AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

On the "News Hour" tonight: The Trump administration says it will provide half of the regular food stamp benefits amid the government shutdown in response to a court order.

AMNA NAWAZ: It's Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's race to lose in tomorrow's New York mayoral election that could change the future of the city and the Democratic Party.

ASHLEY HUFFORD, Mamdani Supporter: We want the city to be more affordable.

We want people to be fed.

We don't want ICE on the street.

And I don't know if I trust another candidate to be able to do those things.

GEOFF BENNETT: And the Israeli military's former top lawyer is arrested for leaking a video that allegedly shows severe abuse of a Palestinian detainee.

(BREAK) GEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."

As the federal government shutdown enters its 34th day, a critical safety net for millions of Americans -- that's food aid -- has run out for the moment.

AMNA NAWAZ: But, today, a partial lifeline.

The Trump administration says it will soon resume making some food aid payments.

That's after two judges ruled that the government must keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, running.

Millions of Americans still are facing hurdles and questions about when they will start receiving those benefits again.

Lisa Desjardins has the latest on that and the shutdown.

MAN: People trying to get some food for the family.

LISA DESJARDINS: In New York, over the weekend, a noticeable queue winding around a local food bank.

MAN: We have a very long line today, usually, more than usual because of all the challenges that people are going through.

LISA DESJARDINS: As SNAP benefits went into limbo Saturday, that line was not unique.

This is a nonprofit in Somerville, Massachusetts.

TOM BOUCHER, Food Pantry Manager: We have seen about approximately 15 to 20 percent uptick in a number of guests that we have seen in our pantry.

A lot of people have donated to us in the past couple days, which is very helpful.

LISA DESJARDINS: Today, the Trump administration responded to a court order, saying it will pay benefits this month, but at roughly half the usual amount.

And it's not clear when recipients will see those funds.

More than 40 million Americans depend on SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, to help them get by each month, including single mother of four Heather Ann Folta.

HEATHER ANN FOLTA, SNAP Recipient: I'm working 10-, 11-hour days, sometimes six days a week, and that's just to meet bill requirements.

So the fact that my food budget is gone is seriously disheartening.

LISA DESJARDINS: SNAP costs about $8 billion per month.

It is out of normal operating funds because of the shutdown.

The contingency fund, approved by Congress, still has more than $4.6 billion in it, but that won't cover a full month.

Last week, two federal judges ordered the administration to use that to keep SNAP payments flowing.

The Trump administration says that will happen, but the process of loading SNAP cards can take up to two weeks in some states.

For one SNAP RECIPIENT at a food bank near St.

Paul, Minnesota, the delay is alarming.

RONALD LUBRANT, SNAP Recipient: My wife died.

The price of the food went up.

And, boy, I had to get them that SNAP, and I'm glad I'm getting it.

But now the government wants to take it away from us, and I feel that we need it.

We're old.

I just want to have the government know, don't take away from me.

Otherwise, you're sentencing me to death.

LISA DESJARDINS: Also today, news that the Trump administration found some $450 million for the WIC program.

That provides nutrition to women, infants and children.

Sources on Capitol Hill and the National WIC Association said that could last another three weeks.

Meanwhile, the growing effects of the shutdown pose concerns elsewhere.

And at Houston's airport, massive lines ran throughout the weekend as fewer TSA agents came to work.

Today, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of more problems as air traffic controllers continue to work without pay.

SEAN DUFFY, U.S.

Transportation Secretary: We are 2,000 to 3,000 air traffic controllers short.

I'm trying to put more air traffic controllers into the system, and what this is doing is making it more challenging and actually taking controllers out of the system.

So this has long-term impacts.

REP.

MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): The fact is very simple.

LISA DESJARDINS: Back in Washington, party leaders still are not negotiating.

House Speaker Mike Johnson again insisted Democrats must reopen the government first before any bigger deals can be struck.

REP.

MIKE JOHNSON: Schumer and Jeffries and their colleagues fear political retribution from the far left activists in their party more than they fear the consequences of keeping the government closed for weeks on end.

LISA DESJARDINS: This as enrollment season has begun for millions of Americans who get health care from the Affordable Care Act, even as they face uncertainty about final costs.

Democrats want to extend subsidies which run out in weeks, and they want Republicans to call the House back to session.

REP.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): They're on a taxpayer-funded vacation, while hardworking federal employees have been furloughed or being forced to work without pay.

LISA DESJARDINS: While Washington remains at an impasse, millions of Americans wait, some of them in long lines on their feet.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.

AMNA NAWAZ: And we're going to spend some time now focusing on what these delays and cuts in food aid mean for Americans at both the national and the local level.

Let's start with the national picture.

For that, I'm joined by Cindy Long, former deputy undersecretary of the USDA's SNAP program.

Welcome.

Thanks for being here.

CINDY LONG, Former USDA Deputy Undersecretary: I'm happy to be here.

Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let's just start with your reaction to the latest here.

Federal judges say that freezing SNAP payments is unlawful.

The Trump administration says it will restart those payments, but only paying people half the amount they normally get.

What's your reaction to that?

