tv PBS News Hour PBS April 2, 2020 3:00pm-4:01pm PDT
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captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. the grim numbers of covid-19. a rising death toll, and a harsh financial reality. what you need to know, as coronavirus lays siege to life as we know it in america. then, jobless claims in the u.s. double in a week. more than six million americans seeking aid from the government, thrustg thbleconomy into a k and uncertain future. plus, amid the staggering of the hardest-hit industries, restaurants, as employees are laid off and owners struggle to stay afloat. >> we let go of our all of our hourly employees. that was hor horrible. it was the hardest thing that i've done in my life.
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>> woodruff: all that and mo, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity investments. >> bnsf railway. >> financial services firm ond james. >> carnegie corporation of new york. supp innovations in education, democratic engagement, and the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org.
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>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers lu. thank you. >> woodruff: yet anoer momentous day in the relentless march of this pandemic. as of tonight, covid-19 has infected more than one million people around the world, and already left well over 50,000 dead. the u.s. count is nearing 6,000 dead, and president trump has now ordered steps to make more ventilators available. white house officials say he may
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also call for wearing face masks hot spots. meanwhile, there is fresh evidence that the u.s. work force is sufferng. we begin with this report from john yang. >> yans a two-front war. on the economic side, more than 6.6 million americans filed their claims for unemployment benefits last week as businesses nationwide cs.sed their do the record numbers come as nearly 300 millioncans in 38 sta the district of columbia, are under stay-at-home orders. on theedical front, doctors and nurses are pleading for more equipment, like ventilators and protective gear, known as p.p.e.s, like face masks. emmanuel bangan urse at a hospital in san jose, california. >> we don't want to be spreading it ourselves, so we justant to have the right p.p.e.s. >> yang: this afternoon,es ent trump invoked the defense production act to try to ramp up u.s. manufacture of ventilators.
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but earlier, the president questioned some re for more equipment, tweeting," massive amounts of medical es, even hospitals and medical centers, are being delivered directly to states and hospitals by the federal government." he added, "some have insatiable appetites and are never satisfied." other officials say the need is real. new york governoandrew cuomo said his state is down to a six-day supply of ventilators. new jersey senator cory booker urged more action: >> we are continuing to demand that this president step up and use his power and authority to help people in new jersey and across this nation. >> a cruise ship finally docs d after week limbo during which four people died. officials said the healthy could go home and the sick would be treated on board. and late today the navy
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sed the commander of the u.s.s. theodore roosevelt, saying he went outside the chain of command wn he raised alarm about an outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier. with hospitals reporting blood shortages as collection drives have been cancelled amid social distanthe f.d.a. today relaxed donation restrictions for gay and bisexual men, s,ose with recent tattoos or piercind recent visitors to areas where malaria is regularly found. also todaydemocrats delayed their presidential nominating convention in milwaukee by a month, to august 17. in a statement, the d.n.c. said the delay gives "convention planners more time to determine the most appropriate structure"" the world health organization reported that more than 95% of europeans who have died from coronavirus have been older than 60, but young people have still suffed severe cases. france, italy and spain have been most affected in the outbreak. in barcelona, empty coffins
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filled a parking garage-turned -wouse today. spain reported its one-day record odeaths on wednesday. but, officials said the rate of infections there is slowing down. >> ( translated ): t objective is to end this as quickly as possible, so the rates don't continue to rise. stabilizing.ngs are the deaths will stabilize later msan the cases of new symp but it is true that spain has a er number of deaths that we would like to reduce as quickly as possible. ang: next door in portugal, barren streets on a sunny day in central lisbon. nearby, the portuguese parliament voted to extend the country's state of emergency. >> ( translated ): it is still necessy, and i wou add, even more necessary. not because the number of necases is not slowing dow but because as time passes, the risk is increasing. >> yang: and russian president noadimir putin lengthened his country's "working period" until the end of april. that, as cases have risen to
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3,500 in russia. moscow is in its fourth day of lockdown. workers took advantage of the vast emptiness today, spraying disinfectant in usually bustling areas. for the pbs newsur, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: and now, to the surprise firing of the captain of the u.s.s. "theodor roosevelt," the american aircraft carrier that has been stricken by the pandemic. nick schifrin joins me now. so, nick, tell us what's happen >> reporter: yeah, judy, this was a realxtraordinary memo that the captain of the theodore roosevelt, captain brett crozier, we saw that over the weekend, he said mor than 100 sailors on the theodore roosevelt were sick with covid 19 andhe couldn't keep them safe because to have the conditions on board, they just simply worl tooely together, and, so, he wanted 90% the crew off immediately.
