captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, the official u.s. death toll passes 16,000, as 10% of the u.s. workforce files for unemployment, ripping a hole in an already wounded economy. i speak with former chair of the federal reserve, janet yellen, on how we might recover. and, hearing from americans across all industries, on how they're coping with newmi unemploymentthe country's financial tailspin. plus, a closer look at housing. after nearly one third of renters couldn't make their payments last week, a coret compon the u.s. economy is at risk of falling apart. unraveling of property tax revenues, of insurance proceeds,

of utility bills. it's a domino. >> woodruff: all that and more ononight's "pbs newshour." >> major funding for the pbs wshour has been provided by: fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planning and advicenor today ad tomorrow. >> bnsf railway. >> consumer cellular. >> financial services firm >> carnegie corporation of new

at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions:vi and inals. m >> this progs made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. urand contributions to bs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the corona-virusic pandhat is taking thousands of american lives, has fonow killed millions of jobs. new economic numbers today told of staggering losses in the labor market.e at the sme, the u.s. death toll passed 16,000. william brangham has mn this day's developments. >> reporter: the economic damage from the covid-19 pandemic has

claimed new victims. for the second straight week, the number of americans making jobless claims topped 6.5-million. that means at least one in ten american workers lost their jobs in the last three weeks, putting overall unemployment at nearly 17-million people. to address this crisis, the federal reserve today announced its latest effort-- mo than $2-trillion dollars in support loans for households and businesses, both small and large. fed chair jerome powell spoke on a webcast hosted by the brookings institution: our role, as i mentioned in my remarks, is really to try to provide some stability and relief during this period when the economy is partly shut downp >>ter: as the economy continues its sharp downward trend, cities across the countbr are stiling for coronavirus fections to go up. philadelphia is now a potential hotspot, as mayor jim kenney warned this morning. >> we are still in a period

where the numbers are climbing. 00 let this milestone of 5 confirmed cases be a reminder that we are not, by any means, ouof this woods. >> reporter: in chicago, the >> reporter: in new rk city-- still the epicenter of america's outbreak-- mayor bill deblasio called for more widespreadet testing tor understand the spread of the virus. >> we're going to need more testing. if we're going to use testing in any other strategic ways or pinpointed ways, we've got to have a bigger supply. this has been the underlying d challenge fr one. >> reporter: but new york state reported a sharp drop in hospitalizations. governor andrew cuomo: >> we' flattening the curve so far. we should all be concerned, especially new yorkers. "well, we're flattening the curve, that's good news." it is good news. "well, now i can relax." no, you can't relax. >> reporter: at the same time,il the danumber of deaths in new york reached a record high for a third straight day-- hittinat least 799 today. meanwhile, supplies of

protective geain theational strategic stockpile are dwindling. the departmentmaf health and services says the reserve is nearly out ofma-95 respirator sks and other critical equipment. this all comes as the centers for disease control and prevention issued new guidelines last night for workers care or food supples like health it now says people who've been exposed to the virus may return to the job if: they are asymptomatic-- showing no sytoms; if they take their asmperature before work and if they wear a faceat all times. but, adding to the confusing advice aut masks: a new study from the national academy of sciences points out there's" limited, indirect evidence" that homemade, fabric masks offer much protection. it calls for more research to be done. overseas, no one could be found outside, the streets of barcelona, spain, remained largely empty as the government today extended by two weeks its

national stay-at-home order. the virus has hit spain especially hard, but today the prime minist said new cases there may be leveling off. >> ( translated ): after these weeks when the battle has been agonizing, we are seeing that the fire that started the pandemic is starting to be put under control. beginning of the downward slope. >> reporter: in britain, prime minister boris johnson was moved out of the i.c.u. as his condition improves. elsewhere, new hot spots seem to be emerging.pa japan ans of india are now among the places reporting spikes in new infections. for the "pbs newshour," i'm william brangham. >> woodruff: despite today's u.s. jobs numbers, wall street focused more on the federal