CINDY LONG: Well, I'm certainly glad that the administration is going to comply with the court order and utilize all of these contingency funds that are available and have always been understood to be available to fund SNAP.

But as we learned, there's not enough there to cover the full month of November benefits.

So -- and there will be some challenges getting these out as timely as possible, given the delay that occurred because of the decision not to use them.

So it is certainly good to have some benefits flowing, but I think we need to be thinking immediately about what happens next.

AMNA NAWAZ: What does happen next for people getting half the amount they normally get?

And explain to us why that delay in terms of what funds are going out and how it ends up on people's charges?

CINDY LONG: Sure.

Well, in a normal process, the federal government provides funds.

Every month, the states run their data systems and create a giant file with all the information that's needed to issue benefits.

They turn that over to a processor and the benefits go on the cards.

That didn't -- that usually happens well in advance of the 1st of the month, didn't happen this time.

So now what needs to happen is, FNS will release the funds quickly and give states some direction about how to reduce them because of the limited funds.

They're going to have to rerun everything to get that reduced level into the system.

AMNA NAWAZ: The states will have to do that each at their own level.

CINDY LONG: The states will each have to do that at their own level, again, at this reduced level, so they're going to have to redo whatever work they have already done.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

CINDY LONG: Work with their contractors and get them out.

I think state systems vary in their nimbleness in how quickly they can respond.

So I think we will see varying timelines across the country.

AMNA NAWAZ: We have seen the federal government find funds, shift funds from one pot to another.

Could they be, should they be doing that in this case to make whole those SNAP beneficiaries?

CINDY LONG: Well, I think the answer is they could and they should have.

USDA does have another source that they can tap and that has been available for a while.

It's an account that funds the school lunch program and other child nutrition programs.

And because of the nature of those funds, it is fairly cash-rich right now.

And USDA has the ability to move funds from that account over to SNAP to help bridge the gap.

They said today that they weren't planning to do that.

But I will note that is one of the sources that they have been using to help keep the WIC program running, which is the right thing to do.

And I think that's another source that needs to be looked at very carefully should this shutdown continue.

AMNA NAWAZ: What about states?

Is there any way they can step in to help fill that shortfall?

CINDY LONG: Well, some states had already announced, given that administration's previous decision, that they were going to try to do that.

But the scale of a state budget compared to what the feds can do is just not comparable.

And I think, in most cases, the states were not going to be in a position to fulfill benefits for the entire month, which really just puts tremendous pressure on the beneficiaries and the emergency feeding system, food banks, and everyone else who is trying to step in and help folks.

AMNA NAWAZ: Big picture, when you look at what we're dealing with here, the USDA, we know, cited the government shutdown as the reason for its decision to freeze those SNAP funds.

That's the first time it's happened in six decades of that program being in place in this country.

CINDY LONG: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: And families are now dealing with this at a time of rising food prices, rising power bills.

How would you describe the situation that people who rely on this program now find themselves in?

CINDY LONG: Well, there -- it is a precarious situation.

They have spent the last week or so believing that they may not have any benefits available at all this month.

I know that the food banks and the emergency feeding system has seen a huge spike in demand.

So -- but from the perspective of families, I imagine that they are relieved that something is going to be flowing, but they don't know when, and they don't know what's going to happen after this 50 percent benefit is used.

So I imagine that they're under tremendous stress and already thinking about how they're going to trade off things like, do I fill my prescription this month or do I feed my kids or grandkids?

Do I pay the rent this month or do I try to put a little more money of whatever limited resources I have aside for food?

It's a horrible situation.

And it's important to remember that about 70 percent of SNAP households are children, elderly, or disabled.

So this is a vulnerable population that is being put in a very precarious situation.

AMNA NAWAZ: Cindy Long, former deputy undersecretary of that SNAP program under USDA, thank you for being here.

CINDY LONG: Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: And for more on all this, we're joined now by Elizabeth Keever.

She's the chief resource officer at Harvesters.

That's a regional food bank in Kansas City, Missouri.

Thanks for being with us.

ELIZABETH KEEVER, Chief Resource Officer, Harvesters: Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: I wonder.

Even before the shutdown, with higher inflation and a tighter job market, what kind of need were you already seeing?

ELIZABETH KEEVER: You know, that's something that a lot of people didn't realize even before this shutdown is that, in this region that we serve and, frankly, in a lot of places across the country, food insecurity and hunger was higher than it's been in a decade.

Year over year, last year, we saw a 10 percent rise.

We went from having one in eight folks in our region facing hunger to now one in seven.

It's just been really challenging for so many of those folks, like you said, rising inflation, affordability crisis when it comes to affordable housing, rising cost of food.

It's just right now folks are really feeling the pain even before the shutdown started.

GEOFF BENNETT: There can be a misconception about who relies on food banks, who relies on food stamps, or SNAP.

Who are you really serving?

ELIZABETH KEEVER: It's absolutely true.

There has been a misconception about SNAP recipients for decades and decades, frankly, since the beginning of the program.

But it's really important for people to know that two-thirds of folks who utilize the SNAP program are children and folks who are elderly and the disabled.

And then the other vast majority have at least one full-time working member in their household.

