohol taxes were
last increased in 1991. They have been declining in real terms ever
since. Alcohol taxes on craft beer and spirits were
actually cut just before the pandemic. And that has always historically driven more
consumption. The other point to remember, of course, is
that alcohol is a legal product and therefore one that is heavily advertised. And we do know that the amount of promotion
of alcohol, which anyone who has watched a football game is aware of, also helps keep
the business flowing and keeps people drinking, including sometimes, unfortunately, too much. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, I can't help but
notice -- you and I have talked many times over the years, but we're always talking about
illicit
drugs, illegal drugs and policies to address those, never about alcohol. I mean, is that just like, as Orwell says,
that the struggle is constantly to see the thing that is right there in front of us? KEITH HUMPHREYS: Yes, it's a huge blind spot
in American drug policy. You can talk about drugs for hours, and people
will mention fentanyl and meth and cocaine, which are, of course, very important drugs
to think about, and they do a lot of harm, but no one will bring up alcohol. And, afterwards, t
hey may all get a drink
together and not even think, we're using a drug right now. And that's partly what the risk of alcohol
comes from, is that those who use it don't think of themselves as using a drug and, therefore,
they don't worry about it as much as they should. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One of the things, back
into the CDC's data, while more men died of alcohol-related deaths, the death rate increased
for women quite dramatically. Why do you think that is? KEITH HUMPHREYS: Very tragic to see th
e increase
among women's deaths. And, also, it's enraging to know where it
comes from. So, about 25 years ago, the alcohol industry
observed that women were getting more education, more disposable income, but they weren't drinking
that much. So they launched quite a bit of female-focused
advertising, creating, for example, mommy wine culture and that sort of thing. And it worked, broadly speaking. We saw an increase in women's drinking, including
in some populations drinking as much as men. And,
biologically, the same amount of alcohol
in general actually is more damaging to women than men, partly to do for reasons of metabolism,
partly to do with reasons of body size. And so we're seeing the awful outcome of a
25-year-long campaign to get women to drink more heavily. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, in terms of solutions,
what do we know that works on a policy level? I mean, you touched on some of these things,
price being one of them, but what else can we do as a society to try to ameliorate th
ese
ills? KEITH HUMPHREYS: Yes, sometimes, the simple
answer is the right one. Alcohol is a commodity, like gasoline. People use less of it when it's more expensive. So, simply indexing alcohol taxes for inflation,
so they don't lose value over a year, that would reduce people's drinking. We have very good demonstrations of that fact
in states and nations that have done it. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And what about individuals? If someone personally feels like, you know
what, I am concerned about this, w
hat do we know works? KEITH HUMPHREYS: So, one thing I can say with
optimism for anyone who's out there struggling with a drinking problem is, there's about
23, 24 million Americans who have had a serious problem with alcohol or other drugs and are
in recovery. Recovery is a realistic aspiration. It happens every single day. There's no one right pathway to it. There are people who benefit through Alcoholics
Anonymous, the mutual health program. There's people who benefit from treatment,
from cou
nseling. There's people who benefit from medications. There's also people who are able to change
without any of those things, usually with some reorientation in their life, like engaging
with people who don't drink and activities that are incompatible with drinking. So there's every reason to believe that you
can recover, and there's certainly no reason to feel ashamed if you have a drink problem. It's something that millions and millions
of Americans will go through. WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right
. Keith Humphreys of Stanford University, always
so interesting to talk with you. Thank you very much. KEITH HUMPHREYS: Thank you. AMNA NAWAZ: And we will be back shortly with
a look at an Austin, Texas, theater company that's working to promote and preserve Latin
American culture. GEOFF BENNETT: But, first, take a moment to
hear from your local PBS station. It's a chance to offer your support, which
helps to keep programs like ours on the air. AMNA NAWAZ: For those stations staying with
us, off
-the-shelf drones have proved to be a transformational technology. And now they are helping reunite us with man's