reserve's latest economic rescue effort. the dow jones industrial average gained 285 points to close at 23,719. the nasdaq rose 62 points. and the s&p 500 added 39, and finished its best week since 1974-- up 12%. financial markets are closedd tomorrow for giday. the latest jobless the latest jobless claims cast a stark spotlight on an emerging economic crisis in america, one that's likely to worsen in the weeks and months ahead. we're going to show how this is affecting individuals an families, and then look at what more should be csidered by the government. let's begin with a small sampling of voices of workers who were laid off or furloughed. we asked viewers to describe the problems and choices they are facing.>> y name is louis vasquez and >> my name is dirk b. >> my name is louis vasquez and

i'm in los angeles, lifornia. >> tamika anderson, i'm 38, i'm from west philadelphia. janitorial. >> my name is lisa ann der, and ori live in san diego, cala. >> my name's scott saxon. i live in kenme, washington. florist. >> i'm not going to be able to eat. i'm not gonna be able to pay my the things that i o buy onto buy a day-to-day basis just to strvive. >> even the smalhing like going to eat at mcdonald's becomes a luxury because you're like, oh, that ten bucks could buy me like, you know, cereal for a month or something. >> we need food, we need electricity, we need to stay in our home. those kinds of things, then. then you just are looking at

survival. >> i've been laid off for little, about two-and-a-half weeks now, and still have not been able to get any sort of employment insurance approved. know, the rising cost of insulin is something i've watched from the sidelines, really, because i've always had really good employer provided health care. but i'm looking at this sudden cut off where that wonthe case anymore. and kind of stockpiling as muchu n as possible now. >> i can't pay any of my bills, for this monfinitely not next monng. so i'm calp, like, the banks and the credit car companies to, you know, see what t can do. >> i never thougt i would ever have to apply for food stamps, whatever welfare ever again. you know, th was something i did at a young age when i had my son. i vowed to, you know, keep a job and keep income coming in. so i wouldn't have to, you know, do those type things again. >> i hate to use the word

they are the ones that said, i think yoneed to look into ashamed, but i really wa because i thought. i thought i was stronger than that. but the longer i started thinking of how long this would be and how my daughter would be affected, that's when i made the shift. it's not just about me. >> i've had conversations with my parents about having to probably move back home if it doesn't, if i can't find work or if i don't get approved for unemployment, which is kind of sad because, you know,e ever wants to think, oh, my gosh, i'm about to turn 50 years old and i'm going to have to move back home. itbut that's the reality o just to survive. o >> woodruf immediate problem millions of americans are facing is paying their rent

or mortgage. nearly a third of people who rented an apartment did not pay any of their rent during the first week of april,ding to one analysis. a separate poll fo sd about half ll businesses have not paid their full rent or mortgage yet either ul solman looks at the problems renters and landlordsrt are facing, pa of his reporting for "making sense". come on. >> reporter: eunice bae isn actress. sporadic short-term gigs. monthly manhattan rent. >> dude! so i wasn't making a lot ofy this winter and i actually fell behind on rent, o month. ( sirens ) >> reporter: and then along came covid-19. >> i was actually doing well enough this first quarter that i was on the path to finally being able to pay off that missing month, and then the virus hit. and th everything went away. >> reporter: with theaters dark everywhere in the country, work non-existent, bae quickly call unemployment insurance. >> i am one of the lucky few that i got through to

unemployment on monday after 389 calling attempts. every time i hit t button, i made a tally mark. and, from what i hear, that's a success story. >> reporter: but succey filing is another matter entirely.d >> you n stipulate each employer, their federal employen identificaumber and your last day of working. as a gig worker, i had, i think 11 employers in the last 18 mohs, but for the work i d this quarter, i haven't gotten any paperwork from them yet because it's not the end of the so, i don't know if i've been approved. i don't know how much i'll be getting, or when, if at all. >> reporter: bae's is the plight of tenants everywhere in thit country righw. so much so that brooklyn landlord mario salerno, who also runs a sizable auto repair hero, and local media celebrity, for waiving the april rent for his 200 or so tenants.

