July 27, 2024 - PBS News Weekend full episode

JOHN YANG: Tonight on PBS News Weekend, as Venezuelans prepare to head to the polls, what's at stake in the nation's most consequential presidential election in a decade.

Then, retailers are rethinking how they set prices as Americans still feel inflation's bite.

And how newcomer raking is bringing more than just sport to the Paris Olympics.

MAN: Breaking is not just a culture and a phenomenon, but it's also art, its art and the sport.

So the fusion of both of that is what people are going to see in Paris.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: Good evening, I'm John Yang.

There are new fears tonight of a wider Middle East conflict after at least 10 children and young adults were killed in our rocket attack on a soccer field in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights.

Israel said Hezbollah militants were responsible, but the group said it struck a military base in retaliation for Israeli attacks on a village in Lebanon.

In Gaza, an airstrike hit a school in what had been designated a humanitarian zone.

Israeli military said Hamas use the area to store weapons and plant attacks.

Gaza health official said more than 30 people were killed.

Wildfires are devastating communities in the western United States and Canada.

In California, the park fire north of Sacramento covers 480 square miles that's about the size of Los Angeles.

Hot windy conditions are pushing it north.

Four counties are under evacuation orders and more than 130 structures have been destroyed.

And in Canada, a fast moving fire has devastated the resort town of Jasper, Alberta and the Canadian Rockies.

It's forced the evacuation of 25,000 people in and around Jasper National Park, which is a World Heritage Site.

Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign said today that America's democracy is under assault by former President Donald Trump.

It was in response to a speech Trump made to Christian conservatives Friday night.

He said that if they elect him in November, they would never have to vote again.

DONALD TRUMP, Former U.S. President: Christians get out and vote just this time.

You won't have to do it anymore.

Four more years.

You know what?

It'll be fixed.

It'll be fine.

JOHN YANG: Late yesterday, the FBI moved to end speculation about this month's assassination attempt on Trump.

They said that a bullet not shrapnel hit him at that rally in Pennsylvania.

At the Olympics there are fresh concerns about whether the river sand will be clean enough for competition next week, played a big part in yesterday's opening ceremony.

But the runoff of wastewater from heavy rain has renewed worries about high bacterial levels.

The river has to be the venue Tuesday for the swimming leg of the men's triathlon.

And Team USA picked up its first gold medal today in the men's 4 by 100 freestyle swimming relay.

The first gold medal overall went to China and the 10 meter air rifle mix team competition.

Still to come on PBS News Weekend, how new technology helps retailers keep the prices shoppers pay in flux, and the art and sport of breaking as it makes its Olympic debut.

(BREAK) JOHN YANG: Tomorrow's Venezuelan presidential election could be the most consequential in nearly a decade.

Experts say nothing less than the future of Venezuelan democracy could be at stake.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): The nation's increasingly authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro is wanting to extend his time in the office he assumed in 2013.

PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO, Venezuela (through translator): If you don't want Venezuela to fall in a bloodshed, let's guarantee the biggest electoral success in the history of our people.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): Polls show him trailing challenger Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia by a large margin.

Gonzalez was an obscure retired diplomat with no political aspirations, until a coalition of opposition parties picked him as its candidate.

EDMUNDO GONZALEZ URRUTIA, Venezuelan Presidential Candidate (through translator): I want to call on all Venezuelans to join me in a peaceful and orderly change of government.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): He has the backing of Maria Corina Machado the driving force behind the opposition after winning a primary with more than 90 percent of the vote, the Maduro government banned her from running.

MARIA CORINA MACHADO, Opposition Leader (through translator): This moment we are living is the closing of a cycle of chaos to begin an era of order and stability and security.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): Together they've energized voters by promising to reestablish democratic institutions and the economic and human rights crises that have led more than 7 million Venezuelans to leave the country over the past 10 years.

Many sought refuge in neighboring Colombia and Brazil.

Last year, U.S. authorities encountered tens of thousands of Venezuelans along the southern border.

The polls hold true and Maduro does lose, some analysts are skeptical that he would readily accept defeat and give up power.

