GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "NewsHour" tonight: Israel intensifies its bombing of Gaza and expands ground operations, plunging the territory into an Internet blackout.

GEOFF BENNETT: The Lewiston, Maine, area begins to mourn the 18 victims killed by a mass shooter.

And it's Friday, so David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart join us to discuss whether the new House speaker can get Congress functioning again.

(BREAK) AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Israeli ground forces are making larger incursions into Gaza and officials are again warning of a wider invasion.

GEOFF BENNETT: At the same time, Israel's punishing air campaign on Gaza is not letting up, while negotiations over the fates of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas have apparently faltered.

Leila Molana-Allen again starts our coverage tonight from just outside Gaza.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Nearly three weeks after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks, an Israeli official announced that the payback begins tonight.

Just behind me is the northeastern corner of the Gaza Strip after a day of some of the heaviest airstrikes on Gaza that we have seen.

Now we're hearing constant outgoing artillery fire, Jeeps full of soldiers driving by, as the IDF says tonight that they are expanding their ground operations in Gaza.

An adviser to the prime minister, Mark Regev, said Hamas would feel Israel's wrath tonight, this after punishing airstrikes since the attacks.

Earlier, Israel's elite naval unit pounded Gaza from the water.

Ground forces conducted a preliminary raid, but it remained unclear if this was the full invasion forecast for days.

In Gaza, a telecommunications company said the bombardment has cut off phone and Internet service.

An airstrike in Gaza earlier today blew the roof off a mosque while Palestinians gathered for Friday prayers.

Then they mourned a 14-year-old killed in the blast.

MOHAMMED ABU DAQQA, Displaced From East of Khan Yunis (through translator): We have been invaded through ground and air.

Is this a life?

This is not a life.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Israelis defended their targeting, citing evidence they say shows Hamas hides resources behind humanitarian centers.

REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, Spokesperson, Israeli Defense Forces: There is fuel in hospitals in Gaza, and Hamas is using it for its terror infrastructures.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: The United Nations passed a resolution today calling for a humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas, raising the political pressure for a cease-fire.

The White House said 10 aid trucks entered Gaza today, but U.N. aid workers on the ground called for more help.

PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, Commissioner-General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East: These fuel trucks are nothing more than the crumbs that will not make a difference for the two million people in the street.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: As the region boils, yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister cautioned against any further American involvement.

HOSSEIN AMIR ABDOLLAHIAN, Iranian Foreign Minister (through translator): We do not welcome the expansion of the war in the region.

But, by war, if the genocide in Gaza continues, they will not be spared from this fire.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: That is a threat Iran is apparently acting on.

American troops in the region have weathered multiple attacks from militant groups they say are backed by Iran.

American fighter jets in Eastern Syria attacked two Iran-linked sites in retaliation.

And Pentagon officials said troops brought down a drone near a U.S. base in Iraq this morning.

Amid unrest in the region, the U.S. hopes to deter further attacks.

But, tonight, as Israel sends more ground troops into Gaza, it's all eyes on the attacks on that front line -- Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: Leila, you spent good time on that area just outside of Gaza tonight and most of today.

Tell us a little bit more about what you saw.

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: I did.

And about 7:30 this evening, we started getting reports that inside Gaza, there was no longer any phone signals, there was no Internet signal.

That, of course, is an indicator that something is about to happen, and then, just after that, reports from the Israeli military that they were extending their ground operations there.

We were down on that border there, a huge amount of artillery fire there, constant airstrikes, after a day full of airstrikes, many more Jeeps rolling into that area.

We could see the flashes of artillery there, jets flying overhead, helicopters, drones everywhere.

It was full military action.

Now, it's difficult right now to know whether this is the invasion they have been talking about or simply an extension.

They haven't been clear on that.

The IDF has confirmed that there are tonight troops and tanks inside Gaza.

That's all they will say.

And we have had reports that in the Beit Hanoun area on the northeastern border of Gaza, just inside Gaza, that tanks were seen there and troops as well.

AMNA NAWAZ: And our foreign affairs and defense correspondent, Nick Schifrin joins me here in studio.

Nick, good to see you.

So, Leila is reporting troops and tanks inside Gaza.

What are your Washington sources telling you about what this means?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Well, as Leila said, it's not clear, at least publicly clear, what the Israelis are doing, whether this is the full-scale invasion, the goals of which are to uproot Hamas physically and politically, or if this is just more what the U.S. military calls shaping operations, being incursions ahead of a large invasion.

Amna, I will say, there are certainly people here who believe this is the start of the invasion.

And there are U.S. hopes that, if this is the invasion, the Israelis have decided to do it a little bit differently than what we have seen in the past, a little bit more measured, a little bit more slow-rolled, even though these images do not suggest any kind of measurement or slow roll.

The idea there is that, strategically, if there is less of a gigantic invasion announced publicly and that we could see literally rolling over Gaza, strategically, that doesn't preclude progress in the other areas that the U.S. and Israel are trying to make, most notably, hostages, as Leila was talking about.

Also, it doesn't erupt the region, as U.S. officials have been concerned about.

Leila reported those 20 attacks already on U.S. troops by Iranian-backed militias.

The U.S. has been very concerned a large invasion would actually yield even more attacks than that.

