AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening. I'm Amna Nawaz. GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening. I'm Geoff Bennett. AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz. On the “NewsHour” tonight: Israeli officials say their deadly strike on an aid convoy inGaza was a result of misidentification. GEOFF BENNETT: President Biden and formerPresident Trump win Tuesday's primaries, but both see protest votes thathint at challenges come November. AMNA NAWAZ: And our report onmajor shifts in immigration, following asylum seekers from around the worldmoving through Mexico to the U.S. border.
ELI CRUZ, International Organization forMigration: It's not just that women or men are traveling by themselves. They'retraveling with their families. We are seeing a lot of different profileswith a lot of vulnerabilities. (BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the “NewsHour.” Today, the bodies of foreign aidworkers killed in an Israeli strike early yesterday morning have left Gaza andare being flown to their home countries. GEOFF BENNETT: They worked for World CentralKitchen, whose founder today accused Israel of targeting his employees deliberately.That's an accusation that Israel denies.
Nick Schifrin starts our coverage. NICK SCHIFRIN: He had flown 7,800 milesfrom home to help feed the hungry. Today, he began his final journeyhome, pushed out of a morgue. American-Canadian Jacob Flickinger was 33years old. He leaves behind his partner, Sandy, and their 1-year-old boy. With himas he crossed the Egyptian border today, his friends in life and death, Australian LalzawmiFrankcom, known as Zomi, Damian Sobol from Poland, and their British security team, JohnChapman, James Henderson, and James Kirby, whose cousin today remembered himas someone who wanted to help. MAN: He was completely selfless,which explains why he went to Gaza.
NICK SCHIFRIN: World Central Kitchen, or WCK,says it coordinated with the Israeli military late Monday night as a convoy left its warehousein Deir al Balah by the sea in Central Gaza. The group says Israeli munitions hitan initial vehicle. Workers then moved to another vehicle that was struck andthen a third vehicle that was struck as they traveled on or next to the coastal roadthat Israel designates for humanitarian aid. JOSE ANDRES, Founder, World CentralKitchen: We were targeted deliberately, nonstop, until everybody was dead in this convoy. NICK SCHIFRIN: Jose Andres is the founderof World Central Kitchen. He's a celebrity chef whose activism and charity has earnedhim deep respect among policymakers. The.
Group also fed Israelis after Hamas' October7 terrorist attack. He spoke to Reuters today. JOSE ANDRES: It looks like it's not a war against terrorism anymore. Seems this isa war against humanity itself. NICK SCHIFRIN: Israel denies that accusation andsays it takes pain to limit civilian casualties. In response to the attack, it opened ajoint situation room with international humanitarian groups and launchedan investigation, whose initial finding was laid out last night by chief of thegeneral staff, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi. LT. GEN. HERZI HALEVI, Chief of Staff,Israeli Defense Forces: It was a mistake that followed a misidentification at nightduring a war in a very complex condition.
NICK SCHIFRIN: And, today, aU.S. official confirms that President Biden will speak with PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow. For more on this, we get two views. Retired Master Sergeant Wes Bryant had a 20-yearcareer in the Air Force And deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. As a joint terminalattack controller, he called in airstrikes and led air targeting cells. He's alsothe co-author of “Hunting the Caliphate: America's War on ISIS andthe Dawn of the Strike Cell.” And retired Israeli Lieutenant ColonelJonathan Conricus had a 24-year career in the Israeli Defense Forces. He commandedcombat forces in Lebanon and Gaza and.
Was most recently an IDF internationalspokesperson. He's now a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank TheFoundation for Defense of Democracies. Thanks very much. Welcome, both of you, to the “NewsHour.” Jonathan Conricus, let me start with you. As we just heard, the chief of thegeneral staff called this incident a — quote — “misidentification.” Canyou explain how that's possible, when, as the World Central Kitchen says, it wascoordinating with the IDF on its movements? LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS (RET.), InternationalSpokesperson, Israel Defense Forces: What I.
Understand from the IDF's after-action review, which has not yet been completed,what the IDF has said so far, we are responsible, we are accountable,and this is not Hamas' doing, we did it. That's number one. What they have not — theyhave been establish — able to establish that. What they have not yet been able to establish is,how did this misidentification happen and how was an aid convoy mistaken for a vehicle carryingterrorists, and who made the wrong decision, who misunderstood a very complex anddynamic battlefield, and who got it wrong? I personally know that they areinvestigating it now, waiting for the outcomes for a transparentand honest after-action review.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Wes Bryant, what'syour response to those two words, one, misidentification that we heard from the chief ofthe general staff, and as Jonathan Conricus said, some kind of misunderstanding ormisunderstood a complex battlefield? MASTER SGT. WES BRYANT (RET.), U.S. AirForce: Yes, and I appreciate those remarks. Misidentification does, of course, happen incombat, but, to me, this strike is just an effect or a demonstration of a broader problem.And that's a pattern of targeting negligence, a pattern of indifference towards civilianharm, and a pattern of disregard toward international humanitarian law that the IDFhas, unfortunately, though being our allies and though having a clear precedent to go afterHamas, which is a dangerous and brutal terrorist.
Organization, that the IDF has, unfortunately,demonstrated throughout their operation in Gaza. NICK SCHIFRIN: Jonathan Conricus, can you respond to that, targeting negligence and adisregard for civilian casualties? LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS:Yes, I think those are very unfortunate and uncorrect commentsor an assessment of IDF practices. I, myself, have been in the targetingrooms or the cells where we do those processes. I have seen the process,I have seen the legal overview, and I have seen the intelligence vetting thatis done, which is part of protocol, before we strike. We operate in an extremely complexenvironment, unlike expeditionary missions,.
