February 4, 2023 - PBS News Weekend full episode

JOHN YANG: Tonight on "PBS News Weekend," the U.S. Air Force shoots down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

Then, the spiraling crime and violence plaguing Haiti as the country teeters on the brink of collapse.

And hidden histories, we begin our Black History Month series with the story of a woman who took down one of America's most notorious mob boss.

JERMAINE FOWLER: What makes Eunice Carter's story so remarkable is we have to remember that a career crime was in the face of overt racism, overt sexism.

So, her prolific career and her achievements were all against the odds.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: Good evening.

I'm John Yang.

Late this afternoon, a U.S. Air Force fighter jet shot down that Chinese surveillance balloon which had made its way across the country from Montana to the Carolinas.

It plunged about 60,000 feet into U.S. waters off South Carolina.

Operations have begun to try to retrieve as much as possible of the apparatus the balloon carried, which is roughly the size of three buses.

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, President Biden said he ordered the shoot down on Wednesday.

JOE BIDEN, (D) U.S. PRESIDENT: I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down, on Wednesday, as soon as possible.

They decided that the best time to do that was as it got over water, outside -- within our -- within the 12-mile limit.

They successfully took it down.

JOHN YANG: Balloon is the latest flashpoint between the United States and China.

Today, Pentagon officials said they were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the country.

Across the northeast United States tonight, it is dangerously cold.

On Mount Washington in northern New Hampshire, the wind chill overnight reached 108 degrees below zero.

That's the coldest on record in the United States.

It is so cold that some New England ski areas closed or limited operations.

Tens of millions of people remain under wind chill alerts.

Warmer temperatures are expected tomorrow.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland has asked the Justice Department to evaluate the city's police department, its special units, and its use of force policies.

Memphis police fired a 6th officer as they investigate the beating death of Tyre Nichols.

The officer, who is white, was involved in the initial traffic stop.

The department said he violated several policies, including the use of his taser.

Officials say multiple officers remain under investigation and state officials suspended the licenses of two fire department EMTs for failing to provide Nichols with required care.

The Democratic National Committee has voted topple New Hampshire from its traditional place as the nation's first presidential primary in an effort to involve more voters of color in early contests.

The new 2024 lineup approved today put South Carolina as the first contest displacing Iowa caucuses.

Georgia and Michigan will now move ahead of Super Tuesday.

Some of this will require Republican cooperation in both New Hampshire and Georgia, the primary dates are controlled by offices that are now held by Republicans.

And a galactic distinct for our solar system's largest planet, Jupiter, astronomers recently discovered twelve new moons in the gas giant's orbit, giving it a total of 92.

That surpasses Saturn for the most moons in our solar system.

Still to come on "PBS News Weekend," can technological advances be a threat to democracy?

And how the trailblazing lawyer Eunice Carter bought the New York mob, and won.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: The island nation of Haiti is moving closer to the brink of collapse.

Since early January, the country was left without a single elected official, leaving heavily armed gangs to be in control.

Today, much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, is under the control of gangs that have been targeting police.

And Haitians are living in fear and chaos.

At a funeral in Port-au-Prince, the families of three fallen police officers grieved as their colleagues solemnly saluted their flag draped coffins.

In the last month, gangs have killed nearly 20 officers.

Mourners lamented the lives lost and the turmoil that has engulfed the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Our police officers are being slain again.

We will not accept that bandits rule and that they say that the government is theirs.

JOHN YANG: Elsewhere in the capital, rage armed protesters, some dressed in police gear, set fires in the streets, broke through the gates of the airport, and lowered the flags to half-staff to mark the deaths.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There has to be a revolution.

There has to be a bloodbath.

All these policemen have been killed, and the Prime Minister has not reacted.

JOHN YANG: Violent protests have persisted for months, and many Haitians are angry that the government can't keep them safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We've been suffering for a long time.

People are dying of bullets.

My mother, my child and my sister, we will not be able to continue.

JOHN YANG: The term of Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, who was appointed to office, expired February 2022, but he has yet to schedule new elections.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE TL (through translator): No one voted for him.

He was not elected.

He has no legitimacy.

He has no right.

Ariel Henry is not the president.

JOHN YANG: With no president, no legislative quorum, and the high court dysfunctional lawlessness reigns, the U.N. estimates that gangs control more than half of Port-au-Prince.

Late last year, the U.N. imposed sanctions one of the most powerful gang leaders.

Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as Barbecue.

He's accused of numerous atrocities, including massacres and sexual violence.

But Cherizier considers himself the lesser evil.

JIMMY "BARBECUE" CHERIZIER, Gang Leader (through translator): You and your country, if you were living in these conditions, if you saw the conditions in which our people are living in, wouldn't you revolt?

