captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, fear outruns preparation. financial markets plunge, delivering the worst losses since 1987 as coronavirus spreads across the u.s. then, a shortagef testing kits, cancellations spread from churches to major sports and entertainment, and a breakdown between the u.s. and europover avel. how we got to this moment ofrt unnty. and, restoring the, ight to votefelons in florida are re- enfranchised following a decisive ballot measure victory, but the full right to vote remains elusive. >> i believe it's less about me voting and more about that people now have an opportunity to vote where opportunity did not exist a couple of years ago. >> woodruff: all that anmore

on tonight's pbs newshour. p>> major funding for the newshour has been provided by: cruise lines, travth american experience the maritime heritage and culture of the maine coast and new england islands. our fleet of small cruise ships plore american landscape seaside villages, and historic harbors, where you can experience local customs and cuisine. american cruise lines. proud sponsor of pbs newshour.

>> carnegie rporation of new rk. supporting innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongopport of these institutions: and individuals.ongopport >> this program was made possible by the corporation car public broing. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> it has been a day like few others in modern morn life, freeft coast to the west, the

stock exchange and house of worship. for stocks it was the worst day of trading since t 1987 crash. as fears of the pandemic spread, the w jones industrial avera plunged 10%, tumbling 2,352 points to close at 21,200. the nasdaq plummeted 750 points, and the s&p 500 lost more than 260. meanwhile, a rapid-fire succession of new cancellations and closures rippled across the u.s. and around the world toy, from major sporting events and cultural institutions, to entira school systend even catholic churches across rome. the u.s. now has more than 1300 covid-19 infections in at least 45 states and the district of columbia. that as the fallout intensified over pside trump's decision to ban travel from most of europe. nick schifrin begins our coverage. >> schifrin: in european

>> in the oim containment area in the country, food is handed out by the natiol guard. you in rochelle, new york sone of the cities on the front lines of disruptions, delays, and closings across the country because of covid-1ls public schre closing for nearly four million students,ud ining every k-12 school inio nd maryland. new york state banned gatherings of more than 500. broadway, and manchester's metropolitan meum of art, and metropolitan opera are going dark. dizzily land will close for rest of the month. major league baseball suspended operations. the national hockey league paused its season. and the n.c.a.a. canceled it march madness conference. on capitol hill, the question was whether the u.s. has enough tests. utah republican senator mitt romney. >>e don't have the level of testing that we're seeing in veher countries, and we wonder why they have sl thousand people a day getting tested and we have a handful.

>> reporter: dr. anthony fau agreed in response to democrat debbie wasserman sch >> there's not one person that can ensure that these tests can be administered. yes or no? >> the sysm does not, is not really geared to really what we need right now, what you are asking for. that is a failing. >> a failing? yes. >> yes.in it is a fa let's admit it. the idea of anybody getting it easily, the way people in other countries are doing it, we're not set up for that. do i think we should be? yes, but we're not. >> schifrin: despite his experts' testimony, the despite the c.d.c. not releasing official statistics, 45 minutes later, presideth trump said : >> we have heavily tested. if an american coming back or anybody coming back, we have a tremendous testing set up where people coming in have to be tested. >> reporter: people are ruing to come in from europe today, where preidential calls r calm were met with fear and confusion. >> definitely been, like, a lot of uncertainty, which has caused

a lot of, like, panic. >> i think it's definitely at diffictuation for everyone to be in and it's clear the situation is being handled chaotically. >> reporter: american citizens can return home from europe, as can u.s. citizen foreign family members, but the confusion came after president trump's oval office stateme last night blaming europe. >> a large number of new clusters in the united states were seeded by travelers from europe.after consulting with oup government health professionals, i have decided to takseveral strong but necessary actions to protect the health and well-being of ansll ameri >> reporter: president trump's suspension of travel from the european continent to thu.s. starting friday was met with shock. european officials tell pbs newshour. and today, the onropean uni top officials dlird a short a terse response:

the prime minister of ireland, which is exempt from the ban, president trump called i necessary. >> we had to make a decision, and i didn't want to take time and, you know, it takes a long time to make the individual calls. and we are calling, and we have spoken to some of them prior to, some of the majors, prior to. but we had to move quickly. i mean, when they raised taxes on us, they don't consult us. >> reporter: apparently the majorsnclude the united kingdom, whose officials tell pbs newshour they were inedfo beforehand and are also exempt from the ban. >> one of the reasons u.k basically, has been-- it's got the border. it got very stron borders. and they're doing a very good job. they don't have very much infection at this point, and hopefully, they'll keep it that way. >> reporter: johns hopkins university says thest infections in europe are in italy, france, spain, andan ge the united kingdom has the tenth most infections. but in london, prime minister boris johnson warned things would get worse.

