GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.
I'm Geoff Bennett.
Amna Nawaz is away.
On the "NewsHour" tonight.
PATRICIA GROSS, Perry, Florida, Resident: We're just thankful we're alive.
GEOFF BENNETT: We report from on the ground in Florida, where residents are assessing the damage Hurricane Idalia has left in its path.
A New Hampshire lawsuit tests a controversial idea, using the 14th Amendment to keep former President Trump off the ballot in the 2024 election.
And 12 years after the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown, Japan takes up the difficult task of developing a stable energy supply without relying on fossil fuels.
SHINOBU KOMATSUZAKI, Vice President, Wind Power Energy (through translator): In response to the accident, Japanese people's view of energy changed, and utility companies also changed their approach, because they realized they had to change.
(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "NewsHour."
Idalia is heading back out to sea tonight.
But, in its wake, Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas are busy cleaning up.
As a Category 3 hurricane, Idalia triggered heavy flooding in several states.
And more than 175,000 customers are still without power tonight.
Officials say the hurricane created major damage in Florida's Big Bend region, but, overall, there was less damage throughout the Southeast than many had feared.
William Brangham is on the ground in Florida with this report.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: From Florida's Big Bend, to Southern Georgia, to the Carolina coast, residents in hard-hit Perry, Florida, just off the Gulf Coast, were taking stock of the devastation this morning.
Oh, so this whole thing fell on the house.
PATRICIA GROSS, Perry, Florida, Resident: Yes, the whole thing fell over, yes.
Mm-hmm.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And you were inside when that happened?
PATRICIA GROSS: We were inside, yes.
We were inside.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: What did that -- that must have been terrifying.
(LAUGHTER) PATRICIA GROSS: It was terrifying.
It definitely was terrifying.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Retired school custodian Patricia Gross has lived here for 23 years.
The storm uprooted a centuries-old oak tree and sent it crashing into the bedroom, where her son and grandson had been sleeping.
PATRICIA GROSS: I thought we were going to be OK, honestly.
We didn't evacuate.
We have been here before, but nothing like this.
This one was really the worse.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Looking back on it now, would you choose to evacuate?
PATRICIA GROSS: Yes, definitely, so, yes.
The tree hit there.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The holes in her roof let in the rain, ruining all their belongings.
But her family is safe.
PATRICIA GROSS: You don't ever want to lose your things, but we're just thankful we're alive.
I mean, the things can be replaced.
Lives can't.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Seawater from Idalia's storm surge pushed inland for miles, flooding small, low-lying communities and submerging streets and cars.
Much of the Big Bend landscape was left littered with debris and the remnants of homes.
BELOND THOMAS, Perry, Florida, Resident: The top of the roof just came slap in on me and my three kids and my grandson.
My daughter is pregnant.
She's five months pregnant, so she was laying on the side of the bed where the roof was coming in.
And it fell on her, but she was -- I was able to pull her out of it.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The storm knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers throughout the region, ripping electrical poles out of the ground and tearing down lines.
WOMAN: What matters is what I'm holding right here.
It's just material stuff.
It's material.
We're going to rebuild.
It's going to be fine.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: A massive recovery effort is now under way.
Florida deployed more than 5,000 National Guardsman, and some 30,000 utility workers descended on the area.
Idalia made landfall at Florida's Keaton Beach Wednesday morning as a strong Category 3 hurricane with winds up to 125 miles per hour.
It then moved quickly north, reaching the Carolinas this morning, still with winds around 60 miles per hour on its way out to the Atlantic.
It could threaten Bermuda early next week.
In South Carolina, the storm, coupled with high tides, sent water over sand dunes and onto beachfront streets.
The surge even topped a seawall protecting downtown Charleston.
Swells were expected to continue through the Labor Day weekend, causing life-threatening surf and dangerous rip currents.
Still, back in Florida, officials expressed some relief that Idalia was less destructive than they first feared.
Heavily populated areas like Tampa Bay avoided a direct blow from the storm, though parts of the city did see serious flooding.
GOV.
RON DESANTIS (R-FL), Presidential Candidate: Wow.
That's a lot of water.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Governor Ron DeSantis, who toured the worst-hit areas today, compared Idalia to Hurricane Ian, which barreled through the Fort Myers area last September, killing almost 150 people.
GOV.
RON DESANTIS: Fortunately, we have not had the same type of loss of life that we have had with something like a Hurricane Ian.
Part of that is because people really make good decisions, protected themselves.
I have seen a lot of really heartbreaking damage, I think, when people lose a church, when they lose their home, when they lose a business.
But we will get everyone back on their feet.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: President Biden signed a major disaster declaration for Idalia, pledging federal resources for the recovery.
JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: To the people of Florida and throughout the Southeast, I'm here to make clear that our nation has your back, and we are not going to -- we're not going to walk away.
We're not going to give up.
We're not going to slow down.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In the meantime, groups like the Salvation Army are working to get food and supplies to residents of more remote areas.
And Idalia has already led some residents, like Perry's Patricia Gross, to reconsider her future here.
Do you think this changes your desire to stick around here?
Or do you want to... PATRICIA GROSS: It does change it, yes.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave now.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That sentiment from Ms.