Alexandra Winkle is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

She is also a former Deputy Mayor of El Hatilloto which is one of the five municipalities in Caracas.

Why is this election so important?

Why is it so crucial, and people are watching it so closely?

ALEXANDRA WINKLE, Center for Strategic and International Studies: John, expectations for tomorrow's elections are astronomical, because there is so much at stake.

It's democracy, it's liberty, it's human rights.

It's freedom of association expression.

And I think the most important thing that is on the ballot tomorrow is the reunification of many Venezuelan families who had to be separated because of migration.

As we said at the beginning, there's over 7 million migrant -- Venezuelan migrants already across the world, and people are going to the ballot box tomorrow to bring back their brothers, their sisters, their parents, their kids, because that's what Venezuelans want the most to be back together as a family in a democratic and progressive nation.

JOHN YANG: We saw the pictures of the rally in the tape and also read reports of the rallies that particularly as Machado was holding that she has to sort of sneak in.

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: Yeah.

JOHN YANG: What's creating this excitement, what's creating this, this enthusiasm?

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: People, first of all, I think what's different this time is that there is an opposition that is unified under Maria Corina Machado is like the opposition leader.

And of course, Edmundo Gonzalez who is our candidate, people trust those opposition leaders.

And second, people really want to go to vote tomorrow to make change, to really have their voices heard because they're tired of hyperinflation.

They're tired of food scarcity.

They're tired of not having water, electricity.

They're tired of political persecution of their loved ones.

People want change.

And I think that's why there's so much excitement towards tomorrow.

JOHN YANG: You talked about some of those activities that the Maduro government is doing.

Late last year, the Maduro government and the opposition signed an agreement to reinstate some democratic institutions sort of paved the way for free and fair elections tomorrow.

What happened to that agreement?

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: I mean, the fact is that there has been no free and fair elections.

Maria Corina Machado was chosen in primaries as the opposition leader, and Maduro did not let her run.

She also pointed success for excluding (inaudible) to also run and they did not let her run after negotiations, it was Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

We can't forget that at least of those 8 million, almost 7 million, 8 million migrants that are outside of the country, around four are permitted to vote and the regime did not allow them to register to vote.

So there's 4 billion people tomorrow who can vote from the diaspora who can't vote.

So these are not free and fair elections.

And those conditions have not been respected at all.

JOHN YANG: Will they be international observers tomorrow?

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: I mean, there are a couple of international observers.

But if you see yesterday, the Maduro regime gave orders to deport the different ex-presidents from Mexico, from Bolivia, from Panama, senators from the European Union from Colombia, people were going to go travel to Venezuela and the Maduro regime command was, you know, make sure they get off the plane or don't let that plan kick off, because they don't want the international community to see that they're going to lose tomorrow.

JOHN YANG: With the skepticism of Maduro, whether Maduro would acknowledge defeat, what are the range of responses we might see on come Monday morning?

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: He has shown no indication of wanting to admit defeat, but I think it's going to be very hard to say that he went if polls across Venezuela nationally, internationally are giving Maria Corina Machado and then Edmundo Gonzales, at least a 25 to 30 point advantage.

So it's going to be very hard to actually convince the international community tomorrow that he won.

If there we see massive voters going from Maria Corina and Edmundo and just wanting to represent their votes through this change.

JOHN YANG: I've seen now -- let's say that there may have to be negotiations between Maduro and the opposition are the victors in the election for him to actually leave office.

What are the topics of those negotiate?

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: Anything that the international community can do, or the opposite you can do to create incentives for them to go after they lose, I think will always be positive.

Of course, there will be conversations after the election, because there will be a six-month period of transition in which we hope that the regime will allow a peaceful and orderly transition in order to reach that democracy when they're sworn into the presidency.

So there will continue conversations.

But what's going to be very clear is that the opposition is probably going to win tomorrow.

JOHN YANG: And then the United States and Venezuela haven't had diplomatic relations since 2019.

What are the implications for the United States in this election?