>> the true number of casess higher, perhaps much higher, than the number of cases we havo far confirmed with tests. >> reporter: worldwide, the virus has reached 110 countries and infected more than 126,000 people. denmark, nory and ireland, have ordered all schools closed. 1,000.ly, the death toll topped residents are coping with tighter restrictions, after the government yesterday ordered most businesses, shut. but where the virus originated, the streets are returning to normal. chinese health officials claim the lowest total of new cases, a dozen, since the outbreak began. and the chinese say nearly but the chinese are ng fingers outward. the foreign ministry's deputy spokesman tweeted today, "it might be u.s. army who brought the epidemic to wuhan." that is a lie, u.s. officials say, designed to deflect blame. >> woodruff: we return to the financial fallout and to help make sense of today's dramatic drop ithe markets. liz ann sonds is chief investment strategist for

charles schwab and company. the anne, welcome back t newshour it looks pretty cataclysmic. what is driving this. >> yeah.we so, obviouslyknow the virus and the unique uncertainty with regard to-- we know it's goiwo to gete before it gets better. but the economic impact, the impact on corporate engs. then we had the double whammy of the collapse in opec talks and the ash in oil prices, and how that's filtered into the onomy, but also significant dislocations in the corporate bond market, and then more recently, you had dislocations occur in the treasury market, which is y the fed sepped in with what they did today. so, unfortunately, it's been this triple whammy. it's not ju the virus. >> woodruff: so in layman'se terms, is ththing to reainvestors, to reassure the markets right now? >> well, i think-- we saw a bit of shock and awe out of the fe today, but that's really just to stabilizrthe treasury mat.

the fed has been very honest in saying that they can't really do much to ease the pain of a pandemic. they can't create a vaccine. they can't create tests. and i think there's this realization that central banks have limbed power. so i think we probably need a bit more shock and awe from government authorities, something on the fiscal policy side. ngand the markets are telyou that we haven't gotten that yet. >> woodruff: and whawould that look like, fiscal policy side? >> well, there have been lots of ideas bandied around, whether it uld be done ugh some sort of payroll tax holiday, a little more discussion recently about just actually providing money. is it more targeted toward ose individuals or industries that are most at risk? so there's a lot being discussed. conversations, but so far, we're not yet seeing that shock and awe ke at least the central banks are attempting to give us, which is limited in its aid. >> woodruff: so in the meantime, until that happens, we and back and watch and hope?

>> well, we are at a-- at a that's about in nen the market historically with what the market has done in anticipatio of recessions. now, this is a unique cause to a likely ression, given that we have whole swaths of the economy literally simultaneously shutting down all at once. so there's a tremendous amount that's unique about this set ofe circumst but if it is significant enoug to bring on a recession, wanrkt , at this point, is than what has been the case in the past. that doesn't mean the bottom ins but we've hit those levels as of today. >> woodruff: pretty grim. liz ann sonders, thanks very much. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: we look nsome of the broader ripples and response with our nick schiffrin, lisa desjardins and yamiche alcindor. hello to all three of you. yamiche, i'm going tort with you. we are seeing all this disruption.

how is the preside haning it? >> well, the president is facing a challenge like nothing he's ever seen bef ce. and rse this country is facing a challenge like nothing it's ever seen before. i've been tae,king to sou democrats and republicans, and they say american life is not going to look like-- look like normal americalife for a lon time. you have elderly couples crying in their cars aaid to go into grocery stores. you can vpeople that can't go to football games, can't throw a football with their child because they're worried whether or not the virus iin the air. and you have a president who is struggling, frankly, judy, to figure out what to do, how to calm people. people in some cases don't trust what the president is saying. just today on testing, something americans are very, very concerned about, he is saying testing will be going quickly. we're all working well. this is going smooanly. then you have the top health official saying actually testing is failing in this country, and we don't have drive-through testing. it's not as easy as othcoer tries. what you have is a president trying to calm people's fears oying things that his health officials in hi administration are saying are

wrong. >> woodruff: and, nick, we heard some of this in you report a moment ago. what else are you hearing from an officials about wha the president said last night? >> european officials, anger is re tly palpable when you tao them. one european union official told me yesterday that the first time they heard about bithe posty of the travel ban was when a reuters story hit yesterday afternoon. they called the administration in the hours between that stry and the speech. they never heard back. so they heard when he all heard, when the presideng started spea french, german, e.u. officials-- i spoke to all of them. none of them were consulted before the speech. and they also wonder, by the way, why the united kingdom w left off. each of these officials see this in a larger context. they cite candidate trump callinglet e.u. aeconomic foe. they talk about the paris climate accd ord laming europe during impeachment for not helping ukrne. but now european official i talked to today talked about