Which I think is the benchmark that youwill bring up and give me examples of. But that benchmark is not really relevantbecause we are talking about defending our homeland here. We do not have the same leisureand time to be super extra careful when it comes to taking out live military targets,because our civilians are at risk here. Israel is committed to the internationallaw of armed warfare. Israel takes precaution. Israel uses distinction andproportionality, but that does not mean, sadly, that Palestinian civilians do notget wounded or killed on the battlefield. But the responsibility forthat is, first and foremost, with those who set up the battlefield.And that is Hamas, not Israel.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Wes Bryant,take on those two points. One, there is a difference, as JonathanConricus put it, between fighting, as you did in Afghanistan and Iraq and Syria, andfighting in Israel itself or next to it in Gaza, but also the international humanitarian law,specifically distinction and proportionality. Do you believe the IDF isfollowing those two tenets? MASTER SGT. WES BRYANT: Well, on the secondpoint, I absolutely don't, for the most part. I think an over 30,000 casualty ratio.Whether or not 9,000 or 10,000 of those are Hamas operatives, that's a huge ratiobetween civilian casualties and combatants. With comparing past wars with this, yes, everywar has its differences, but urban combat is.
Urban combat and war is war. More importantly,international humanitarian law is just that. And what I see the IDF doing is takingthe principles of military necessity and proportionality and saying thatbasically any civilian loss that happens is justified because of themilitary necessity of this target. It's just not the way the U.S. conducts warfare.Even with the civilian harm that the U.S. has caused, which it has caused civilian harm, andwe know that, the U.S. itself would absolutely not be conducting a targeting campaign inthe way that IDF has in the last few months. And that's something that I think I think thewhole world is paying attention to you, and I think both Israeli and U.S. governmentneed to pay closer attention to you.
NICK SCHIFRIN: Jonathan Conricus,you're shaking your head. LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS: Yes, I can personallytell of hundreds of strikes that have been aborted in real time in this war in Gaza because ofthe presence of children, civilians, women, elderly, and people who we assessed were notenemy combatants, and strikes, airstrikes, were called off because the proportionality between themilitary necessity and the importance of taking out a certain target did not warrant or justifythe killing or the probable wounding of civilians. The Gaza battlefield is an area which isvirtually impossible to fight in without having noncombatant casualties. That ishow Hamas has rigged the battlefield. That is what we are fighting. Andthat is the sad reality that we,.
By trying to move civilians out ofthe battlefield, have tried to negate. That's what the Israeli DefenseForces did in the beginning. We called on civilians to evacuatebecause we know that fighting high-intensity warfare in urban terrain is ahorrible endeavor that leads to casualties. NICK SCHIFRIN: Wes Bryant, Hamas has riggedthe battlefield. How much does that matter, in your opinion, as you assess the IDF campaign? MASTER SGT. WES BRYANT: Well, Hamas' known use ofhuman shields does not negate the other combatant, IDF in this case, the responsibility toprotect civilian and noncombatant lives. So the IDF has put out statements, up toNetanyahu, Netanyahu himself, that these strikes.
Have unwitting or involuntary human shields thatHamas is using, and, therefore, it's justified that we went after this target and we can't avoid,in some of these cases, killing these civilians. Well, unfortunately, through that, IDF hasalso acknowledged that they are still striking when civilians or involuntary human shieldsare actually known in the target area. And that's obvious even just from the reportingand the other corroboration that we see. And so that's a problem under U.S. lawof war. That would be a violation of our law of war and international humanitarian law.And other — under all common interpretations, it would be as well. I don't doubtthat the IDF is calling off strikes, is aborting in some cases.They're just not doing it enough.
NICK SCHIFRIN: I know there's a lot more todiscuss. Unfortunately, we're out of time. I want to thank you both. Wes Bryant, JonathanConricus, thanks very much for both of your time. LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS: Thank you.MASTER SGT. WES BRYANT: Thank you. AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines:A massive early spring storm brought a late winter to New England. The regionbraced for more than a foot of snow, especially in New Hampshire andMaine, with winds gusting up to 60 miles an hour. The storm also drenched themid-Atlantic and Northeast with heavy rain. Elsewhere, several states in the South andMidwest were cleaning up from tornadoes and flooding a day earlier. The extremeweather was blamed for at least one death.
Authorities in Taiwan report nine peoplewere killed and hundreds hurt after the island's strongest earthquake in aquarter-century. It struck during morning rush hour just off the easterncoast, about 90 miles from Taipei, the capital. Some older buildings tipped over,including one leaning at a 45-degree angle. Taiwan's vice president said rescuersspent the day searching for survivors. WILLIAM LAI, Taiwanese Vice President (throughtranslator): The most important thing right now is to rescue people. We have to checkcarefully how many are still trapped. We must quickly help them, and the woundedshould be given the best medical care. AMNA NAWAZ: Aftershocks continued throughoutthe day, but quakes are common in Taiwan,.
And much of the population quicklyreturned to their routines. In Ukraine, the government has lowered itsmilitary conscription age to 25 as it tries to replenish its armed forces after two years ofwar. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed three bills into law today. They cut the draft agefrom 27 and also eliminated some exemptions. NATO foreign ministers agreed today tobegin planning long-term military support for Ukraine. The diplomats, includingSecretary of State Antony Blinken, met in Brussels. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg pointedto the stalemate in Congress over American aid. JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO Secretary-General: Becauseevery time I meet representatives from the U.S. Congress — I met many of them over the last weeks– they assured me that there is a majority in the.