And, also, the other step the U.S. is hoping to take, getting some American citizens, 600 American citizens, out of Gaza.

Tactically, what does that look like?

The U.S. has been advising Israel to use less, for example, artillery and tanks, some of the big weapons, and more smaller special forces teams, mortars to try and eliminate or at least reduce civilian casualties as much as possible.

And that key factor here, Amna, hostages, there's a lot of domestic pressure, as you know, as you covered from families, Israeli families, on the Israeli government to prove that they're doing everything possible that they can to get those hostages out.

And the fear was that a giant invasion would stop any of that progress.

There was progress, I'm told, officials -- by officials this morning.

The Israelis are looking for a large release.

It's not clear how close or far they are, but there's some fear that any kind of large invasion would, again, preclude some of that momentum.

But, again, we just don't know, as Leila's been reporting, exactly what this is.

AMNA NAWAZ: The hostages are a key part of it, more than 200, they believe, still held in Gaza.

Leila, finally, just in the context of what you have been seeing and reporting on in these last three weeks, how are you seeing this moment?

What could this mean?

LEILA MOLANA-ALLEN: Well, the IDF has said from the beginning that they are going in, but this will be a phased operation.

A couple possibilities here, firstly, that they are trying out the ground here, one of those shaping operations, to see what happens, and they don't want to say yet whether this is the full invasion.

The second one, of course, is the possibility they haven't been in at this scale to Gaza before, and what they want to find out is what's going to happen.

So, if they go in, some military experts saying, if they suddenly sustain lots of casualties, it won't be a huge embarrassment if they say this was just another try going in, this isn't the full invasion.

Of course, what this means for Gazans is utter horror.

Just before comms went out, one Gazan activist tweeted: "They're turning the lights out.

There's no more signal.

They are going to murder us in the dark."

Now, the Defense Ministry was putting out lines today about these Hamas tunnels that they think are Al Shifa Hospital, the biggest hospital in Gaza.

There are tens of thousands of people sheltering there.

If they are going to go after that hospital, that could be a humanitarian disaster, Gazans terrified tonight.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Leila Molana-Allen reporting from Tel Aviv, Nick Schifrin from here in our studio.

Thank you to you both.

The community in and around Lewiston, Maine, is mourning the loss of at least 18 people killed in Wednesday's mass shootings.

Another 13 people were injured.

Nearly 48 hours later, the suspect still has not been found, and a massive manhunt continues, keeping residents on edge.

Laura Barron-Lopez reports from Lewiston.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The hunt for the suspected gunman in Lewiston's deadly shooting rampage is intensifying.

David St. Pierre is the city's police chief.

DAVID ST. PIERRE, Lewiston, Maine, Police Chief: The safety of our committee remains paramount.

I want to assure all that a tremendous and one of law enforcement, manpower, time and effort is being utilized around the clock, literally around the clock, in every effort to apprehend the suspect, as well as the safe to safeguard this community.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Hundreds of police and FBI agents are searching the area for traces of Robert Card's whereabouts.

The U.S. Army Reservist had been treated for two weeks at a mental health facility this past summer.

He's believed to be armed and dangerous.

MIKE SAUSCHUCK, Commissioner, Maine Department of Public Safety: I think that every minute that this goes on, we're more and more concerned, because what's the next thing that's going to happen?

There's no question in my mind that we will bring this individual into custody one way or the other.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Divers are searching the waters of the Androscoggin river near a boat launch where the suspect's car was found.

Last night, heavily armed law enforcement officials surrounded Card's home in nearby Bowdoin, but didn't find him.

As the sprawling manhunt continues, tens of thousands of residents in and around Lewiston have been sheltering in place and living in fear.

Stores and schools remain closed.

Betsy Saltonstall colleague was killed at the shooting at Schemengees Bar and Grille.

Joshua Seal was a sign language interpreter and member of a deaf cornhole team taking part in a competition at the bar at the time of the rampage.

BETSY SALTONSTALL, Rockport, Maine, Resident: You hear about these things happening in other places and feel so proud and protective of Maine.

And having it happen in your backyard and knowing somebody personally that's been killed is traumatic.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: She said Joshua's death is a tremendous loss for the community.

BETSY SALTONSTALL: It was very clear to me that Josh made his mission about helping the deaf and hard-of-hearing community here in Maine.

It is not often that you get to meet people who are so gifted and committed to helping others in a way that is going to move the needle and help others.

And that was really evident that that was his superpower, helping others and making a difference.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Bryan Cassidy co-founded the same cornhole league that Joshua played in.

Three of his friends were killed at Schemengees.

BRYAN CASSIDY, Lewiston, Maine, Resident: Joey Walker was a good friend.

He would give you his shirt off his back.

He'd help anybody.

And then Ron Morin, that guy was a shining ray of light.

He'd smile, make everybody smile all the time.

Billy Brackett, he's part of the deaf community.

The guy was a kind soul.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Normally, Cassidy would have been there.

BRYAN CASSIDY: We went every -- every Wednesday night.

And we decided to get groceries that night.

And it killed me, because, if I was there, I could have helped stop that.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: How long do you think it's going to take for the community to recover from this?

BRYAN CASSIDY: It's going to take a long time, long time.

I don't see how we're ever going to come back from it.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Rob Young can't believe he will never see his brother and nephew again.