retribution at all. as the e.u. statement today said, it's time for cooperation not tit for at that time measures. >> sreenivasan: how is the white house push back on what the europeans are sayg? >> the president is doubling down on the decision to have these travel bans hd have tese travel restrictions go to effect. the president said, you know what? when the europeans tax us, they don't consult us. he made it aout trade. he made it tit for tat as looking at our european allies. president's relationships with european allies. hes has talked about an american-first approach and the virus as a foreign virus. of course, the cronavirus esn't know any border. there is no country that might not be touched by this, what you have is the president now having to face the fact that international ties and international strategy is going to havto be somthing that ppens in order for this to be tamed. and health officials in the president's own administration say there has to be international coordination for this all to go tooth p smoothly. again, the president is doing

what he's done in past crises, d that's lash out at people and lash out at people who are living across the borders and living abroad. at ts point, it's going to in some ways have to figure out how to change this tone becthause e are people in his own administration who are worried. >> woodruff: and, meantime, americanrare clearly ried, as we've been discussing, lisa. stepping back, even talking to a lot of folks today, political leadership broadly, how is ilot ing at dealing with this? >> well, at this moment, judy, i'm watching my phoo see if the white house and congress-- speaker pelosi, specifically-- have arrived at a deal for how to handle workers, families, people who are going to have needs, whether it's food or paychecks for the next few weeks or months. i think that deal uld be come anything minute now, watching mh e. otherwise, trying to arrive at that deal and for leaders at the capitol, understanding the scope of this problem, today was a wild day on pitol hill. we put together this story looking at it.

>it.oo >>uff: the pressure touldn't be greater looking a it. right now many americans are talking over concernmehow the gove is responding to the pandemic, the ability to get .esting and how the u.s response compares torg countries. i think we want to ce bak-- my mistake here. we do want to come back to the democratic presidential candidates. president's response. on the we have members of congress, as lisa just sai working onome sort of package that would address the pandemic. and lisa has more otn t. >> desjardins: at the capitol, noanonger open to the public eruption of recognizing the obvious: a mighty problem has arrived. i think this is a wake up call for the world. >> the only question is how many more cases? >> desjardins: also obvious-- congress and t white house must act sooner than that. >> this will not be the same issue a week from now. it will be much worse. so we need to be here in our

seats solving the problems we can solve. >> desjardins: trying to solve some problems, house speaker a nancy pelo treasury secretary steven mnunchin have been on and off the phe to negotiating a possible deal to help workers and families whose lives may be disrupted. last night, president trump announced executive action from the oval office, including an historic travel ban, that came with some confusion. >> to keep new cases from entering o shores, we will be suspending all travel from europe to the uniteds for the next 30 days. the new rules will go into effect friday at midnight. >> desjardins: just an hour later, deputy d.h.s. scuretary keinelli tweeted out an important clarification that this does not apply to american president that it also does not apply to goods. vice president mike pence downplayed this in mor interviews. >> i don't think there was confusion.de

he made thsion on the spot after hearing from all sides that the best thing we could do is suspend a travel. >> desjardins: the president's plan has other elements-- he is considering declarg a national emergency, which could free up more than $40 billion to help. he is starting to give loans to small businesses and asking congress for $50 billion more to help them directly. and he wants congress to pass a payrl tax cut to boost the entire economy. but on capitol hill, the focus is on a much broader sweeping democrats.pu proposed by house >> it's abouing families first. >> speaker ploa >> desjardins: house speaker nancy pelosi is hoping to bring the white house on board democrats' unprecedented plan. ould give workers affect by the virus two-thirds of their monthly pay, up to $4,000. businesses would have to immediately provide 14 sick days small businesses would be reimbursed for the cost. and it would fund one billion dollars aimed inelp for food

banks, low-income families facing school closures and meals for homebound seniors. >> the house is on fire.pe le are concerned about of course the health of their children. if they are losing their jobs e nobody is coming to th restaurant or whatever it is-- then we have to be there with some help for them. >> desjardins: but republicans on the hill initially pushed back. >> the bill comes out short. >> desjardins: house republican leader kevin mccarthy said the biac adds too much bureaucr and that republicans are wary of one piece for workers-- that it would require those emergency sick days in any public health emergency, not just this one. session this week to work out a deal.>> e should not just take a rush just because there is a bill we want to make sure it works in the process where we are going. >> desjardins: just a few hours later, senate majority leader mcconnell announced via twitter

he is canceling next week's planned senate recess to deal with the issue. outside of the capitol, more evidence of the national shi, as presidential candidates spoke in studios, not before crowds. former vice president biden was in delaware, saying a much moree focused resps needed now and can't wait for the election. measure and report each day, tests have been ordered, how many tests have been completed, and how many have tested positive. by next week, the number of tests should be in the millions, nothe thousands. we should make every person in l nursing home ale for testing. rvery senior center vulnerable population has to have easy access to the test. >> his democratic opponent, senator bernie sanders, also previewed how he would act as president, speaking in his homer state ofmont. to we need, also, in this economic crisisplace an immediate moratorium on