>> i had tenants that said they can't work, they didn't have money to pay me. i says, "don't worry about paying me, worry about your neighbor, worry about your family." >> reporter: but fellow brooklyn landlord chris athineos-- nine buildings, 150 units-- says he can't afford such largesse. >> my oldest building was built in 1850, when i think millard fillmore was president of the united states. we have facades that need to be maintained. roofs, plumbing, electrical.i an, it never ends. >> reporter: not to mention utilities, staff salaries, ande rgest obligation of all... >> our mortgage payment, which includes an escrow amount for our real estate taxes.th i do fea if there's a big drop off in rent collection, le are not working, can' pay rent, then how will i pay the mortgage? >> reporter: jan lee's family has owned two buildings in manhattan's chinatown for nearly a century. but the 22 apartments are "rent stabilized," a form of semi-rent control. so his tee commercia

properties subsidize thede reial tenants, he says. >> and the cosmetic store closed even before the lockdown happened, because, y know, she also did facials and obviously this close, intimate contact. of course, nobody would want to come and she didn't want to do them either. >> reporter: his other two commercial leases are for restaurants-- one of them, hop kee, a chitown landmark for over 50 years. >> the situation leaves a lot of people with no choice but to close up-- so hopefully >> reporter: so will jan lee's commercial tenants keep paying their rent? >> i oy received rent from one of my commercial tenants, and i don't think i'll receive any rent for the-- for the month of may. >> reporter: and if he can't pay his real estate taxes on july 1a >> thereautomatic lien on your property. that lien is sold to a trd party, companies that purchase liens. and it's up to them to charge whatever they want for interest. and it's always in double digits. worst credit card. your, your >> double digits? >> oh, absolutely.

you're looking at a potential foreclosure very, very, very quickly of small propertyow rs. >> reporter: george sweeting of the city's independent budget office says foreclosurilcould take a but that still leaves the big question ... is the city gonna cut small landlords some slack on their taxes? >> it mawi- it may decide to do that. but-- when it does that it has to think about where the money willome from to make up the lost property tax revenue. revenue to do its t property tax services: teach kids, pay the fire, pay the satation. and right now there's not evidence that the federal government, with all of its stimulus programs, is gonna deliver much assistance to local governments. >> reporter: meanwhile, an online movement has started in new york and elsewhere: hashtagl caent. >> that can lead to unraveling of prorty tax revenues, of insurance proceeds, of utility bills.

>> reporter: new york state has put a 90-day moratorium ons, evictiut says housing economist nick retsinas, if tenants use that as a reason to stop paying rent. >> i wouldn't call a ticking time bomb, but it's certainly a loud alarm clock that says in 90-120 days, all of a sudden these rents will become due. and these, these people are still unemployed, waiting in an unemployment line, getting unemployment insurance, theye not going to be able to pay their rent and the alarm will go off. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: okay-- fonice bay, the theatre industry is moribund. and looking ahead... >> there's a lot more people out of work competing for a very finite amount of jobs and maybe because some theaters may not be able to open up after this is all done. >> i have a vacant apa and i have a couple of tenants whose leases were expiring and they've already told me they're not planning to renew their lease.am

i'm afraid, ho going to rent those apartments? the whole city is shut down. certainly no one is moving here from outside of new york city to get a job. >> reporter: and no one is coming to chinatown. >> the restaurants don't have bookings.y, we are very close to completely losing everything that my family has built up for three generations. and we are not unique. >> reporter: and thus, the looming cascade: no jobs to no rent to no taxes. in which cas how do cities like new york come back when its people return to the streets? for the pbs newshour, paul solman, still home. woodruff: the federal reserve announced today it will push some $2.3 trillion in loans to small and mid-sized businesses, as well as to cities and states. that move, together with other actions exceed the entire scopet of its response to the 2008nc fil collapse. to take a broad look at the economic hardship americins are fe and the federal reserves response, we're joined

she chaired the federal reserve board from 2014-2018is now a distinguished fellow at the brookings institution. janet yellen, thank you very much for joining us. you've seen these stories, you've heard people's stories. we know theictati how does this compare to anything you've ever seen, known >> well, thanks for having me, judy. this is completely unprecedented in u.s. history. you know, we've got data this morning on new claims for employment insurance. overhe last three weeks, almost 17 million americans havt heir jobs. that's more than 10% of the workforce in three weeks. it's a devw,tating bloe've never seen anything like it. the unemployment rate looks lik

it's going to skyrocket to levels we haven'ceseen sin the great depression, they will probably exceed -- probably already do -- what wnge had duri the great financial crisis. but this is a downturn in the very fortunatelytarted with an economy that was healthy fore this hit. the banks were in good shape, the financial system was sound, americans, at least overall on erage had relatively low debt burdens,o this is a terrible situation, but the hope is that if we can get the pandemic under control, deal with the public health crisis, that the economy will recover much morepeedily than it did from any past downturn. >> woodruff: does the government have the capacity to