It's just a really inaccurate depiction of those who are using SNAP to say that those people are individuals who aren't working.

They're people who have just a challenge between what they make every single day and how much it costs to live and to raise a family.

GEOFF BENNETT: When the Trump administration says it will provide partial SNAP funding in response to this court order, what's the real-life impact of that?

ELIZABETH KEEVER: Well, it is a step in the right direction.

We are incredibly grateful that there is going to be signs that funds will be released.

But it does create some confusion because we have never in the history of the program released partial payments.

So, when will folks receive that timeline?

We're not really sure.

So, right now, we don't know what to tell people when they can really start to expect those dollars to be seen on their EBT card.

It takes time for them to process how much that payment is going to be to the states and then, for the states, how to distribute that partial payment.

So it's really challenging right now to communicate what people should be able to expect when they will get their SNAP benefits.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, in Missouri, the average household that relies on SNAP gets $332 a month.

If that's reduced in half, what kind of choices is a family left to make?

ELIZABETH KEEVER: There are going to be really challenging choices that people are already currently making.

And, right now, we are having people who are telling us that they're making life-altering choices.

I was speaking with a woman recently who was telling me that she was thinking about dropping out of school to become a dental hygienist because, if she doesn't receive her SNAP benefits, she doesn't know how it's going to be for her to feed her family.

And, right now, with only receiving partial payments, it's not the ease that so many people were looking for when it comes to what the judge ruled on Friday.

And especially now, with the holidays upon us, with Thanksgiving upon us, we're already expecting demand to rise at our agencies.

So only receiving partial payments for November, SNAP benefits, and October benefits have already been used up, so it's going to be really difficult for families to be able to budget what they had lost if they are only receiving half.

GEOFF BENNETT: Does your organization have what it needs to meet the demand?

ELIZABETH KEEVER: At the end of the day, food banks like Harvesters cannot make up the gap that's left behind SNAP.

Food banks across the country are truly the supplement to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

For every one meal that we provide, SNAP provides nine.

And in Jackson county, Missouri, alone, the amount that is expected in SNAP benefits exceed our total annual fund-raising that we receive as an organization.

So it is a massive gap that food banks cannot fully fill, but, right now, what -- I can tell you this.

Our organization is doing everything we can to bring in as much inventory and put it out to our partner agencies.

And we're going to do whatever we can to try to reduce the pain that so many are feeling as a result of this government shutdown.

GEOFF BENNETT: Elizabeth Keever with Harvesters.

That's a regional food bank in Kansas City, Missouri.

Thanks again for joining us.

ELIZABETH KEEVER: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: We start the day's other headlines in the Middle East.

The Red Cross says that Israel transferred the bodies of 45 Palestinians to Gaza today.

It comes after Hamas handed over the remains of three Israeli hostages a day earlier.

The convoy carrying the bodies arrived in Tel Aviv yesterday.

All three were soldiers who were killed during the 2023 Hamas-led attack.

The exchanges marked the latest step in fulfilling the terms of the shaky Gaza cease-fire deal.

Another of those conditions is the increase of aid into the territory.

Humanitarian groups and locals say that, while supplies are getting in, more is desperately needed.

NERMEEN TRAMSI, Displaced Palestinian (through translator): We received this box of aid.

Of course, it's not enough to feed us.

Our basic needs exceed what this parcel offers.

If we compare this to the aid coming in, it's nothing.

GEOFF BENNETT: Also today, Gaza's Health Ministry announced plans to vaccinate some 40,000 Palestinian children against diseases like measles and polio.

The campaign is set to start next week.

Famine has spread to two regions of war-torn Sudan.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification -- that's the leading international authority on hunger crises -- says El Fasher and the town of Kadugli are experiencing starvation, extremely high levels of malnutrition and death.

The group says 20 other areas are also at risk.

Meantime, relief workers in Northern Sudan are preparing for an influx of displaced people after El Fasher fell to RSF paramilitary fighters last week.

A U.S.

envoy tells the Associated Press that a truce is being negotiated in the hopes of ending the violence.

MASSAD BOULOS, U.S.

Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs: What happened to El Fasher in the last 10 days is extremely sad.

And it's a city that had been under siege anyway for the last year-and-a-half.

Our teams, our respective teams, are working with both sides separately in an effort to finalize the details of this humanitarian truce.

GEOFF BENNETT: The U.N.

says more than 40,000 people have been killed since fighting started in 2023 between Sudan's military and the RSF.

But aid groups say the real number could be much higher.

Nigerian officials are pushing back against any U.S.

military operation in the country after President Trump suggested troops may go in, as he put it, guns a blazing.

A government spokesperson said such talk is aimed at forcing a conversation about violence in the West African nation.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: They're killing record numbers of Christians in Nigeria.

GEOFF BENNETT: Speaking to reporters on Air Force One last night, the president reiterated his claim that the Nigerian government allows the persecution of Christians, which the government there denies.

In the Italian capital of Rome, part of a medieval tower collapsed today, trapping one worker inside and seriously injuring another.

Firefighters were trying to rescue workers through a window after an initial collapse when the structure gave way again.

The second collapse trapped a worker inside and it took hours for rescuers to save him.