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he warned sailors could die. so today we hear from thomas modly, the navy secretaryf defense to two aspects of the memo, one, who it was sent to -- he accused the o captainf sending the memo to 20 or 30 people outside of the chain of command -- and also intent. he said the captain's letter created panic on the ship me they the first heard about this was when the memo was leaked to the media and also misrepresented, the moves the navy was taking to get the sailors off theship. listen to thomas modly, acting secretarof the navy now. >> i could reach no other conclusion that captain crozier had allowed the complexity o his challenge with the covid breakout on the ship to overwhelm his ability to act professionally. when acting professionally was thet was needed most at time.we do and we should expecte from the commanding oicer of our aircraft carriers.
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>> reporter: angd the act secretary, judy, it's important to say, did not accuse the captain of leaking the memo, only said he sent it to so many people it could ve been leaked. >> woodruff: and, nick, we know you and your team have been in touch with the famies of the sailors on that aircraft carrier. what are they saying? >> reporter: yeah, it really did create a panic among the they heard aboutor the i said, first time from the media, and our producer ali rogen spoke to dey, whose daughter is still on board. let's take a listen. >> we deserve to have a government that is honest and truthful with us about where our enlisted folks are, where are the people who are protecting our country, and that they're protected and that they're safe and that they are out of harm's wa and the fact that we are not being communicated to a tranarent and forthright-- forthrig way is a problem.
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>>ter: and we spoke to debby before the announcement just in the last hour, judy, but it really goes to show how angry the families were. they did not feel likemmhe navy re the sailors directly,ies of instead, everyone read that memo in the media and, in part, that's why the cap tape of -- captain of the theodore roosevelt has been fired. >> woodruff: one more rough development in this very fast-moving story. ernick schifrin, thank you much. the whe house briefing is still underway at this hour, and we will talk with yamiche alcindor about the latest on masks and other recommendations but first, despite the pain u.s. workers are feeling because of the pandemic, wall street rallied today, as oil jumped 25%. came after president trump
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suggested saudi arabia and ssia might back off a price war. the dow jones industrial average gained 470 points to close at 21,413. the nasdaq rose 126 points, and the s&p 500 adde the sc job losses today is unprecedented-- more than ten million people in two weeks. and manyconomists say there are many more yet who are not being counted. we're going to take a deeper look. let's start with voices of some of those who have been laid off or furloughed. viewers who got in touch with us. >> my name's juliana, 24 years old. i live on the east side of milwaukee. i had two different service industry jobs. there was about a week-span of time where i was just getting called off on my shifts. eventually they d end up closing. >> my name is leida parker sylvester, and i live in chicago, illinois. i worked for 25 years in the hospitality industry, so hotels, as an event planner.
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so when this all this mess went down, like late march, we were furloughed. >> my na is jason krajewski. i'm fromenver, colorado, and before this covid-19 began, i was a biomedical designer. and twweeks ago today, i was let go of my position. >> my name is adrian trujillo. i am from seattle,ngton. it sucks to lose a job. you know, i have bills and stuff, so that was a concern, of course, th the immediate-- my god, i don't have a job. >> i'm ginger garner, i live in greensboro, north carolina. i am a physicaapist by tr and i am self-employed. so i had just reopened my clinical practice. the decision to close my doors was very difficult, because then that shuts you off from serving those patient populations. >> my name is ashley, and i live in new york city. the process to get the unemployment application accepted has been very
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difficult. i was furloughed officially on the 23rd of march, and i still haven't been able to submit my application completely. and i spent hours trying to call the unemployment offices and so far, after us calls and hours on the line, i haven't been able to reach a single person in the unemploy office. >> i didn't expect this to affect myself.ig unfortunately, now, my wife and i, we're expecting our right now.d on april 26, as of i applied for unemployment-- started applying for unemployment, anyways-- couple hours after the news that my job was no longer needed. i still have yet to hear from the state of colorado with any confirmation. >> i have been looking for other employment, but it has been a strugg you have millions of people looking for the minimum amount of jobs that are out t >> i think a lot of small business ownwos are frankly ied about if they're like