U.S. and also in the U.S. Congress for support.But, so far, they haven't been able to turn that majority into decision, and that's exactly whatwe all now are waiting for, and it is urgent. AMNA NAWAZ: Stoltenberg is pushing a $100billion fund for Ukraine over five years, but so far the reaction amongNATO members has been mixed. Uganda's Constitutional Court has upheld ananti-gay law that calls for the death penalty in some cases. The judges declined to overturnthe law today. They did void some sections, including one that criminalized thefailure to report homosexual acts. The statute targets what it calls –quote — “aggravated homosexuality” involving sexual relations with aminor or when infected with HIV.
Back in this country, crews in Baltimore clearedmore wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge nine days after a giant cargo ship smashed into it. Asecond temporary channel has now been opened near the cobweb of jagged steel and concrete. Planscall for a third channel to let larger ships pass. REAR ADM. SHANNON GILREATH, U.S. Coast Guard:Those two alternate channels so far have produced eight commercial vessel transits. Those aretugs and barges inbound and outbound from the Port of Baltimore. So those two alternatechannels are beginning to make a difference. There's much more work to go, but thoseare, again, small steps in a long marathon. AMNA NAWAZ: One shipping terminalis still operating in Baltimore's outer harbor. The company says itexpects to unload 10,000 imported.
Cars and trucks from backloggedships over the next 15 days. Federal prosecutors are sharply criticizinga court order in former President Trump's classified documents case. Federal Judge AileenCannon had asked attorneys to submit potential jury instructions, and she appeared to accept Mr.Trump's argument that he acted within the law. But in a filing late Tuesday, prosecutors called that — quote — “afundamentally flawed legal premise.” And on Wall Street, stocks mostly steadied afterTuesday's sell-off. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 43 points to close at 39127. But theNasdaq rose 37 points, and the S&P 500 added five. Still to come on the “NewsHour”:.
Former President Trump's increasing use ofincendiary rhetoric on the campaign trail; amid rising costs following fires and storms, FEMAis easing access to federal disaster assistance; a look at the historic rise in viewership ofwomen's college basketball; plus much more. GEOFF BENNETT: Last night, voters in Wisconsin,New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island turned out for their state's presidential primaries.For more on the results and what this means for the upcoming election, White Housecorrespondent Laura Barron-Lopez joins us now. So, Laura, four primaries last night.What were the biggest takeaways? LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, President Biden and formerPresident Donald Trump both won their primaries, respectively, but two notable takeaways.
There was a larger-than-expected turnout ofuncommitted voters in states like Wisconsin, where it received about 8 percent ofthe vote. Those uncommitted voters, as you know, Geoff, are Democraticvoters that are upset with President Biden because they want him to take moreswift action for a cease-fire in Gaza. And then also Nikki Haley voters — thereare still a number of Republicans that are voting for Nikki Haley. And in a state likeWisconsin, she got nearly 13 percent of the vote. GEOFF BENNETT: And we understand wehave some fresh polling. Polling, of course, is a snapshot in time,not a predictor. But where does this rematch between Donald Trump andPresident Biden stand right now?.
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So the newpolling released today by “PBS NewsHour,” Marist and NPR says thatPresident Biden has a small two-point lead over Donald Trump nationally.That's within the margin of error. Then, according to a new Wall Street Journalpoll, it's a razor-thin margin between President Biden and former President Trump in the keybattleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But DonaldTrump is clearly leading President Biden in two other battleground states, Arizona and NorthCarolina, by five and eight points respectively. Crucial to note in that poll, Geoff, isthat RFK Jr., the independent front-runner, has around 11 percent of the voteacross these swing states. And then.
I just want to go back to our poll fora minute because — and highlight that another key data point in our poll ison voters' views of political violence. And it shows that 20 percent of Americansbelieve that they may have to resort to violence to — quote — “get the countryback on track.” And when you break that down further, you see that 28 percent ofRepublicans agree with that sentiment, compared to 12 percent of Democratsand 18 percent of independents. GEOFF BENNETT: And, Laura, returningto this so-called uncommitted movement, these voters who are votinguncommitted against President Biden, and then the protest votes we'reseeing against President Trump,.
Driven in part by Nikki Haley supporters, basedon your reporting, how do you see that evolving? LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, with the uncommittedvote, those are Democrats, as I noted, that are clearly very upset with President Biden,and they're exercising this as a protest vote. I spoke to one of these uncommitted votersrecently who said that they're not necessarily in the abandon President Biden camp, butthat they want to exert this protest and that hopefully they feel like they could maybeend up voting for President Biden come November. And so the question is, ultimately, dothey stay home, do they protest-vote, or do they actually go back to President Biden?Then, when you look at Nikki Haley voters, where do they go next? President Biden'steam is actively courting these voters.
And I spoke to Sarah Longwell, a Republicanstrategist who conducts focus groups with a number of Republicans, including two-timeTrump voters who aren't necessarily happy with the former president, and theyhave expressed this frustration. MAN: At this point, Trump has been chargedwith 91 criminal charges. So do you want a president who is indicted and perhapsfound guilty? And in so many situations, we don't even hire people for jobsif they have a criminal history. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Another voter, a white68-year-old female who voted for Trump in 2016 and then President Biden in 2020, said thatformer — that Trump's talk of retribution and revenge scares her. And so she also very wellcould end up voting for President Biden again.