keep people afloat who need that help for the duration of this crisis? >> well, they certainly have created the capacity, and i am impressed by what both the fiscal authorities and the fed have done so far. it simply is essential to support households and businesses through an incredibly difficult period in which they are facing losses of jobs and meet every day epense forceto food and rent and utilities, and thiss due to no fult of their own and no problems with the job market or their businesses. so congress has passed the carea act,plus two earlier acts, we're seeing a fiscal ponse that is now a little bit larger than what congress did in

response to the financial crisis in 2008. now, if this continues, congress will have to do more, and they're talking about a package. and the federal reserve response has been utterly heroic. my hat is off to my successor chair powell and his clleagues for what they've announced and the creativity of what th're doing. >> reporter: in terms of what congress has done -- and i knowe you haven advising some of the democrats in congress -- the people we just heard who are struggling who completely lost their jobs, how confident areo you that of them are going to be helped? >> well, i think most of them will be helped. unemployment insurance, the igibility for unemployment insurance is very broad. congress extended it to

self-workers, to gig workers, and the federal government is going to top what the states do by $600 a week. so that is very meaningful you know, as you know, it's really hard, in some states, particularly, to get through. you ca on the phone, it's ery hard. >> woodruff: exactly. the systems are utterly overwhelmed, and i know how frustrating it must be. someone's been laid off, they need to buy groceries and paynt the nd they can't get through to the unemployment office.s so there a problem, procedural problems of getting that money out. but, in the coming weeks, the money shlde flowing. you know, there are direct payments coming to households. >> woodruff: and in terms of people who own small businesses -- and i mean very all businesses, who were worried, and we heard some of

that in paul solomon report a moment ago, between what federal reserve as done, are they, are most of them going to be made whoe or at least >> well, you know, again, there are startup problems with very big programs, but the paycheck protection program th congress passed and funded with $350 billion, every business under 500 employees is eligible for that, and if they use the money to protect their workforce addition, for utlities and rent, those loans will turn into grants. now, they need to go to banks to apply. the banks are absolutely swamped. probably the program is going to

and it's probably going to be money in hand, but it's there and it'soming, and it should be availabe to a wrange of businesses. >> woodruff: i know a lot of heople are asking that question. we've alreadrd about people having difficulty getting through, but you're saying it's going to take time, but it's going to be there? yes, i think the funding is aere, ani if ths period ofn month or two, congress will have to do more. the fed has almost unlimit capacity with backing by congress to lend throughout the economy. so it will be possible to mainlt households a businesses through this very difficult

time. and it's really important that they do so because we want the economy to get back on track when the pubh c heatuation allows it. >> woodruff: janet yellen, we appreciate it. ank you so much. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: in the day's other news: democrats in the united states senate blockethe trump administration's request for another $250 billion dollars in pandemic relief for smallne bu. they said they support that idea, but also want a silar sum for hospitals and states. the brief debate played out in a mostly empty senate chamber. >> do not block emergency aid you do not oppose just because you want something more.

nobody believes this is the senate's last word on covid-19. >> yes we do need some of this money, we know that, but equally important, let's fix some of the kinks. program.e are kinks in this >> woodruff: majority leader mcconnell, in turn, blocked th democrats' counter proposals. the two sides are holding more lks, but it is unclear when they might come to agreement. there is more fallou the viral outbreak aboard the u.s. navy aircraft carrier "theodore. roevel reports today say a trip by acting navy secretary thomas modly to address the ship's creu in guam coards of $240,000. modly signed on tuesday, after firing, then sharply criticizing the captain. was supposed to take effectre today, in the five-year-old civil war-- in response to the