The tower, which is undergoing a renovation, dates to the 13th century and is just blocks away from the coliseum.

The Dodgers celebrated their second straight World Series win with a victory lap through downtown Los Angeles today.

Aboard a fleet of double-decker buses, the team enjoyed showers of confetti and cheers from tens of thousands of fans who lined the streets.

The Dodgers won their third title in six years after beating the Toronto Blue Jays in a decisive game seven this past weekend.

Consumer goods Giant Kimberly-Clark is buying Tylenol maker Kenvue in a deal worth about $48 billion.

The pain reliever has been in the spotlight recently amid unproven claims by President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

that Tylenol is linked to autism.

Shares of Kimberly-Clark fell more than 14 percent today.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks ended mixed to start the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points.

The Nasdaq rose more than 100 points.

The S&P 500 also ended a touch higher.

Three-time Oscar nominee Diane Ladd has died.

DIANE LADD, Actress: You don't want me very much, do you?

ACTRESS: Not very much, no.

DIANE LADD: Honey, that's OK.

I have been dumped on by kings in my time.

GEOFF BENNETT: Ladd was known for roles in Martin Scorsese's "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and David Lynch's "Wild at Heart."

She also appeared in films like "Chinatown" and "Primary Colors,' along with many TV appearances over her six-decade career.

Ladd's passing was announced today by her daughter, Oscar-winning actress Laura Dern, who called her a profound gift of a mother.

Diane Ladd passed away at her home in California.

She was 89 years old.

And Setti Warren, the director of Harvard's Institute of Politics, has died.

He was the first popularly elected Black mayor in Massachusetts' history, leading the city of Newton from 2010 to 2018.

An Iraq War veteran, he later ran for U.S.

Senate and governor of Massachusetts.

Harvard remembered Warren as a visionary and tireless leader.

He passed away suddenly at his home in Newton.

He was 55 years old.

Still to come on the "News Hour": Israel responds to a leaked video that allegedly shows a view of a Palestinian detainee; Tamara Keith and Amy Walter break down the latest on the ongoing government shutdown; and an in-studio performance by Americana artist S.G.

Goodman.

AMNA NAWAZ: Authorities in Israel have detained the Israeli military's top lawyer, a two-star general, and accused her of leaking video that allegedly shows Israeli soldiers assaulting a Palestinian detainee.

The general resigned on Friday, but then disappeared over the weekend, causing her family to report her missing.

Nick Schifrin reports that her saga renews an intense debate about how the legal system treats Israeli soldiers and Palestinian detainees.

NICK SCHIFRIN: In Israel's Sde Teiman detention camp, alleged abuse caught on camera.

It's July 2024, and Israeli soldiers forced a Palestinian prisoner into a corner.

In footage aired on Israel's Channel 12, behind riot shields, the prisoner is allegedly sexually assaulted.

The abuse goes on for several minutes.

The footage has stunned Israel, in part because of its content, but also because of its source, Israel's top military lawyer, Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.

The military advocate general was forced to resign on Friday and admitted to releasing the video.

Today, she's under arrest, facing prosecution for obstruction of justice, fraud, and abuse of office.

This weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a catastrophe.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, Israeli Prime Minister (through translator): The incident in Sde Teiman caused immense damage to the image of the state of Israel and the IDF, to our soldiers.

This is perhaps the most severe public relations attack that the state of Israel has experienced since its establishment.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Last summer, the soldiers were charged with abuse, but not sexual crimes.

But it still prompted right-wing protests and demands they be released.

MAN: We're here to let everybody know nobody will touch our soldiers, our brothers and our army.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Tomer-Yerushalmi says she released the video so the public would understand the seriousness of the charges.

She has insisted that Israel benefits from abiding by the rule of law, as she said in September 2023.

MAJ.

GEN.

YIFAT TOMER-YERUSHALMI, Former Military Advocate General, Israeli Defense Forces (through translator): The IDF's international legitimacy efforts are greatly benefited by the aura, the protection with which the justice system provides it.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Yesterday, the reservists charged with abuse appeared in public and accused Tomer-Yerushalmi of spoiling their case.

MAN (through translator): You have done a field trial on us in front of the cameras, as if you have already decided who's guilty.

We will continue to fight for justice for ourselves, for everyone who came out in uniform and defended our home.

NICK SCHIFRIN: This weekend, Tomer-Yerushalmi briefly went missing, and police found her abandoned car with a note.

Police later found her on a beach, safe, but in distress.

DR.

ERAN SHAMIR-BORER, Center for Security and Democracy Director, Israel Democracy Institute: It's kind of a crisis for -- I know for the rule of law in Israel and for the legal system in Israel.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Eran Shamir-Borer is the director with the Israel Democracy Institute and served in the military advocate general's office for 20 years.

He's now a colonel in the Reserves.

Why is it a crisis today for the rule of law?

DR.

ERAN SHAMIR-BORER: This is the body within the IDF, which is in charge of enforcing the law within IDF ranks, both ensuring that IDF soldiers conduct themselves and the IDF conduct itself in a lawful manner, but also holding those that may have violated the law, hold them accountable.

