AMNA NAWAZ: Good evening.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

Geoff Bennett is away.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: Former President Trump ramps up criticism of the judge presiding over his 2020 election criminal case, as the legal battle between his lawyers and the Justice Department takes shape.

Ohio voters decide whether to increase the threshold for new constitutional amendments, a move that could decide the fate of an upcoming abortion vote.

And Tunisia faces growing scrutiny for its harsh treatment of migrants along a highly traveled route from Africa to Europe.

LAUREN SEIBERT, Human Rights Watch: Over 300 people are still currently trapped at the Tunisia-Libya border in the desert, and they have been trapped there for weeks.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Former President Donald Trump's legal battle is picking up steam, with his lawyers rushing to meet a court-imposed deadline today.

Trump and his legal team responded to special counsel Jack Smith's request that the judge issue a protective order limiting what the former president could say publicly about the trial.

In a filing today, Trump's lawyers pushed back, saying -- quote -- "The government seeks to restrict First Amendment rights.

Worse, it does so against its administration's primary political opponent during an election season."

This all comes on the heels of Trump's attorney John Lauro making the rounds on several Sunday network shows aiming to reset the narrative and defense of his client.

Following all of this closely is former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti.

Renato, good to see you.

So, we know Trump's lawyers said they would oppose the protective order.

They have now done so, claiming it would violate Mr. Trump's First Amendment rights.

What do you make of that argument?

RENATO MARIOTTI, Former Federal Prosecutor: Well, I think that it's a kind of a coating around what their actual argument is.

If you actually read the full filing, what it really is, is a dispute about the scope of a protective order.

It's a fairly mundane dispute, fairly narrow dispute.

But it's dressed up in all this language about First Amendment rights and essentially making it seem like there's some big fight between the Biden administration and Trump.

And I really think it's a lot of flash and very little substance.

AMNA NAWAZ: They have also been making this argument that, especially in an election year, during a campaign season, the press has a right to know, the American public has a right to know any information that's not sensitive.

Is there merit to that argument?

RENATO MARIOTTI: I mean, sure.

And, look, it's not the first time in which a protective order has been entered in a case or suggested or proposed in a case that is perhaps more broad than it needs to be.

So, that is -- but that's a sort of dispute that occurs in all sorts of civil and criminal cases throughout the country.

I'm not really sure if the fact that there's an election season even impacts that question, because, ultimately, I think the judge should want to make sure that protective orders are narrowly tailored in any event.

But this seems like the sort of thing that, in a -- if the sides were actually working together in a constructive manner in terms of working on this case, the defense and the prosecution could have probably figured this out over a phone call, rather than filing a very long filing, which I think was done so that people like yourself and me talk about it on television.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, so the government was seeking the protective order out of concern that Mr. Trump could possibly disclose potentially sensitive information that his attorneys do end up getting during the discovery process.

Is there any way for them to still protect against that from happening?

RENATO MARIOTTI: Well, look, I -- just so we're clear, I do think a protective order is going to be entered in this case.

Essentially, Trump's lawyers can see it as much.

Their real dispute is over certain categories of documents and so on.

Obviously, there needs to be a protective order to protect very sensitive information that might be included in the discovery.

The question is, for example, really, the fight here is over, let's say, an interview report.

If there's an interview report of, oh, I don't know, Vice President Mike Pence, is that something that should be shared to the public now?

Or is that something that there should be subject to a protective order and not released until or unless it's filed in a public document or used at trial?

That's really what this fight is about.

AMNA NAWAZ: Renato, as you know, Mr. Trump's legal fights and his reelection campaign are very closely intertwined.

He fund-raises often off the indictments and charges.

He actually spoke about how the charges have been fueling his campaign on Friday.

Take a listen.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States: Every time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls.

We need one more indictment to close out this election.

AMNA NAWAZ: Renato, how does all of that complicate public disclosure of potentially sensitive information here?

RENATO MARIOTTI: Well, I think there's no question that the issue of the former president's First Amendment rights are going to color all of these discussions regarding the use and dissemination of evidence in the case.

It's going to color a lot of the disputes in this case, because, of course, some of the witnesses in this case are not just former president's aides, but they're actually some - - in some cases, his opponents, like Mike Pence.

So, obviously, that is going to be an issue here.

What I expect the judge to do is to try to sidestep some of those more challenging issues, trying to achieve a practical resolution regarding this motion.

And, ultimately, at the end of the day, when the former president is raising issues that complicate her case, but also raise issues of the First Amendment, to try to find practical ways to deal with those that don't raise those First Amendment complications.

AMNA NAWAZ: I have got less than a minute here, but I have to ask you about some of the online language we have seen from Mr. Trump.

We know he's been targeting the judge who is going to be presiding over his criminal trial in some posts.

He also posted a rather cryptic all caps message saying, "If you go after me, I'm coming after you," not mentioning any names there.

We know the magistrate judge last week said that his bail could be revoked if he attempted to threaten or to bribe witnesses or obstruct the case.

Could any of this violate those conditions?

RENATO MARIOTTI: Sure, it could.

But, as a practical matter, just to be clear to everyone at home, I don't expect his bail to be revoked.

I don't expect the former president to be thrown in jail before the case really gets under way and there's a trial on this matter.

But it's never a smart thing to poke at a judge or try to throw grenades at the judge and other witnesses and participants in the case.

That's not going to make her happy.

And that's certainly not going to make her inclined or more receptive towards your various motions or requests throughout the course of the case.

AMNA NAWAZ: Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti.