ROB YOUNG, Family Member of Shooting Victims: We're all broken.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Bill and Aaron young were killed when the gunman opened fire at the Just-In-Time bowling alley.

ROB YOUNG: We woke up this morning all hoping it was a nightmare, that this isn't what really happened.

I mean, this still doesn't feel real sitting here is talking to you.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Fourteen-year-old Aaron loved bowling, scoring a 275 earlier this month.

A sweet and smart kid, the family had big dreams for him.

ROB YOUNG: He tried out karate, didn't like hitting people, so he stopped.

(LAUGHTER) ROB YOUNG: He was like, ah, no.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Turned to bowling.

ROB YOUNG: Yes, yes.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: As Rob holds on to happier memories, he also wants answers.

How would you describe the way state officials have handled communication?

ROB YOUNG: Oh, it was chaotic.

It was chaotic.

There's obviously no plan in place.

No family should have to wait 17 hours to find -- to find the answer to if their loved one is in a hospital dead or being interviewed as a witness.

The wait was just as bad as hearing the news.

And it shouldn't happen to any family, having to wait that long.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The close-knit community is preparing to hold vigils for the victims of the Lewiston shootings in the days ahead.

Lewiston is the second biggest city in Maine, but people here say it truly is a small town, with less than 40,000 people living here.

The entire community is feeling this loss, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Laura, I know you have been reporting in Lewiston and the neighboring towns today.

What's it like there right now, as the suspect remains at large?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: So, roughly 48 hours since the shooting, Geoff, and the shelter-in-place in Lewiston and all of the other towns where it was in place has been lifted as of tonight, local authorities said.

But that doesn't mean that the situation is not dangerous.

They say it's still dangerous, that the town is still in crisis and that they urge people to remain vigilant, Geoff.

They lifted the order because they want to allow people to go to doctors, to go to pharmacies, to go to school.

And just to give you a little bit more of a sense about how it's been feeling here, Geoff, I spoke to Greg Marley.

He's a clinical director at a statewide organization in Maine that services people -- provides mental health services.

And he said that their help line, typically, they have one person manning it.

They have had to have three to four to help provide trauma services and counseling.

GEOFF BENNETT: As was clear in your report, the reaction has been one of grief, anger and frustration.

As you have been speaking to people there, what have they told you about specific actions or reforms they want to see in response to these shootings?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Democratic Congressman Jared Golden of Maine said that he now supports a ban on assault weapons.

He didn't previously supported, had voted against it in the past.

But local state representatives, as well as local residents here, tell me that they want to see a red flag law put in place.

Currently, Maine has a yellow flag law.

Now, the difference there, Geoff, is that a red flag law allows family members, police members to petition a judge to temporarily take away guns from a person that they deem a threat that may have a mental health issue.

Now, a yellow flag law requires police to first seek a medical evaluation before they can go to a judge to petition to then temporarily take away a person's guns.

GEOFF BENNETT: Laura Barron-Lopez reporting tonight in Lewiston, Maine.

Laura, thank you.

We want to take a moment now to remember those killed in the shootings.

Authorities released the names of all 18 people late this afternoon.

They range in age from 14 to 76 years old.

They include employees at the bowling alley and bar, advocates in the deaf community, a father of two with a baby on the way, and a father of five who just minutes before was playing pool with his own dad.

Here are the names of the 18 people lost.

(MUSIC) AMNA NAWAZ: In the day's other headlines: A state judge in New York ordered Ivanka Trump to testify in her father's civil fraud trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled she has relevant information whether former President Trump overstated his wealth to secure loans and deals.

The judge also set November 6 for Mr. Trump to begin giving his own testimony.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried denied today that he defrauded anyone with his cryptocurrency exchange.

He began testifying in federal court in New York and acknowledged key mistakes before the company's collapse.

Under oath, Bankman-Fried said -- quote -- "We thought we might be able to build the best product on the market.

It turned out basically the opposite of that."

The devastated resort city of Acapulco, Mexico, was still largely cut off today in the aftermath of a powerful hurricane.

People trudged through flooded streets today to find food and water.

Stranded tourists were increasingly desperate and blamed a sluggish government response.

PAOLA RUIZ VELASCO, Mexico Tourist (through translator): I went to the naval base because they said there was a shelter there, but the soldiers just stared at me like I was crazy.

They gave us nothing.

They told us to go steal from a store so we could have something.

AMNA NAWAZ: The official death toll remained at 27, but hundreds of people were still looking for missing friends and relatives.

The fatigue of war was felt across Ukraine today, as hundreds of families demanded a cap on mandatory military service,.

Mothers, wives and children protested in Kyiv and other cities, pleading for soldiers to be sent home.

They said service should be limited to 18 months, which was Ukraine's policy before the war.

VALERIIA KOLIADA, Ukrainian Protester (through translator): I'm here because my husband has been a volunteer since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and I don't know when I could see him back at home.

I live in constant fear for his life.

It's nerve-racking for me.

AMNA NAWAZ: In a related development, the new speaker of the U.S. House, Mike Johnson, said last night that the U.S. is -- quote - - "not going to abandon Ukraine."

But he said House Republicans want aid for Israel to come first.

In other congressional news, Republican Representative George Santos pleaded not guilty to new fraud charges in New York.