It's like the beacon of justice and truth within the IDF.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And how shocking is it that the military advocate general herself was behind this leak and today that she's in detention?

DR.

ERAN SHAMIR-BORER: It is very, very shocking.

Running investigations against soldiers and holding soldiers accountable for misconduct in the midst of a war, in the midst of very intense operational activity, that's nothing - - it's not something that could be taken easily.

What started as an act of holding soldiers accountable became like a whole public debate over the notion of rule of law and those representing it within IDF ranks.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Do you believe that there's any kind of systemic issue with the treatment of Palestinian detainees in military detention facilities?

DR.

ERAN SHAMIR-BORER: Over the time, it kind of improved.

Nowadays, much less detainees there.

But it was -- at the beginning, I think it was kind of problematic.

I don't ascribe to the -- I follow some of the critiques around the world.

They said Guantanamo, Israeli Guantanamo or black hole.

I don't think this was an area of black hole, but definitely Israel wasn't excelling in the way it treated the detainees there at the first phases of the conflict.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Critics of Israeli military actions and of Israel's occupation argue Tomer-Yerushalmi is being prosecuted as a political tool.

JOEL CARMEL, Breaking the Silence: Certainly, what the Israeli right is trying to do now is to make an example of her, to put so much pressure on her in a way that shows anyone who could potentially hold this government or the decision-maker say to account, to remind them that it's not worth doing that.

They have put a very clear price tag on speaking out.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Joel Carmel is a former Israeli soldier and the advocacy director of Breaking the Silence, a left-wing organization of former soldiers.

He argues the real issue is not the video.

It's the alleged abuse.

JOEL CARMEL: Detainees being made to sit cross-legged all day every day in rows, not to move, not to speak.

Anyone who moves is made to stand up and is punished by having to hold their hands over their heads for prolonged periods of time.

A lot of people are referring to these as torture camps.

At least 70 people came into Sde Teiman alive and left dead.

That's something that really needs to be thoroughly investigated.

NICK SCHIFRIN: There's not a huge constituency, Joel, for the argument that you're making for breaking the silence in general in Israel.

Why do you find it important to keep making these arguments?

And do you believe that Israelis are listening?

JOEL CARMEL: No one likes a mirror being held up to them to talk about bad things that they or we as a society have done.

We all want to feel like we were justified in doing everything we did.

And yet it's important for us, as people who care about very basic values, Jewish values.

I think it's a real shame that, over so many years of occupation, we have reached this kind of level of dehumanization, but we have to carry on doing this work.

NICK SCHIFRIN: A video and a fallout that's become a test for how Israel treats detainees, its own soldiers and the rule of law.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin.

GEOFF BENNETT: More than 730,000 New Yorkers have already cast ballots ahead of tomorrow's mayoral election, more than four times the number that voted early four years ago.

It's a race with big stakes for the city and beyond.

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has vaulted from a relatively unknown state legislator to the front-runner to lead the largest city in the country.

William Brangham reports on what his potential victory means for New York City and the larger Democratic Party.

(CHANTING) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: At a packed concert venue in Queens recently, thousands of supporters gave Zohran Mamdani the rock star treatment.

Mamdani joked about just how unlikely his meteoric rise was.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), New York City Mayoral Candidate: As recently as this February, our support had reached the eye-watering heights of 1 percent.

(CHEERING) ZOHRAN MAMDANI: We were tied with noted candidate "Someone Else."

(LAUGHTER) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But, today, he is the front-runner to be New York's next mayor after winning a crowded Democratic primary with his charismatic, relentlessly on-message campaign about affordability.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: No New Yorker should ever be priced out of anything they need to survive.

(CHEERING) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: His supporters are all in.

MORGAN PERRY, Mamdani Supporter: What is it going to be like in the future when we want to raise families, when we want to do whatever else?

And it's important that there's a groundwork for that, which currently right now is a little shaky.

ASHLEY HUFFORD, Mamdani Supporter: We want the city to be more affordable.

We want people to be fed.

We don't want ICE on the street.

Like, these are all things.

And I don't know if I trust another candidate to be able to do those things.

OWEN CROWLEY, Mamdani Supporter: It feels like change, and it feels like this is a hope for change for the better.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The 34-year-old Democratic socialist is leading most polls by double digits.

Republican Curtis Sliwa, founder of the volunteer vigilante group the Guardian Angels, and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are trailing.

FMR.

GOV.

ANDREW CUOMO (I-NY), NEW York City Mayoral Candidate: And the voters are going to have to decide in this election, what candidate has the plan to save the city and what candidate can get it done, not just talk about it?

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Cuomo is running as an independent after his stunning loss in the Democratic primary this summer.

Mamdani beat him by more than 12 percent.

New York's current mayor, Eric Adams, endorsed Cuomo in late October after abandoning his own independent bid.

ERIC ADAMS (D), Mayor of New York: And I'm going to fight for the family with Andrew Cuomo.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In the campaign's closing weeks, Cuomo, running a distant second, has been courting conservative-leaning voters, including trying to turn Mamdani's support for Palestinians against him.

FMR.

GOV.

ANDREW CUOMO: The offense he has shown to the Jewish community, he should be ashamed of himself.