Renato, always good to have you with us.

Thank you.

RENATO MARIOTTI: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines: A judge in Minnesota sentenced the last former police officer convicted of state charges in George Floyd's death.

Tou Thao was given 57 months for aiding and abetting in manslaughter.

He held back bystanders as Floyd was pinned by the neck.

In court today.

Thao told the judge -- quote -- "I did not commit these crimes.

My conscience is clear."

The judge said he'd hoped Thao would show more remorse.

In Niger, leaders of last month's military coup have closed the country's airspace and they're warning against any violations.

They'd refuse to reinstate the elected president by Sunday, a deadline that was set by the West African bloc known as ECOWAS.

Late last night, a coup spokesman said the group should tread carefully.

COL. MAJ. AMADOU ABDRAMANE, Niger Army (through translator): Information in our possession indicates that forces of a foreign power are preparing to attack Niger and its people in coordination with ECOWAS and armed terrorist groups.

We warn against interference in Niger's internal affairs, as well as the disastrous consequences for the security of our region.

AMNA NAWAZ: The ECOWAS nations' next step is unclear.

They announced plans today for a summit in Nigeria on Thursday.

And, in Washington, the U.S. State Department said more than $100 million an American aid to Niger is on hold.

Russian shelling in Ukraine struck a series of towns near the war's front lines today, killing at least seven people.

The Donetsk and Kharkiv regions were hit, along with Kherson.

Meanwhile, Moscow dismissed weekend talks in Saudi Arabia; 40 nations discussed a Ukrainian peace plan, but Russia was not invited.

Another meeting is scheduled in six weeks.

A looming tropical storm is forcing mass evacuations at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea.

The two-week event is being held on a vast coastal campground and a heat wave had already caused hundreds of scouts, mostly teens, to fall ill. Today, organizers said the jamboree will continue in new sites around Seoul.

KIM SUNG-HO, South Korean Vice Minister For Disease and Safety Management (through translator): Through cooperation between the government and local authorities, we plan to secure administrative facilities and private educational facilities, primarily in the capital region, which is not directly within the typhoon's impact zone.

AMNA NAWAZ: The storm is expected to hit the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday.

In economic news, "Barbie" has broken the billion-dollar mark in movie ticket sales in just three weeks.

That makes Greta Gerwig the first woman to solo-direct a billion-dollar film.

In modern history, only 53 movies have earned more than a billion, not counting for inflation.

And on Wall Street today, stocks bounced back from last week's losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 407 points, or more than 1 percent, to close at 35473.

The Nasdaq rose 85 points and the S&P 500 added 40, almost 1 percent.

And Oscar-winning director William Friedkin, a major name in 1970s Hollywood, has died in Los Angeles.

He scored first with "The French Connection" starring Gene Hackman as a New York detective hunting a heroine overlord.

The car chase is still regarded as one of the greatest in film history.

Then came "The Exorcist," with a head-turning performance by Linda Blair.

It was so scary, many moviegoers left before it ended.

William Friedkin kept working until his final years.

He was 87 years old.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": questions arise about the future of freight, as a trucking company that received millions of pandemic dollars files for bankruptcy; the secretary of Veterans Affairs discusses compensation for veterans affected by so-called burn pits; an award-winning poet gives her Brief But Spectacular take on forgiveness; plus much more.

Recent polls, including our own, show President Joe Biden simultaneously gaining ground and stuck in a dead heat with former President Donald Trump should the 2024 presidential race become a 2020 rematch.

Joining me now is veteran Democratic strategist Faiz Shakir.

He served as the campaign manager for Bernie Sanders in 2020.

Faiz, good to see you.

FAIZ SHAKIR, Democratic Strategist: Hi, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let's talk about what seems to be some good news for the Biden campaign from our latest "PBS NewsHour"/NPR/Marist poll.

His overall approving -- approval rating has actually gone up from a year ago five points, 36 percent to 41 percent.

And, today, more Democrats support him as the nominee than did a year ago.

That's according to polling from The New York Times and Siena College.

That's up from 26 percent to 45 percent.

What do you think is behind those numbers increasing for Mr. Biden over the last year?

FAIZ SHAKIR: Well, certainly, the economy is in a strong place.

I think most Democrats understand this president has acted as one that is moving the progressive dial for the Democratic Party.

He acts more like a prime minister than a president.

He has to manage a coalition in which you have Joe Manchin to Bernie Sanders and keep all of them generally happy, moving in the same direction.

So it's a very hard job.

And you see the challenges that he has to constantly confront to keep that coalition together.

But there's going to be moments, there's going to be challenges for him where people get disinterested, dissatisfied, not as excited, not as enthused.

And he's going to have to get them there.

But you sense that, as the election is kicking up, there's more people coming back into that coalition.

AMNA NAWAZ: And we know voters still do have some concerns.

His age chief among them is something they listed, job performance.

When you look at the current Democratic field, because he does have a couple of challengers, Mr. Biden is still far out ahead of both of them, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson.

You see some of the latest numbers there.

But half of all Democrats polled say they would prefer someone new, and that's leading to a new conversation.

I just want to play for you a clip we have heard from Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips, who said he himself is considering a run.

And he was answering questions about this recently.

Take a listen.

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-MN): My call is to those who are well-positioned, well-prepared, have good character and competency -- they know who they are -- to jump in, because Democrats and the country need competition.

MAJOR GARRETT, CBS News: So, if they don't, you will?

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS: I'm not saying I will.

Look, I think I'm well-positioned to be president to the United States.