He left a federal courthouse on Long Island after a brief hearing this morning.

Prosecutors say he used campaign donors' credit card numbers to make purchases without their approval.

President Biden has a new challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination.

A three-term Minnesota congressman, Dean Phillips, announced his bid today in New Hampshire.

He spoke at the Statehouse in Concord, and he said he's got good reasons for running.

REP. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-MN), Presidential Candidate: I do so not in opposition to President Biden, who has my affection and my gratitude, rather, with two core convictions, that I am the Democratic candidate who can win.

(APPLAUSE) REP. DEAN PHILLIPS: And, second, it is time for the torch to be passed to a new generation of American leaders right here all around the country and all around the world!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) AMNA NAWAZ: One other Democrat, author Marianne Williamson, is also in the race.

In economic news, a closely watched inflation gauge shows price hikes are still going strong.

The Commerce Department reported today that prices rose four-tenths of a percent in September, the same as in August.

That was fueled by consumer spending, which also increased four-tenths of a percent.

And on Wall Street, stocks finished out a rough week.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 366 points to close at 32417.

The Nasdaq rose 47 points.

The S&P 500 was down 20.

For the week, all three indices were down 2 to 2.5 percent.

Still to come on the "NewsHour": The U.S. responds to attacks on American forces in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war; David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart weigh in on the week's political headlines; and a young conductor chooses to serve his Kentucky community using music as a mission.

GEOFF BENNETT: We're going to shift our focus back to the Israel-Hamas war and the U.S. response.

For perspective from the Biden White House, we're joined by John Kirby, the coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council.

Sir, welcome back to the "NewsHour."

JOHN KIRBY, NSC Coordinator For Strategic Communications: Thanks for having me.

Good to be with you.

GEOFF BENNETT: Israel's military, as you well know, announced an expansion of ground operations in the Gaza Strip tonight.

We have reports of tanks and troops on the ground.

Gaza has been plunged into darkness.

I know you're limited in terms of what you can say about Israel's military operation, but is the administration confident that Israel has considered the full range of repercussions of a stepped-up ground assault?

JOHN KIRBY: Well, we're certainly confident that we have had the ability to share our perspectives in urban warfare and combat of this kind of sort.

We have had more than ample opportunity to talk to them about our lessons learned.

And they will have to speak for their decisions, obviously, in what they're doing or what they will do.

But we're going to stay in close touch with them.

And the other thing we're going to do is keep making sure that they have got the tools, the weapons, the capabilities to be successful in this fight against Hamas.

GEOFF BENNETT: You have said the U.S. welcomes a pause in the war to allow more time to get humanitarian aid in and hostages out.

There are, of course, American hostages being held by Hamas right now.

What's the potential impact of this latest offensive on the effort to get those hostages released?

JOHN KIRBY: I think that remains to be seen.

I will -- again, I will let the Israelis speak for their military operations, but what impact it might have on the ability to get hostages out, I think we're just -- it's just too soon to know here as things begin to unfold.

We still stand by our strong desire to see all those hostages released, and Hamas should do it immediately.

And short of that, we have got to continue to work on negotiations to try to see that outcome.

And we're doing that.

We're doing that with our partners in Israel and throughout the region.

We still think that that's a task worth pursuing.

And, if that requires some sort of humanitarian pause or pauses, then we're obviously in support of that as well.

GEOFF BENNETT: But does it undermine the chances of a humanitarian pause?

JOHN KIRBY: Again, I think it really remains to be seen what happens on the ground there and what operations they conduct and how they conduct it.

And, again, I just don't want to get ahead of where we are or where they are in their execution of their plans.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's talk about the situation in Gaza, because the U.N. secretary-general today said in a statement that the humanitarian system in Gaza is facing a total collapse.

That's a direct quote.

He said about 500 trucks were getting into Gaza before the Hamas attack on Israel.

About 12 trucks per day have entered since these hostilities started.

What kind of pressure is the U.S. applying to make sure that this process happens more quickly, which President Biden has said is a priority of his?

JOHN KIRBY: As much pressure as we can bring to bear, we're doing that, as well as much engagement as we can do.

We have got Ambassador Satterfield, our special envoy for humanitarian affairs, on the ground, working with regional partners, working with aid organizations to get that aid accelerated and to get it increased.

We know -- I think we have had 84 trucks total go in since the conflict started.

That's a trickle.

That's not enough.

We have got to get more in.

You have heard the president talk about that, and we're working it very aggressively.

GEOFF BENNETT: Why not make U.S. military aid to Israel conditional, then, as some analysts have suggested, conditioned on pausing the bombing campaign to allow time to get hostages out and more humanitarian aid in, if that is a priority of the administration?

JOHN KIRBY: Well, that question almost presumes that the Israelis don't care about the hostages either.

And they do, because so many of them are Israelis.

They want their citizens back.

They understand that.

They share our concerns about that.

Again, I think it's just too soon to know or too soon to tell, given the -- what they're doing on the ground right now, whether that's going to have an effect one way or the other on getting those hostages released.

And as for the military aid, we have been nothing but concrete and nothing but clear.

We're going to continue to make sure that Israel has the tools and the capabilities, the weapons that they need, the munitions they need to continue to prosecute this fight against Hamas terrorists who killed 14 -- slaughtered 1,400 people all in basically a single day.