"covid-19" pandemic. a saudi-led coalition fighting shiite rebs said it would ha operations for two weeks. the rebels-- allied with iran-- dismissed it as a ploy. iraq's political troubles continue, with the president today tapping intelligence chief mustafa al-kadhimi to be prime minister-designate. is the third person to hold the title in just ov a month. the others quit, amid political infighting. president barham saleh underscored public demands for change today, voiced during months of protests. >> ( translated ): today we meet in the presence of these who spectrum.ical government based on the national will, and committed to the y rmrem ogs htsorath bug us to fulfill their rights in a free and dignified life. >> woodruff: al-kadhimi now has 30 days to win support ofri powerful sec factions and

form a ruling coalition. back in this country, severe storms tore through parts of the midwest and south overnight. in indiana, a possible tornado ripp through mooresville-- just outside indianapolis. the orm tore off roofs and damaged the town's main road. overall,ozens of homes and buildings were damaged, and thousands lost power, but no one was killed. and, the trump administration today proposed opening more than two million acres to hunting and fishing-- at more than 100 wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries. they include san diego bay in california and everglades headwaters in florida, among others.ic the publ has 60 days to comment. still to come on the "newshour," two states, two takes-- the governors of california andmi issippi on how they're handling the crisis. ef and philanthropist jose andres on feeding the vulnerable amid covid-19.

and keeping faith during the pandemic-- how relign is evolving to meet the moment. >> woodruff: states across t tfc of covid-19, some more successfully than othe california was among the first toeport cases of the virus today the state has around 17,000 confirmed cases and roughly 450 coronavirus related deaths. to help us underand where his state stands right now, i'm joined by california governor gavin newsom. governor newsom, tchnk you very or joining us on the

"newshour". california, 40 million people live in your state and, yet, at this point, if i d the numbers correctly, you have only about a tenth the number of cases of new york, which has half as many people as california does. how do you explain that? >> you know, look, my heart goes coast, particularly in new york, new jersey an and elsewhere, an, at the end of thday, i can only equate for what we have done. we were able to me alittle earlier than some for one reason, that we have been at this from th-gis getjanuary of this year, when we startedt brinng in reated flights from mainland china. a number of states didn't wantts those flioming into their state. we brought six of them in, wein started wowith the trump administration, c.d.c. and others, and it really generatedn a lot ofrest in the virus, a lot of consciousness in the virus and, of course, we had that grand princess cruiseline that did the same and, as a consequence, i think thpeople

of this state really started to familiarize themselves wih e issue a little before, perhaps, even others. st woodruff: you are clearly -- you be getting some of the equipment that you need because it been reported you're lending, what is it, 500o ventilatortates like new york that ed them right now. it's been reported some of your local officials in california think they are going to be needing these this. that?o you make decisions lke basis.make them on an as-need there's no greater need in this than the states nt thee need ventilators to, not just new jersey and new york but illinois. and nevada.e to maryland, d.c. at the end of the day, we just can't sit on a cache in our storage facilities, these ventilators, when we know quite literally they can be used to save lives today. they are on loan. the governors made it clear if we need them back, we'll send them right back. but the good news, our current

capacity wityour hospi system, as i'm talking to you at this moment, we have over 8,000 ventilators not being used within our hospital system andnd ds more in our state warehouse. so as we see the growth, and we number and the utilization ventilators as needeploy >> woodruff: so is it your sense that this cay none drum, this difficulty -- conundrum, thisovifficulty every gernor says he or she is having difficulty getting the essential equipment they need, does that seem to be getting under control?>> no, it's not where is to be, candidly, i will say that. but i will also say, this sterday, we announced a major deal where we now are the impetus for helping create a new supply chain in china by getting warehouse facility -- manufacturing facility, excuse me, up and running. the state of california alone is

committing to $1.48 billion of purchases in new contracts that we were able to source, not onl in china bt elsewhere. so we're using our purchasing power cot only to ete for existing p.p.e. stock but also help create new supplies supplies that could ultimately help more of us across this country. >> woodruff: california's economy, i rad tha what, 925,000 californians in a recent week, just this past week, applied for unemployment benefits. when will those individ tls be ab get the help they need? t $600 federal contribution, the additional $600 that's been made available for the net four months, those checks start going out this sunday. our unemployment capacity is about $450 on the gh end of the month added to the 600. that's weey checks. those checks will start going

out. we're cable for doing it up to 2.5 million people who filed for unemployment sinarch 12 in the state of california. we put 800 new staff to address the needs of a system that is ofw simply overwhelmed because the magnitudhis crisis. >> woodruff: governor, are you even beginning to think about when you might be able to lift the stay-at-home order? >> we are. we're doing thay.concurren meet the moment, address the crisis head on, buy us time, we've tone that. wee e seen that we hbeen able to bend the curve, which buys us tie to increase supply, alrnative care sites beond the hospital system, create slack within the hospital system by reducing the total number of patients for nonelective surgeries, reprie, reposition our workforce, and significantly add to our p.p.e., algiof that haven us time to prepare. that said, we also are taking th time to prepare for a newhe