MAJOR GARRETT: You do?

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS: I do not believe I'm well-positioned to run for it right now.

People who are should jump in, because we need to meet the moment.

AMNA NAWAZ: You agree with that?

FAIZ SHAKIR: I like primaries.

You know I ran Bernie Sanders' campaign.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

Yes.

FAIZ SHAKIR: I don't mind primaries at all.

I do think that they understand that Joe Biden is a pretty strong candidate right now.

So I think, if you hear Dean Phillips, he's not assessing his own strength as being particularly good at defeating Joe Biden.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

FAIZ SHAKIR: That said, I do think that one of the things we're all missing and lacking from President Biden is this desire that -- of what a competitive primary produces.

He'd be out there campaigning.

He'd be doing debates.

He'd be doing press conferences.

He'd be engaging with voters.

We have largely seen a president behind a podium, right, largely delivering teleprompter remarks.

And I think what a campaign does is cause you to engage with real people.

And I hope that, as he comes out of this break, that President Biden his team are thinking about how you animate this presidency, because it needs to speak more to the heart than the head, right?

He's got to campaign.

If you think of Bidenomics, it's really trying to say, rationally, the economy is working for you.

And, yes, there are improvements in the economy, but he's going to speak to people's hearts, make them enthused, make them excited about this economy.

And part of that is in friction, a fight.

Who's this president engaged and fighting, and not just partisan one, but a fight against corporate America is robbing you of your wages, fighting to concentrate an economy that doesn't work for you, and I'm taking those people on.

So I think he's got to animate some of these fights.

(CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: But do you agree with Phillips, there's someone out there who's well-positioned who's not running?

FAIZ SHAKIR: Oh, I doubt that.

Yes, I doubt that.

I think he's consolidated a lot of the Democratic field.

That said, he's got to animate it.

He's got to get people excited again.

And then, obviously, Donald Trump will do his part on the Republican side to animate a lot of Democratic voters.

AMNA NAWAZ: Well, speaking of that -- and, again, I should also point to another number that could cause some concern within the Biden camp when you look at a potential head-to-head matchup between Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump.

They're tied right now in a general election matchup at 43 percent.

Also worth noting, 14 percent said they either wouldn't vote or didn't answer right now.

What do those numbers say to you?

FAIZ SHAKIR: Amna, you have to look at the people who didn't answer and they -- this is a class-based argument.

People with a college degree, they love Joe Biden.

They're about 50 percent.

People without a college degree making under $100,000, they're the most dissatisfied group.

If you look at the 14, 15, 16 percent who are saying that they haven't made up their minds, these are working-class people.

And they're looking for somebody who's a fighter on their behalf.

And I think it's important to think about class as you head into this election, because Joe Biden's got a lot of good arguments going on his side that he is taking on corporate America in interesting and important ways.

Right now, big pharma is filing lawsuits against him because he wants to negotiate Medicare price drugs -- price -- drug prices, right?

How many people know that?

How many working-class people know that they have a president who's taking on some very difficult fights?

Implementation is not just, hey, get jobs in America.

It's to improve your wages.

You look at the United Auto Workers' fight right now.

They want better wages.

If you're going to produce electric vehicles in America, the wages shouldn't be $16, $17 an hour.

They should be $25, $30, $40 an hour.

And that's a -- that's a big fight.

I hope everyone is tuned in.

That's what motivates working-class people.

Those who haven't made up their minds right now, that's the category.

And it's Black, Latino, white, non-college making under $100,000 a year.

We got to focus on them and their play right now.

AMNA NAWAZ: In less than a minute left, but where do you think he is most vulnerable?

And Republicans are coming after him again, investigating Hunter Biden and so on.

Where's President Biden most vulnerable?

FAIZ SHAKIR: Well, I think it's this idea of energy and enthusiasm.

It plays into the age question a bit.

But the question of strong leader of Joe Biden has dipped over the course of his presidency.

He is not always perceived as a strong leader, despite some of these very tough fights that he's taken on.

And part of it has to do with the enervation, the animation, the energy, the excitement.

How many times -- remember when -- the State of the Union, when he is literally taking on Marjorie Taylor Greene in the chamber?

AMNA NAWAZ: In real time in the chamber.

FAIZ SHAKIR: In real time.

I think we have not seen those moments often.

But they behoove President Biden well, when he's in those moments, when he's off the cuff, when he's engaging with real people.

He's a good politician in that way.

But we have not seen him in action.

And I think that that's what -- I think it leads to this age.

It leads to the concerns of, is he up to the job?

He can resolve a lot of these by just getting out there and showing a passion and energy about his own fights.

AMNA NAWAZ: Democratic strategist Faiz Shakir, always good to see you.

Thanks for being here.

FAIZ SHAKIR: Thank you, Amna.

Yes, see, I'm excited.

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: In the year since the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, a number of states have put abortion rights on the ballot.

This year, it's Ohio, where voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion access in the state Constitution.

But, as Laura Barron-Lopez reports, before that vote in November, Ohioans will decide tomorrow whether to raise the threshold of support needed for such votes.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Amna, it's a rare August election.

And there will be just one decision for voters tomorrow.

Should the state require 60 percent support for future constitutional amendments to pass?

Throughout early voting, nearly 700,000 people turned out to the polls, and it's turned into an expensive ad war.

WOMAN: Who are you?

MAN: A new Republican Congressman.

Now that we're in charge, we're banning birth control.

WOMAN: This is our decision, not yours.

Get out of our bedroom.

MAN: I won the last election.