evictions, on foreclosures and on ulity shutoffs shat no one loses their home during this crisis and that everyone has access to clean water, electricity, heat, and air conditioning. >> desjardins: sunday's debate between biden and sanders has been moved from phoenix, arizona to washington, d.c., where the two will face off in aly empty tv studio. nick, lisa and yamiche.ck with hello again. so, lisa, you did say a minute ago that t h whise, congress close to a deal. where do things stand right now? >> texting with source rigw.ht i can tell you what looks like will be in this deal, and we expect the details of thighs to depending on any possible snags. first of all, it does look like temporary sick ave, 14 days is the number they've been talking about, for anyone affected by e coronavirus. and i want to stress-- that's not just people who are sick or quarantined. they're talking about allowing that sick leave for parents of fchildren who may be hoom school.

so this is a broad category. sick leave looks like it's going to be in here, temporarily,ing for this disease. then, so, some of wage relief. they're negotiating over the specifics now, for people who go without their salary, have to stay home for all of these reasons. which is not in here, judy, say permanent kind of emergency sick leave. that's something that democrats wanted. that's not going to be in here. what also is nothein-- a payroll tax cut. we know the president wanted that. yamiche has been reporting on it. not going to be in here. and, judy, i'll tell you what the real fight is here, it's about the next bill. this bill is probably going to be easier, dealing with people who are affected directly. the next bill will be about stimulating the economy. that could come in aew wee, and people on both sides, including the president, are trying to keep leverage because they want to get their ideas on the table in that likely-to-be-larger deal. >> woodruff: what liz ann sonders was pointing to.ri >> that'ht, the big shock the economy might need. >> woodruff: yamiche, where isth white house? how are they coming down on this

negotiation right now? >> the white house and white hoe officials have been negotiating pretty much nonstop with capitol hill officials. what i'm sensing from white house source the president is leaning towards signing wharf ends up on hisdek. he's deps flat some ways to show the american people, here is what the government, the federal government is doing for you. he did say today he settled on using the stafford act. that's ational emergency bill which would free upbout $42.6 billion. even with that bill, what he's help him out and congress also to have a bill that does more than what he can do unilaterally. >> woodruff: you also, yamiche, you were telling us that you loeked at t white house talk about the president's emergency powers and basically the extent of his ability as president to make a difference right now. >> that's right. the h preside limitations on what he can do. but i will say the president has been saying a coe of different things, including the fact he might have restrictions on domestic travel.

today, he was asked whether or not he might consider doing something because california and ington state were so hard hit. they're some of the hot areas. he said if areas become "too hot" he might think of making some sort of domestic tral restriction. the other thing to note is the president shims worried about whether or not he came into coghact with anyone who have the coronavirus o-1r cov we showed our audience a picture of a president next to an aide of the preside of the brazi here, there are reports that the president of brazil has tested negative for the coronavirus, but that's the president and the aide at mar-a-lagjust within the last week or so.re so tre real worries that the vice president and president might have been-- might have hao act with these people. the white house, of course, is saying they are not bei tested, the president or vice president are not being tested. they say they've never had any sort of extended interaction with people who tested positive for the conavirus. >> woodruff: that picture was just, as you said, over the weekend in florida, the president and the vice president. >> yat mar-a-lago, with someone

who has tested positive. >> woodruff: so we will see. so, nick, the pentagon. there has been some restriction placed on the movement of u.s. military members. >> the u.s. government can't forbid u.s. citizens from traveling, but the pentagon can control its own please. so for active duty as well as civil qloons work for the department odepartment of defenl be banned from traveling to anyr colisted as level three. that not only includes places ake china, south korea, and italy, but also most of europe as of last night. and service mbers won't be allowed to travel there, even on nonofficial travel. military also announced its scaling back some of the maor exercises over the next few months. and really the large story here, is judy, the peoheple-- wh in the defense department or intelligence agencies-- that are charged with protecting thee country are aw fearing or having to worry about ptecting their own people from going t work. >> woodruff: some of them are base in these countries, aren't

they? >> some are based in these countries and they cat leave can't go in or out of any country labed as le3 rightckly, lisa, this is something we're look at congress and the president and ifey're doing the job they need to be doing. >> in the last few days, policyo and realncern has seemed to over-ride the politics that have dominated the capitol. there are sti litics involved, judy, but it seems congress has gotten a messa f in the law days in a big way rsat they need to act as lea now.>> woodruff: everyone is watching. yamiche alcindor, thank you all. >> woodruff: many americans are talking about their concerns over how the government is responding to the paemic, the ability to get testing, and how the u.s. response compares to other countries. ashish jha, who runs the harvard global healtinstitute, watches this and joins me now. dr. jha, first of all, how do you size up the way the u.s. s