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me-- i don't know if- if i'll last till july. you know, applying for a loan in regular-- in a regular environment issful. but doing it in this kind of climate where, you know, you might not survive if you don't get it, is really heart- wrenching. >> i have a son, he's ten months old, i have to pay for his health insurance as well as mine without having a paycheck. and we had to take out a loan just because formula is so expensive. it's $900. but we took out a an and we y a monthly, so that's something else i have to worry about. >> credit card payments, loan paymen all late. you obviously amass many late fees with those. s goes on for another month or two, i mean, how am i that in a timely manner?rom >> i've never experienced anything like this. i lived through 9/11 within th hotel industry. so-- and we did pretty well recovering. one.i'm ve nervous about this i think we as a country need to have a conversation of what are we going to do to help people,
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help people and make sure that our bills are being paid and that there is income coming in. >> woodruff: so let's explore a broader look at the economic pain the coronavirus crisis is delivering. i am joined by laura tyson, an economist and pressor at the university of california at berkeley. she also served as chair of the president's council of economic advisors, and as director ofhe national economic council during the clinton administration. laura tyson, welcome back to the "newshour". this is so massive. give us a sense of what the american worker can now look forward to in terms of having a job, being able to count on a paycheck, what are they looking at? >> it's impoant, first, to note that this is going to be the second quaer of 2020. we'll probably see the biggest
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decline in g.d.p. production that we've witnesseind world war ii, since 1933, there are differenteasures. it's really, really big. this is an induced cutback, an induced shutdown. all of those people that spoke across all kinds of industries, all kinds of skill levels, all kinds of ages, you just heard, are affected because we now have essentially 90% of the population on some form of shutdown. that's the reality. the question is can we t through this in a quarter or a quarter or two and then come out into recovery? >> but how do we know it's going to be a quarter? i mean, at this point, w think the virus will run its course, but there are so many unknowns at this point. i think a lot of people are afraid it's not going to bat ovr in ar of three months.
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>> i think that is a fear that we all need to live with. because, remember, for everyone, we are in this recession because we are trying to battle the only y we know how this virus. and it is possible that the social distanci and close-down mechanisms we will use will create enough time soe get some effective treatment -- not a vaccine but treatment. so we get testing. because you cannot let people go back without prevalent testing, you justan't. and to g the hospitals better equipped. so let's think about this quarter as a quarter where we're kind of closing the economy down to build up our defenses against the virus, and if we do that, it
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will make coming outd cleaner an a bit easier. >> woodruff: in the meantime, laura tyson, the government has a massive release bill passed, the president signed i week, .2 trillion. when does that turn into tangible relief for people like those we wereust listening to? and, by the way, what about the unemployment insurance, the unemployment benefits they are n?ing to be counting ight. so, first of all, letme say -- let me just put this in mae because we have essentially -- i kept talkingab t the second quarter. if you look at the amount of stimulus that is going to be period, it's the biggest we'ves ever had by far, okay. we're talking about, in a quarter, something like 20% of g.d.p. we're going to be putting into the stimulus, so it's a big deal. now, what your interviewees said
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is correct, it is very hard to execute this quickly. so, yes, the unemployment compensation rules which have basically generated a significant amount of potential for the unemployed support, but and i know that state vernment, i know my o state is beginning to move their own officials around to go fromne part of government service to another so they can man those unemployment offices. so, yes, there's going to bn execution problem. what i would encourage everyone to do is keep searching. you will find that. all of those people w bona fide unemployment positions will be able to get support, but it going to be difficult and a bit slow. many hours on the phone, many hours filling out forms. >> woodruff: we heard that young woman say she had made
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over 300 phone calls to the wasn't a get through.nd still >> yes. now, it's, really, again, the sudden nature of this and the widespread nature of it, it happens so fast, thatveeople job one day, and the next day they're told they n't go to work, and the ne day they're told they're furloughed or unemployed. so the numbers have basically made it extremely difficult for the agencies, which is difficul in normal times to process unemployment claims to do it as rapidly as possible. all i can say t is, for individual, it's sticking with it because there is relief there, and for the states and local governments, i kyw the
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are trying to figure out a way to increase the ability of their offices to execute theic ps. >> woodruff: well, it's a crisis the likes couldn't even have imagined before now, and i know we -- you know, we are looking for any way people who are out there ando suffering and worried. laura ty much.ank you very >> woodruff: one of the many sect the economy that's getting hit especially hard is the restaurant industry. in normal times, americansouere spendingly as much at restaurants each year as they were at grocery stores. our economics condent paul solman looked at the impact this is all having on smaller restaurants in our own his report is part of regular