I'm not going anywhere.

NARRATOR: The out-of-state groups fighting Issue 1 keep saying it's just about abortion, but it's not, and they know it.

These special interest groups encourage minors to get sex change surgeries and want to trash parental consent.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Following this closely is Karen Kasler.

She's the statehouse news bureau chief for Ohio Public Radio and TV.

Karen, thanks so much for joining.

Those ads are just a taste of what voters have been bombarded with ahead of this special election.

And we should note that this ballot measure is not about contraception and that those organizations and Democrats mentioned are not pushing for children to get sex changes and are not trying to get rid of parental consent.

But what are you hearing from voters about how they plan to vote tomorrow?

KAREN KASLER, Ohio Public Radio and Television: There's been a tremendous amount of interest in this election, which is a bit of a surprise, because, first of all, August, special elections don't usually get a whole lot of traction, which is why Republican lawmakers voted to ban most of them last year.

And then, when this particular issue came up, and it became clear that groups were going to try to put an abortion rights and reproductive rights amendment on the November ballot, Republican lawmakers decided to go ahead and do this August special election.

And so those messages that you're hearing in those ads -- and they are misleading -- really do relate more to the November abortion amendment than they do to what this amendment would do, which would increase the voter approval threshold for future amendments to 60 percent and also make it a lot more difficult for citizens and groups that want to propose constitutional amendments to get on the ballot in the first place.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And what do we know about voter turnout so far?

KAREN KASLER: Voter turnout has been pretty brisk.

I mean, that 700,000 number that you mentioned in the introduction there, that's more than twice the number of people who voted early in the primary in May of 2022 last year, when we had contested races for the U.S. Senate and for governor.

So, this is a really, really big deal.

And it's a bit of a surprise for some people.

There were some questions about whether there would be big voter turnout, because it's August.

People are thinking about other things besides voting.

And the real question, of course, being if you're going to make a change to the Constitution, should you rely on such a small number of registered voters to do that?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: This election, this special election, has gained national attention.

What can you tell us about where the money is coming from in those ads we just showed?

KAREN KASLER: Well, the ad total for radio and TV ads so far is around $22 million now.

And that's just the official campaigns.

You have a lot of outside groups, a lot of dark money groups that have also weighed in.

And, of course, you have got mailers, you have got calls, you have got a lot of money pouring in on this.

And I think it's really seen as a kind of test run for what's going to happen in November, because, certainly, abortion rights and reproductive rights on the fall ballot is a big deal.

And we're going to see a lot of interest in that in other red states.

The amendments that would guarantee abortion rights or uphold abortion rights have passed in other red states, but not by 60 percent.

So that's why that 60 percent figure on the Tuesday ballot is such a big deal.

I think this is just a preview of what we're going to see in November with an awful lot of money coming in from out of state.

One thing that's interesting is, Republicans who proposed this and said they wanted to keep out-of-state special interests with a lot of money from buying their way into the Constitution.

But the money for this, for and against, these ads, is coming from out of state almost overwhelmingly.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The Republican-controlled state legislature called this special election.

Could you remind us why they did that, but also how it will ultimately, could ultimately determine abortion access in the state?

KAREN KASLER: Well, they called this vote when they couldn't make the May primary ballot.

Like I mentioned earlier, most of -- most August special elections were banned under a law that passed last year.

And when Republican lawmakers put this forward to try to make sure that it was in place before the November vote on abortion rights, there was a lawsuit.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a party-line vote that the law that banned most August special elections did not apply to lawmakers who were putting a constitutional amendment before voters.

So, certainly, whatever happens on Tuesday, that will potentially make a big difference in that November ballot issue, that November amendment on reproductive rights and abortion access.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Looking ahead to November, how are both sides preparing for that amendment vote?

KAREN KASLER: Well, I think that question of whether it'll take 60 percent to pass that or whether it will take us simple majority, which is what the law is now and what would remain if Issue 1 fails, that's the big question.

And so both people who support abortion rights and people who are anti-abortion are really looking at that.

And there's another issue that potentially comes into play here.

There is a law that has been proposed that would legalize recreational marijuana in Ohio.

That appears to also be likely to make the November ballot.

And that could certainly make a difference in how the reproductive rights and abortion access amendment is talked about and the messaging around that.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: If this amendment passes tomorrow, Karen, it would put more requirements on citizens to get anything they want on the ballot.

But the rules for the Republican -- for the Republican supermajority in the legislature to propose constitutional amendments, those rules wouldn't change.

So what impact does this vote tomorrow have on what ballot measures make it to voters and who gets to decide what's important enough to vote on?

KAREN KASLER: I think that's been one of the most controversial and in some cases overlooked part of Issue 1 on Tuesday's ballot, this idea that groups and citizens that want to put constitutional amendments before voters would have to get signatures from all 88 Ohio counties, not 44, which is the current law.

So, essentially, one county could block a constitutional amendment from even being considered before the 60 percent voter threshold would have to even be reached.

And there are groups that say that there is almost no way, it would be impossible, basically, for grassroots organizations to get those signatures from all 88 counties.

And that was something that some Republicans had not even supported when this was originally proposed, but it was added in as the process went along.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's Karen Kasler, statehouse news bureau chief for Ohio Public Radio and TV.

Thank you so much for your time.

KAREN KASLER: Great to talk to you.

Thanks.

AMNA NAWAZ: Italian Coast Guards have given up hope of finding nearly 30 migrants thrown into the sea over the weekend, when their flimsy dinghies overturned after setting sail from Tunisia.