Gross that she has had it with Florida is not unanimous.
I mean, we have talked with a lot of people here who said, despite what they have been through, they want to rebuild and they want to stay.
GEOFF BENNETT: And, William, we spoke with the mayor of Tallahassee on this program last night.
He said his city was lucky.
And, as we heard in your report, it really seems like Florida officials think they escaped the worst of Idalia.
Is that right?
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: On a large, statewide level, yes, that is what they feel.
I mean, if you think back to a year ago, Hurricane Ian hit this state.
It was a bigger storm and it hit in a much denser area.
And because of those two factors, it became the costliest storm that has hit Florida, I believe ever.
This hurricane was very different.
It was a little bit smaller, and it hit a much more rural area, so much less damage.
For the people that we have talked to that were actually directly impacted by this hurricane, it doesn't feel that way at all.
They feel like they took a direct blow.
They kept saying to us that they didn't know that hurricanes could come to this area.
They're very, very rare in this stretch of Florida.
So they didn't evacuate.
Some people said it was too costly to evacuate even when they heard that order.
And so, while this is a very tight-knit -- tight-knit community, and we see people cooking for each other and lending chain saws, there is still a great deal of suffering going on.
GEOFF BENNETT: President Biden has declared a disaster emergency.
He's headed to the state this weekend.
The governor has pledged as much help as is needed.
Still, though, to your point, it sounds like a very long and arduous recovery and rebuilding process awaits.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: No, that's exactly right.
I mean, no matter how much federal and state help that comes here, there is an overarching, looming issue here, and that's the issue of homeowners insurance.
Floridians pay more homeowners insurance, I think it's four times more than the average American in other states.
The costs have been going up by 10, 20 30, even 40 percent recently.
The uninsured rate here in Florida for homeowners is twice the national average.
So that is a lot of people who are suffering damage to their homes, and they have no protection from that.
I met one young couple today who were in line waiting for some food assistance, two cute young kids in the back seat of the car.
They owned their home.
Idalia came in, tore their roof off.
What belongings of theirs were not destroyed were scattered all over their neighborhood.
And so they have nothing left.
They were literally living in their car, taking meals that they could go eat in the parking lot.
And I asked them, so what are you going to do at this point?
And the mom kind of just shrugged her shoulders and said: "I don't know."
And they drove off.
GEOFF BENNETT: William Brangham and our team tracking Idalia's path, reporting for us from Cross City, Florida tonight.
William, thank you.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Thanks, Geoff.
GEOFF BENNETT: In the day's other headlines: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell got the green light to continue working.
The Kentucky Republican froze up during a news conference Wednesday for the second time in two months.
He suffered a concussion back in March.
Today, the attending physician of Congress cleared the senator.
In a statement, he said: "Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery."
Separately, President Biden today said he's been told the same.
JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: It's not at all unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to Mitch when you have had a severe concussion.
It is part of the recovery.
And so I'm confident he's going to be back to his old self.
GEOFF BENNETT: McConnell is 81 years old.
President Biden said he's spoken with the senator, and has no concerns about his ability to do his job.
The White House asked Congress today to pass a stopgap funding bill and prevent a partial government shutdown on October 1.
That's when the new federal fiscal starts.
Leaders of both parties have agreed on the need for a short-term measure, but House Republicans are sharply divided over the details.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has confirmed taking three trips last year on a Republican donor's private plane.
The donor, Harlan Crow, also owns the Georgia house where Thomas' mother lives, and he paid private school tuition for a child raised by the justice.
Thomas filed his financial disclosure today, and he defended not reporting earlier trips.
In South Africa, a fire in Johannesburg killed at least 74 people early today and injured more than 50.
Officials say the inferno consumed a rundown apartment building that was occupied primarily by squatters and other recently unhoused people.
When the flames were extinguished, only a burned-out shell remained, and responders laid out dozens of bodies on the pavement.
The city manager pledged action on the longstanding problem of derelict buildings.
FLOYD BRINK, Johannesburg City Manager: An incident and one that is unprecedented given the number of lives that has been lost, we will do our best to ensure that we act diligently in investigating the fire and equally in our pursuit to reclaim the hijacked and illegally occupied buildings in the city.
GEOFF BENNETT: As the search continues, authorities warn that the death toll could go higher still.
A fire at a small clothing factory in the Philippines killed at least 15 people today Northeast of Manila.
The early morning blaze left the two-story building in ruins.
It's believed many of the victims were asleep when it started.
Iran accused Israel today of the most extensive plot yet to sabotage the Iranian ballistic missile program.
State TV said faulty electrical connectors could explode and wreck the missiles and drones that use them.
The report alleged that Israeli spies helped supply the parts.
The Israeli government declined to comment on the claim.
In Missouri, a judge ordered that the 84-year-old white man who shot a Black teenager after he mistakenly went to the man's house must stand trial.
Ralph Yarl had gone to the wrong home to pick up his younger brothers.
Andrew Lester shot the 16-year-old twice, the first time in his head and again when he was on the ground.
Yarl is still recovering from a brain injury, but has started his senior year in high school.