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seri, "making sense." >> we let go of our-- all of our hourly employees. that worrible-- horrible. it was the hardest thing that >> reporter: jon williams owns whitlow's, a bar and grill in arlington, virgini not far from the newshour, that's been closed since mid-march. >> the hardest thing is letting butts for you foyears,busted and just being like, i got to let you go. i can't-- i n't do this. i can't keep the train going forward with everybody on it. and that sucks. >> reporter: williams, whose brother works at the newshour, now serves only non-paying customers: his former employees. >> i ordered, like, eggs and milk and bread and stuff, just the basics, so they can, you know, so they caget by. and we'll just distribute that out to everybody every week. i mean, it's something. >> reporter: the pandemic has closed restaurants here, there and everywhere. since march 1, the industry,
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which ployillion americans, about 10% of the llion jobs and counting.e most restaurants expect more layoffs this month. kamcgehas been a bartender for 12 years. the mom lost her job at whitlow's last month. >> i don't havlary. i don't have, i can't get sick leave or vacation pay. we make all of our moneyff of cash tips. so it's a huge blow monetarily when you're told, one day, you just can't work. how you pay for rent? how do you pay your bills? how do you pay for your car if you have to use ur car? how do you pay for your kids? >> reporter: for 22-year-old brianayler, a whitlow's server, her job wasn't the only thing she lost. >> my family members were laid off as part of the pandemic. and they're laying bunchmpany of workers because it's slow. and so my whole family lost their health insurance also. that's probably the craziest your health insurance in theose middle of a worldwidemic
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where people, like, definitely need health insurance if things were to go wrong. >> reporter: the financial aid bill signed into law last friday will offer some relief: $600k in federal unemployment to workers. for restaurants: small business ns with forgivenes provisions. >> that's going to save our business, and it's going to sa o i know lots er businesses. i mean, i didn't... i slept this weekend for the first time, bei was up all night all last week just trying to figure everything out. ths a glimmer of hope on friday. that's going to put food on everyone's table, including mine. >> reporter: how long can you stay out of business before you don't have a bus >> i don't know. i don't know how long i can. >> reporter: andy shallal owns seven busboys and poets restaurants in the washingto d.c. area. >> in thhospitality industry, very thimargins. you're basically skating by
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during the wintertime, and you're hoping that the spring will make up for the differenceo of what yo or in the winter. this is the worst time ever. i mean, it's nexaggeration that we may have 30% or up to 50% of restaurants that will not be able to come bac >> reporter: busboys and poets is still open for takeout, but shallal's had to lay off 90% of his staff, some 500 people, including event specialist brandy jackson, who quickly applied for unemployment insurance, was sent the wrong forms, called to get t right ones.. >> the first time i was on hold before it got disconnected.ours i started over. the second time i was on for about five-ish hours. i haven't had any luck getting through, to this day. this is my fourth day calling. >> reporter: how are you going to survive? >> the good thing is, is that at least for my rent in my building ha pushed back, and i did receive one last paycheck from
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busboys. so right now tt is all i have. d i mean, if we could just be totally honest, that's not going to last me mor after this week, after groceries. >> reporter: owner s says he's waiting on details to dermine if government aid will ss enough to save his busi >> you still have your rent. you still have your electricity. you still have your taxes. u still have all the oth things that continue and don't stop. we pay yesterday's bills with today's venue. and today's revenue stops that avalanche of payables is relentless. if we're talking four weeks-- we're probably okay. if we're talng much more than that, all bets are off. >> reporter: david guas closed bayou bakery in arlington, virginia this week, laying off all but four of his 23 employees. but the new orleans native is still cooking. guas teamed up with nonprofit" real food for kids" tgive away free healthy meals to neighborhood kids and others in need. >> we had one targeted school that's about five blocks away
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from us, key elementary. my staff whose kids go to key elementary, who are on their reduced meal programs and free meal programs. you know, i've got plenty of big pots and plenty of, you know, from all my crawsh boil. so i set up all the propane tanktside, started just >> reporter: decorated takeout bags no longer used for orders now adorn guas's windows. and this shallal helped paint the windows of his shuttered restaurants. >> the sidewalks are generally empte but when peolk around, they feel like they're just kind of in a daze. and sometimes you nehave some joy or some interruption that is positive in your day as beauty or some message that is inspiring. >> reporte for the pbs newshour, this is correspondent paul solman, still reporting from home.