responded compared to other countries to this pandemic, this coronavirus crisi >> you know, judy, the american response has been deeply disappointing in almost every way our response has been far less effective than every other major country in the world. it's baffling, actually. we have, in the c.d.c., argbly the best public health agency in the world. all of us thoughthat the c.d.c. was going to-- was prepared and was going to heghp this virus. the federal response has been a fiasco. >> woodruf and i want to just for and you for our audience play again something we aired a few minutes ago. and this was an exchange with anthony fauci, who is, of course, who has been in charge of much of theatment of infectious diseases in this country. he was in a hearing on capitol hill today, followed by something the president saidda let's listen. >> there's not one person that can ensure that these testsan

be administered. yes or no? >> the system does not-- is not really geeo what we need right now, what you are asking for. that is a failing >> a failing, yes. ailing.s a let's admit it. >> okay. >> the idea of anybody getting it easily the way people in other countries are doing it, we're not set up for thae t. >>ve a very heavily tested. if an american is coming back od anis coming back, we're testing. we have a tremendous testing set up where peoe coming in have to be tested. >> woodruff: ashis jha, what do you make of this? >> well, of course, dr.fo tony h seright. and what yourwers need to understand is if you get sick tomorrow with coronavirus and you reach out to your doctor or you talk to your doctor, and your doctor wants to test you for coronavirus, he or she can't. most doctors today cannot test people for coronavirus because we just don't have the test. every other major country has

figured out how to t. south korea is testing 15,000 people assay. ac the european union, people are getting tests. even iran and vietnam are teing more regularly than are. we have just managed to bune this so incredibly badly, that most americans cannot get the test they ned. and as dr. fauci said, it's a aailing. >> woodruff: who dropped the ball? >> you know, it's very hard to sort o. the world health organization put together a test ki, 60 countries send it. america decide to go its own way and not follow the w.hte.o. st kit. that's okay. because america has a strong own test.ord of developing and then it's been one kind of debacle after my best sense is the administration has not prioritized this. they have no sense of urgency over this. and when you look at what's happing across the country with sool closures, the that being shut down it's,all

basically because we can't test anybody. we have lost the most powerful tool we have for fighting this disease. so we're having to resort to a whole lot of other things. >> woodruff: what is it going to take tcatch up? >> well, i still can't quite figure out why the testing-- you know, last week, vice president pence said we're going to have s million tes available. i'm speaking to state health ficials who tell me th they're rationing tests. they still can't get the tests out to doctors who need them. so there is some set of technical issues that really need prioritization. and for us to not get really walloped by this infection, we have to implement very kind of draconian, difficult measures, like shutting down public meetings, like sending kids home, like ensuring people are not going to the office or going out to restaurants, or movies. we're going to have to do all of that until we really get a grip on the inf>>ection. oodruff: are you concerned where we will get to a point where people who should be

tested, who desperately need to be diagnosed one way or anothern won't be, this virus gl on for longer than it should and people will die as a result of that? >> i thire is reason to be concerned that's already ppening now. if today i as a physician wanted to test somebody that i s worried might have coronavirus, i can't, generally, largelyca most ame can't get that test who need it. and, you know, the douing time of this disease is six days. and another way of thinking about it is my guessthere are about 10,000 americans probably have the infection today. officially, it's only about 1400, buty mbest guess is 5,000 to 10,000 americans. that number is going to doubl in six days. it's going to double again in another six days. and unl we get widespread testing available, we're not going to be able to wrap our arms around this. and i think all of us in the public health community are baffled that we, the most sort of innovative,us ingenountry with all this scientific

capacity have not been able to do this. it's really a failing oferal leadership. >> woodruff: and just in a few seconds, the number of pital beds available. >> yeah, thiis something that we've been looking at and are very worried. if thnfe tion rates spike, we don't have enough hospital beds to take care of everybody.at the reason for this social distancing of trying to spread the infection out so that not everybody getsnfected at once. i think if we can do that, ourho itals, some of the best hospitals in the world, i think are going to be able to acplmmodate infected peo but we really have to make sure that we're not seeing spikes inh infection ant we're spreading the infection out over time so the health care systemca manage this. i'm optimistic, but it's not going to be easy. it's going to require a lof work. >> woodruff: dr. ashis jha, of harvard's global health school. we thank you very much. >> thank you so much for having me.