This latest Mediterranean tragedy happened as human rights organizations called on Tunisia's president to save hundreds of African migrants trapped on the border with Libya without shelter from the scorching heat and sun.

The crisis has accelerated criticism of the European Union, which recently signed a deal with Tunisia to crack down on illegal migration.

Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Risk death in the desert or drown at sea, those are the terrible choices facing sub-Saharan Africans trying to reach Europe via Tunisia; 27 migrants are missing, feared dead, after their rubber dinghies capsized in rough seas south of the Italian island of Lampedusa this weekend.

The Italian Coast Guard rescued 57 people and recovered the bodies of a young boy and a woman who succumbed to the waves before deliverance arrived.

And this is the fate they were trying to avoid, being abandoned in the Sahara Desert, one of the most unforgiving places on Earth.

Other sub-Saharan Africans with the same European dream have been dying of thirst after being dumped by the Tunisian authorities on the Libyan border.

This mother and her small child are among the latest victims, lying next to an empty water bottle and not far from a man who also succumbed to extreme heat and dehydration.

LAUREN SEIBERT, Human Rights Watch: Over 300 people are still currently trapped at the Tunisia-Libya border in the desert, and they have been trapped there for weeks.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Human Rights Watch researcher Lauren Seibert is an expert on the dangers facing migrants in Africa.

LAUREN SEIBERT: You have children,.

You have women.

You have deaths that are increasing.

You do have Libya border guards that are reporting deaths every few days.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Fatemah Ibrahim, from Nigeria, is terrified, as Libyan border guards approach.

"We won't hit you," says this officer, as he tells a colleague to give her water.

"We won't hit you.

Don't be afraid."

As the Libyans dispense the smallest of mouthfuls, Fatemah Ibrahim explains why they're in peril.

FATEMAH IBRAHIM, Nigerian Migrant (through translator): In Tunisia, the police arrested us, beat us, and took our phones and all our money.

They told us to go to Libya, and my people kept saying, Libya is very bad.

They left us without water and food.

They put us there and then left.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Tunisia's authoritarian President Kais Saied is being blamed for what is turning into a 21st century pogrom.

Accompanied by a jaunty soundtrack on his Facebook page, Saied presents himself as an international statesman, greeting leaders such as Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

But many critics condemn him as a dictator who propagates racism.

In February, Saied told security forces to stop all illegal migration and expel those without documents.

KAIS SAIED, Tunisia President (through translator): We are African and we are proud to be Africans.

We give help to those who come to us.

But we refuse to be neither a pathway nor a land to settle in.

MALCOLM BRABANT: A campaign of arrests and expulsions created a wave of fear among sub-Saharan Africans and Black Tunisians.

Pro-refugee activists took to the streets of the capital, Tunis, to protest the new measures.

But Saied was unrepentant.

KAIS SAIED (through translator): We are being subjected to vicious campaigns from mercenaries, traitors, foreign agents, and shady parties.

Today, they want to change the demographic composition of Tunisia.

It's a plot, and they get paid for it.

And they got paid in other fields to attack the state and the Tunisian people and their identity.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Saied's remarks have been widely condemned for provoking racial violence between Tunisians and migrants.

The death of a Tunisian in July was one of the catalysts that led to the expulsions to the desert.

Despite the clashes, European Union leaders had no qualms about visiting the presidential palace to do business with a man who seized power two years ago, crushing democratic aspirations of the nation where the Arab Spring began in 2011.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged $100 million to help Tunisia police its own borders, with the lure of a further billion dollars in aid.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, President, European Commission: We need to crack down on criminal networks of smugglers and traffickers.

They are exploiting human despair.

And we have to break their reckless business model.

So, we will work with Tunisia on an anti-smuggling operational partnership.

MALCOLM BRABANT: The E.U.

country which benefits most from this deal is Italy.

The island of Lampedusa is just over 100 miles from Tunisia, and has been a landing zone for tens of thousands of asylum seekers for years.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office last autumn on an-anti migration platform.

GIORGIA MELONI, Italian Prime Minister (through translator): The partnership with Tunisia has to be considered as a model for building new relations with North African neighbors.

All these a few months ago would have been unthinkable.

And I want to say it with a level of pride, but also with a level of gratitude to the European Union.

ANAND MENON, King's College London: The rhetoric around this deal is a rhetoric of preventing people drowning, whereas everyone knows that the reality is about preventing people coming from -- to Europe.

That's the political priority in Europe.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Anand Menon is professor of European politics at King's College London.

ANAND MENON: Europe has cash, and North African states have space to build these camps to house these migrants.

We should remember that, of course, the European Union paid Colonel Gadhafi way back in the sort of 2009-2010 to do exactly the same thing, to make sure migrants didn't make the crossing.

So, politically, you see the rationale.

But it makes the European Union complicit in human rights abuses in these camps.

MALCOLM BRABANT: What does this say about Europe?

ANAND MENON: I think what it says about Europe is that European and -- European politicians are terrified by migration from Africa and will do anything it takes to stop it, even if it means dealing with dictators such as in Tunisia.

MIGRANTS: Black Lives matter!

MALCOLM BRABANT: These people were rescued from the desert by Libyan authorities.

Their protest took place during a media facility with a border guard unit.

IBRAHIM BANGUA, Sierra Leone Migrant (through translator): Some people are sick.

We are asking for a solution.

No solution.

Every day, they come with weapons for us.

We are not fighting.

We are just migrants.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Tunisia's actions are a welcome distraction for its neighbor Libya, another country on the migrant trail with a dreadful reputation.