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: So for the United States in this election, migration is on the ballot.

And if we want people to stop fleeing from this country, and stop fleeing from all of this disaster, we really need to stop Maduro.

So I do think that there is a direct correlation with this election.

And if we don't bring Venezuela's prosperity and democracy back then we will see that migration uptick very quickly.

JOHN YANG: Alexandra Winkle, thank you very much.

ALEXANDRA WINKLE: Thank you.

JOHN YANG: During three years of stubborn inflation, many American households cut back on routine purchases at the store.

But amid signs that retail prices have started to drop, some companies are rethinking how they decide what to charge.

Ali Rogin has more on the new technology that allows retailers to quickly change prices for items on shelves.

ALI ROGIN: That traditional prices we all see on grocery store shelves may soon be on their way out in favor of what are being called digital shelf labels or electronic shelf labels.

They have small digital screens where prices can be updated remotely, sometimes on a daily basis.

Consumer Advocates worry that this tech could lead to surge pricing seen already with travel, concert tickets and car sharing apps like Uber and Lift.

Last month, Walmart announced that by 2026, more than 2,000 of its stores will have digitized shelf labels.

The largest retailer in the U.S. is now part of a growing number of companies across the U.S. and Europe using this technology to set prices.

Siddharth Cavale is an E commerce and retail reporter at Reuters.

Siddharth, thank you so much for joining us.

How do these digital shelf labels work?

And how common are they in the United States right now?

SIDDHARTH CAVALE, Reporter, Reuters: The digital shelf labels are basically they look very much like paper shelf labels, but they're just small digital screens that will reflect the prices.

Generally they use Bluetooth technology so that they can communicate with mobile devices, which can update the prices very easily.

So far, the adoption of it in the U.S. is not as rampant.

Definitely Walmart is one of the companies that has gone big with this introducing them in their stores.

Kohl's is another retailer that has been using digital shelf labels since 2015.

We also know of Kroger and Instacart testing it now but we still haven't seen them in stores yet.

So we won't see it at least need you and regular customer, won't see it for the next two or three years unless you show up regularly at Walmart.

ALI ROGIN: I should also mention, of course that this technology is prevalent in in parts of Europe right now.

But I want to ask you about what retailers say about the benefits of these electric store labels, and how those benefits might end up trickling down to customers.

SIDDHARTH CAVALE: Right.

So, I'll just start from the Walmart's perspective.

I mean, when they introduced this, they were speaking about how this could help them update prices more easily.

Generally, what would take a week for a worker would now just take minutes on the second benefit of this is that it will replace paper shelf labor, so it will replace waste.

And so they said that they could cut back on paper waste by 40 percent.

They also said that this is a very easy technology for them to keep associates abreast of the inventory.

And they also want to use it in letting I guess workers know how to pick up products or online orders.

Nowadays retailers are using their stores at centers fulfillment centers, they quickly and associate can figure out where in the store the product is, and can fulfill that order.

So there are multiple ways they can use this technology.

In fact, sometimes you retailers are using it for you know, displaying QR codes.

So for example, if you buy a Heinz ketchup, you never -- you don't know if it's gluten free or allergen free, or you know, the fat content in it.

These are things that are not displayed on the label easily.

But think of getting a scan QR code or QR code right on the digital shelf label where you can just rip out your phone and see all that information easily.

So that's another aspect where these digital shelf labels are being used to help the customer.

ALI ROGIN: And I know that Walmart and other stores are arguing that those efficiencies could lead to savings for the customer but I do want to ask about the flip side of that which is consumers and advocates are nervous that there might be dynamic pricing employed in which retailers increased prices of items based on demand, how are companies responding to that?

And what's the likelihood that that sort of practice is going to take place.

SIDDHARTH CAVALE: So dynamic pricing is generally legal in the U.S., and any retailer is, you know, able to do it if they want to.

But generally, because of the backlash about, you know, again, surge pricing in Walmart, they will not be using it for surge pricing, if they wouldn't be using it, it will be mostly to cut prices, or to offer promotions or to display promotions and discounts.