And on Wall Street, stocks advanced early, then gave back most of its gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 168 points to close below 34722.
The Nasdaq rose 15 points.
The S&P 500 was down seven.
And the University of Nebraska has set a new world record for the largest crowd to attend a women's sporting event.
More than 92,000 people turned out in Lincoln last night to see the Cornhuskers beat Omaha in volleyball.
The school canceled classes and held a daylong series of events to pump up attendance, including a country music concert.
And still to come on the "NewsHour": the U.S. commerce secretary on her trip to China during a critical moment for the two countries' economies; a look at the rise in anti-LGBTQ hate and extremism in America; and federal health officials recommend moving marijuana to a lower-risk drug category.
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty today to charges in Georgia that accuse him and 18 allies of trying to upend the 2020 presidential election results in that state.
The plea allows Mr. Trump to avoid an in-person arraignment next week.
For more on the latest developments in that case, we're joined now by Stephen Fowler, who covers politics for Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Stephen, thank you for being with us.
So, Donald Trump pleading not guilty, what exactly does that mean for his arraignment?
And what else is he seeking in this Fulton County case?
STEPHEN FOWLER, Georgia Public Broadcasting: Well, just what it means is that we will not be seeing Donald Trump traveled to Georgia and sit in a Fulton County courtroom and enter that same plea.
There are 19 defendants and many of them have entered what's known as an arraignment waiver, which means they have entered their pleas of not guilty ahead of time.
And they don't have to show up for this quick 15-minute scheduled hearing next Wednesday.
Trump has also filed a motion to sever from defendants that are requesting a speedy trial.
At least two people so far say that they want to have a trial as soon as possible, which could be as early as the end of October.
He says that that would violate his rights.
And he's asking for basically as long as possible to have this trial.
And this comes as the judge also ruled, Geoff, that there will be cameras in the courtroom.
The judge will have a YouTube channel to stream all of the court hearings related to this.
So we will be able to watch things in real time.
GEOFF BENNETT: And there's also some news involving the governor and the district attorney.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, he's rejecting calls to discipline or remove a Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, from her position, which is what some Trump-aligned Republicans in that state had wanted.
Here's what the governor said today.
GOV.
BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): Let me be clear.
We have a law in the state of Georgia, that clearly outlines the legal steps that can be taken if constituents believe their local prosecutors are violating their oath by engaging in unethical or illegal behavior.
Up to this point, I have not seen any evidence that DA Willis' actions or lack thereof warrant action by the prosecuting attorney oversight commission.
GEOFF BENNETT: So, Kemp, we should say, signed this law.
But now he's saying that it shouldn't be used against Fani Willis.
Why is this significant?
STEPHEN FOWLER: Well, it's a big deal, because Trump and a couple of his allies in the Georgia legislature are pushing to have a special session to strip funding away from Fani Willis or to impeach her or to basically punish her for bringing these charges against Trump and 18 other people.
And Kemp is pushing back on this, saying: That's not something I can do.
That's not something we should do.
And he keeps saying that Republicans need to focus on the future, because Georgia has some strong evidence in both 2020 and 2022 where focusing on the past has meant Democrats win the races.
So, a strong rebuke to the former president and to some of his allies pushing for punishing this prosecutor.
GEOFF BENNETT: (AUDIO GAP) left.
We're also waiting for the judge in this case to rule on Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, his request to have this case moved from state court to federal court.
What's the latest there?
STEPHEN FOWLER: Well, today, we actually just had orders from the state and from Mark Meadows outlining an answer to a judge's question asking about if one of the acts Meadows is accused of doing was part of his job duties as chief of staff, could the case be moved to federal court?
Meadows says yes, and the state obviously says no.
That ruling is expected any time.
GEOFF BENNETT: Stephen Fowler, covering the very latest in the Fulton County case for us tonight, we appreciate it.
STEPHEN FOWLER: Thank you.
GEOFF BENNETT: Despite his legal troubles, former President Trump has a clear lead in the race for the Republican nomination, but is he qualified to run?
As Laura Barron-Lopez reports, a cohort of conservative legal scholars argue no.
And a new lawsuit could put their theory to the test.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: It comes down to the 14th Amendment, a Civil War era clause in the Constitution that disqualifies candidates who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
A belief that Trump violated that standard with his actions on and before January 6 is gaining traction among his opponents on the campaign trail and in Congress.
FMR.
GOV.
ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR), Presidential Candidate: Obviously, I'm not going to support somebody who's been convicted of a serious felony or who has -- is disqualified under our Constitution.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): I agree with the conservative Federalist Society law professors who are out there saying, as well as Mr. Hutchinson, that Donald Trump is disqualified, just as if he were running and not a born U.S. citizen or if he were running and he were 24 years old.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And, this week, a longshot candidate in the New Hampshire GOP primary filed a lawsuit to keep Trump off the ballot, testing this theory.
What does this all mean for the next election and our legal system?
To explain, I'm joined by Ned Foley.
He's the director of election law at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law.
Ned, thank you so much for joining.
The conservative legal scholars who wrote a paper on this say that, once they dug into the actual question, they determined that former President Trump is disqualified under the 14th Amendment.