NATASHA TSANGARIDES, Freedom From Torture: Our legal advisers who work with survivors of torture every day describe Libya as Armageddon.

They describe it as complete hell on earth.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Natasha Tsangarides is the associate director of advocacy with Freedom From Torture, a British nonprofit.

NATASHA TSANGARIDES: People experience such high levels of trauma and PTSD following their time in Libya, being subjected to open-air slave markets, being sold off at auctions, being subject to rape and torture.

MALCOLM BRABANT: But, for human rights activists, discussions about the morality and cynicism of the European Union and its North African partners are taking second place to the issue of life and death in the Sahara.

How do you see this ending?

LAUREN SEIBERT: Honestly, if the Tunisian government does not take action to save these individuals' lives by allowing humanitarian aid immediately to access the zone, and if it does not also facilitate the evacuation of these people, you're going to see extreme numbers of deaths.

And you have got children there.

More children could die.

It's just really catastrophic.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Tunisia has dismissed international characterization of the expulsions as false allegations.

But it's impossible to deny that time is running out in the desert and in the cruel Mediterranean Sea.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Malcolm Brabant.

AMNA NAWAZ: One of the nation's largest freight and trucking companies, Yellow, announced it is shutting down, leading to one of the largest mass layoffs in recent history and potential shipping cost increases ahead.

As Lisa Desjardins reports, the company is in bankruptcy just three years after getting a $700 million loan from taxpayers.

LISA DESJARDINS: Amna, the Yellow Corporation was a major player in a critical form of trucking, carrying goods between factories to distribution centers, including for Amazon, and to retail stores.

It survived the pandemic thanks to that massive taxpayer loan approved by the Trump administration.

Now taxpayers are left with stock in a bankrupt company and some 30,000 workers are suddenly out of a job.

To understand more, I'm joined by Rachel Premack, editorial director at FreightWaves, where she has been covering this.

Rachel, what does this mean for Americans outside the trucking industry?

RACHEL PREMACK, FreightWaves: Yes, so one big result of this is that we are seeing -- we are anticipating that freight rates will actually increase over these next few months, because Yellow was actually a provider of very low-cost freight transportation.

They were the third largest player in the sector of the trucking industry called less-than-truckload, where retailers and manufacturers combine various loads into one single trailer.

So we are -- as a result of Yellows bankruptcy and closure, it's likely that the average rate for customers in the less-than-truckload space, those rates will increase, and those costs will -- those increased rates will likely be passed down to consumers.

LISA DESJARDINS: Both of my big brothers were truck drivers.

One of them, it was his lifelong career.

So I know this is not an easy job.

Can you help us understand the scale of the layoffs involved here?

And could these workers easily find other jobs?

RACHEL PREMACK: Yes, so, in total, Yellow employed around 30,000 employees, 22,000 of which were Teamsters members, and many of those Teamsters members were, in fact, truck drivers.

Now, the trucking industry has actually seen a recession or a slowdown in the past year, year-and-a-half.

So it will be more challenging for these drivers to not only find other trucking jobs, but certainly find other non-union truck -- or certainly find other union trucking jobs.

There are now only two large union less-than-truckload players left in the space.

And for those truck drivers to find other jobs where they can have the same sort of pension and health care benefits, it may be challenging.

LISA DESJARDINS: No surprise trucking is part of the lifeblood of this country.

So there are a lot of layers here, but one of them involves that huge government loan to this company.

Now, we know, again, it was $700 million in COVID relief loans, specifically national security-related.

This company got 95 percent of all of the national security-related COVID money given out.

Now, Congress found in a report that Yellow actually did not meet the national security criteria, but the loan came to them because the Trump administration made a separate recommendation.

Can you help us understand that?

If it wasn't really critical national security, how did this company gets such a massive loan?

RACHEL PREMACK: This is something that's been very confusing to many folks who do study these sorts of loans and these sort of government assistance programs.

It's really unclear why exactly Yellow got this loan.

But what is clear is that it was massive, and it's something that -- in that recent congressional report, it's something that the federal government does appear to regret actually giving out this loan.

What this means for taxpayers, what's interesting is that the U.S. Treasury is actually third in line for this larger bankruptcy program.

They come after the banks that lended to Yellow, and they also come after Apollo Global, the hedge fund that also supported Yellow.

So, this is something that the U.S. Treasury and U.S. taxpayers actually probably won't see much of the money that they invested into this trucking company returned.

LISA DESJARDINS: I know I saw in that report also that lobbying money increased from this company during the time it was up for these loans.

Help us big picture here.

What led to this collapse of this company?

They had rocky times before.

But what was the problem now?

RACHEL PREMACK: Yes, so Yellow has been really on the brink of financial crisis for the past decade-and-a-half.

They nearly filed bankruptcy four times going from the Great Recession all the way up to 2020.

What sort of began this downfall, you could say, was several costly acquisitions that Yellow made in the early 2000s of other trucking companies.

They failed to integrate those trucking companies fully into their network.

And, by 2008, the financial crisis, of course, hit trucking particularly hard.

And Yellow was saddled with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and these various trucking networks that weren't fully integrated.

And we didn't actually see Yellow attempt to integrate those networks until the late 2010s, early 2020s.

By that point, it was too late.

This company was just simply -- many folks watching the trucking industry would describe Yellow as mismanaged.

And they just simply weren't able to pull out of this.

Now, they would say the real cause of the collapse, the company is certainly blaming Teamsters, which refused to negotiate with Yellow on certain work rules and certain changes made to their networks throughout the past year.