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>> woodruff: in the day's other news, iran dismissed president trump's claim that it is planning an attack on u.s. targets in iraq. on twitter, forign minister javad zarif wrote, "iran starts no wars, but teaches lessons to those who do." mr. trump said wednesday that u.s. intelligence believes iran and its proxies mean to strike in iraq, but he gave no details. a court in pakistan has rejected the murder conviction of the accused mastermind in the daniel pearl killing. thl street journal" reporter was kidnapped and beheaded in pakistan in 2002. ahmed omar saeed sheikh has already se8 years in prison, and could now be released. prosecutors ey will appeal. the top democrat in the u.s. congreled today for strict oversight of some $2.2 trillion
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in econoergency relief spending, during the pandemic. house speaker nancy pelosi announced plans for creating a bipartisan com. she said it would have subpoena power, to guard against waste and price gouging. >> wk that it would be very important with transparency, bipartisanship, accounta all together in a way that unifies our country, addsses the concerns that we all have about the health and well-being of the american people, the safety oour workers who are meeting their needs, as well as the impact on our economy. >> woodruff: treasury secretary stevenisnuchin said vening he does not believe a new oversight committee is necessary. polio eradication efforts polio eradication efforts are being halted globally, amid the coronavirus pandemic. the wo and its partners announced today that they have suspended vaccination campaigns for the next six months. polio remains a problem in about
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a dozen countries. video conferencing on the technical app, zoom, has mushrouring the pandemic, but its c.e.o. had to apologize today for a series of security lapses. the f.b.i. has warned of hackers invading school sessions on zoom, and nasa and space-x have now banned all use of the service. says that daily usage h jumped from ten million people in december, to 200 million now. and, the covid-19 crisis claimed three music figures of note in the last 24 hours. new orleans jazz pianist ellis marsal died at 85. his sons wynton and branford are also acclaimed music emmy and grammy-winner adam schlesinger was a musician and songwriter. he was 52. and, jazz guitarist bucky pizzarelli backed musical legends from bendman to paul mccartney. he was 94. still to come on the newshour: from the front lines: how racism
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and inequity are magnifying the ndemic's fallout. on the "newshour bookshelf:" a white house reporter's new memoir, "front row at the trump show." and, what to watch on television with all of our time spent indoors now. >> woodruff: covid-19 is forcing all of us to live in new ways, but as amna nawaz reports, it is also exposing long-standing rifts in american society. this story is part of our ongoing series, "race matters." >> nawaz: officials have said over and over again, the virus doesn't discriminate. but the disparities that have long been part of our medical system in america are no leading to what some call a
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cris within a crisis. black and brown communities across the country being hit with fewer resources to saved them. i'm joined by dr. uche blackstock. she was an associate professor of emergency micine at new she now runs a consultancy called health advancing equity, and practices in urgent care clinics in brooklyn, new york. dr. blackstock, welcome to the newshour. start by just telling us about the patients you're seeing right now. what are they teyou? what are their symptoms? how sick are they? >> currently, i work out of an urgent care clinic in central brooklyne the population is largely black and brown, and we've really been eing patients over the last one to-- one to two weeks, coming progressively sicker, a lot with fever, cough, worsening shortness of breath, some even sick enough to warrant emergency department visits. >> nawaz: and are you seeing any kind of trend in their symptom? do you know that these are coronavirus cases? >> they're absolutely textbook
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covid-19 cases. i mean, down to the type of symptoms, the course of symptoms, the onset and worsening of symptoms. y patient after the next coming in with the exact same story. it's almost uncanny. >> nawaz: you know, dr. blackstock, you had told me that before the pc even hit, you were worried that those same patients you serve in your community were going to be hit rder. why is that? >> for multiple reasons. thmean, even thinking abou testing criteria that was initially being us termine whether or not someone had exposure to covid-19. it included-- a person needed to have traveled abroad to one of endemic, like italy or china.s also required is someone having to know someone who tested positive. and what we knew very early on was that, you know, there were
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communities that did not have access to testing. we had heard of celebrities and politicians having very easy access to testing, and quick turnarounds. and these are communities that are ready, carry very high chronic diserdens like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma. there are alsorates of obesity. and you know, these have all been tied into a racial health disparitinked to structural racism. so it's already kind of made of these paticots and these unities more vulnerable to covid-we're seeing that these patients are at increased risk for developing very serious complications. >> nawaz: you know, it has been studied and documented, as you just mentioned, that the racial bias in our medical system-- not but in how black and brown people are treated once they're in care. he cases spread further, as people get sicker, how are you rried-- or what are you worried will happen as a result of all of those institutional biases, and how it'll affect