>> woodruff: in the days other news, the u.ir military cod three american service north of baghdad. rocket attack a military camp ind yesterday at the iraqi government has launched an investigation. in washingn, the head of the u.s. central command told a senate panel the attack bore thr markings oian-backed proxy t rces. >> i will note te iranian proxy group kataib hezbollah is the only group known to have previously conducted an indirect iraq, while periods of decrease tension may provide the illusi of a return normalcy, ample intelligence and indeed yesterdays actio indicate the iranian regimes desire to continue malign activities that threaten lives. >> woodruff: u.s. defense secretary mark esper threatened retaliation against the prox group, and said, "you don't ge

to kill and wound americans and get away with it." a federal judge in virginia has ordered former army intelligence analyst chelsea manning to be released from prison. she was being held for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury probe into the anti-secrecy group wikileaks. her lawyers say manning had been receiving medical treatment for an apparent suicide attempt yesterday. at least five people have died in widesead flooding across egypt. thunderstorms bombarded cairo as cars struggled to drive through overflowing streets.au thorities said at least one victim died when strong nds flipped his vehicle. government officials said at least five other people were jured, including a child. for this summer's olympiceremony games went ahead today as planned, even as other sporting groups announced suspensionsid over the c9 pandemic.ee in olympia, grce, the birthplace of the games, an actress playing a paga

priestess lit the flame during a small ceremony held without spectators. officials in japan said for now, the mpetition is still on. >> ( translated ): we are not thinking of changing directions nor changing plans a now is a time when everyone is making effort toward one there is no room for thoughts that are negative or pessimistic. >> woodruff: today president trump id officials should consider delaying the games until next year. the opening ceremony in tokyo is set for july 24th. still to come on the newshour: despite a decisive ballot measure, the full right to vote remains elusive for ex-felons in florida and 85-year-old lucille day ves her brief but spectacular take on integrating schools.

>> woodruff: florida was one of only a few states that banned felons from voting for life, until 2018, when a majority of floridians passed anative giving felons who had served their sentences the right to vote back. it was a major victory for voting rights, but as stephanie sy reports, the implementation has been fraught with legal battles and confusion. s i was just looking at t picture, it was actually taken the day i was released from prison. >> reporter: coral nichols was 23 years old wn she went to prison for financial fraud. what was it like in ison? >> a lot of harassment, a loof male guards being in places they shouldn't be. >> reporter: after serving a four and half year sentence, she was released into a world she barely recognized.

>> how are they going to see me? will i ever live past this? will i ever be able just to be a person again? >> reporter: today, coral, now 41, runs a non-profit organization that helps other w people grapplih the challenges of life after prison. and while criminal justice advocates like to call them" returning citizens," not all their rights as citizens are returned to them. >> i am a free individual inside tand out, but i am not fr cast a vote.am ontinually reminded by a society that i am a felon >> reporter: florida used to be one of the only states to ban former felons from voting for life. but in the 2018 midterms, two- thirds of florida voters decided to automatically restore the voting rights to former felons who had completed their ntences. it excluded those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense. >> we showed the entire world

that in spite of our differences, whether it's to our racial differences, in spite of our political differces, that we can come together as human beings and move major policy.ro >> the actmised to enfranchise some 1.4 million people, including dizz mond meade, a former a rmer felon himself, mead was in and out of prison as a young man, before he beat his he was getting amendment 4 on the ballot. but, more than a year afteisits passage,ob is not finished. >> to see that the spirit of amendment 4 get pulled down into the mud of partisan back and forth then and legal maneuvering and all of that, it is kind of disheartening. >> reporter: the legal ftmaneuvering started soon the ballot measure passed, when republicans in the florida statehouse passed legislation f ying that only those former felons who paid l fines and fees would be eligible to.

vo bill into law, leaving folks like coral nichols wondering whether they'd ever get their vote back. the judge ordered you to pay how much in restitution? r>> $190,00. orter: how much of that have you paid? >> i'm down to 180,000. so $10,000 of that. >> reporter: state representative jamie grant is chairman of the criminalustice subcommittee. he wrote the bill focusing on these financial obligations. >> fines, fees, costs, restitution, all of thattes part of a se in the state o florida. i personally believe in fistoration and redemption, but i also believe ility to our constitution. >> reporter: grant says he also included in the bill a way for former felons to get theirees waived. but opponents, including groups now suing the state of florida, say the new requirements amount to a poll tax and are themselves unconstitutional. a federal judge blocked the rule. on martin luther king jr. day in january, desmond meade and the

florida rights restoration coalition marched in a parade in st. petersburg florida. people in the crowd who voted for amendment 4 over a year agoe said they' it as a straightforward mandate. >> the people's will is they wanted it to be as easy as possible because they believed their rights should be restored. >> reporter: in someistricts, local officials are taking matters into their own hands, li hillsborough county sta attorney andrew warren. warren is working with the florida rights restorationn coalit help returning citizens through the process of getting their fees waived. >> it's been left to localities to move the ball forward and we're committed to fulfilling they said very clearly they wanted amendment 4. and since there is nothing to implement amendment 4 hat the legislature did, it falls to us. >> rorter: but most florida yet to set up pathways to restore voting rights. >> reporter: back at the parade, desmond meade isn't letting the setback slow him down.