(CHEERING) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: At a gathering in Queens organized with local Jewish groups, some Cuomo supporters described him as a lesser of two evils.

TIM ROSEN, Cuomo Supporter: To be quite frank with you, I'm not a huge Cuomo fan, but I think he's the only one that has even a reasonable shot of defeating Mamdani, and that is my number one priority.

As a Jewish person, with all the antisemitism going on, he wouldn't condemn Hamas in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 atrocities.

He's just a menace and a danger in so many ways.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Mamdani has called Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide, and he has been meeting with Jewish leaders across the city.

He's also called out what he says is blatant Islamophobia coming from his opponents, like when Andrew Cuomo recently chuckled after a radio host suggested that Mamdani, who is Muslim, would celebrate another 9/11 terrorist attack occurring.

Mamdani says he is committed to fighting antisemitism and that his views on Israel have no bearing on his ability to lead the city.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I look forward to being a mayor for every single person that calls this city home.

And that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns or opposition to the positions that I have shared about Israel and Palestine.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Patrick Gaspard has advised several New York mayors and is an informal adviser to the Mamdani campaign.

He says Mamdani's position on Gaza is not the political drag some analysts believe, noting that polls show more than 70 percent of Democrats oppose providing additional economic and military support to Israel.

PATRICK GASPARD, Democratic Strategist: Where you stand on this issue, on the issue of Gaza and the rights of the Palestinians is almost like the point of entry into the conversation.

I will let you come onto my porch to talk about the things that matter, like public education, policing, quality of life.

But I need to know where you stand on an issue that is troubling my soul every time I go on social media.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: We have a plan to take the most expensive city in the United States of America and make it affordable.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Gaspard also credits Mamdani's canny deployment of snappy social media videos... ZOHRAN MAMDANI: So get ready to see a lot more scary videos of this face on your TV.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: ... alongside old-school organizing.

His campaign recruited a volunteer army 80,000-strong.

But Gaspard also points to another energizing force.

PATRICK GASPARD: I don't believe that this candidacy is possible at this decibel level if not for Donald Trump's victory.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: President Trump's fingerprints have been on this race for months, from dropping federal corruption charges against Mayor Adams to publicly suggesting Curtis Sliwa should drop out.

CURTIS SLIWA (R), New York City Mayoral Candidate: I'm not dropping out.

I'm not dropping out.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And, most recently, with his deployment of federal agents to round up immigrant street vendors and seize people coming into a federal building for immigration appointments.

Trump has also threatened to arrest Mamdani if, as mayor, he tries to stop these deportation efforts.

DONALD TRUMP: President of the United States: You have a communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there.

So I don't know that he's one.

And I'm not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other.

But if it's going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I'm going to pick that bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.

BRADLEY TUSK, Tusk Holdings: If Zohran hires people who are truly talented, independent and good at running their agencies and let them do their jobs, they can do really well.

If everyone has to be a 26-year-old that went to Oberlin and pass a progressive purity test, then we're screwed.

We will see.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Bradley Tusk is a venture capitalist and political strategist who ran Mayor Michael Bloomberg's reelection campaign as an independent in 2009.

He says, if Mamdani is elected, he faces big fiscal challenges and will have limited to no power to unilaterally enact some of his promises, including raising taxes.

BRADLEY TUSK: They will use Zohran as the poster child.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: They being the Republicans.

BRADLEY TUSK: Republicans - - all over the country to indict whoever the Democrat is running for office.

And to a certain extent, if he proves to be a decent mayor, that will have less teeth to it.

SEN.

CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Hello, everybody.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That's one reason, Tusk says, national Democrats, like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are so weary about Mamdani.

The Brooklynite senator has not endorsed him.

Do you think that there is something that the Democratic Party could learn from Mamdani's success?

BRADLEY TUSK: Sure, a lot.

A lot.

I mean, one, he has a positive, affirmative message.

If you look at the Democrats, especially in Washington, I couldn't tell you what their message is, other than that they're unhappy.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Back in Queens, Mamdani was joined by two other Democratic socialist stars, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Their plea in the final days of the campaign, don't take any momentum for granted.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI: They will attack us from every conceivable angle, but we will not bend.

(CHEERING) ZOHRAN MAMDANI: New York is not for sale.

(CHEERING) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm William Brangham in New York City.

AMNA NAWAZ: With more on what to expect from tomorrow's big races, on the president's lengthy interview as well, and what is soon to be the longest government shutdown of all time, we turn now to our Politics Monday duo.

That is Tamara Keith of NPR and Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter.

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Hello.

TAMARA KEITH, National Public Radio: Good to be here.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, you saw William lay it out there, all eyes tomorrow on this New York mayoral race.

You have got Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani leading in the polls against Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, you have got Democrat Abigail Spanberger running for governor Against Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and, in New Jersey, another moderate Democrat, Representative Mikie Sherrill, taking on Jack Ciattarelli.

And you saw this weekend former President Obama stumping for both.

Take a listen to what he said.

DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States: "60 Minutes" was forced to pay me a lot of money because they... BARACK OBAMA, Former President of the United States: Let's face it.