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your patients? >> right what we already know, as you alluded to, is that when black the health care system, they often encounter provider bias. so we know and it's docented that their pain is under-treated or their complaints are minimized. so my concern is that when these patients present to emergency, to departments and hospitals in their areas with covid-19 symptoms, that their symoms may be downplayed or they may not be taken seriously. and we do already have the data to support that trend continuing to happen. >> nawaz: you kn, we're talking be the peak in new york has even arrived. what do you think your community is goingok like, those communities in which your ents live, a week from now, or two weeks from now, or three weeks from now? >> i am scared. . i'm scared that these communities are going to be absolutely ravaged and devastated by covid-19. i mean, what i think about how
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each day last week, i just got sicker and sicker patients. it waswas significant and it was also terrifying. and so i do worry. and we already actually have some of the preliminary data out today in the "new york times" that our poorer areas ckcity, which are mostly bnd brown, have the heaviest number of patients that have been affected with coronavirus. >> nawaz: dr. blackstock, you, of course, have a family at home, o. you have a husband, you have two young kids. i wonder if you can tell me how you're processing thisht now, whether you're scared for your own safety, or theirs. >> thank you for asking. i will readily admit that i am-- i am scared. i'm scared about being infected myself and scared about bringing disease home to my husband, my two small children. i had to have very difficult conversations with my family recently, including one with my
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husband the other night, where, once i realized things were really shifting here in new rk city, i said to him, you know, there-- there is a chance that i may not make it out of this, working on the front line. and, you know, i want you to know that i love you. i love our children very much. and just pmake sure that they always know that their mama loved them. anhese are conversations that not just i'm having, but my many of my colleagues are having with their families as well. >> nawaz: thanfor sharing that with us, and thank you for the work that you do. joining us tonight from new york. >> thank you for havinme. >> woodruff: president trump's complicated relationship with e press has been on full display for weeks at his administration's daily coronavirus iefings. he sometimes sut reporters
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he deems friendly, while going toe-to-toe with those he accuses of treating him unfairly. as abc news' chief white house correspondent, jonathan karl has a close-up view of this administration, which he writes about in his new book, "front row at the trump show." and jon karl joins us now. thank you for joining the "newshour". jon, let me ask you first to put on your hat as president of the white house correspondents association. what do you say to those whot looke briefings and say they've become as much about politi as information. what does that mean as a challenge for reporters? >> daily briefings with the president sometimes speaking foo two hours with reporters in that room. there clearly has been a political message ell as a really important public health message. so there's two ways to look at this. one, should these briefings be
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carried live from beginning to end by the various networks. the second question is should we covering them. reporters be the other question, we have to be there, we have access to the president, to the coronavirus report, to the top health officials. these are important. we have important questions. there is information nat comes out of these briefings that is very important, et let's f it, there's a lot of politics has come out as well, so it is our duty as reporters and frankly as networks to put context and correct misinformation and whether or not they're carried live, i think that's a legitimaebtee that should be held in news rooms all over the networks. >> woodruff: do you have a view about whether they should be carried live or live streamed, which is what news organizations do? >> it is not simple ritracking the ins and outs o politics, this is essential -- people want
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essential inform for how to deal with this crisis, how to keep themselves safe, how t keep our families safe. so, you know, i think it's going to be pretty tough decision to say no live coverage whatsoever. there's clearly an appetite and yoatcan see thith the large numbers of people watching the briefings it was the president, as you know, jon, has gone after a nuer of reporters, including our own yamiche alcindor. we're proud of t w she's conducted herself. how should reporters process this? >> the president has made outrageous attacks on her, has responded in strange ways to perfectly legitimate questions by attacking her personally, and i think that what yamiche has done is what i tried to do as well, which is don't take debate. this is not about us and the president, this is about trying to get real information out of this administration, trying to hold the president accountable, questions that people want to know, especially during this
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time. but i they that the dang he, when he attacked -- one of the reasons he attacks us, jud is because he wants people to see us as his opposition. he has been ex about. this he has said the media is the opposition party, so if you get people to believe that, then, as he told leslie stahl famously in 2016, they won't believe it when you do negative stories about me. so, you know, we have to be careful in responding to not take the bait nand to turn this into a battle between us and the president, because that >> woodruff: so is there a proper response for that on the pathe press when that is the goal of the president?he >>roper response is to keep asking the questions, regardless of whetherr not they're going to draw personal attacks from the commander-in-chief, regardless of wheth or not he is going to pop off at a press conference. we ask ourur questions, we do reporting, we don't take it personally, which, by the way,