GEOFF BENNETT: I also want to ask you about the U.S. retaliatory strikes carried out in Eastern Syria against facilities associated with Iranian-backed militant groups believed to be responsible for more than a dozen rocket and drone attacks that injured some 21 service members.

How will the administration ensure that the strikes won't further inflame tensions with Iran or in the region, as the U.S. is really seeking to contain this Israel-Hamas war?

JOHN KIRBY: We're going to do what we have to do to protect our troops and our facilities.

We suffered nearly -- well, I guess, actually, over the course of several days, 20-some-odd rocket attacks.

And our response last night was direct right to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, because they're the ones supporting these militia groups who are firing these rockets.

And we hit targets that we know will degrade their ability to continue to support these militia groups.

So, the IRGC and Iran, they have a choice to make.

We don't want to escalate.

We don't want conflict with Iran.

Secretary Austin made that clear in a statement last night.

But we will protect our troops.

We will protect our legitimate mission the ground in Iraq and Syria to go after ISIS.

And we're going to continue to make sure we have the capabilities to do both.

GEOFF BENNETT: The intention of those strikes, was it to kill Iranian-backed militants or was it to destroy their facilities?

JOHN KIRBY: Two purposes, one, to go after some of their ammo and weapons storage, the kinds of things, the depots, those two places that they were using to supply these militia groups, so degrading their military capability in Syria, and, two, to deter any future rocket attacks against our troops and facilities, to make a -- send a strong signal, a clear signal to the IRGC that enough is enough.

It's got to stop.

GEOFF BENNETT: National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, thank you, Admiral.

Appreciate it.

JOHN KIRBY: Yes, sir.

Good to be with you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Gaza's humanitarian crisis becomes more dire with every passing moment.

With constant bombardment and dwindling supplies, it's a struggle to find fuel, food, and even water.

Before communication lines went dark, I spoke with Yousef Hammash yesterday, who works for the Norwegian Refugee Council, an aid group in Gaza, about life in the besieged territory for him and his family.

YOUSEF HAMMASH, Norwegian Refugee Council: It's like we're literally living in a horror movie.

It's horrific situation.

This killing machine doesn't stop.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yousef Hammash is the Gaza advocacy officer for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

A former journalist, he's been documenting this war for the last three weeks.

He moved his family of four, including his kids, 5-year-old Elia and 3-year-old Ahmad, to Southern Gaza, taking shelter in Khan Yunis.

With limited connectivity and power, he could only speak to me via phone.

YOUSEF HAMMASH: In spite of all the bombardment and all the violence, we have a lot of responsibility to our families and children, so we have to find a way every day to manage to find bread and water.

So, the most challenge is water.

AMNA NAWAZ: If you needed water right now, what would you do?

YOUSEF HAMMASH: I will give you an example.

We had the water two days ago, but we needed the fuel to push the water up to the house, and I couldn't find it.

And this mission takes me five hours.

Everything is almost impossible.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, five hours just to try to get water for your family on one day?

YOUSEF HAMMASH: Yes, five hours to push the water to the house.

I had to buy water through other private sources.

We have more than 30 people in one apartment.

Now we take showers once a week.

We wash our face once a day.

We consume less, because we want to make it last more.

We are trying to protect our children.

And the water is the one essential thing for that.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yousef, what do you tell your children about what's going on?

YOUSEF HAMMASH: Elia, she's 5 years old.

She understands the bombing.

She understands what's going on.

But with Ahmad, who's 2 years old, sometimes, I try to convince him it's raining, it's from the sky, or this is fireworks.

It's not only the sound of the bombing.

It's also you feel that it's an earthquake.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yousef, if you don't mind my asking, how are you doing?

YOUSEF HAMMASH: I don't think about me.

But I don't think there is a psychosocial support method in this planet will help us to recover from what we have seen here.

And my children, when there's a rocket or bombing around us, they run towards me, just hiding me, or crying.

I feel a useless father.

Extremely awful situation when you feel that you are useless as a father in front of your children, and you cannot even protect them and keep them safe.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth.

AMNA NAWAZ: I'm sure you have seen the headlines.

President Biden said this to my colleague that they have reasons to doubt the death toll as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry, because it is run by Hamas.

I just wonder what you think about that.

YOUSEF HAMMASH: It's not acceptable that they are arguing about the number of people who were killed.

And, trust me, this number is not accurate, because it's way more.

We have more than 1,500 people missing under the rubble.

So, this number if not accurate because it doesn't mean that people are less.

It's way more.

All across the Gaza Strip, the bombardment doesn't stop.

And you don't know when you are next.

And every night, when we sleep, we pray that we will see the daylight again.

So, every day, we wake up, OK, we survived.

Lucky.

We have another day to live.

AMNA NAWAZ: This week's shooting in Maine has put another spotlight on America's gun violence epidemic.

On that and more, we turn now to the analysis of Brooks and Capehart.

That's New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor for The Washington Post.

Welcome to you both gentlemen.

Good to see you.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Hey, Amna.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, Lewiston, Maine, now the latest community to suffer mass gun violence.

The question, the conversation we always have, what will this change?

What changes now?

We did see one lawmaker come out with a remarkable reversal.