And then I just want to make clear, Geoff,that when you're looking at uncommitted voters and Nikki Haley voters, they'revery different. Uncommitted voters aren't necessarily persuadable for PresidentTrump, whereas Nikki Haley voters, both President Biden's campaign, as well asanti-Trump Republicans like Sarah Longwell, think that they are persuadableand could go to President Biden. GEOFF BENNETT: Laura Barron-Lopez,thanks so much. I appreciate it. LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you. AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, Trumpand Biden continue to make the case for their campaigns directly to voters.
Just yesterday, the former president madestops in two critical battleground states. Lisa Desjardins is here tobreak down his message — Lisa. LISA DESJARDINS: Whatever you call the formerpresident, he clearly is a showman, right? And it's not just part of his persona, but Trump'sfollowing comes from his speeches and directly from his words, not staff or infrastructure, inthe way it made for more traditional campaigns. Now, I know voters are already exhausted,I have been talking to you, by a lot of the political shrapnel going around. But Trump'sspeeches in Michigan and Wisconsin yesterday are a good chance to shed light on how Trumpspeaks in general and his latest verbal flames. DONALD TRUMP, Former President ofthe United States (R) and Current.
U.S. Presidential Candidate: I stand beforeyou today to declare the Joe Biden's border bloodbath. This is a border bloodbath. Endsthe day I take the oath of office. It ends. LISA DESJARDINS: We starthere, Trump's newly minted message and now the phrase pushedby the Republican national party. DONALD TRUMP: With your vote, I will seal the border. I will stopthe invasion. I will end the carnage. JENNIFER MERCIECA, Texas A&M University: Theframing is so important for Donald Trump. LISA DESJARDINS: We asked JenniferMercieca to watch the speeches with us. She's an author and Texas A&M professor whospecializes in political and Trump rhetoric.
The border is Trump's core message, shesays, and this framing a carefully forged attack on Biden and anyone whocalls it a humanitarian crisis. JENNIFER MERCIECA: He is constantlytrying to frame how we understand political reality. And so it can't beneutral. It can't be a situation at the border. It has to be violent. It has tobe an invasion. It has to be a bloodbath. LISA DESJARDINS: No question, the Southwestborder is overwhelmed and dangerous in places. But there's no evidence of a bloodbathfor Americans living there. Of course, Trump is also arguing that the border iscausing a crime wave across the country. But, in fact, violent crime rates areat modern lows on average and down in.
Many cities. And multiple studies show thatmigrants are actually less likely to commit crime than others here. Even so, Trump is tryingto cement the idea that migrants are the enemy. DONALD TRUMP: We have a new form ofcrime. It's called migrant crime. LISA DESJARDINS: Trump attacks some as subhuman, this week repeating a word he's long associated,especially with migrants committing crime. DONALD TRUMP: Nancy Pelosi told me that she said, “Please don't use the word animal, sir,when you're talking about these people.” I said, “I will use the word animal,because that's what they are.” LISA DESJARDINS: The speeches included a regularTrump feature about his outreach to victims.
DONALD TRUMP: Right here in KentCounty, a 25-year-old Michigan woman named Ruby Garcia was savagelymurdered by an illegal alien criminal. They said she had just as most contagiouslaughter, and when she walked into a room, she lit up that room. And I have heard that fromso many people. I spoke to some of her family. LISA DESJARDINS: Trump does meetwith and call victims' families, but in this case of a youngwoman killed last month, Ruby Garcia's family told a newspaperthat actually they never heard from him. JENNIFER MERCIECA: I think it's unusualfor him to misremember meeting a family like this, but I think using hyperboleis something that's very common for him.
LISA DESJARDINS: Another Trumpboilerplate item heard about the press. DONALD TRUMP: You know, foryears, I used to tell the fake news back there — look at all thosecameras. Wow. but I used to tell them, show the crowd. I gave up withthat because they don't do it. LISA DESJARDINS: And we broughtin another linguist to help… MATT MCGARRITY, University of Washington: Myname is Matt McGarrity. And I'm director of the Center for Speech and Debateat the University of Washington. LISA DESJARDINS: … who said beneathTrump's attacks on the media and others is an expert speaker keeping hiscrowd and followers with him.
MATT MCGARRITY: It's us versus them.And here they are. They're right in our midst. And we know more than they do,because we're able to see what's going on. LISA DESJARDINS: With this, Trumpbuilds to an all-encompassing thought. DONALD TRUMP: Because if we don't win onNovember 5, I think our country is going to cease to exist. It could be the last electionwe ever have. I actually mean that. We don't win, I think this could be the last election weever have. That's where our country is going. LISA DESJARDINS: What doyou think he's doing there? Jennifer Mercieca says this kindof speech is what separates Trump. It's not political razzle-dazzle, butdangerous, hyperbolic fearmongering.
JENNIFER MERCIECA: He's trying tomake it seem as though everything is at stake. And most people are notexcited about his campaign or Biden's. And so both candidates are trying to generate alot of interest. One way you do that is through using intense and extreme language to makeit seem as though everything is at stake. LISA DESJARDINS: And in Wisconsin yesterday, headded religion, injecting the idea that, while Joe Biden is a regular churchgoer, he, DonaldTrump, is the Christian candidate this election. DONALD TRUMP: November 5 is going to becalled something else. You know what it's going to be called? Christian visibilityday, when Christians turn out in numbers. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE).
LISA DESJARDINS: Another example of whyTrump's speeches were a showcase of why he succeeds and fails. They contain a weave oflies and truths around one constant center. JENNIFER MERCIECA: All presidents runas heroes. It's not uncommon. Joe Biden is running as a hero right now. He'srunning as a hero to save democracy. Donald Trump is running as a differentkind of hero. And he is the only one who can save the nation. He's the only one whocan save his followers. More than class, gender, race, socioeconomic status, the one thing that Trump supporters have in common isthat they want to follow a strong leader. LISA DESJARDINS: We noticed yesterday Trumpleft out two other common speeches — features.