And to consumer advocates, there is concern that there could be, you know, they could always raise prices.

And this has happened in the past, for example, Coca Cola in the 90s, tried to introduce a vending machine where they would raise prices when the weather was really hot, and that faced a lot of backlash, and they just shut that program.

So there's a lot of scrutiny on price right now.

And surge pricing at the grocery store, especially prices of grocery stores, it'd be really hard for retailers to get away with it.

ALI ROGIN: Why are these efforts being employed now?

As we mentioned, they've already been the norm in parts of Europe and indeed parts of the United States for a while.

Is this just the pace of modernization?

Or are these efforts by retailers to address inflation concerns or a combination of the two?

SIDDHARTH CAVALE: Most of it is retailers are trying to upgrade their stores by using automation.

They're trying to use, you know, brake materials, like for example, LEDs, now they're moving towards digital shelf labor.

So I would say that one part of this is definitely modernization.

The other part is also yes, this also helps with addressing inflation concerns, then they do get digital price labels, what will happen is they'll be able to like update prices to market conditions more easily.

And they won't be that lag between what the market says and what you can actually put in the store also helps you with managing your inventory levels much better, especially at times when there is low demand and you want to sell products more quickly.

Think about a milk carton that is getting in is expiring within two days you want it out of your store quickly.

So in those instances, you can maybe cut the price by heart so people can like buy more quickly.

So there are ways in which they can, you know, address you can bring in inflationary pressures down on their business, and they can also reduce costs.

So for example, when I mentioned earlier that the people shelf tags were a big environmental issue and a big cost for them by replacing the paper shop tags with digital shelf tags.

They could reinvest the savings back into price.

ALI ROGIN: Siddharth Cavale with Reuters, thank you so much for breaking this down for us.

SIDDHARTH CAVALE: Thank you for having me.

JOHN YANG: About two weeks at the Paris Olympics, the debut of an entirely new medal event breaking or what's perhaps more widely known to the uninitiated like me as breakdancing.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): In a Los Angeles dance studio, 21 year old Logan Edra teaches moves she spent two-thirds of her life developing since she was just seven.

In the world of breaking, she's called B Girl Logistx, and is one of the four members of the U.S. breaking team at the Paris Games.

She can also be called Olympian.

LOGAN EDRA, Team USA Breaker: I see any title or a championship or win or metal it's more for me like a microphone to amplify any message I want.

I represent the peace, love unity and having fun and also being a student of the game and, and caring about the evolution of like where this is going and keeping it alive.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): The first Olympic breaking competition was at the 2018 Youth Games in Buenos Aires.

The Olympics recognizes it as an urban sport like skateboarding also an Olympic event.

Competitors need improvisation, athleticism and coordination, drawing on disciplines like martial arts and gymnastics.

It was created in the 1970s at South Bronx dance parties by black and Latino youths.

It said that the name comes from the breaks in hip hop songs when the vocals drop out leaving a steady driving beat.

The 1983 film Flashdance help breaking go mainstream with a scene with members of the hip hop group Rock Steady Crew.

Now its popularity is global, from the United Kingdom to France.

MENNON VAN GORP, Breaker: If you think about Paris, maybe you think about the Eiffel Tower and you think about croissants but when I think about Paris, I think about riper.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): Nigeria, Egypt.

FOUAD AMBELEJ, Breaker (through translator): Dancing is what makes you stay away from smoking and drinking and all of the self-destructive things.

For me, it's an art but also something that I find myself in.

JOHN YANG (voice-over): Brazil.

Libya, even Iran.

FARID GORGHIN, Breaker (through translator): It is Iran and we are dancing.

We love to dance as other people do.

We want to enjoy our youth.

JOHN YANG: What was born at block parties of the Bronx we'll be going for the gold at the Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris.

Ivan Velez known as Flipz as a actor, TV host and accomplished dancer and choreographer, and he's been a judge at Olympic qualifying events for breaking.

So Flipz, first off, help out this unhip, baby boomer breaking, break dancing.