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is noty sometimes. some of these attacks have been deeply offensive, but i think ofey don't matter, in the scheme hings. it doesn't matter if the president calls me a name.am ashe knows, it doesn't matter if the president will try to talk over her. she will hold her ground and continue to ask her questions, and so will i. >> woodruff: you, jonathan, have covered thisdent since the early 1990s, and you write about that in the ok. you were a reporting in new york, you've known him a long thae. isthe same person with the same approach to the facts that ew then that he is now? >> i had my first meeting with donald trump way back in 1994, circumstances where i basically just cold called him the general number to trump organization and pitched a story. he got back with me in an hour. office nobody. i was a juniorreporting with
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"the washington post." i had been on the job only a few months. but he weekend me in, treated me at the up and down tour of tumpo r when michael jackson was having his honeymoon there, it was a crazy paparazzi story in neyork. but brought me in. he hasn't changed. fromhe day when i first met him in trump tour, this is a picte of me and donald trump, and i had lost this picture, it was in a box in a basement for about two decades. when he became president, i pulled it out. en i lk at it now, i see almost exactly the same guy, little too long, the same suit, the same grin, the hair is a litt bit different, not much, and the attitude is almost exactly the same. back then the thing that he seemed to want to do most is to make himself the center of the story, which is why he invited
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him because it was a chance toto be a part of what was a very big story ain new yorkthe time that's the way he is now. he sees things in almost exacy the same way. changed, remarkably different, though i had no idea the guy i y t rs ago would go on to become president. >>a woodruff: jonan karl, ""front row at the trump show." jonathan karl, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank judy. >> woodruff: awhite house this evening, a sign that the administration may ctheir recommendation and say that amveicans should wear protec face mks. our yamiche alcindor is here now to fill us in on the latest. yamiche, are they saying more about that this evening? es>> reporter: white house officials and president trump are expected to make a chmajoge in guidance
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related to how americans can protect themselves again the coronavirus. they are expected to recommend that americans living in hot spots or areas that are hardest hit by the coronavirus, that those people should wear cloth face masks. that's different from the n95 masks here workers use and the ones in dire shortage for them, they stillho want kind of masks to be focused on hethcare workers, buthey will be asking americans in community spread areas hardest hit by the vir d too that. this is a major reversal. the c.d.c. had not been recommending this. i'm told an announcement ex in the next day or so or possibly this weekend, hasn't happened yet, but my sources from the white house isll me it oming fairly soon. the other thing i should note, judy, is that the president has also taken a second test for the he tested negative again. here's what he had to say about
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that. >> it took 14 minutes or something to come up with a conclusion, and itthe president tested negative for covid-19. so, that's the second one. i think i took it really out of curiosity, to sehow quickly it worked, and fast it worked, and it's a lot easier. i've done them both, and the second one is much more plsant. >> woodruff: and, yamiche, we know, and, of course, everyone's relieved the president is still testing negative. we also know that the president and the people around him talked they about the use of defense production act. l,at are they saying about that? >> reporter: w judy, the defense production act, as we have been explaing since thi outbreak began, is an act that would allow the president to direct companies to make essential medical equipment as the government needs it.as in this the president had only used it for one company, general motors, and only for ventilators. he is now expanding that. he will be using it for other companies including g.e.nd a
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company named 3m, and it's going to be expanded to other items including masks and ventilators. so the president is using his powerso direct companies, forcing them, essentially, to maak these contracts and these goods for the american people. the other thing to note is governors have been asking for a long time for the present to expand the role he was playing when it comes to this needed medical equipment, so governorts are goinbe welcoming this. but it's still not the president making a blanket statement th bt wi doing that for other medical equipmnt like gowns and other things. >> woodruff: finally, yamiche, we gather there were a lot os f questid answered tonight about this economicelief to people who are so hard hit by what's happened with a lossf joy. what are tsaying? >> that'sig. treasury secretary steve mnuchin is saying, within the next two weeks, americans who have direct
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deposit information already with the federarnment, that they will start receiving those checks, the $1,200 for people, fomericans, as well as $500 per child. that'soing to start hitti peoples' bank accounts. the thing to note is people who don't have direct deposit informatn, who get paper checks, white house officials told me today those people could wait up to 20 weeks, nearly 5 months for thehes. treasury secretary steve mnuchin is saying he's hoping americans don't have to wait at long, he's hoping it will be weeks, not months, but it's critical for people w don't have correct deposit information and eligible tore the checks to get their information to the government as soon as possible. >> woodruff: i know peopl are hanging on this information, so important for so many americans. yamiche, thank you. >>uff: with so many of us sheltering at homeit is no surprise that television