Of his speeches. He has repeatedly playedthe national anthem as sung by January 6 prisoners and pledged to pardon them at thebeginning of his rallies. And he has also often used an anthem for conspiracy theoriesin QAnon and theorists in QAnon near the end. AMNA NAWAZ: So, Lisa, some of the expertsyou have been talking to, how do they look at some of this potentially coded language and itsimpact when it comes from Mr. Trump's speeches? LISA DESJARDINS: One of the manyreasons I'm glad I work at “NewsHour.” Trump actually uses classical devices, oneof them ad baculum, meaning try and bring in the idea of force, encourage force inyour speaking. But the way he activates, I think, his followers is the mostimportant. And I heard from a lot.
Of different linguists that I spoke totalking about something called paraleipsis. That idea is that I'm saying something, but I'mactually not saying. I'm inferring something, and then I have plausibledeniability that I said it. So Trump is activating his followersby implying something and then later fighting with the media over whether he saidit or not. That has very strong consequences, not only for his campaign, but also for thosekinds of statistics that Laura mentioned about violence. When he's saying the situationis dire, when he's saying democracy will end if I'm not elected, he is implying tosome of his followers, violence may be OK. And you saw that in Laura's numbers.
AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much. LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome. AMNA NAWAZ: Last month, the Federal EmergencyManagement Agency, or FEMA, made some big changes to its disaster relief programs, changes that theagency called — quote — “the most significant updates to disaster assistance in 20 years,” amongthem expanding access to money for food, water and other essentials, funding immediate housing needswhen people can't return home, help for repairs not covered by insurance, reducing paperworkrequired for temporary housing and more. For more on what these changes mean, I'm joinednow by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. Welcome back. Thanks for being here.
DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA Administrator:Thanks, Amna. It's great to be here. AMNA NAWAZ: So, as you know,FEMA's long faced criticism, long before your tenure even, for being slow torespond in disasters, bureaucratic to deal with. I guess the big question is, why couldn'tmany of these changes have been made sooner, if they are so needed and significant? DEANNE CRISWELL: You know, I think, Amna, the changes that we made, one,they're transformational, for sure. And we are extremely excited about them.But to make changes of this magnitude, it takes time. And part of the time was reallyspent listening and listening to people that.
Have been impacted by these disasters,whether it's survivors in communities or local emergency managers, state directors,hearing the problems that people faced. And I think that, in the past, we have reallyapproached delivery of our programs in this very generic one-size-fits-all approach. Andwhat I have realized, having been a customer of FEMA previously and now in this role, thateverybody's situation is different and unique. And so we really spent a lot of time afterI first started in this role understanding the unique characteristics and natureof each community and understanding what their barriers are, and then howdo we make changes to those barriers? How do we pull them down so more people canaccess our programs? And it just took time.
AMNA NAWAZ: Can I ask you what rolewas played in pushing forward these changes in what we know are thegrowing frequency and intensity of more extreme weather events andthe disasters that accompany them? Did that help push these changes across the line? DEANNE CRISWELL: I think that was really one ofthe driving forces of being able to actually get these moving forward and getting the people of ouragency who have spent a lot of time thinking about the types of changes that were needed reallyknowing that more people are impacted, right? We're seeing more people impacted. We're seeingrecoveries become more complex. We're seeing them take longer. And so how do we help thesecommunities become more resilient? How do we help.
These individuals jump-start this road to recoveryusing the programs that we have, instead of creating this disparity between those who need ourhelp the most, but really faced the most barriers? And so I think, as we saw more andmore people having to face this… AMNA NAWAZ: Yes. DEANNE CRISWELL: … it reallygave us an opportunity to really think hard about what we could do to change that. AMNA NAWAZ: There's the insurance piece of it I want to ask you about. We mentionedit briefly in the introduction there. You have given previously the exampleof a homeowner who has some $80,000 in.
Damage after a disaster. If theyonly get $45,000 from insurance, FEMA could step in and fill the gap. We're nowseeing reports out of California, in particular, of insurers dropping homeowners because theylive in areas that are too prone to wildfires. We have seen similar issues in Florida. Sohow would this help those homeowners? I mean, would FEMA step in to cover the wholecost if insurers have dropped homeowners? DEANNE CRISWELL: It's a really good questionbecause one of the things that we do provide is some financial assistance to jump-startrecovery, but we don't replace insurance. And so with these changes, in the past, if aninsurance company gave you what our statutory maximum is, which right now is $42,500,and it changes a little bit every year,.
Every fiscal year, if an insurancecompany gave you more than that, then we couldn't give you any more,even if you had uninsured losses. So now we can at least cover uninsuredlosses, but still up to that max of $42,000. AMNA NAWAZ: So there's still a capon what you will be able to provide? DEANNE CRISWELL: There is. But the problem is, that insurance companiesare dropping insurance policies because of the types of catastrophic risks that thesecommunities are facing, which is why another thing that we are really focused on this yearis building resilience in these communities, because if we can make a community moreresilient, it's an insurable community.
So resilient communities are insurablecommunities. So the more we can build their resilience and help them on that road,the more we think that we will be able to create the environment for the insurancemarket to stay in those neighborhoods. AMNA NAWAZ: There's a resilience question.There's also this question we have seen in conversations about where people are choosingto live, where they're choosing to rebuild. Should FEMA, should the federal governmentplay more of a role in discouraging people to rebuild in areas that are continuously hitor supporting people to move to other areas? DEANNE CRISWELL: I think it's a reallycomplicated question, because where you build is one part of the question, but how youbuild is also another part of the question, right?.