Has this theory ever been tested before?
NED FOLEY, The Ohio State University: Well, not in our lifetimes.
Because it's a Civil War provision in the Constitution, there was some litigation around this clause back in the 19th century, but - - and it has been tested not for a presidential election, but for lower offices.
For example, in New Mexico, a county clerk was removed because he was someone who actually had been at the Capitol on January 6.
So -- but in terms of a presidential election, the kind of litigation that we're seeing now, no, it's untested in that context.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And, in New Hampshire, a longshot candidate for the Republican presidential nomination is suing to keep Trump off the ballot there.
How likely is that to succeed?
NED FOLEY: Well, I think this particular lawsuit is unlikely to succeed for technical reasons of procedure.
But there's -- this isn't going to be the only lawsuit of its type.
Already, some other ones have been filed.
There's one in Florida and elsewhere.
And so I think -- and around the country, we're going to see this, because every state has its own rules for putting candidates on the ballot.
And so this could come up in each and every state.
And, obviously, President Trump seeks to be a candidate in all the states around the country.
I think it's important that this issue be decided before the November 2024 election, so that it doesn't come up afterwards.
So all you need is one of these initial lawsuits to make it to the U.S. Supreme Court to get a definite resolution of the issue.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Maybe you're right that secretaries of state could bring a case themselves.
Voters could pressure for a case to be brought.
And it's already under discussion in some states, like Arizona and Michigan, swing states, where those secretaries of state are seeking legal advice about where this could lead.
So how would those cases differentiate from this New Hampshire one?
NED FOLEY: We're going to see this in different variations.
Secretaries of states and other election officials, because they're government officials responsible for the ballots, they have their own special access to courts.
But it all depends on the content of state laws.
And the state laws can vary in each and every state about whether they give permission for this kind of lawsuit.
So, even if the secretary of state would like to pursue it, that's not enough.
There has to be a state statute written by the state legislature that authorizes this kind of lawsuit.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Ned, do the criminal indictments brought forward by the Justice Department or by Fulton County in Georgia impact the potential lawsuits here under the 14th Amendment?
NED FOLEY: No, they're separate.
Those are criminal trials under different criminal laws that Congress has passed or the state of Georgia has passed.
And even if former President Trump were convicted, under those prosecutions, they would not disqualify him from running as a candidate.
The only mechanisms for disqualification are, one, the impeachment procedure.
But Congress -- the House of Representatives voted impeachment, but the Senate did not reach a conviction by the two-thirds required.
So that's why there's focus is now on the separate part of the Constitution, the 14th Amendment disqualification provision.
Those are the provisions that allow for disqualification.
But criminal trials do not.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Ned, ultimately, is this an outlandish legal theory, or is this something that the country actually needs answered?
NED FOLEY: The country definitely needs answered.
It's not an outlandish theory.
The arguments for disqualification are quite strong, very strong.
But there are counterarguments on the other side.
The strongest argument is that, whatever Trump's moral culpability was for the riot that occurred, that he fomented the riot, that his tweet that "It will be wild" on January 6, those kinds of things that clearly implicate him in the January 6 attack, does it count as engaging within the meaning of the Constitution, or is it sufficiently giving aid and comfort to the insurrectionists?
It is something that needs resolution.
And that's why I think the U.S. Supreme Court is the right institution to do it.
And I think it would be better for the country if it happened sooner, rather than later.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Ned Foley of Ohio State University, thank you so much for your time.
NED FOLEY: Thanks for having me.
GEOFF BENNETT: This week, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo became the latest high-ranking U.S. official to visit China and engage with top Chinese leadership over a four-day visit.
She went during a time of security and trade tensions between the two global giants and China's ongoing economic slowdown.
Nick Schifrin reports.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Across four days, two cities and a half-dozen meetings, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited China with a message of boosting U.S.-China business.
But Raimondo also visited American businesses and said she raised their concerns that Chinese policies could make China -- quote -- "uninvestable."
GINA RAIMONDO, U.S. Secretary of Commerce: My point was, U.S. business needs to see some action taken to address these issues.
Otherwise, they will deem it as just too risky.
NICK SCHIFRIN: The two sides agreed to formal dialogues, including about American export controls, tourism and trade and investment challenges.
The challenge that China faces is its own economy.
Consumer consumption and private sector investment are dropping, as are exports and imports.
The real estate market is tanking.
The population is shrinking, and youth unemployment is so high, reportedly over 20 percent, Beijing stopped publishing the number.
Raimondo's trip is the fourth Cabinet member to visit China in four months, CIA Director Bill Burns in May, Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July.
GINA RAIMONDO: We're going past just generalized commitments to talk.
We have opened clear working groups and information exchanges and opportunity to put the toughest issues on the table and try over time to resolve them.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And with me now is Gina Raimondo, secretary of commerce.
Madam Secretary, thank you very much.
Welcome to the "NewsHour."
During your visit to China, you warned that American businesses could consider China -- quote - - "uninvestable" because China's making it harder for them to operate, including raids and fines on consulting firms, travel restrictions, the passage of a counterespionage law.
Did China commit to stop taking any of the steps that you have cited?