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viewing, especially streaming video, has seen a dramatic rise. nt nielson analysis show an 85% rise in streaming from a year ago, week to week in march. but, what to watch? jeffrey brown gets some recommendations from "los angeles times" critic lorraine ali, for o arts and culture series, "canvas." >> reporter: well, le ali, thank you so much for joining us. let's talk first about the moment we're in.si tele is one thing that really hasn't changed for people. >> right. i mes, when you look at wha going on, you can't really go to concerts anymore, u can't go to a theater, and reall what's there is television, and that's the idea we had maybe two or three weeks ago, there's so much i'll never be able to see it we're now unfortunate tl. situation that, yes, we do have the time and we are home and we can see it all. so it is there for us now. >> reporter: so a fewen
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recommtions. let's start with new dramas. netflix called "unorthodox"a on based on a woman who lived in an ultra orthodoxwish community in brooklyn. >> where i come from -- escaped her marriage, fled to arrlin, tried to start a sec life there and it's sort of t aboutt whole challenge of leaving that community and then also that community coming bac after them. not light-heart certainly takes you into another world. >> reporter: okay, one more? little fires everyere. it's a nighttime soap open rerks if you will,eese witherspoon, kerry washington, race, and the americanream. not deeply heavy but good stuff to sink into. realism would be taking us outdoors, animal and nature
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shows, right? >> oddly, one of the things i really like to watch when i just kind of want to unwind is dr. paul, ich is on net she's in rural michigan, goes out to passenger has his own practice, and you kind of follow him and his own team. nice it sounds goofy, it's not to have people drama. being able to do something.e another one on animals is secret of a zoo. >> today the pups are being microchipped. >> olivia coleman is the narrator so it h a likely a-list factor in there. >> reporter: there's aru crime docu-series called t king getting a lot of attention. tell us about that one. >> it's one of the netflix docu-series where truth is weirder than fiction. >> my name is joey, this is
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sarge. florida,breeder in meaning tigers,, lions gets caught up in this murder for hire scheme. it's really eccentric characters and it kindf goes deeper and deeper into a very strange sub sullture and it is fascinating. >> and nobody is going to tell >> reporter: as you said, we all have a lot more time. what about old famiar something to just sort ofhe comfort food of television? >> o of my favorites is a british defect series cled father brown. and, again, there's a billion episodes of it and you're following a father who solves crimes, and it's really, likely comforting, but he's also lving these murders in this tiny town where lots of murders seem to happen all the time. >>geporter: you were tell me before we started that there are these series very specifically set in cities. many of us cannot walk around our own cities.
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>> while we're sequestered, if you're l.a., insecure is great for that. it takes you all over the city. atlanta is great for that. in d.c., i think as depraved as "veep" was, it takes you over d.c., or "master of none" foryo ne. it takes you into local places and the bigger kind of landmarks. >> reporter: what about people who really want to go right there into pandemic scare mode? plenty for them, too? >> i don't understand that but i can say there is plenty out there and now t ratings on these are soaring as well. containment, 2012, pandemic, all out there for you.ave som seriously, i really recommend watch ago cute animal show because i don't know how you cag do that ht now. >> reporter: i know you're always looking ahead and looks like we might be in this situation for a while. are there things you want us to be on the lookout for?
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>>oming up is mrs. america, starring cate blanchett, kind of looking at the women's equality movement in the early '70s. it's excellent. rose burnslays gloria steinem. that's going to be out in a couple of weeks. that's something to look forward to. >> reporter: recommendations for what to watch, lorraine ali from "the los angeles times," thank you so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: i love the puppies. what else can i say? that's the "newshour" for tonight. that's a good way to end the program. i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of uhe pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. >> major funding for the pee newshour hasprovided by: >> felity investments. >> financial services firm
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raymond james. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for publ broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers likyou. thank you.
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. hello, everyone. welce to "amanpour & co." >> what the world needs to know. >> the united nations calls for the greek prime mr joins me for an exclusive terview, d general terrence o'shaughnessy joins me, the designated survivor who would case scenario.sity in a worst then -- >> that college degree is the thing that will mos likely help them get out of poverty and now they're essential lly trapped. >> the crisis facing out of school and out of work. plus -- ♪
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