best friend, as special correspondent Malcolm Brabant saw in Southern England in this encore
report. MALCOLM BRABANT: We have just driven for about
two-and-a-half-hours across the English countryside in Southern England to a village called Wonston
in the county of Hampshire, and we're joining people looking for a black Labrador called
Xena, who's 1-year-old and who has been missing f
or a few days. The drone pilots have been up. There have been some positive sightings, but
Xena is a bit nervous, and she took flight and disappeared. And there's only about an hour to go before
nightfall. We're following actress Eryl Holt, who became
Xena's owner a month ago after the young Labrador was rejected as a gun dog because she was
easily spooked. ERYL HOLT, Dog Owner: Unfortunately, somebody
came round to visit, and they had a very high-pitched voice, a very bumptious dog, and I think
it
was just the last straw for her. And I suddenly turned around, and I went,
where's the dog? MALCOLM BRABANT: Earlier, the area was scanned
by a drone that can detect the body heat of a scared puppy or an invading infantryman. SHANE PHILLIPS, The Hampshire Drone Company:
The Ukrainian government have purchased this particular model because of the thermal capabilities. So, I have heard they're in very short supply
at the moment. So I was lucky, luckily managed to get one
about a year ago. MALC
OLM BRABANT: Shane Phillips is a commercial
drone pilot who normally makes films, but volunteers for search-and-rescue when the
call comes. SHANE PHILLIPS: Dogs tend to hide in quite
dense undergrowth. They're never usually out in the open. But with the drone, especially with thermal
capabilities, you can clearly open very quickly. We can scan this whole field area here in
a matter of seconds. And at least we can say, there's no dog here,
and you can focus your efforts elsewhere. ERYL HOLT: I'm
very frightened for her, really,because
she doesn't know this part of the country at all. She's only 1. This is just the perfect place for her to
be, because there are no main roads around here at all. But if she was to stray further, we have got
really, really busy roads. There's a railway line. MALCOLM BRABANT: As the light fades fast,
a farmer's convinced that he's spotted the Labrador. ERYL HOLT: It's definitely her. MAN: I think I can see her. ERYL HOLT: Yes, I know. I can too. Shall I go a
nd get John (ph)? MAN: That's not a deer. ERYL HOLT: No, it's not. MALCOLM BRABANT: But the animal was a muntjac,
a small deer about the same size as a dog. Xena faced her third night alone, while her
owner endured a tumult of anxiety and hope. Similar emotions flowed at the biggest reservoir
in North Wales, when a dog walker's idyllic country stroll went pear-shaped. Her charge, Charlie (ph), a venerable spaniel,
suddenly vanished into thin air. LYDIA DAVID, Dog Owner: As the evening went
on an
d the night drew in, we became more and more anxious that we weren't going to find
Charlie. MALCOLM BRABANT: Charlie is the best friend
Lydia David will ever have. LYDIA DAVID: There was no way that we were
leaving that night without him. It was an awful experience to go through,
one that I wouldn't wish on anyone. We just wanted to get him back to where he
belonged, back to the people that loved him, back to safety. TIM SMITH, Pilot, Drone SAR For Lost Dogs
U.K.: Launching. MALCOLM BRABANT: Com
eth the hour, cometh the
drone pilot. Tim Smith spotted Lydia's SOS post in a Facebook
dog search-and-rescue group. TIM SMITH: A lot of people consider drones
to be a nuisance, but we actually use them to find lost dogs. And around here, particularly in the weather
conditions in North Wales, a lost dog can be in a lot of trouble. MALCOLM BRABANT: The odds weren't encouraging. TIM SMITH: Charlie was deaf, blind and almost
lame, so a very elderly dog to start with. Nobody could understand what had
happened,
because we covered the land, and we actually flew over where Charlie was, and nobody saw
him. MALCOLM BRABANT: But then the dog Walker pointed
to the place where Charlie disappeared. Tim reached for his thermal camera. The white dot in the middle shows Charlie
trapped on the water's edge. WOMAN: Got him. I have got him. (CROSSTALK) WOMAN: I have got him. WOMAN: I have got him. WOMAN: Charlie. Charlie. LYDIA DAVID: We're so incredibly lucky that
Tim saw that post that night, that he wa
s able and happy to come out and help us. Everyone did as much as they could, and that's
what got Charlie back home safe to us. TIM SMITH: I came away on an incredible high. Yes, I'm still buzzing. MALCOLM BRABANT: These are just some of the
dogs who've gone missing in the past couple of weeks. Every day, on average, there are 10 new appeals
to track down a four-legged friend. The group can call on 2,500 drone pilots. And, to date, they have reunited nearly 3,000
dogs with their families. Hope i
s running out in Cornwall in Southwest