GINA RAIMONDO: They did not.
But, to be clear, I don't -- I never would have expected that they would have.
To put this in perspective, I'm the first commerce secretary in more than five years to be on the ground in China conducting meetings of this kind.
So I don't think it would be reasonable to expect that, in these first meetings, they would make any kind of commitments or concessions.
That being said, I was crystal clear that patience is wearing thin on behalf of us business and that China's recent rhetoric, which has been saying they want more foreign direct investment, has to be backed up by action.
NICK SCHIFRIN: You call it rhetoric.
Recently, the State Council released a plan in China designed to improve the business environment.
It includes promises that U.S. businesses have been asking for.
But Beijing has made these promises, as you know, in the past.
Do you get the sense today that Beijing is interested in any of these reforms?
GINA RAIMONDO: It's very hard to say.
If I were to take them at their word from the meetings that I had, I would say yes.
But, again, putting on a 24-point plan is one thing.
Actually backing that up with changes on the ground is another.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Fundamentally, doesn't change Xi Jinping's emphasis on national security over boosting growth mean that American businesses could continue to face a hostile work environment?
GINA RAIMONDO: Yes, that is certainly a risk.
And, as you say, that does seem to be the way things are going.
But it's also true that there are many U.S. companies, even iconic brands, that have been operating in China for decades.
And so we hope that they will be able to continue to do that.
And we hope that they can look forward to a more predictable, transparent, fair, level playing field in terms of doing business in China.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But, if that is the risk, what U.S. national security benefit is there to continue to advocate for U.S. investment in China?
GINA RAIMONDO: Well, our economies are deeply intertwined.
And decoupling is certainly not in America's interest.
We do about $700 billion of trade with China every year, which underpins hundreds of thousands of jobs in America.
So, anything that we can do in trade with China that creates jobs in America or helps U.S. businesses to grow and innovate is a good thing.
So, that, I think, is clearly in our interest.
There's also the benefit of people-to-people exchange.
When I was in Shanghai, I had the opportunity to visit the Disney park.
And, frankly, there's benefit to Chinese kids being exposed to U.S. brands and U.S. culture and U.S. brand names.
There's a certain soft power benefit of that, a certain exchange of culture and people-to-people exchange.
NICK SCHIFRIN: As we highlighted earlier, the Chinese economy is slowing and faces considerable headwinds.
You have argued that Chinese economic stability is good for the United States.
But would it in some ways help U.S. national security, for Chinese economic model to be seen by the U.S.' Asian partners and allies as failing?
GINA RAIMONDO: I don't think so.
We are not rooting in any way for China's economy to fail.
People in China deserve to have a prosperous economy.
We can compete.
We can outcompete.
Our workers are the best in the world.
And we're ready to do that.
NICK SCHIFRIN: One of the most contentious aspects right now in the relationship with China are U.S. export controls on sensitive technology.
And you in Beijing announced that you would agree to establish a dialogue where -- quote - - "export control enforcement information is exchanged."
Do you believe that giving China more information about export controls could change their behavior?
GINA RAIMONDO: I do.
I think that, the more transparent we can be about our policy and our rules and regulations.
first of all, we have more credibility.
Nobody can say that it's done in secret or unfair or not clear, I think.
So we want to lean into the transparency.
But, secondly, I think it could increase compliance, if they know exactly what we expect, for example, allowing my team to go into Chinese businesses to do inspections.
I think the more they know, it would give them a chance to comply.
You could hope and expect increased compliance.
The thing that's very important, it's actually not a dialogue, and that's conscience.
This isn't an area to negotiate or to have dialogue.
We're not negotiating.
We're just explaining what it is that we're doing and explaining our expectations for how they comply.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Did they promise increased compliance?
GINA RAIMONDO: No.
Certainly, there were no promises made.
NICK SCHIFRIN: There are today export bans on semiconductor chips produced with U.S. technology.
But there are exceptions to that ban that allows some of the largest chipmakers in the world from Taiwan, Samsung to make chips inside China.
Will you extend that exception?
GINA RAIMONDO: Case-by-case basis.
Everything that we do is to protect America's national security.
You know, even -- even in the case of chips, it's important to say that, of the $700 billion in trade, only 1 percent is subject to export control.
NICK SCHIFRIN: But it sounds like you are considering extending the exception that allow these foreign companies to make advanced chips inside China.
What good are export controls that prevent American companies from doing that, if you're going to allow three specific foreign companies to do that?
GINA RAIMONDO: We would never allow anything to be made in China or done in China that we think would hurt our national security.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, thank you very much.
GINA RAIMONDO: Thank you, Nick.
GEOFF BENNETT: The brutal murders of several LGBTQ+ people and their allies in recent weeks are raising alarm across the country.
Among those cases, the shooting death of 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton earlier this month in Lake Arrowhead, California.
Carleton was killed after an argument about a rainbow pride flag hanging outside her store.
And, last month, the murder of 28-year-old dancer O'Shea Sibley.
Sibley, who was gay, was fatally stabbed during a confrontation at a gas station in Brooklyn, New York.
Police say Sibley confronted a group of people who made homophobic slurs and racist remarks while he and his friends were dancing and voguing.