you're walking really fast can barely keep up with you. >> i know, right? >> reporter: what'ridriving you t now? it seems like you want to get to as many pele as possible >> you know i tell you, we run into people who don't even know amendment 4 has passed.r: >> reporrenda purnell morris is a volunteer with meade's group. >> my husband, i'm directly impactedit's very hard to be married to a felon, we call them returning citizens it's very hard, u can't find housing, it's like you're going through the same thing they're going through. >> reporter: so has hiright to vote been restored? >> yes, and he has his voter >> reporter: many of the people we talked to here at t.k. day parade in st. petersburg say they feel the challenges tdm ament 4 are just the latest attempt to suppress african american voters. while the majority of former felons in florida are white. blk people were disproportionately affected by the ban, and black voters have overwhelmingly backed democratsi inkey swing state, any move that could alter the electorate is seen as political. president trump won florida by just over 100,000 votes in 2016.

in bush versus gore,a few hundred votes made the difference. but if politics does explain why returning citizens now another hurdle to vote in florida, coral n thols challeng logic. >> there's this misconception that everyelon is a democrat and that if we all register to vote, the state will swing and will become a democrat state, and it's far from the truth. >> reporter: you're a republican. >> i am a registered replican. >> reporter: the only thing clear is the confusion, and so far, it is estimated only 50,000 former felons have registered to vote. desmond meade is among them. >> i know on election day i'm probably going to cry. i believe it's less about me voting and more about that people now have an opportunity to vote where opportunity did not exist a couple of years ago. >> reporter: for the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy in st. petersburg, florida. uf

>> woo and we'll be back shortly with a brief but spectacular take on integrating schools. but first, take a ment to hearfr your local pbs station. it's a chance to offer your support, which helps keep programs like ours on the air. >> woodruff: for years, rural and small towns have been experiencing a "brain drain" as some of their most talented young people moved to more urban areas. but recent census data has shown that millennials, those born between 1981 and996, are increasingly choosing to live in suburbs and smaller cies. in this encore look, jeffrey brown traveled to montana to hear why.

>> i have to talk strategy with you for a minute. >> reporter: for karoline rose, it's just another day at the office. >> yeah, a link that says "fall 2020" and production sales and you click on it and it pulls up on screen. >> reporter: the 27 year-old is the founder of a digital consulting and agricultural marketing company near toston, montana, population 108. >> the town of toston isn't much if you blink, you kind of miss it. >> reporter:ot a typical setting for a millennial c.e.o., perhaps, but with clients across much of rural america, she's not only surviving, but thriving, io a place wher outnumber people. rose started "krose company" in 2015 and began using socialdi to do what her family hasl always done: sttle. >> so we listed them and they sold it in about six minutes. and i called my dad on the phonv and i said, "isomething." >> rorter: but her dad, john

rosea man who has sold cattl in montana since the 1980's, was initially skeptical. >> agriculture's stiy much a handshake business. d she came home and said "we're just going to put them on facebook or the internet and we're going to sell catt." and i said, "there's no way that's going to happen." i said, "it just is not what agriculture in the west is." and e said, "oh, yeah, we ca do that." >> reporter: karoline's success is no surprise to ben winchester, a researcher at theo universiminnesota. he's been documenting rural popution trends for more tha 25 years and says young adults are increasingly coming to these areas for the cheaper cost of living and new opportunities. >> you can be a doctor in a rural community. you can be an editor for a newspaper in a rural community. you can be a book publisher, you can be electrical engineer.e wht every town will have that diversity of employment or occupation, when you start

putting together 5-7 counties, you've got the same diversity in a rural regionhat you find in e metropolitan area. >> reporter: and according to the latest census data millennials are no longer finding metropolitan areas as attractive as they once , d. collectiverge u.s. cities thst nearly 30,000 millennials in 2018-- the foonsecutive year their population of young adults declined. and it's not just millennials. a 2018 gallup poll found that whil80% of all americans liv in urban areas, rural life is most desired. all this is fueling migration to places like bozeman, montana, now one of the fastest growingci es of its size in the nation. dr. meghan johnston grew up in montana and settled in bozemanhe after finishinresidency in seattle. >> my daycare is five minutes from here so i can... my nurse will tell you that i run out of here at 5:20, i can pick up my kids and go home for dinner and

be home at:35. and i know my good friends that live in seattle that, logistically, is so much more challenging. so i think the quality of life here is just easier. >> reporter: dr. johnston also trains medical students like ezekial sharples, who has another reason for staying: nearly 80% of rural america is classified as "medically underserved," and sharples says his hometown of chinook in rthern montana remains without a doctor.ll >> all these sowns are either single physician or no physician towns. and so, that experiencing up really gave me this drive to go back and kind of be part of solving that issue. >> reporter: beninchester sees a pattern. millennials especially, they're starting to hit the same trends that we had seen in othe generations wh, as you age and you start to gain some stability that you start to

question some of the facts of your life. >> reporter: ocourse, moving to a more rural life hardly guarantees success. >> you know, you have some towns that "succeed" and other towns that fail. and what we find is thateally the biggest differential in communities is social capital. and it is how well do people work together. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> reporter: another factor: cultural life. bozeman may not have the nightly high-profile music and arts scene of a larger city, but it does have "live from the divide." >> i started with the intention of just creating a place for songwriters to have a place where they could play their ctngs and people would res that and listen. >> reporter: 35-year-old jason wickins is a singer-songwriter from central montana. but decided to come back home, and now runs a music venue where national touring acts can play to small, intimate crowds.