There are certainly parts of this country thatwhere you build is the conversation we should be having. But, sometimes, it's just about how youbuild, right? Are we going to help you build in a way that makes you more resilient tothe type of threat that you're facing? Like, if you are in an area that is prone to sealevel rise, right, if you're going to move into wildfire community, how you build is goingto make a difference. Or if you're going to build in the Midwest, where we saw tornadoesyesterday, how you build makes a difference. AMNA NAWAZ: There's the price tag,which is worth a second look as well. You said the expected new policies couldincrease federal disaster costs by some $500 million a year. We know thesestorms aren't getting less expensive..
Can FEMA afford to continue to fillthese gaps and make these changes? DEANNE CRISWELL: I think one of thethings that we need to talk about with that is the costs that we're going tobe covering were covered by somebody. They were covered by state programs.They were covered by nonprofits. They took time to put in place, which eventuallyslowed the recovery process down for individuals. And so I really believe that, even with anincreased federal share, and there will be an increased state share as well in some of these,that it also helps them on their road to recovery. And so the long-term benefits — we're notgoing to know what those are right away, but those long-term benefits of peoplebeing on their road to recovery,.
Staying in their community and not having tomove, those are going to be the soft costs that are saved in the end that I think are goingto be equally as important to have awareness of. AMNA NAWAZ: FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, thank you so much for being heretoday. Great to speak with you. DEANNE CRISWELL: Thanks, Amna. AMNA NAWAZ: Apprehensions of migrants at the U.S. southern border reached a recordhigh at the end of last year. But before crossing into the U.S.,many in this increasingly global group travel more than 1,500 miles through Mexico.
With producers Sam Weber and Christine Romo, we recently went to Mexico's southern border withGuatemala to report on this desperate journey. When we met them on this Chiapas,Mexico, roadside, these families, originally from Venezuela, hadalready been walking for 15 days. Where are they heading now? JASON, Venezuelan Migrant (through translator):We are going to the United States, God permitting. AMNA NAWAZ: Why did you leave? DIANA, Venezuelan Migrant (through translator): Mycountry. My country. The government is horrible. Under a blazing sun in near 90-degree heat,.
They share that they are heading to theU.S. to seek asylum. We ask what they need. Water, water. MAN (through translator): Food for the children. AMNA NAWAZ: Ten-year-old Brittany has alreadywitnessed and lived what no child should. BRITTANY, Venezuelan Migrant (throughtranslator): We had to pass through the jungle and cross rivers. Theystole our money and lied to us. AMNA NAWAZ: When's the lasttime she had any food or water? BRITTANY (through translator): I don't know. AMNA NAWAZ: But she's fueled by a simple dream.
BRITTANY (through translator): I want to study. AMNA NAWAZ: Study? What do you want to study? BRITTANY (through translator): Doctor. Little brother Jason is just five. JASON, Venezuelan Migrant (throughtranslator): I'm going to the Disney castle. AMNA NAWAZ: You're going to the Disney castle. And with that, they press on, eachstep they hope bringing them closer to a better life. As migrationworldwide erupts to record levels, this part of Southern Mexico has becomea global crossroads, with thousands of.
Asylum seekers passing through each day,most on their way to the United States. ELI CRUZ, U.N. International Organizationfor Migration: We are here right now, and here is mainly where thepeople enter through Mexico. AMNA NAWAZ: Eli Cruz leads theTapachula suboffice for the United Nations International Organization for Migration. ELI CRUZ: It's not just thatwomen or men are traveling by themselves. They're traveling withtheir families. There are a lot of children. We are seeing a lot of differentprofiles with a lot of vulnerabilities. AMNA NAWAZ: For years, migrants crossingthrough Mexico were largely from Central.
America. 2023 marked the first year thatpeople from South America outpaced them, with record numbers from Venezuela and Ecuador, according to Mexican government data.But the patterns continue to shift. What about people from even further away?For example, at the U.S. southern border, some of the biggest jumps we have beenseeing over the last three years have been for people from Russia, from India, fromChina. Have you been seeing that here as well? ELI CRUZ: Yes. In the last years, we havebeen seeing a lot of these nationality, also people from Afghanistan or from Bangladesh. AMNA NAWAZ: Over the past decade,Mexico has become an increasingly.
Popular and accessible route to theU.S. for Asian and African migrants. In fact, out of the 195 recognized countries inthe world, Mexican officials say 120 nationalities have come across their southern border. Themajority of those crossings happen here. This shallow stretch of Suchiate River is allthat separates Guatemala from Mexico at this point and rafts regularly ferry people across.But in some ways, the most difficult part of the journey is still ahead, some 1,500 miles and manymore obstacles before the U.S. southern border. But those who can afford it skip allthose obstacles and gain swift passage to the northern border. Smugglerslike Mario handle all the details. MARIO, Smuggler (through translator): My clients.
All want to arrive safe andsound in the United States. AMNA NAWAZ: We're using a different nameto protect him from cartel retribution. He charges up to $21,000 perperson for longer journeys and says his network has moved 50,000people into the U.S. since 2021. What do you tell them whenthey approach you? Do you guarantee them that they will be able to make it? MARIO (through translator): It's my word andmy reputation the line. Out of all the clients that I have had, only two or three have beendetained. The rest are in the United States. AMNA NAWAZ: “NewsHour” has no wayto verify that claim. I ask him.