Our country... DONALD TRUMP: So bad, it was election-changing, two nights before the election.

BARACK OBAMA: It's hard to know where to start, because, every day, this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness.

(BOOING) BARACK OBAMA: Hey.

Wait, wait.

Don't Boo.

AUDIENCE: Vote!

BARACK OBAMA: Vote.

AMNA NAWAZ: You heard a little bit of President Trump there.

We will hear from him in a moment as well.

But, Amy, when you look at this, what does it say to you about the Democratic message and what are you watching?

AMY WALTER: Yes, well, as you know, I love a good Election Day and I especially love the very first election after a presidential election.

AMY WALTER: Because it is a chance to get the real political temperature.

We have been spending most of this year talking about what happened last year.

We talk a lot about polls.

Here's the first chance where voters get to weigh in.

Now, New Jersey and Virginia are very different from New York City.

New York City is essentially a Democratic primary contest.

It's important in understanding in many ways what's going on within the Democratic Party and some of the tensions within the Democratic Party and some of the tensions within the Democratic Party about who they want as a messenger and what kind of message they want.

Virginia and New Jersey, although they're not real swing states in the way that, say, a Michigan or Pennsylvania is, these are still states that Trump only lost by six points.

I think what ties all of those races together, though, is that -- the issue of affordability, the issue of the cost of living, which was what dragged down President Biden in 2024 and Democrats in 2024, now it's the anvil that Republicans have to carry.

And if you watch the ads -- if you live in any of those states, you don't really have much of a choice, you're seeing a lot of the ads -- And the attacks on Donald Trump from Democrats really are focused on the cost of living.

Things are more expensive because of what Donald Trump did.

That's very different than the messaging we saw, say, back in 2024 or 2017, when it was really much more on Trump's behavior.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

AMY WALTER: Because people did, back then, see him as stronger on the economy than they do now.

AMNA NAWAZ: Tam, what about redistricting, specifically in California, where it looks to be on a glide path?

What role is that going to play tomorrow and beyond?

TAMARA KEITH: Yes.

So the redistricting in California, that is a ballot measure that, as you say, is polling quite strongly in the yes camp.

That would temporarily overwrite the independent district lines drawn by the independent commission and gerrymander it to give Democrats more seats in California.

The ballot language there specifically says it is counteracting Republican efforts in Texas to draw district lines there.

President Trump wanted Texas to make more Republican seats.

California said, all right, we will make more Democratic seats.

That appears to be where that's headed.

What that means for the midterms is there are other states that the president is trying to pressure Republican states to draw their lines differently to give Republicans an advantage.

But if California does pass this, then the immediate advantage that President Trump was supposed to have, wanted to have in the numbers of the House of Representatives, the number of races that would be destined to go Republican, that -- he would lose some of that advantage.

And he has been governing as someone who doesn't need to run for reelection, no matter what he says, and has essentially been governing to his base.

He has been doing whatever he wants to do, however he wants to do it, because he doesn't really have to worry about electoral consequences for himself, but he will have to worry about it in the House.

And so that's one of the consequences that could come out of this.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, let me ask you about the message he's been delivering, because he did sit for a very lengthy interview with CBS News with Norah O'Donnell.

A portion of it aired last night on TV.

An extended, over-hour-plus, version was posted online.

And in it he talked about the fact that the network's under new leadership, under Bari Weiss, who's been a critic of mainstream media.

And he also referenced the lawsuit that he had against CBS about their interview with Vice President Harris.

Take a listen to President Trump.

DONALD TRUMP: "60 Minutes" was forced to pay me a lot of money because they took her answer out that was so bad, it was election-changing two nights before the election, and they put a new answer in.

And they paid me a lot of money for that.

You can't have fake news.

You have got to have legit news.

AMNA NAWAZ: What stood out to you from the interview, Tam?

TAMARA KEITH: What actually stood out to me from the interview wasn't that part, but was when he was asked about the economy, this issue that we have been talking about is a real issue for him.

He said, well, people's 401(k)s are up.

The stock market is doing well.

And she pressed him on, well, what about other people?

What about people who don't have 401(k)s and their grocery prices?

And he was fairly dismissive.

I think that he is clearly still trying to figure out how to message around the economy, when his sort of traditional approach of just cheerlead, cheerlead, cheerlead isn't really connecting with the way a lot of people are feeling about it.

(CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: Yes, he also wrongly stated grocery prices are coming down, we should note.

(CROSSTALK) AMY WALTER: Yes.

And I noticed the exact same thing.

And Norah O'Donnell again went to him with, well, people say that they're suffering from higher prices.

Are you going to address this?

And he pivoted to talk about sanctuary cities.

He talked about cashless bail.

He talked about crime, which right now is the one place where he has something of an advantage.

So I think Tam's point is correct that he's still trying to figure out, how do I talk about the economy when people are feeling bad about the economy?

He tried to also spend a lot of his time blaming the Biden administration, much like in that clip that you showed.

There was a lot of retrospective, not a lot of focus on what things are going to look like in the future.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, day 34 of the government shutdown, there's new polling from NBC that shows the majority of Americans are blaming Trump and Republicans for that shutdown, some 52 percent; 42 percent are blaming Democrats.