Teamsters would say, well, this company has been mismanaged.

That's the key reason why it went bankrupt.

So we're kind of seeing right now these two big parties blame the other one for the loss of these 30,000 jobs.

LISA DESJARDINS: In just our final 30 seconds here, you mentioned a recession in the industry overall.

Is this an isolated case?

Or should we be worried about other trucking companies?

RACHEL PREMACK: So, we have seen many small trucking companies actually collapse and file for bankruptcy in the past year, especially these companies that were actually established during COVID, when we did see so much more goods as demand throughout the country.

Many of those companies are now closing down.

Some of those drivers are joining larger fleets, but others are actually looking for other types of work outside of the trucking industry altogether.

LISA DESJARDINS: Rachel Premack, covering a critical industry in this country, thank you.

RACHEL PREMACK: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: One year ago this week, President Biden signed the PACT Act, fundamentally changing how veterans could receive disability compensation for war-related illnesses.

Before that, they had to prove their sickness was related to military service, an often impossible bar.

Under the PACT Act, veterans have to prove deployment to one of the included countries, like Iraq or Afghanistan and others.

They also must suffer from one of 23 listed medical conditions, such as brain cancer, asthma, or chronic bronchitis.

More than 801,000 veterans and their survivors have filed claims since the act was signed.

The VA posts online data for one condition covered by the new law, asthma.

There were 36,000 claims for asthma.

Half were approved and half were denied.

So, overall, how is the implementation of this act proceeding?

Denis McDonough is the secretary of Veterans Affairs, and he joins me now.

Welcome back to the "NewsHour."

DENIS MCDONOUGH, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs: Thanks for having me, Amna.

Happy to be here.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, let's start with that question.

How is the implementation going overall?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Well, look, I mean, I think we're out of the gate strong.

But, so far, we're doing a lot of outreach.

In fact, we have just conducted and we are conducting the biggest outreach campaign in the history of VA, so that veterans, no matter where they are, know what they qualify for.

And they come in and file a claim to try to make sure that we get them everything that they have earned.

So that 800,000 number feels decent.

We have a long way to go.

And we're going to stay on top of this until every veteran knows what's available to him or her, files a claim, then we fulfill that claim for them.

And I think we're out of the gate strong, but we got a long way to go, and we're not going to let up.

AMNA NAWAZ: Where do you think that number could end up?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Well, look, I mean, the numbers, let's just take one half of the law.

The first half of the law addresses Vietnam vets, but let's set that aside for a second.

The other half of the law covers anybody who was in Central Command for the 30 years of war there starting in 1991 and Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, going all the way through the summer of 2021, and when the activities in Afghanistan ceased.

So that's 30 years of war.

We think there's probably four million veterans who qualify, having been in that geography.

So we want to make sure that everybody knows that they have an opportunity gets that claim filed, and we get to work for them.

AMNA NAWAZ: So you mentioned the one condition you have listed, claims files and rejections online.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: We have requested from the DA - - the VA, rather, data on claims and denials for all of the 23 medical conditions.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: We were told we have to file a Freedom of Information Act to receive that information.

Do you have that data?

Are you tracking it?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: I don't have that information at my fingertips.

I was really gratified to see that you cited our data in your lead-in.

We made a decision early in this process that we'd put out the data we have every two weeks, so that you and then obviously veterans and their families, Congress, everybody can see exactly what we're doing.

So... AMNA NAWAZ: But for the other medical conditions as well?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Again, we have what -- we have we have published what we have.

If you have -- you all have a request, all right, we will go to work on it.

But what we're working through right now is actually getting those claims filed, processing those claims, and getting the benefits paid to our veterans.

AMNA NAWAZ: Last year, I know you and I spoke about one particular lung condition that was very hard, is still very hard to diagnose.

I just want to play a clip from that exchange we had last year in September.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Sure.

Sure.

AMNA NAWAZ: There's a condition called constrictive bronchiolitis, which basically destroys the small airways.

There's no treatment, there's no cure.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Right.

AMNA NAWAZ: Under the metrics that the VA currently uses, you have to establish what's called the disability rating.

And that then can help grant some benefits to the veterans.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Right.

AMNA NAWAZ: People who have this do not qualify for anything.

They have to appeal to get something.

And I believe, back in July, you said you were looking into this.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: So have you closed the loophole?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: So we have been working on this issue of constrictive bronchiolitis.

One of the issues is the test to prove existence of chronic constrictive bronchiolitis is actually as intrusive in many cases as the disease itself.

AMNA NAWAZ: Right.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: And so I don't have news on that yet.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Mr. Secretary, many months later now, almost a year later, have you been able to close that loophole?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: We don't have specific process yet established on how to test for constrictive bronchiolitis.

But a lot of times, it manifests in other challenges too.

Those are conditions that we have very straightforward tests for, so asthma being one of them.

So, I don't have news for you on that at the moment, but we will stay on top of it.

This is one of the things that our troopers really wrestle with.

It's something that we need a straightforward definition for and an even more straightforward test, so that we can establish the connection - - or establish the existence of the condition, so that people who were in that geography and have that condition get their benefit.

AMNA NAWAZ: There have been some questions, though, about the tests, the kind of tests, pulmonary function tests and the like that are used for things like asthma and emphysema... DENIS MCDONOUGH: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: ... don't necessarily work correct for this particular illness.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Correct.

Right.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I just I want to play for you another bite.

We spoke with a doctor who has been treating a number of these patients.