JOHN YANG: Haiti and the U.N. have called for international peacekeepers to bolster the country's beleaguered police force.

ANTONIO RODRIGUE, Permanent Representative of Haiti to The United Nations (through translator): It is our obligation to act fast.

If we overcome the gangs, we will restore order and peace.

JOHN YANG: But far, only Jamaica has offered to help, leaving Haiti to fall deeper into chaos.

Earlier, I spoke with Jacqueline Charles, who is the Miami Herald's Caribbean Correspondent.

I asked her what she saw on her recent trip to Haiti.

JACQUELINE CHARLES, The Miami Herald: I had two very different trips to Haiti, which, you know, is crazy.

The first trip, I went to north part of the country to Cap-Haitien, the historic capital of Haiti.

And I went for an international jazz festival.

Yes, the jazz festival in Haiti.

Fast forward, a couple of days later, this time I'm in Port-au-Prince.

I go as part of an imbed with the United States and it is chaos.

It's protest, and it's police who are protesting.

And they're armed.

They are putting up barricades.

You're blocking roads.

We were coming right off of the latest killings of police officers.

There have been 14 just in the month of January, 78 according to a local human rights group since July, when interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry came to power.

So, you know, police officers were enraged, but they were joined in these protests also by fired cops as well as gang members, according to sources who I spoke to.

So, all of that just tells you about the volatility of this country.

That one minute, you know, you could be walking into the city and enjoying beautiful jazz and then the next minute the streets are blowing up.

Because those protests were also in the north, the very places where I was just walking freely just a few days earlier.

JOHN YANG: Who's in charge of Port-au-Prince?

Who controls the city?

JACQUELINE CHARLES: Well, that depends on who you ask, right?

The United Nations will tell you that today gangs are in control of over 60% of the capital, including where the U.S. embassy is located.

That embassy is located between two gang strongholds.

Haiti today does not have one elected official.

The country has 12 million people.

As your audience may recall that the President was assassinated in July 2021.

And then in January, the last ten remaining elected members of parliament, their mandates expired.

They were there.

They couldn't really do anything.

They weren't enough to hold a quorum.

But symbolically, at least, you said there were ten elected people.

Well, today there's not one.

There are no elected mayors, no local officials.

There's been ongoing debate and differences in terms of, you know, who should be in charge, who should take control of this country.

What should it look like?

Should there be a long transition, or should it be a rush to elections?

JOHN YANG: Why are the police the target?

JACQUELINE CHARLES: The reality is that you have a country today with a police force.

It's like one fourth side of the NYPD.

Basically 9000 police officers who are active duty, ready to go at any particular moment.

And they're not all in Port-au-Prince.

They have been trying to battle the gangs, but it's very difficult for them to sustain any of those wins that they have.

I mean, kidnapping last year went up 104%, according to the U.N. That was, you know, one kidnapping every 6 hours.

The homicide rate also climbed 35.2%.

I mean, this is the reality the Haitians are living, but today their top and number one concern is safety.

JOHN YANG: And we've seen Haitians trying to flee this turmoil and this chaos.

What are they doing?

How are they trying to get out?

JACQUELINE CHARLES: They're not trying to.

They are actually doing it.

You know, the Biden administration recently announced a two-year parole program for four countries, including Haiti.

And as long as somebody has a sponsor in the United States, and that sponsor is able to show that they have a financial ability to take care of someone and they pass a background check and the person in Haiti has a valid passport, then they're being paroled in.

And what we're seeing is this long lines of people, including police officers, hundreds of police officers, have applied for passports so that they can qualify for this program.

I mean, everybody wants to leave the country.

And so those who are committed to the country are saying, you know, who will help us rebuild?

Because for them, this chaos cannot last forever.

JOHN YANG: What's it going to take to restore order?

And is that within sight?

JACQUELINE CHARLES: Well, the interim government has asked for the deployment of a multinational international force to basically assist the Haitian National Police in combating the gangs.

You know, everybody I talk to will tell you that this is a police force that's very well trained, but they don't have the equipment.

And when I talk about equipment, I mean something as basic as ballistic vests.

I did a ride along, an end with the police last year shortly after a massacre in a particular community.

They took me out, and I saw young guys just fresh out of the police academy standing guard about a mile down from, you know, the U.S. Embassy.

And they did not have a vest.

Or if they had a vest, there was not a bulletproof plate that was in there.

And of course, they're underpaid, and so they really need help.

But of course, this has become a very political issue, right?

The United States supports this request, but it doesn't want to lead this force.

Its request -- it's ask Canada to take the lead.

We have not officially heard anything from Canada yet.