About migrant stories of abuseand assault on their journeys. MARIO (through translator): Yes, it's true.The people that happens to don't have the money to pay for my services. The overland trip acrossMexico can take around 15 days, but I can move any nationality into the United States via plane in amatter of hours. There is always a way to get in. AMNA NAWAZ: With scarce resources,24-year-old Rosa and her family are making their own way to the U.S. Theyleft Venezuela in September of 2023, traversing the deadly and dangerousDarien Gap into Central America. ROSA, Venezuelan Migrant (through translator):We saw horrible things, dead women, children, and we worried constantly aboutwhat could happen to our children,.
If the river would take them, if theywould dehydrate, if they would suffer from malnutrition because we didn't haveenough food, or if they would need medication. AMNA NAWAZ: Thirty-two-year-old Merlin, a former government official, says shefled political persecution. She and the other mothers banded together to gettheir families to the United States. MERLIN, Venezuelan Migrant (throughtranslator): Some brought tents. Some brought medicine. We organized everything. Weare a total of 16 people, five mothers, all traveling together with our children, and we shareeverything, and we help each other along the way. ROSA (through translator): Sometimes, we would runout of everything and have to go without food and.
Water. If all we had was a piece of bread,then we made sure all of the children ate, so they could survive, becausethey are not as strong as we are. AMNA NAWAZ: In Mexico, they have entered aso-called containment zone set up by Mexican officials under U.S. pressure. Checkpointspepper the roads. Migrants without paperwork can be detained. Even those who make it toMexico's north can be bussed or flown back to the south, an effort to alleviatepressure at the U.S.-Mexico border. Near the riverbank, families waitto board a bus provided by Mexican immigration. There's no shared schedule, timing, or final destination. U.S. officials tell”NewsHour” this unpredictable effort aims.
To move migrants from dense cities into lesspopulated areas and keeps them in Southern Mexico. But that hasn't stopped the flow of migrants.There are no official government numbers, but some officials and NGOs estimatebetween 4,000 and 6,000 migrants arrive daily. Roughly half are processedby Mexico's Refugee Agency known as COMAR. The other half are enteringunder the radar and not registering. “NewsHour”'s repeated requests foran interview with a COMAR official were denied, citing election seasonrestrictions. Merlin says they know Mexico would be the toughest part ofthe journey, but they're not deterred. MERLIN (through translator): We are heading outnow. We have high hopes and we're excited to move.
Ahead in our journey. We don't know where they'retaking us, but we're going to stay positive. AMNA NAWAZ: After several days walkingand busing through Mexico, Rosa, Merlin and family arrive in Mexico City morethan six months after they first left Venezuela. From here, they plan to try and get an appointmentwith U.S. immigration through the CBP One app, a legal route for asylum seekers, beforecontinuing on to the border. It's at this point in the journey that countlessfamilies get close, only to get stuck. You haven't been able to get an appointmentyet. How long have you been trying? JUAN, Mexican Migrant (through translator): No, we have been trying for anappointment every single day.
AMNA NAWAZ: Juan and Rocio havespent nearly two months at this shelter along the U.S.-Mexicoborder with their five kids. Cartel violence in their home state ofGuerrero has paralyzed a once-thriving state. When you think about your life ahead,if you make it into the United States, what do you want for your children?What does that better life look like? ROCIO, Mexican Migrant (throughtranslator): I want my children to do well, to go to school and be someonein life. I don't want them to live in fear. Susana Hurtado Rochin is a program coordinator for Save the Children in the state ofSonora, on the border with Arizona.
For many of the children who come throughhere, the journeys that they have made are just unimaginable. What's the impact of that kindof journey on a child? What does it do to them? SUSANA HURTADO ROCHIN, Save the Children(through translator): Both adults and children arrive with mixed emotions. Theyarrive with an idea of getting to the border and crossing right away into the UnitedStates. And then they get here and they're stuck and they're conflicted about being soclose, but yet so far away at the same time. AMNA NAWAZ: Save the Children works directlyin shelters across the U.S.-Mexico border, setting up child-friendly safe spaces. SUSANA HURTADO ROCHIN (throughtranslator): The goal is to give.
Them a sensation of taking back control oftheir lives and not living in standby mode, so that they can continue with their lives,meet people, make friends, and do it all in a place where they feel safe to express theirfeelings and speak about their emotions. AMNA NAWAZ: Seven-year-old Carely and her sister, 11-year-old Citlalli, are alreadypreparing for life in the U.S. CARELY, Mexican Migrant (through translator):I just know one thing in English. You're my baby. AMNA NAWAZ: You're my baby? Oh. (LAUGHTER).
AMNA NAWAZ: They tell us they preferlife in the shelter to life back home. What do you like about beinghere? What's it like staying here? CARELY (through translator): I like the games. AMNA NAWAZ: Oh, the games? CARELY (through translator): What Ilike best is being with my family. AMNA NAWAZ: Their parents, Juan and Rocio,say they will wait as long as it takes to get an appointment and enter the U.S. legally.The border crossing is just a few miles away, but, for this family, closeenough is good enough for now. We will have a second report tomorrow from theU.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on what asylum.
Seekers face when they cross the border and howU.S. immigration officials are coping with it all. GEOFF BENNETT: Monday night's MarchMadness game in which Iowa beat LSU to go to the Final Four was watched bymore than 12 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most watched women'scollege basketball game ever. AMNA NAWAZ: That's right, Geoff. In fact, it was the most watched college basketball gameever on the cable channel, men's or women's. John Yang joins us now with more — John. JOHN YANG: Well, Amna and Geoff, that audiencewas bigger even than last year's record-setting NCAA Championship Game between thesame two teams, and that was on ABC,.