Amy, Mr.

Trump also said in the interview, he plans his plan to end the shutdown is to keep voting and that eventually Democrats will give.

Will they?

AMY WALTER: Yes, it seems as if there is more hope among some in the Senate that there will be an off-ramp soon, that moderate Democrats are sitting down speaking with Republicans.

But I thought that the president in the "60 Minutes" made it very clear that he's not interested in being part of the solution.

In fact, his other answer for how to solve this is, Republicans, just get rid of the filibuster.

We don't really need those Democrats anyway.

TAMARA KEITH: Yes, and President Trump has -- I did an analysis of his travel over the month of the government shutdown, and he has been on the road 15 days.

He has done two foreign trips.

He has golfed five times.

He has traveled a lot.

Presidents typically, during a government shutdown, including President Trump in his first term, canceled overseas travel because they wanted to be back in the U.S.

negotiating, trying to bring the crisis that is a government shutdown to an end.

But President Trump's approach is very different.

It's in line with the House of Representatives, which is sort of following his lead.

They say, we voted on the short-term spending bill.

Our work is done.

There's nothing to talk about.

And what better way to send that signal than the president of the United States leaving the country twice?

AMNA NAWAZ: Tamara Keith, Amy Walter, always good to start the week off with you both.

Thank you.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.

GEOFF BENNETT: Singer-songwriter S.G.

Goodman has been hailed as one of the most evocative voices to emerge from the American South in recent years, raised in the small river town of Hickman, Kentucky, Goodman blends rock, country and folk into songs that wrestle with faith, identity and the meaning of home.

I spoke with her recently about her new album, "Planting by the Signs," and she played one of her new songs in studio as part of our arts and culture series Canvas.

S.G.

Goodman, welcome to the "News Hour."

S.G.

GOODMAN, Singer-Songwriter: Thanks for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes.

You grew up in the small town of Hickman, Kentucky, in a small farming family in the Southern Baptist tradition.

What about that upbringing shaped your world view and your desire to perform music?

S.G.

GOODMAN: Well, a lot of people ask me when my first concerts were, and I always respond, I went to three a week at church.

And there's a lot of different ways you can be introduced to music, but that's how I feel like I learned how to sing.

So I would associate different ways of singing with actual people.

And I think that has made me look at music a lot differently.

And, yes, I feel like it was pretty special.

GEOFF BENNETT: This album, the title, "Planting by the Signs," it draws from that old practice of timing planting to the lunar cycle.

Why did you root this album in that belief?

S.G.

GOODMAN: Well, I have nieces and nephews, and I think there's a certain part in everybody's life when you look around and you're like, oh, I'm getting older, and it just kind of hit me that I was going to be the story keeper and be the one who also passes them down.

My family practiced by the signs, but in a passive way.

They weren't saying, oh, we're doing this because the signs are in the head.

It was just, I think, something that was told by their grandmothers, and that was the way it was taught to me.

I wanted to put this in the medium of music, so that not only maybe my nieces and nephew could experience it in a different way, but other people could come across this old belief system.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tell us more about it for people who aren't familiar with planting by the Zodiac.

What does it involve?

S.G.

GOODMAN: Just to put it simply, it is -- the moon affects water, so anything comprised of water, a lot of people noticed or believed there were different outcomes of things done at different moon phases.

And this isn't just about planting.

I mean, my brother, he cuts his hair by the signs.

GEOFF BENNETT: Really?

S.G.

GOODMAN: Yes.

Yes, and shingles on your house, old wooden shingles, they're in certain moon phases.

Say, like in a moist phase of the moon, they -- old people would say they might curl up.

So there's a lot to it, more than just planting crops.

Many cultures have practiced this, but I was really interested in how it is still prevalent in the South and Appalachia especially.

GEOFF BENNETT: Some of these songs, structurally, they defy convention.

Some drift beyond the verse and the chorus.

There's silence.

There's a lot of breath in others.

Was that intentional?

S.G.

GOODMAN: I think I had made a decision before writing this album that I was going to chase the story in every song and really let the song kind of lead the way.

And if it turned out to be nine minutes, then that's what the song wanted.

But I really wanted to showcase storytelling in my songs.

And I think that that's what they naturally wanted to do.

GEOFF BENNETT: The song you're about to perform, "I'm in Love," what inspired it?

S.G.

GOODMAN: Well, probably love.

(LAUGHTER) S.G.

GOODMAN: I would say that's a good start.

But I had a friend, another artist who kind of pointed out to me that maybe I should try writing a happy love song for once.

And I got pretty goofy with it.

I, you know, name-dropped Walmart in there, which I feel like is an ode to my rural community and upbringing.

And I just had fun with it.

I love the song.

And I am excited to share it with you all.

GEOFF BENNETT: S.G.

Goodman, the album is "Planting by the Signs."

And this is "I'm in Love."

(MUSIC) AMNA NAWAZ: And be sure to join us tomorrow night for coverage of Election Day right here on the "News Hour" and live results on our Web site.

And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

For all of us here at the "PBS News Hour," thanks for spending part of your evening with us.