Jamaica just recently said that they would be willing to participate.

When you think about the Caribbean region, they actually have the experience.

Their defense force, their military actually do anti-gang raids or operations alongside the police.

But, you know, that is what everybody is waiting for to see if that's going to happen.

But also, just when you talk about Haiti, we say, you know, Haitians say, what is it going to take?

This very question that you are asking, they are also asking because it's like, what is rock bottom?

How bad do things need to get?

And when I tell you that things right now are bad, they really are.

JOHN YANG: Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald, thank you very much.

JACQUELINE CHARLES: Thank you.

JOHN YANG: Artificial intelligence and the popular new AI tool ChatGPT has the potential to influence our lives dramatically changing how we gather information, how we communicate, even how we work.

There are also questions about how it will affect governance and what it means for the future of our democracy.

William Brangham has that, and it's part of our periodic series, The AI Frontier.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Could AI be used to distort democracy not through voting, but using the technology's ability to mimic human communication and language through lobbying?

That's a question raised in a recent New York Times opinion piece by security expert Bruce Schneier.

Schneier is a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and the Belfer Center at the Kennedy School of Government.

He's the author of a new book just out called, A Hacker's Mind.

Bruce Schneier, great to have you on the program.

When you look at these AI technologies, what is it that most troubles you about its potential threat to democracy?

BRUCE SCHNEIER, Harvard University: Really where it mimics humans.

I mean, democracy is fundamentally human way of organizing ourselves and where an AI, whether it's a ChatGPT that is writing human text, or another AI that is figuring out human strategy, can do that at a speed and scale that humans can't.

It could take over processes and really subvert the intent of this very human system.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Can you give me some examples?

Like, how would this be used to corrupt the system as you describe it?

BRUCE SCHNEIER: So, one of the things we have in our system is an ability to submit comments.

When federal rulemaking agencies make draft rules, we are allowed to submit comments back, and we humans submit comments.

If an AI can submit thousands, millions of comments, it could overwhelm human comments.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, this is the ultimate fake astroturf campaign.

It's sort of what the Department of justice accused the Russians of doing in the 2016 election.

BRUCE SCHNEIER: And the Russians had hundreds of people and a million dollar a month budget to do it.

What this does is it brings the capabilities down to a lot of other actors.

But yes, it's exactly that same thing.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Your assertion is that if you could suddenly flood the zone with all of these "fake comments or opinions," that you could distort what popular will really was about any given topic.

BRUCE SCHNEIER: That's right.

That's how we figure out what people want is we ask them and they tell us.

And we don't ask them in person, we ask them remotely and they tell us remotely.

So having an artificial agent mimic people, subverts that process.

Other AIs doing other types of analysis, could figure out what legislators are more susceptible to, to having their minds change.

I mean, again, these are very human actions.

Lobbyists do this, but having an automated process supplanting that just gives that capability more power.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: What do you imagine happens if these AI tools are deployed and suddenly there's this overwhelming ocean of comments and notes bombarding our government officials?

BRUCE SCHNEIER: Two ways that can go.

The first is the government officials start ignoring everything.

Unless it's face to face, we assume that it's a bot.

The other way it could go is that we require people to interact in ways that we know they're actual people.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, has this happened?

Are there any examples you could point to?

BRUCE SCHNEIER: We know that bots have generated fake tweets.

Saudi Arabia did that to support its ruler.

There was an instance where the Federal Communications Commission got millions of fake, you know, pretty lousy fake comments for rulemaking that were obviously generated automatically, not by sophisticated bot.

What ChatGPT does is makes them all unique, makes them all seem human in a way you just can't do otherwise without an army of people.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Do you think that government officials are prepared for this potential onslaught?

I mean, are there any guardrails or protections that they can put up against this?

BRUCE SCHNEIER: At this point, I don't think anyone's prepared.

We're used to humans being the only agents that can do human things.

We were all surprised when ChatGPT was like writing funny songs and smart commentary on things.

I think we'd be surprised again and again by AIs like ChatGPT.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, I know that there are school officials right now at my kids high school and college that are trying to develop technologies or deploy technologies that can spot the fake from the real.

Do you think that as AI develops that our abilities to detect AI will also increase?

BRUCE SCHNEIER: They will, but it's an arms race.

I think that the detectors are going to lose.

The capabilities to use the technologies are going to outpace.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: If a devil's advocate question, couldn't this also be used for good?

I mean, let's just say that I really care about, I don't know, renewable technologies or the Second Amendment, couldn't this technology be used to help me get my opinion to legislators and, as you describe, help me figure out the right people, the most important people, to get my opinions too?

BRUCE SCHNEIER: So, I think that's right.