I recently spoke about these attacks and the larger problem of violence against LGBTQ+ people with Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD.
SARAH KATE ELLIS, President, GLAAD: Thanks for having me.
GEOFF BENNETT: We are living in a moment where accepting of LGBTQ people has never been greater.
Looking at GLAAD's latest survey, nine out of 10 heterosexual Americans, 91 percent, think that LGBTQ people should live without facing discrimination; 84 percent support equal rights for the LGBTQ community.
And yet GLAAD documented a more-than-300 percent increase in anti-LGBTQ incidents during this past Pride Month over last year.
What do you make of that?
SARAH KATE ELLIS, President, GLAAD: Yes, it's actually really shocking what's happening in our culture in our world today.
And I think it really is simple.
And it boils down to the politicization of our community.
Really, what we're seeing is that politicians are filling the airwaves with anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and it's getting picked up on social media.
And then it's turning on -- from online to offline in real life into hate and violence.
And so, even though it is such a small -- and this is exactly what you pointed out -- this is a very tiny group of people who are anti-LGBTQ.
The vast majority of Americans are allies or are LGBTQ.
And so -- but they're making a lot of noise, and they're super violent.
And I just want to point out, not only are they now violent toward our community, which we're kind of used to, sadly, as a community.
They're violent toward our allies.
They're violent toward corporations, if you remember back to Pride Month, when Bud Light and Target were threatened with violence from these anti-LGBTQ folks.
So they have really heated up and turned up the volume on violence against our community and our allies.
GEOFF BENNETT: And nearly half of the documented incidents, as I understand it, were perpetrated by people with extremist ties.
What's the best way, in your view, to confront that?
SARAH KATE ELLIS: This is really tough.
This is a tough situation that we're in.
And what we need to do is see leadership on this.
And we're not seeing that right now out of the Republican Party.
Actually, what we're seeing the Republican Party do is villainize us and marginalize us.
We're actually seeing faith leaders like the pope who is reaching across the aisle and talking about, the church is for everyone, everyone, everyone, he said a few weeks ago.
We need to see the leadership, the political leadership in America on the Republican side, stop villainizing us and to stop politicizing us.
GEOFF BENNETT: What's the impact of all of that on the LGBTQ+ community?
SARAH KATE ELLIS: It's devastating, honestly.
The violence that you talked about, we have seen 350 acts of violence or threats of violence against our community -- this is a poll that we do or a measurement that we do with the ADL -- in the past year.
We have seen over 600 anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation proposed since January.
There's nine active now bills of don't say gay across America.
It's not just Florida.
And it's not just Texas.
What we're seeing is a prolification across the states in America with these anti-LGBTQ bills.
And all of that rhetoric, all of that fearmongering, it turns into violence and hate against our community.
And it makes it really dangerous for us to exist.
But we don't cower to this.
We never have, and we never will, and nor will our allies.
And we saw that beautifully both with O'Shea and with Lauri, who stood up for what they believed in.
But you shouldn't have to die in America for being for a marginalized community.
GEOFF BENNETT: As you mentioned, Laura Ann Carleton, she was not a member of the LGBTQ community.
She was an ally.
And she was defending her Pride flags in front of her store the night that she was shot.
And O'Shea Sibley, 28 years old, that is -- was with his friends at a Brooklyn gas station was dancing to Beyonce songs and was fatally stabbed.
Reflect, if you can, on what they represented.
SARAH KATE ELLIS: They represent the best of America, living their lives freely, supporting their community in one case and being an ally in the other case.
They represent, honestly, the American people, the majority of America, and not the small minority that we're talking about.
And I think that standing up for your values shouldn't mean that you get gunned down or stabbed.
That's not what this should be about.
And we should -- I -- a week ago, we hadn't even heard the representative in Lauri's district speak out against this and in support of her.
I don't know if that's changed in the recent couple of days.
But what kind of leadership is that?
That's perpetuating and promoting hate and violence.
GEOFF BENNETT: Sarah Kate Ellis is the president and CEO of GLAAD.
Thank you for being with us.
SARAH KATE ELLIS: Thank you for having me.
GEOFF BENNETT: While the world is focusing on the controversial radioactive water being released from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, the country itself is grappling with other big questions about its use of nuclear energy.
Japan had dramatically changed its attitudes about nuclear power after Fukushima melted down back in 2011.
But, since then, it's faced its share of problems with other energy sources and prices.
And now the nuclear question is tied up in a debate over energy and security.
Science correspondent Miles O'Brien has the story, the last in his series of stories from Japan.
MILES O'BRIEN: A few miles from the Fukushima fence line, another radioactive contamination story continues to unfold 12 years after the meltdowns.
Here, they are gathering bagged topsoil tainted with radioactive cesium.
It was scraped off the surface all throughout the contaminated region.
I went there with producer Fumiyo Asahi.
The cesium will persist in the soil for 300 years.
So, on the land side, you got the bags.
Towards the sea, you have got the tanks full of water.
It's a mess in both directions.
FUMIYO ASAHI, Producer: I know.
It's everywhere, ocean to the mountains.