His name is Robert Miller.

He's at Vanderbilt Medical Center.

He says he has seen 300 patients with constrictive bronchiolitis since the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

He says none of them so far, none of them have benefited from the PACT Act.

This is just a little bit of what he had to say.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Sure.

DR. ROBERT MILLER, Vanderbilt University Medical Center: When it comes to the respiratory patients that I take care of, it has not come through in a way that has helped as many as I would have liked.

The PACT Act says that constrictive bronchiolitis and other respiratory disorders should be considered presumptive diagnoses.

These presumptive diagnoses for respiratory disease are not getting rated for disability.

The VA actually hasn't created a code for disability for constrictive bronchiolitis.

AMNA NAWAZ: So you have said there's not a test.

There's not a code that's been created for it.

We spoke about it last year.

And you said you were working on it.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: I guess, for the hundreds of those veterans who suffer from this... DENIS MCDONOUGH: Totally.

AMNA NAWAZ: ... when can they access those benefits?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Look, I mean, it's really hard for me to know.

I'm really glad.

We will make sure that we track down the doctor that you're working with there and make sure that we understand what that timeline is for those 300.

I don't know if those 300 since the president signed the law into -- signed the bill into law a year ago, but we will get to the bottom of it and we will figure it out.

I think what we have been trying to say to veterans is, we want you in our care.

We want you to get the benefits that you have earned and so richly deserve.

That's what this outreach campaign has been about.

Believe me, nobody's more frustrated about how we can diagnose -- make some of these diagnoses than I am.

But we will keep working at it.

AMNA NAWAZ: There are recommendations, though, right?

There was a working group that's been focusing just on this issue for the VA. DENIS MCDONOUGH: A VA working group, correct.

AMNA NAWAZ: They put forward recommendations last September, I believe.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Correct.

Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: I don't think those have been adopted.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Those are being worked through at our -- what's called our War Related Illness and Injury Study Center of Excellence, which is up at East Orange, New Jersey, and our VA center there.

This is some of the best science that we have on these conditions.

I guess I want to just underscore to you, Amna, I'm not happy about where this stands.

I want to make sure every veteran gets the care and the benefits that they have earned.

AMNA NAWAZ: So help us understand why it's taking so long.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Look, we're -- because we're working through the science to get to it.

And that's -- and let's be clear.

That's on one condition, constrictive bronchiolitis, that we're working through, 800,000 claims.

About 450,000 of them have now been completed.

We're granting in those 450,000 at about 80 percent.

It's -- I think the last number I saw is 78.6 percent.

That's substantially higher.

And that's the importance and the strength of the new law, which establishes a presumption of connection.

So we just need the existence of the condition and the fact of presence in Central Command.

Those two things make sure that we get the rating, get the benefits and get the care.

AMNA NAWAZ: We look forward to keeping in touch with you about this issue.

Before I let you go, I need to ask you about another issue we have spoken about previously, which was the decision the VA made to provide abortion services and counseling in cases of incest, rape, or when the life of the woman was at risk.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Life or health.

AMNA NAWAZ: Life or health.

Thank you.

Do you know how many people have accessed those services?

DENIS MCDONOUGH: I think the most recent numbers I have seen are in 50 range.

This is going back to the period when we started providing the services in September.

So, I don't know that that's the most recent number.

That's the number that sticks out to me as being the one we have most recently provided to Congress.

AMNA NAWAZ: I appreciate you providing that to us today.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, always good to have you here.

Thank you.

DENIS MCDONOUGH: Thank you so much.

Brief But Spectacular AMNA NAWAZ: Ramya Ramana is an award-winning author, poet and lyricist.

She was a winner of the Youth Poet Laureate of New York City Award.

And in addition to performing and writing, she's also worked as an educator and mentor for young women and poets.

Tonight, she shares her Brief But Spectacular take on forgiveness.

RAMYA RAMANA, Poet: I think, to be a creative, you have to be a listener first.

You have to be able to observe the world around you and to observe yourself and how you move through the world.

I was born in Queens to immigrant parents from India.

We spent a few years of life there before we moved to Long Island.

I had a big family.

We had our parents, our grandparents, our uncle, just one big Indian family in a household.

Today, I will be performing a piece about forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a doorway.

A garden of curses spill from her lips and the city inside me crumbles.

I tell myself, all poison has once been poisoned too.

Forgiveness has been a journey for me and a freeing one.

I have realized that being able to forgive releases you from the prison of what you endured, and it allows you to restore yourself to a childlike state of wonder.

I think of images of grace as a remedy, the ground revealing itself after a cruel winter of snow, a bed of roses growing where a home once burned.

The person or the people that I'm forgiving is generational forgiveness.

It's a forgiveness that is beyond me.

The temptation is high to be right and to be self-righteous about my rightness, to make a place out of the megaphone of resentment, though I know this road leads to where it always does, an empty, lonely mansion.

A lot of what I'm curious to write about as I grow and as I develop is to be able to tap into something that is eternal and that is timeless and apply that to my work, that whatever my intimacy is with the timeless, the eternal, out of overflow, it can reach other people.

It can somehow, touch other people.

Grace declutters the noise, so I can reenter the girlhood I long for.

For the little girl in her that never got to live, a little girl in me will.

Forgiveness is a doorway to return to the home of myself, that quiet garden, a quartet of tenderness.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) RAMYA RAMANA: My name is Ramya Ramana, and this is my Brief But Spectacular on forgiveness.

AMNA NAWAZ: And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "NewsHour" team, thank you for joining us.