IVAN "FLIPZ" VELEZ, Dancer and Choreographer: So we call it breaking.

If you accidentally call it breakdancing, we'll let you slide on the first time, it was more of a media term that came out in the in the early 80s.

But I do understand why people call it break dancing, because they are breaking and it is a dance however we call it breaking.

JOHN YANG: So what's the significance of having breaking as an Olympic event?

IVAN VELEZ: Oh, it is the epitome.

I know in 2018 it was in Buenos Aires and it was the first with that we got that we could actually hit the main stage braking is finally where it needs to be going for gold.

JOHN YANG: Finally, where it needs to be.

Is it to you, is that a dance style?

Is that a culture?

IVAN VELEZ: Oh, to go beyond that, for me, it's like a religion.

So you have to believe in yourself.

You have to believe in your talent, you have to go above and beyond the call of duty just to be recognized.

So a lot of these breakers, whether they have jobs nine to five, whether they're in school, no matter what age they are, they are putting in endless, endless hours.

And breaking is not just a culture and a phenomenon.

But it's also art, its art and the sport.

So the fusion of both of that is what people are going to see in Paris, almost like Halley's Comet, you got to catch it while you can.

JOHN YANG: You're not going to be judging in Paris.

I know.

But you did judge some of the qualifying events.

What's the criteria?

How do you judge this?

IVAN VELEZ: There's a couple of criteria and boxes that they have to tick.

It's technique.

Right?

So it's how the technique is how good you are at doing everything that you've been training to do.

You have to definitely put yours in the game or your technique will show.

The vocabulary.

Vocabulary is what you bring to the table.

There's A's to Z's top rock footwork, freezes power combinations.

And what you bring to the table is your vocabulary and how many times you can switch things up.

You have originality, right, so you want to be the one and only and in order to do that you have to stand alone, you have to be unique, and you have to show as many original moves as you have learned in the past.

You only have 60 seconds before your opponent also answers back.

So you definitely want to execute from the very first second you step on that floor to the end of that 59.9 second and you're walking off.

Also musicality, I love musicality, and I'll tell you why.

We are dancers, right.

So it's all framed around the music.

If you don't have musicality, and you're dancing with either two left feet or you're off beat, we're definitely going to ding you for that.

You definitely have to dance and marry the beat and the music that these DJs are playing.

You don't know the BPM, you don't know what track, you don't know if there's lyrics to the track.

So it's a really cool game of cat and mouse.

JOHN YANG: Tell us a little bit about the Team USA breakers?

IVAN VELEZ: Oh, yeah, definitely.

Team USA all day.

You have Victor Montalvo, who made it.

He's half Mexican, half US.

He's from Florida, and he's the highest rank in the entire world.

And we have Sunny Choi, who made it.

She's from New York.

She had a full time job six figure salary, and she's given it all up for the gold.

We also have Logistx, who I met years ago, I worked with her on a Nickelodeon show.

She was a kid.

A few years later, she was on World of Dance.

And now she's on the world's biggest stage in the Olympics.

The Bboy Jeffro, he's one of the all style all around can throw anything down and his musicality, which again, I love is so on point.

It's going to be a nail biting couple of days.

I'll tell you that.

JOHN YANG: And Flipz, I know that that breaking has not been approved for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

What do you see the future of this?

Where do you want to see this go?

IVAN VELEZ: So with that news, sadly, it was not accepted for the 2028.

And what better way to bring it back right to the U.S. where it all started.

Hopefully it's in Brisbane in 2032.

I'm praying for that right now because you don't want too much time to go by as these dancers are evolving.

They're also getting older so the future looks really, really bright for braking.

And you might not see these same competitors again in that next cycle if it is another eight years.

I do want braking to just stay on the road roster.

I mean, it's survived 50 years, you know, whether it was on in the media or in the movies or underground culture or subculture, it's survived.

It's definitely ready to earn it slot.

Permanent slot.

JOHN YANG: Flipz, aka Ivan Velez.

Thank you very much.

IVAN VELEZ: Thank you guys so much for having me.

I'm excited.

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.