MILES O'BRIEN: Many of the towns in the former evacuation zone are still only partially inhabited.
FUMIYO ASAHI: And so this used to be the house.
MILES O'BRIEN: People are reluctant to come back, aren't they, even after 12 years?
FUMIYO ASAHI: Especially young people don't want to come back.
MILES O'BRIEN: The older generation is more inclined to return.
I visited Katsuhiko Nakagawa, who lives nearby in Minamisoma.
When I first met him 12 years ago, he was living in tiny, temporary quarters.
He lost his mother, wife, and eldest son when the tsunami swept his home away.
Today, he's in more spacious permanent housing, where, every day, he prays before a shrine to his lost loved ones.
KATSUHIKO NAKAGAWA, Minamisoma Resident (through translator): For the first couple of years, it was unbearably tough.
These days, I play golf and do other exercises with my friends.
But I have never forgotten those days.
MILES O'BRIEN: No one here has.
The memory of March 11, 2011, is seared in Japan's national psyche.
And it feeds some strong opposition to nuclear power.
Do you think Japan should return to nuclear power?
KATSUHIKO NAKAGAWA (through translator): Well, honestly, I don't want to use nuclear power.
But we can't do anything about that.
MILES O'BRIEN: Before the meltdowns, Japan generated about 30 percent of its electricity with 54 nuclear reactors.
The entire fleet was shut down in the immediate aftermath.
KEN KOYAMA, The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan: We lost that very important contribution of a reliable so-called baseload power supply.
MILES O'BRIEN: Baseload, meaning energy that is online all the time.
Ken Koyama is chief economist and senior managing director at the institute of energy economics, Japan.
That's a big shock to the system, isn't it?
KEN KOYAMA: Exactly.
MILES O'BRIEN: Japan, which has no fossil fuel resources, now generates 70 percent of its power from liquid natural gas and coal imported from Australia, Malaysia, and, despite the Ukraine war, Russia.
It is building new coal-fired power plants.
KEN KOYAMA: If we really want to achieve net zero, we need complete and revolutionary change in overall energy system.
MILES O'BRIEN: Before the Fukushima meltdowns, Japan was aiming to build enough nuclear reactors to meet half of its electricity demand.
Solar and wind were not prioritized.
Shinobu Komatsuzaki is hoping the winds will shift.
She is vice president of Wind Power Energy, founded 20 years ago.
SHINOBU KOMATSUZAKI, Vice President, Wind Power Energy (through translator): We were very interested in global warming.
We felt the problem was imminent.
MILES O'BRIEN: But it's been slow going.
Absent a history of oil extraction, Japan had no lease laws governing structures in the ocean until 2019.
Wind power has just started building 19 turbines offshore.
It's part of a nationwide push to generate 10 gigawatts of wind power by 2030.
SHINOBU KOMATSUZAKI (through translator): In response to the accident, Japanese people's view of energy changed, and utility companies also changed their approach, because they realized they had to change.
MILES O'BRIEN: Since the meltdowns, solar power capacity has increased 18-fold.
Renewables now accounts for about 20 percent of energy production.
As for nuclear, polls now show a slim majority support restarting nuclear plants.
Ten reactors are now generating power after meeting new, stringent safety requirements.
The Japanese government would like to restart 17 more.
YASUTOSHI NISHIMURA, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (through translator): Our policy is to restart nuclear power plants, ensuring their safety and gaining the understanding of the local community.
MILES O'BRIEN: Yasutoshi Nishimura is the minister of economy, trade, and industry.
Japan is vowing to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Its ambitious plan focuses on emerging technologies, hydrogen and ammonia as alternative fuels, and carbon capture technology.
It is also exploring newer nuclear power plant designs, small, modular, and alternative fuels and cooling regimes.
YASUTOSHI NISHIMURA (through translator): In cooperation with American companies, we would like to develop safer next-generation nuclear reactors, including small ones.
We need to cross very high technical hurdles.
Innovation is the key.
MILES O'BRIEN: But innovation has its limits here.
Japan is endowed with the third largest geothermal resource in the world.
And yet it only generates less than 1 percent of its electricity this way.
Heated opposition to the idea comes from owners of hot spring resorts like this, called onsen, where bathing in the buff is a requirement.
They fear geothermal wells will dry out their springs and spoil the environment.
And yet, in the onsen resort town of Tsuchiyu, they are proving it can be done with no apparent adverse consequences.
Up the river from the town center, they have built a small 440-kilowatt geothermal power plant.
It's only enough to power about 80 homes and run a small fish farm, but none of the hot springs are diminished.
A tiny system, but the owners hope it is a proof of concept.
Emiko Kato is COO of Genki-up.
EMIKO KATO, COO, Genki Up Tsuchiyu (through translator): The water merely goes through the machine.
So, the volume and quality of water supplied from the hot springs have not been affected at all.
MILES O'BRIEN: Japan needs to be creative and aggressive to increase its energy security and reduce its carbon footprint.
But it would be a tragedy to destroy this to keep the lights on in Tokyo.
For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Miles O'Brien in Fukushima Prefecture.