I want to play for anyone who missed this piece of sound from Democratic Republican (sic) Jared Golden, who reversed his position on assault weapons bans right after the shooting.

Take a listen.

REP. JARED GOLDEN (D-ME): I have opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime.

The time has now come for me to take responsibility for this failure, which is why I now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles, like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown of Lewiston, Maine.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, this was a remarkable reversal, and very fast.

Why do you think we saw that?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: I think we saw that because that congressman now has a situation in his hometown, in his backyard, that communities around the country have been dealing with for years now.

I don't know if his one lone voice is going to be that part of the wave and the momentum that is needed to turn into law what he called for, and that is an assault weapons ban.

And, listen, he is there in Maine, which has very loose gun laws.

Lots of people have guns.

It's a rural state.

I understand the traditions there in Maine.

And yet I still -- unfortunately the people of Lewiston are now grappling with the fact that a weapon of war, not a weapon of animal hunting, that, at this point, these weapons have been used to hunt people, and they are lethal.

And there is nothing that is being done at the federal level to ensure that anyone -- or to ensure that no one gets their hands on a weapon of war, let alone someone as -- someone like the alleged shooter, who apparently and allegedly had mental health issues.

This is something -- look, I -- Amna, when those children, those babies were slaughtered in Newtown and nothing happened after that, that's all I needed to know about the will of American legislators, federal legislators, Congress, to do anything to stem gun violence in this country.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, you know these numbers when it comes to where the American public is, right?

If we just take a look at these, let's put these up for a second, when -- on Americans' views on gun policy; 58 percent say they favor stricter gun laws; 88 percent support preventing those with mental illnesses from purchasing guns; 64 percent favor banning assault-style weapons.

Of course, there are partisan differences in all of that.

Is there any chance in this Congress of consensus even around red flag laws, lower thresholds?

DAVID BROOKS: Maybe?

I mean, we have the same conversation every time, and nothing seems to happen.

I think, if there is anything different about this one, I would say, first, the cops got there so fast.

Through a series of lucky breaks, I guess, there were people right on the scene, and he was able to do remarkable damage in a little amount of time.

And that's a result of that assault weapon.

And so that -- it really highlights how this time it really did make a difference what kind of weapon the guy was using.

The second thing about this particular case is, this guy was sending off signals left and right, that he was institutionalized.

He had mental health -- his family was sending out warnings.

And they have a yellow flag, which is a watered-down red flag law in Maine.

And, still, he fell through the cracks.

And so, when you see this case, it's much more -- it feels much more preventable than all the other -- not all, but many of the other horrors that have happened.

And how did nobody pick up on this guy?

And so maybe, if you're going to think practically, is there any way we can prevent some of these?

But if past is prologue, probably not.

AMNA NAWAZ: I'm sure we will be having this conversation again sometime soon, unfortunately.

I do want to move on to another big story this week I know you both are paying close attention, and that is, we have a new House speaker.

Took three rounds -- took three weeks, rather, several rounds of voting.

The House GOP elected Mike Johnson of Louisiana.

Jonathan, how did Mike Johnson, who carries a pretty low profile in Congress, how did he succeed where so many others had failed, at least in securing the gavel for now?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: I guess he succeeded because the Republican Conference was playing its own version of "Survivor."

You had McCarthy, then Scalise, then Jim Jordan, and now -- oh, who am I missing?

The one who, oh, Emmer, who lasted four hours as speaker-designate.

What's so unsettling about the fact that Congressman Mike Richards now is speaker -- the speaker - - is -- Mike Johnson -- Speaker Johnson is the person who's gotten the gavel, is, one, we don't know -- really know who he is.

Democratic members of Congress have said to me on air that they had to go to Google to look him up to find out more information about him.

And the more information we find out about him and the more information the American people find out about him, the more I think they're going to be uncomfortable, from his pushing for a national abortion ban, to introducing legislation for a federal so-called don't say gay bill, his comments on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

Amna, he said way back that legalizing same-sex marriage was a dark harbinger of chaos that could doom even the strongest republic.

I had no idea Nick and I were that powerful.

And now here's this man who is now the speaker of the House, two heartbeats away from the presidency, and he has far right views, far right views that make former Speaker Kevin McCarthy look like a moderate.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, you know your husband loves it whenever you mention him on air too, right?

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: I'm sure he loves that.

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: But, look, David, more seriously, this is a man who's only been in Congress for six years, right?

He's never chaired a committee.

He's not nearly as prolific a fund-raiser as Speaker McCarthy was before him.

It's fair to say there's a real learning curve ahead, right?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, it's a lesson.

We can all rise to great power by being innocuous and unseen, apparently.

For me, the bad news about Johnson is the wing of the evangelical world he emerges from.

And so, for example, one of the people he's praised is a pseudo-historian named David Barton.

And Barton has been -- has a powerful bloc in a subculture of the evangelical world that has been arguing, falsely, that our founders never believed in separation of church and state, that Thomas Jefferson was an ardent Christian who wanted to make this a Christian nation.

And so he is coming from a world where Christian nationalism is very much in the air.

And so that's got to be concerning if he's coming from this world.

On the good side, I have to say his comments on his first day were exemplary.

He talked about extending Ukraine aid, which is super important to a lot of us.