normalcy we have to maintain our vigilance and, obviously, not be complacent, and we're trying to figure out where the spots will lie, what we can do first, and we've got whole team working 24-7, but that will be determined on the basis ofwo this, individual behavior, people still practicing physical distancing and continuing to stay at home and, number with, on the reality th the virus ane health directives coming from the counties, not just our state officials. >> woodruff: governor gavin newsom of california. thank you. we wish you the best as you continues to deal with this. thank you. t nks for having me. >> woodruff: from the west coast now, to the southeast.ru the coronacrisis has played out on a much different time line in misssippi, than it has in current hot spots like new york and new jersey.

amna nawaz explores why. >> nawaz: mississippi was one of the last states in the country to record a known coronavirus case-- and one of the most recent to adopt "stay at home" or "shelter in place" policies statewide.no with mto discuss his state's response is governor r governor, welcome back to the "newshour". thank you for making the time. you had your first confirmed case on march 11. you didn't issue a statewide shelter-in-place or uderntil april 3. why did you wait so log before taking the step? >> i would tell you that different states are at different points in their cycle, we know that. obviously, where we findhe ourselves onast coast compared to where we find ourselves in the south, it's very different in t wrms ofen the first cases were ieferred. we believe that shelter-in-place orders are a last reort. they are orders that obviously are critically important at

critical time in the cycle but shelter-in-place omake sense for weeks and weeks and months and months on end because, when we have a public health crisis before us tha we're trying to deal with to make sure our hospitals are not in a surge position in which we run out of either ventilators or hospital beds or icu beds, wewe also knoave a looming 100,000 mississs over thet last three weeks that filed unemployment claims,any of mom who have never utilized the system before. we've got toe aware of that well. we're trying to look at both those interests and make sure we protect all mississippians in this very, very unique time. >> woodruff: you mentionedin wato keep the hospitals at or below capacity.e how manytilators does mississippi have and how many have you gotten from the national stockpile? >> well, we haven't received any ventilators from the national stockpile, but what we have done is we've gone out and we have

been very active on the open market. presidt trump and vice president pence were very clear about this from the beginning, everything from ventilators to p.p.e. to other supplies that we need, it was incredibly important that states and hospital systems and everyone in the system continue plyutilize their existing sup chains and not simply depend on the federal government for e erything. werked with our partners in the federal level, we have supply chains, and while no one is getting as much as they want, we have been able to meet the demands for our healthcare workers, for our emergency firsw respondeh respect to p.p.e. and other items, we've set a system in place where, much like our trauma system in our state, widely considered one of thn e beste nation and, by the way, one of the first ine the nation tut in place, we've worked with our hospitals, wie worked with our doctors, we've worked with evryone in our state to ensure that not only do we have the capacity to meet the potential demand but we've also put alternate care

sites available in south rississippi, in central mississippi, in mississippi, so if there is, in fact, an overflow needed, wich we do not currently anticipate, but, if there is, we are ready d able to deal with it. >> reporter: but, governor, iog ape for the interruption, i know your time is limited, i'm looking for a number here. how many ventilators do you have when you say you have enough to meet the demand? >> we hapve aproximately 400 ventilators that are available. now the latest mdels is approximately 100 lators. but you have to understand that those 400 ventilators that are being rerted do not include 500 additional ventilators that we have put into action in the c laple of weeks. we had portable ventilators we used the ingenuity of mississippi state university. our research universities have been fantastic in working with us. we've taken the 500 ventilators that used to be battery operated, now they're both

battery operated and will plugl. into a wal we had a doctor at the university medical center buy $5worth of supplies in a couple of stores in mississippi and create his own ventilator. we feel confident we're going to have adequate number of supplies to make sure we on the overwhelm our healthcare system and, honestlyics that has been our goal from the get-go and virtually every other state, s stopping tead of te virus is not a realistic goal. ensuring our hospital stem is in such a position to whe anyone who could get better with quality care was the number one. go >> reporter: let me ask you about some of the most vulnerable in your state. you've seen some trends in mississippi we've seen around the country, which is to say african-americans in mississippi have been disproportionately hit, they make up under 40% to t hae population and make up over 70% of all covid deaths. i'm interested in anoer step