GEOFF BENNETT: The Department of Health and Human Services is recommending a major change in the way the federal government treats marijuana, but stops short of saying it should be decriminalized under federal law.
John Yang has the details.
JOHN YANG: Geoff, the recommendation is part of a review that President Biden ordered last year.
HHS says marijuana should no longer be a Schedule 1 controlled substance, like heroin and LSD, which the law defines as having no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Instead, HHS says the Drug Enforcement Administration should classify marijuana as a Schedule 3 substance, defined as having a lower potential for abuse.
Other Class 3 substances include anabolic steroids and painkillers with small amounts of codeine.
DEA, which is part of the Justice Department, will have the final say on this.
Natalie Fertig covers federal cannabis policy for Politico.
Natalie, I just want to underscore something that Geoff said in the introduction.
This is not -- what they're -- they are not recommending decriminalization; is that right?
NATALIE FERTIG, Politico: Yes.
And that's very important to remember.
This would change where cannabis lies within our -- some of our criminal code, some of our tax codes, but it would not remove the federal prohibition cannabis at the state or the federal -- well, at the federal level for states that have legalized.
JOHN YANG: And restrict -- there would be some restrictions remaining?
NATALIE FERTIG: Yes.
So, a Schedule 3 drug is still overseen by the FDA.
You can't walk into a pharmacy and buy Tylenol with codeine right from -- right from the rack.
But that would be the same with cannabis.
JOHN YANG: What would be the biggest practical effects of this?
NATALIE FERTIG: So, the cannabis industry has been pretty hard-hit in the last few years, I think surprisingly to a lot of people, who thought this was a great way to make some cash.
Part of that is that the federal tax code prohibits cannabis from being able to write off a lot of their business expenses, because they're selling a Schedule 1 drug.
If it were moved to Schedule 3, that would no longer be a problem for them in the cannabis industry.
Both small businesses and large companies would suddenly be able to keep a lot more of their money, and not be paying it in federal taxes.
Could have a huge impact.
JOHN YANG: Huge impact for the businesses.
What about for the people who want to use it recreationally?
NATALIE FERTIG: So that's still going to be at the state level.
This doesn't change that.
This doesn't decriminalize federally, but some states -- I mean, almost half of the country at this point has now legalized cannabis for recreational use, and more than half of the country for medical use.
The state laws will probably stay the same.
But what will happen is, will FDA decide to enforce cannabis the way that they enforce ketamine or Tylenol with codeine?
That could make huge changes.
But the people that I have talked to on the state level, in regulation on the state level, have said that is not an expectation right now.
We -- this is early days.
It's still -- we're still waiting to see what the DEA does, and then how the FDA will choose to enforce it.
JOHN YANG: As you said, I think there are 23 states, plus the District of Columbia, where small amounts of recreational marijuana is legal.
Now, would this change in the other states - - change anything in the other states?
NATALIE FERTIG: States are still at liberty to continue to move forward with ballot measures with state legislative attempts to legalize either medical or recreational, much in the same way that they have to this point.
If the FDA decides to change the way that they have been enforcing cannabis, which they have enforcement over it as a Schedule 1 drug right now, and they have not been enforcing - - when people say, hey, this cannabis will help you medically, but it is regulated by a state, they have been hands-off in those situations.
So they could decide to come in and say, hey, we're going to change how we are approaching state-regulated markets.
And then that might make other states pause and not go ahead and legalize.
But, right now, until we learn more from the federal government, it's still business as usual.
JOHN YANG: And this is a recommendation from HHS to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
What happens next?
What are the next steps?
NATALIE FERTIG: So, the DEA does their own review of the FDA's recommendation, or of - - and of HHS is recommendation.
And that could take a month.
It could take six months.
Before this letter came to light yesterday, we were hearing that we would get an end to this process with the very broad range of somewhere between this fall and next spring.
I don't know personally what the HHS letter means for that process, if it's going to speed it up or if that's still going to be sort of the frame that we -- that happens.
Once we get the FDA decision, though, we will know what comes next.
JOHN YANG: What's been the reaction to the HHS letter from both groups that are advocating drug legalization and groups that are against drug abuse, fighting against drug abuse?
NATALIE FERTIG: Well, the industry is very excited because of the tax code change that I mentioned earlier.
Drug advocates have been less excited, because what this reschedule would not -- would not impact is the criminal code.
It would not mean any major changes to federal criminality of cannabis.
So they're saying, hey, Biden administration, during the 2020 election, you said no one should be in jail for cannabis.
This would not make a major difference to that.
The anti-drug groups then are also not stoked.
They're saying, this is making people see cannabis as less harmful or as less potentially abusive, as they, the anti-drug groups, claim it to be.
So no one's happy.
(LAUGHTER) JOHN YANG: Natalie Fertig from Politico, thank you very much.
NATALIE FERTIG: Yes, thanks for having me.
JOHN YANG: And, as always, there's a lot more online, including a look at the latest battle in Oklahoma's largest school district, the threat of a state takeover.
That's at PBS.org/NewsHour.
And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.
Join us again here tomorrow night, when we will visit a school district hoping to combat learning loss by adding more school days.
I'm Geoff Bennett.
Thanks for spending part of your evening with us.