He talked about working with Hakeem Jeffries.

And the most important thing, you look at Matt Gaetz, you look at a lot of these jokers, they don't have any respect for the institution of the Congress.

And Johnson went out of his way to talk about his deep love of the institution of the Congress.

And you can be hard right -- if you respect the traditions and manners of that institution, you want it to work well, then that's an improvement on what I was expecting.

Now, maybe he won't be able to do this.

Maybe he doesn't believe any of this stuff, but I'm willing to sit with day one with the nice things and the right things he did say.

AMNA NAWAZ: It is worth pointing out he did play a key role in trying to overturn the 2020 election results.

That is concerning as well.

DAVID BROOKS: Right, absolutely, yes.

And so if he's going to be a hard right Trumpy, MAGA Mike, then, well, that's where the party is.

But if he can be MAGA Mike and not shut down the government, pass Ukraine aid, then that will be something we can take -- or at least I can take away.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, can he avoid the government shutting down?

There is another deadline looming in a matter of weeks.

Can he work with Democrats?

Could he face the same fate as Speaker McCarthy for reaching across the aisle?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Yes and yes.

Look, Amna, I'm so fixated on the calendar.

While it is weeks between now and November 17, when the deadline is, the House is only supposed to be in session for four legislative days.

That is no time to get anything done.

Already, Politico is reporting tonight that there are Republicans in his conference who are upset by what the speaker said last night on Sean Hannity, which was, he is open to a continuing resolution that could go through January or through April, he says with conditions.

But, already, there's rumblings within the conference that they don't want to go for that.

And the person who said -- who has a problem with this, if I can find his name -- I wrote it down -- Andy Biggs, Congresswoman Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, said that there are at least five Republicans who would go against the brand-new speaker if he were to come up with a deal that would extend the continuing resolution through January or through April.

We are headed to some really rough waters with a speaker, as we were just talking about, who has come from out of nowhere, has never chaired a committee.

We have no idea how he's going to lead this raucous caucus to the resolution -- a resolution that would keep the government open.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, the minute-and-a-half we have left, I just need to ask you about the news out of New Hampshire today, which was Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips announcing he will run for president against President Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination.

I just want to get your reaction to the announcement and what kind of impact you think it could have.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Come on, man.

The president -- Joe Biden is the president of the United States.

The best way to win the presidency is to already be in it.

The power of incumbency is incredible.

In a race that is already going to be razor-thin, why is Congressman Phillips from the great state of Minnesota -- I love Minnesota -- but in an election that is going to be decided on the margins, why is he jumping into the race to try to weaken the president of his own party, who he used to support and used to be a fanboy of?

I don't understand why he is undertaking such a useless, futile and dangerous exercise.

DAVID BROOKS: I like the "Come on, man."

Now we're all talking like Joe Biden.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: I think that Joe Biden is the Democrats' strongest nominee, and I still think that.

On the other hand, he won't be hurt by beating somebody.

And if he can go win, which I think he will do, then he looks like a little stronger case.

And, also, to be honest, as much as I think Biden has been a very strong president and he's really running the administration, his numbers are just not picking up.

And so if I'm a Democrat, to have some sort of escape hatch, that's not the end of the world to me.

But I -- basically, my core point is counterintuitive with, this will help Biden.

He will go out, campaign, he will win, he will look like a guy who beat somebody, nominee.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right.

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: David Brooks, Jonathan Capehart, good to see you both, as always.

Thank you.

DAVID BROOKS: Good to see you, Amna.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Thanks, Amna.

GEOFF BENNETT: At a time when many classical music and other traditional arts organizations are facing major challenges, including dwindling audiences, a young conductor in Louisville, Kentucky, is expanding the playbook.

He's combining music-making with public service and orchestrating community in every corner of the state.

Jeffrey Brown traveled along for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: Happy Top Park in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky, for an appreciative local audience of several hundred, members of the Louisville Orchestra played George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

A short time later, mandolinist extraordinaire Chris Thile offered up a bit of what he called rhapsody in bluegrass.

The connector here, in all senses of the word, Teddy Abrams, part-time pianist, full-time music director and conductor of the Louisville Orchestra, a man on a mission.

TEDDY ABRAMS, Conductor, Louisville Orchestra: It's our responsibility to find the places where other parts of the population are comfortable, where we can be on their turf, we can be guests in their town or their community center or their school, whatever it might be, and forge that relationship from scratch.

But it's this human connection that people are drawn to.

The music is a part of that, but it's human to human fundamentally, right?

So it's our job... JEFFREY BROWN: But that's you now.

I mean, that's what you... TEDDY ABRAMS: That's exactly right.

I have got to do that.

The orchestra has got to do that.

JEFFREY BROWN: Teddy Abrams puts it personally and lives it personally.

Many nights, you will find him conducting the standard repertoire in Louisville's Whitney Hall, a traditional performing art space.

At 36, he's already nearing his 10th year in the city, having arrived in 2014 at just 27, the youngest leader ever here, filled with energy and ideas about how to transform the orchestra.

But you're just as likely to find him at a place like this, a Louisville church at a meeting of the Kentucky Refugees Ministry, this group mostly Congolese, trying to bridge gaps, including language, with music and dance.

It's just one of many efforts to bring the orchestra and the music into the community through such projects as a rap school, a Latin American music festival and an intro to instruments program for children.