signing april as american confederate heritage month. some of yours predecesse done the same thing. at this particular time, why did you feel it was appropriate to sign that proclamation? >> mississippi state has a state statute that names a holiday in the state of mississippi, the last monday in april, and every governor before me signed exactly the same proclamation. with respect to the number of cases we have in mississippi, we have 2,260 cases today, we have 76 deaths that have been reported and, you're right, over 70% of those fatalities did come in african-americans and, by the way, mississippi was one of the first ten states in the nation to actually port deaths and cases based on demographic data baon race in other areas, and i'm proud of the missiippi state department of health of being proactive and willing to step out and issue the data when many states have not done so. the reality is this particular virus is particularly cruel to those who have many underlying

and chronic conditions whichs happ be the casfor many of my residents, when you look at the fact that we are in the top five in terms of hypertension, in terms of obesity. we are in the top five of many states in other areas. we're number six across the nation in the number of smokers per capita in mississippi, so not only dowe have an older population because this virus is very cruel to those who are 65 and older, it's also very cru to those with uniner health conditions and, unfortunately, in our state, thats a larger percentage of the population than other states, an that's the reality of where we find ourselves. >> reporter: mississippi governor tate reeves j us. good luck governor, we wish you luck in your state >> thank you very much. stay safe and be careful.

>> woodruff: the efforts ofre aurateur and chef jose andres are now well known as he has helped feed those in disaster areas in the u.s. and around the world. his "world central kitchen" has a new challenge now: working in close to 30 cities around the country, it has now served one million meals-- and hopes to expand beyond the 100,000 people it is feeding daily. jeffrey brown talked to andres about how his effort fits into the larger coronavirus picture. >> reporter: now on the frontlines of fighting the effects of a pandemic, what jose andres calls "food first responders."ta >> we've beeing about the health crisis and the economic been talking enougt thenk we've humanitarian crisis. >> reporter: the spanish-born andres first made his names a celebrity chef. but after hurricane maria devastated puerto rico in 2017, and in other disaster zones ound the world, including

guatemala, indonesia and mozambique, he's organized efforts to feed those in need during emergencies. working from his washington, d.c.-based non-profit "world central kitchen," his team has coordinated ground-level partrships with local restaurants and grocers. they've also pushed for stronger policies to prioritize food as a nationalecurity issue. now he and his team are working in cities around the country during the pandemic. in what ways are you able to use what you've arned from the st? in what ways do you have to adapt? >> well, usually in hurricane, in tsunami, in a volcano, it's total destruction. you have to show up and provide od and water relief as soon as you can. it's what we call the "urgency of now." this is like slowly happening in front of your eyes.

we began coming up with ideas that slowly we have beeputting into work. s reporter: his group has up large community kitchens and drive-through pick-up locations, helped the grand princess cruise ship quarantined off the coast of california, and is feeding healthcare workers including this outpost in new york's central park. they've just started preparing meals in washington's baseball stadium, with a goal of tens of thsands per day... and delivering them to public thusing and hospitals using uber, lyft and oer means. and andres is infoto support be a larger part of the federal government's next economic aid package. even in recent days pressing some two dozen legislators-- to help restaurants n turn, help those most in need. >> we need to be feeding the fire fhters and the police? use local restaurants near their stations. do we need to be feeding elderly

homes? if you don't have an n.g.o. that can take care of that, hire the restaurants to do this! in the process, the restaurants become part of the community, become part of the solution. if in this process rural farmers are out of business because restaurants like mine, we don't buy from them anymore. and the u.s.d.a. doesn't come with money to protect them so odthey can keep producing putting food on the table. so every american and in the process, we reinvigorate rurala. amer >> reporter: are you concerned that m stores and other businesses you work with just won't survive. >> yes, i'm worried.to we neenderstand that the restaurant economy is one of tht enerous economies. of the more 800, 900,000 restaurants we have in america, economy d enriches everyto the single corner. restaurants, small binesses are important are part of the d.n.a. of what america is. >> reporter: everybody's focused on right now, but can you think, can you look a little bit ahead,