And I think we want that.

An assistive tool that helps people write or translate or put their ideas down will be phenomenal to the extent these tools help humans.

It's good for society, it's good for democracy.

Where it goes wrong is where it supplants humans, where it's a million fake people with fake opinions, rather than a million real people using these tools to be more articulate, that would be a great thing for society.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right.

Bruce Schneier, the new book is called, A Hacker's Mind.

Thank you so much for being here.

BRUCE SCHNEIER: Thanks for having me.

JOHN YANG: Since President Gerald Ford first recognized it in 1976, February has been celebrated as Black History Month.

For the next four weekends, we're going to bring you stories of black Americans whose lives and whose work are lesser known, their contributions all the more significant because they were accomplished in the face of injustice and discrimination.

Tonight, the story of a woman who helped take down one of America's most notorious mob bosses.

It's part one of our series, Hidden Histories.

Eunice Carter always understood the power of public service.

When she was seven years old, her parents, both social activists, fled the south after the 1906 Atlanta race riots, moving the family to Brooklyn, New York.

SHAKALA ALVARANGA, Director of Public Programs, The Mob Museum: She was ahead of her time.

JOHN YANG: Shakala Alvaranga is the Director of Public Programs at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.

SHAKALA ALVARANGA: Her father, William Hunton Sr., he founded the black division of the YMCA.

And her mother was a social worker, an activist, and a political organizer.

And she also worked for the YMCA's war efforts during World War I.

And she was one of the women assigned to work with about 200,000 segregated black troops who were stationed in France at the time.

So her family history holds a lot of depth and a lot of history when it comes to civil rights.

JERMAINE FOWLER, Author, "The Humanity Archive": So, this is the example that Carter is growing up in, and this is who she looks to for inspiration.

JOHN YANG: Jermaine Fowler is the author of The Humanity Archive, which highlights the achievements of black Americans that history books have long ignored.

Her family also made sure she got a good education.

JERMAINE FOWLER: She went to Smith College.

She was only the second black woman to receive a bachelor and a master's degree in four years in 1921.

And then she entered Fordham Law school as the first black woman to graduate from that school.

JOHN YANG: She became an assistant district attorney, mostly working at what was then called Women's Court, prosecuting sex workers.

Her talents came to the attention of Thomas E. Dewey, then beginning his rise to national prominence as a New York State special prosecutor going after organized crime.

Carter joined his otherwise all white, all male team.

SHAKALA ALVARANGA: They, you know, kind of had this unconventional relationship, but Dewey clearly knew how talented and how educated Eunice Carter was.

She was out in the community, and a lot of people were talking to her, and they may have not felt as comfortable talking to the men about, you know, what they were doing.

JOHN YANG: She was paid less than her male counterparts and passed over for promotions.

But her experience in women's court gave her knowledge they didn't have.

JERMAINE FOWLER: She noticed that women being arrested for prostitution from all over new York City were being represented by the same lawyers and the same bails bondsman.

JOHN YANG: She meticulously followed the connections back to the reigning boss of Mafia bosses, Charles "Lucky" Luciano.

JERMAINE FOWLER: Luciano is this very savvy businessman, but he's also a ruthless Mafia also.

And what we know of as the Mafia today was started by Luciano, who consolidated these blood Fu-wing gangster families during the Prohibition era into one centrally supervised criminal syndicate.

SHAKALA ALVARANGA: After months of interviewing and wiretapping, Carter and her colleague at the time, they convinced Dewey that organized crime essentially controlled the brothels.

They would pocket about $40 of their $200 weekly earnings.

And in contrast, Luciano earned millions every year.

JOHN YANG: Carter spearheaded an investigation that included raids on brothels across New York City.

The evidence gathered led to Luciano's 1936 conviction on more than 60 counts of forced prostitution.

He was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison.

This episode really helped establish Thomas Dewey nationwide ran for political office.

He was a presidential candidate.

How much credit did Eunice Carter get in all of this?

JERMAINE FOWLER: We kind of see her overlooked, and it's really just within the last few years that we're recovering her legacy and her contributions to this case and this grant end place that she holds in American history in terms of prosecution and going against organized crime.

JOHN YANG: After leaving the government, Carter entered private practice.

She was active in the YWCA, the NAACP, and was an advisor to the United Nations.

But it was her work in the Luciano case, helping get justice for the women he abused that cemented Carter's legacy and earned her the title, Lady Racketbuster.

SHAKALA ALVARANGA: She was able to really hone in and really put this case together in a way that only she could do.

JOHN YANG: And that is "PBS News Weekend" for this Saturday.

I'm John Yang.

For all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us.

See you tomorrow.