TEDDY ABRAMS: My job is to be a public servant in Louisville.

I came here to... JEFFREY BROWN: You define it that way?

TEDDY ABRAMS: One hundred percent.

Yes, I have a civic role.

You build community.

You literally build community by using the power of this art form to convene people, to make them feel like they're living in that kind of communality.

That's the power of what we do.

JEFFREY BROWN: Abrams himself comes from California's Bay Area.

He played piano and clarinet as a child, studied conducting starting at age 10, and was mentored by one of today's greats, Michael Tilson Thomas.

When he got the Louisville job, he went all in, moving and living here full time.

That may sound routine, but it's not always the case in the classical music world, where globe-trotting conductors might spend just parts of the year in the cities where they lead orchestras.

Why did you choose to do so?

TEDDY ABRAMS: I think it's necessary.

You have to be here to meet people.

It's not just about shaking hands with people after a concert.

That's not enough.

It's the act of living in a place, of getting into the rhythm and flow and listening to people and spending time with them.

It also sends a signal to my neighbors here in Louisville that I believe their city is a great city.

It's a city where I can live myself.

I'm telling them that I believe in this place.

NARRATOR: Louisville, Bourbon City.

JEFFREY BROWN: It's a city that promotes its bourbon industry and its horses at Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby.

But the Louisville Orchestra actually has its own place in music history.

TEDDY ABRAMS: The vast majority of these are L.P.s released under the Louisville Orchestra's own label, because they had to create a label to handle the massive volume of music that they were recording.

JEFFREY BROWN: In Abrams' study, he has shelves of recordings from the 1940s on, a period when his relatively small city orchestra, prompted by a music-loving mayor and with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, punched way beyond its weight in commissioning, playing and recording new works, including from the likes of Elliott Carter and Aaron Copland.

TEDDY ABRAMS: This is the box set that you would get from the Louisville Philharmonic Society.

That was the old name.

I love that they also put the seal of the city on it.

JEFFREY BROWN: Abrams, himself a composer, including of a rap oratorio based on the life of Louisville-born Muhammad Ali, is now renewing the orchestra's commitment to new music through a program that brings composers to live and work here.

We watched a meeting with the latest group.

TEDDY ABRAMS: So, your role would be both curatorial and artisanal?

WOMAN: Yes.

JEFFREY BROWN: In addition to writing music, each composer develops a community-based project.

Perhaps Abrams' most ambitious project to date, a two-season tour of the state, bringing the orchestra to some 50,000 people in 28 rural towns like Henderson, into Mammoth Cave National Park with a performance that included none other than Yo-Yo Ma and to the Happy Top Park concert in Beattyville.

Enjoying himself there, Republican State Senator Robert Stivers, president of the Kentucky Senate.

He helped shepherd state funding to the Louisville Orchestra for this project.

STATE SEN. ROBERT STIVERS (R-KY): You always hear of the rural-urban divide, and a lot of people won't go to the cities because they think it's beyond their navigation point.

A lot of people won't come out of the cities, thinking, we're uncomfortable in the country.

What we have tried to do and I think what Teddy's trying to do and this group is trying to do is bridge those gaps.

JEFFREY BROWN: Musicians feel it too.

The oldest, Meghan Casper, is a 12-year veteran of the orchestra.

MEGHAN CASPER, Violist, Louisville Orchestra: You get out and you're in the world and you understand more fully, like, how it's not that people are lucky to come here and you play.

It's that you are part of the stewardship of the community and of your art.

And that is just as important as how well you play it.

JEFFREY BROWN: Bassist Brian Thacker joined the orchestra three years ago.

BRIAN THACKER, Bassist, Louisville Orchestra: I have had neighbors who've never been to a concert, and they know Teddy.

They know the work he's doing.

There's an energy that is kind of infectious, and it's pretty exciting.

It kind of helps -- it forces you to kind of recalibrate your whole perspective on what we're doing, in a good way.

JEFFREY BROWN: None of this, of course, changes the very real-world pressures on orchestras and other arts organizations around the country.

Abrams offers one model to take those on directly, one that can, he knows, come off his bordering on a cult of personality, saving classical music, even saving the world.

TEDDY ABRAMS: I understand.

Look, you're not going to solve issues of racial division and deep historical divides and demographic challenges.

You're not going to just solve the urban-rural divide with a single orchestra concert.

That's not what we're talking about.

But we all have to try.

If Americans don't step up and try with whatever skills or whatever talents they have, then we're lost.

JEFFREY BROWN: In the meantime, one concert under the moon and stars of the Kentucky mountains isn't a bad place to start.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Jeffrey Brown in Beattyville and Louisville, Kentucky.

AMNA NAWAZ: And, as always, there's much more online, including a look at the departure of the giant pandas from the National Zoo.

What their return to China means for so-called panda diplomacy between Washington and Beijing.

That is on our YouTube page.

For more discussion of Mike Johnson's surprise ascension to House speaker, don't forget to watch moderator Jeffrey Goldberg and his panel on "Washington Week With The Atlantic."

That's tonight on PBS.

GEOFF BENNETT: And on "PBS News Weekend" tomorrow, we speak with an American family desperate to escape Gaza.

And that is the "NewsHour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

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