so when did you realize that you could give it a go here in montan >> if you're in nashville or new york or l.a., it is hard. i would say it's a lot harder, depending on what your-- >> reporter: harder because it's expensive? >> it's expensive, it's way more cuhroat. you have to really be a hustler, and there's nothing tong with any se things. for me, i had no interest in en trying to make it wor there because i wanted to back in montana and back in the culture that inspired me in my music and to do e things i wanted to do. >> reporter: back on her family's ranch, karoline rose says she's now buying, selling and marketing cattle to more than 300 clients in 12 states. and she has this advice for those who might want to try making it out here: >> it's really important that when you move into rural america that you get out and y know the community and you show up.

but also that you're different anyou bring your skills an your knowledge to the table because that's what we need and that's what we're looking for. >> reporter: for the "pbs newshour" im jeffrey brown in montana. >> woodruff: tonight's brief but spectacular comes from lucile g day enville, florida. a town of 800 people, 33% of greenville residents live below. the poverty li but even amid hard times, day rema sense of community that has prevailed. sd thought her spirit and would be welcomed after a ry unsettng week of news. >> as a child, i went to a segregated sool. my reaction has always been to feel sorry for theerson who is discriminating against somebody.

i felt that they were g something in their lives. i would always try, "well, why is that person feelit way?rr i feel so for that person. he can't get it right." that's just my reaction. i live in greenville, florida. the land that i'm living on, we moved here in 1939. i was five years old. my grandparents planted this garlic, so you know it's been here a very long time. i enjoy working in the garde watching things grow. is is where i get plenty of exercise. i call this arsp my backyard

you can choose your own exercise equipment. omd should you want to cut logs, i have, and will show you hoto use, my chainsaw. but the best of all is seeing the smiles on people's face when i give tm my veggies. this is part of my breakfast foods. >> can we try one? >> yes! you're welcome. don't have really, really worries. i know where to take my worries. i do have some concerns. i'm concerned about our young people. one night i was in bed, reading. i heard a click coming from the carport. went to the door, turned on the light. lo and behold, there was a familiar face looking at me. this is the side of the car the young man was trying to get into. and when i flipped on the light, he kind of dodged that way. i went out and talked to that familiar face.

you know you've done something wrong, and that's not the way you were raised, and we don't do that to each other. i gave him the opportunity to jump the fence and l because i could see that this young man needed a change. s ll calls me. and to this day, i've never tols anyoneame. mothers would ask, "was it my son?" was it my so still don't tell.telling. my work ethics have come from my grandparents, my family, and my community, which i call "the village". if you're going to do something, then do right. if there is a secret to aging, this is it: do the best you can when you can. treat your body and your mind right. treat other people like yowant to be treated and enjoy life. my theory is, many times we

already have what we are seeking for if we just look within. my name is lucille martin broxton day, and this is my brief but spectacular take on the joy of living. >> woodruff: and, ty, did we nehear that. thank you, lucille. you can find all our brief but spectacular segments online at pbs.org/newshour/brief. on the newshour online right that a lagging numberrts warn united states is far behind in controlling the spread of the we examine why more people aren't getting tested on our web site, pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and aowin here tomovening. for all of us at the pbs yowshour, thank you and seu

>> major funding for the pbs newsho has been provided by: >> before we talk about your investmes-- what's new? well, audrey's expecting... >> twins! >> grandparents. >> we want to put money aside for them, so, change in plans. >> all right, let's see what we can adjust. >> we'd be closer to the twins. >> change in plans. >> okay., >> me you painting again? you could sell these. >> let me guess, change in plans? >> at fidelity, changing plans is always part of the plan. the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation.ci supportingce, teand improved ecc performance and financial

gy,o litera in the 21st century. of these institutionsrt and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

hello, everyone, and welcome to amanpour and company. here's what's coming up. leadership in a time of global crisis. with italy on a war footing t combat coronavirus, former prime minister joins me from rome. meanwhile. >> tonight we are a sp closer to restoring decency, dignity and nor to the white house. >> as joe biden takes a commanding lead in the emocratic primary, i speak t trump confidant and campaign advisor david irvin. then as coronavirus disrupts the ghtly linked global work foe, isacksonpeaks to labor economist david otter.