England, a landscape pitted with abandoned tin and copper mines. Douglas went missing after his owner went
for a run. ELODIE SPARROW, Dog Owner: I had him since
I was, I think, 10 years old. And so he's basically grown up with us as
kids. MALCOLM BRABANT: Elodie Sparrow is a student
of Mandarin and bereft. ELODIE SPARROW: He's been through really hard
times in our life, and he's been such a comfort. And he's definitely a big part of the family. MALCOLM BRAB
ANT: This is Douglas in happier
times near Elodie's home. JOHN DAVIES, Pilot, Cornwall Search Dogs:
He's a 12-year-old cocker spaniel. And he is quite infirm. And he's blind and probably is hard of hearing. MALCOLM BRABANT: John Davies is a former police
dog handler who takes to the air when the ground trail goes cold. JOHN DAVIES: They're hiding. They're probably in the feral dog syndrome,
the wild syndrome that they go into after a time of being out of their family. They're scared. They're fri
ghtened. They want to hunker down. Alas, at this point, we actually haven't found
Douglas. ELODIE SPARROW: It feels really strange not
to have him with us, but, also, it's horrible to have to worry about what could have happened
to him. ERYL HOLT: Hello, Xena. MALCOLM BRABANT: Back in Hampshire, after
missing for 3.5 days, Xena made her own way back home, lured by a pile of scented clothes,
including Eryl's husband's dirty underwear. ERYL HOLT: We have got Xena home at last,
which is really, rea
lly fantastic. She's very tired, and she's had a good meal. And now she's just nodding off on her favorite
sofa. Thank you. SHANE PHILLIPS: No problem at all. ERYL HOLT: Oh, thank you so much, honestly. SHANE PHILLIPS: No problem. ERYL HOLT: Brilliant. SHANE PHILLIPS: Any time, hopefully never
again. ERYL HOLT: Yes, hopefully never again MALCOLM BRABANT: But as Xena luxuriates in
home comforts, spare a thought for those lost forever. For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant
in Southern Englan
d. GEOFF BENNETT: The Austin, Texas, theater
company Proyecto Teatro aims to promote and preserve Latin American culture. And its latest project is helping redefine
Latin American history. Journey Love Taylor of our Student Reporting
Labs Academy shares this story as part of our arts and culture series, Canvas. JOURNEY LOVE TAYLOR: At The VORTEX Theater
in Austin, Texas, Proyecto Teatro is in the middle of rehearsal "Cabarex 2," the second
installment of a trilogy of stage plays that explore Lat
in American history, from the times
before the arrival of Columbus all the way through to an imagined future. Luis Armando Ordaz Gutierrez is the longtime
artistic director for the company. LUIS ARMANDO ORDAZ GUTIERREZ, Artistic Director,
Proyecto Teatro: We're wanting to use this show to raise awareness of what we can do
as a local community to take back our culture, to take back our art form and our identity. JOURNEY LOVE TAYLOR: But this isn't just a
play. It's a cabaret, and it's performed c
ompletely
in Spanish. LUIS ARMANDO ORDAZ GUTIERREZ: This type of
work, you don't really see it so much in Spanish, and you don't see this type of work in the
Latino community, because cabaret is derived from European art forms, and so it's a little
odd and a little different and new to see it in the context of our culture. And so when people saw it, they were just
so happy to be able to see their stories, their people, their characters in the lens
of cabaret with, like, the musical numbers and t
he dance sequences and the jazzy music. VALERIA SMEKE, Cancer and Performer: My favorite
part about being involved in this production specifically, I think, would be the dances. There's one with, like, chairs. You have your little, like, chair dance routine. I love that one. RACHEL RIVERA, Choreographer, Makeup, Costume,
and Hair Artist: Being a part of something so impactful in my community feels like a
great responsibility, especially since I feel that I am a leader and someone who creates
som
ething for other people to see and other people that are not part of my culture to
see, to make sure that what I'm doing always carries that intention that I want it to carry
and the intention of respecting and honoring my culture. VALERIA SMEKE: I really don't get a chance
to, like, connect with my roots, so being here and, like, Rachel teaching us these indigenous
dances, just learning about the history, it's a really beautiful thing. JOURNEY LOVE TAYLOR: For the "PBS NewsHour"
Student Reporti
ng Labs, I'm Journey Love Taylor. AMNA NAWAZ: And don't forget to join us later
tonight for our live Super Tuesday special. We will have the latest results and analysis
from today's Republican and Democratic presidential primaries. That's at 11:00 p.m. Eastern right here on
PBS. And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight. I'm Amna Nawaz. GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett. Thanks for joining us. And
we will see you later this evening.
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