Which reaches more homes than ESPN. It wasbigger than any Major League Baseball game since the 2022 World Series and bigger thanevery National Hockey League game since 1971. The question is whether it'sa one-time effect of superstar Caitlin Clark or whether it's a signof bigger changes for women's sports. Nicole Auerbach is a seniorwriter for The Athletic. She covers college football and basketball. Nicole, so what about that? Isthis just a one-time effect of Caitlin Clark or are we seeinga big shift in women's sports? NICOLE AUERBACH, The Athletic:Well, I think we're seeing a shift.
I mean, this is a multiple-years trajectorythat we're seeing. And there was also 6.7 million people that watched the second partof that doubleheader on Monday night. And in any other year, that would have been arecord for a non-Final Four game for the women's tournament. And, instead, this year, thatrecord has been broken so many times, it wasn't. But what I think it does is, it hasintroduced a lot more people to a lot of the stars in women's basketball. We areseeing them stick around. Even if they came in for Caitlin Clark, they are gettingto know the JuJu Watkins and the Paige Bueckers that maybe they forgot about whowas injured for the last year-and-a-half. And maybe they're deciding that they'regetting invested with their local team..
But we are seeing it continue to buildand spread. So I think that there are a lot of stars in place and interesting teams andparity across the board that will keep people engaged in women's college basketball evenafter Caitlin Clark heads off to the pros. JOHN YANG: I mean, compared to the men'stournament, we're learning today that on the secondary market, tickets for theFinal Four, for the women's Final Four, are $2,300, which is twice what thegoing rate is for the men's Final Four. What does that tell you? NICOLE AUERBACH: Well, it tells you that,first of all, one is in an arena and one is in a football stadium. But it shows thedemand for these tickets on the women's side.
I had said to some folks who were involved inthe planning for Cleveland before the tournament began that if you got South Carolina anda UConn or an Iowa or one of the three, you would probably have a pretty good audience.And I think that this is going to be an incredible atmosphere for these teams becauseof those fan bases that are going to be there. But it does show that there is demand. JOHN YANG: And beyond college basketball, are we seeing this shift in women'sprofessional soccer and in other sports? Is it too early to say that wesort of crossed a threshold now? NICOLE AUERBACH: I think wehave crossed a threshold.
I mean, I noticed it anecdotally amongmy friends that they are planning their weekends around these women's games, that they aremaking sure that they were going to be done with whatever work they had in order to be seatedin time for that 7:00 game to watch Iowa-LSU. And that's been changing over thelast couple of years, because, obviously, we have seen the viewershipincreases in a lot of different sports, but even in the collegiate space,that includes women's gymnastics, it includes volleyball, it includes softball. Soyou are seeing the growth in a lot of these areas. And then you're seeing media companiesrespond to that and give better time slots, better channels that they're on to make it moreaccessible and to ride off of that, because,.
If it's more accessible, you are going to findnew and bigger audiences that are down the road. And so I think that we have seen that across theboard. And, obviously, I think, with this women's basketball season, and if you have watched onegame, you were more likely to stick around and watch more. And I think that's what's reallykind of getting people excited about the future. Obviously, Caitlin Clark is a unique phenomenon,but if she introduces more people to the sport and they realize, hey, this is really fun, this ishigh-level athleticism, this is elite athletes, they are more likely to stick around. So Ithink you're seeing that in a number of spaces. JOHN YANG: We mentioned the new attention to this, but there's also, we have to mention, somenegative attention Angel Reese of LSU. She's.
Gotten a lot of criticism since her teamwon the national championship last year. And she got very emotional talking about itMonday night in the postgame news conference. ANGEL REESE (LSU Basketball Player): I havebeen through so much. I have seen so much. I have been attacked so many times, deaththreats. I have been sexualized. I have been threatened. I have been so many things,andI have stood strong every single time. And I just try to stand strong for my teammates,because I don't want them to see me down and then, like, not be there for them. So I just wantthem to always just know, like, I'm still human. JOHN YANG: Nicole, I'm going to ask this veryplainly. How much does race play into that? NICOLE AUERBACH: Oh, it playsinto it quite a bit. I mean,.
I think a lot of what we have seen overthe last year has been two things, right? It's that we're talking about a femaleathlete, and then we're talking about a Black athlete. And Angel has actually talkedabout this a little bit throughout the whole weekend. I was in Albany when she was opening upabout this in the lead-up to that championship game. She said she hasn't had peace sincelast year's national championship game. And it's really hard to imagine anyonebeing able to put themselves in her shoes and understand how famous she got soquickly. And then you become a polarizing figure who isn't afraid to say howthey feel. And that has attracted, again, a lot of criticism and all of the thingsthat Angel said has absolutely happened to her.
And that's part of this as well. Whenthere are more eyeballs on female athletes, especially Black female athletes, there isan underside to this that is really ugly. And it's something that I think we all needto be aware of, so that we can help make this better for female athletes, especiallyBlack female athletes in college sports, who are really young and exposed ina way that is just hard to imagine. But it's not someone who necessarilysought out the level of fame that she has, but has to live with it. And it's — itwas incredible to hear her teammates have her back and support her, whichled to that emotional response. JOHN YANG: Nicole Auerbach of TheAthletic, thank you very much.
NICOLE AUERBACH: Thanks for having me. AMNA NAWAZ: And join us back here tomorrow nightfor our exclusive conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on effortsto increase security cooperation in Asia. And that is the “NewsHour”for tonight. I'm Amna Nawaz. GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett. Thankyou for joining us and have a good evening.