a few years ahead to the impt changes for u.s. flicy?ntial >> i believe that food is a national security issue. we need to be having people in the white house, in congress, where they see the problems that food can create in the world. we take food for granted. something like this happens, we have people on top of distribution, farming output. our food sources should be part of the national secuty talk about missiles protecting us. >> reporter: jose andres, thank you and good luck. >> thank you. >> woodruff: this month,

millions of christians, jews and muslims around the wark easter, passover and ramadan-- some of the holiest observances of the year. john yang looks at how the faithful are finding w express much needed feelings of faith and community when the ndemic makes traditional gatherings impossible. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: in normal times,wo tiuses ohip would be busy: christians celeb easter, jews marking passover and, later this month, muslims observing ramadan-- for all a time of renewal. ♪ ♪ but th is e new normala viual lm sunday service. with new york city at the center of the crisis, most precious blood roman catholic church in astoria is livestreaming mass. alicia alvarez is a regular there. >> i really didn't realize it until it happened. that i would miss it that much.

because that's where you turn to for comfort, for guidance, for community support in hard times. >> reporter: she says beg able to participate from home allows her to stay connected to her faith. >> that has been very calming,oo verying, reassuring. >> reporter: debbie wells worships online wimi her non- detional church outside tampa. >> my faith... it keeps me going. it keeps me motivated, keeps me excited about waking dp every sing. >> reporter: these livestreamed services are reaching people >> i have lots of friends that are able to tune into our services and they are so appreciative. they're like, "oh, my gosh, thank you." and these are people that i could not get to come to church with me. >> reporter: other examples of social distancing worship: drive-in services in ohio and nebraska, a drive through confessional in maryland and a trumpeted hymn from a vicar in england. ♪ ♪

not all religious practices translate as easily online. tara cp-ressler is part of an unaffiliated congregation whose worship is based on mennonite tradition. >> singing is a really big part of the mennonite worship experience, and that's rlly hard over, you know, a video chat where there's some kind of delay and you can't heh other. and i'm not sure we're going to be able to sing four-part harmony over zoom. ♪ as i went down ♪ ♪>> river to pray ♪ e have found a way to keep some of it going, even if it's not a perfect replication of our traditional sunday services, because it's just a time when you don't want people to feel like they're going through thisn >> reporter: jihad turk, an imam and the president of bayan claremont islamic graduate school, says that for s, not being able to pray together at a mosque poses a challenge.te >> people prayer not just

because they're religiously, moray obligated to, but because there's a real sense of human connection where people are standing close together in prayer. d you not only feel connec the divine, but you feel connected to humanity. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: this presents an even bigger challenge for m ramadan:th of fasting, prayer and community. >> every evening thenity gathers in large groups at thed mosques people's homes to break bread together. and you invite those who areim ofte less fortunate to share in the bounty of the it's a highlight because you'rei connectisuch a beautiful way with so many people and meeting new people, and that is going to be absent it's a recharge of your spiritual batteries for the whole year.te >> rep at st. james episcopal church in richmond, virginia, the reverend john mccard held a palm sunday service fohundreds of his parishioners online. ho this has made us more and more conscious oimpactful the online ministry can be for folks just having that

connection, being able to know that they're loved and cared about and that their church is stilevhere for them. if we can't be together physically. >> reporter: for naomi gamoran and josh smolevitz, this year's passover seder was truly different from others.he family gd from across the country on zoom. >> we had some households and families who were able to sing together and we could listen to them. or people took turns singing their own parts.'t so it waxactly the same. >> but it was still a really meaningful experience and it felt like we were together. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: gamoran says although social distancing has been disruptive to jish traditions, she has seen her community step up to support those ineed. >> it's been really wonderful to see how people are trying to enact our values of the world by going to local restaurants and carrying out, by donation money. >> reporter: and it's not just weekly religious services-- many weddings, bar mitzvahs and

memorials are all on hold. for some, faith and spiritual laactices haven't changed. doctor kiran man who teaches at university of new england college of osteopathic medicine, practices ditation and yoga.ir >> my uality is not really dependent on a particular place, a particular group of people. everything that i do is directed inward. >> reporter: mangalam says his spiritual practice helps him during the global crisis. >> i cannot control the spread of the virus. i can't control the availability of p.p.e. for my colleagues.y, andy heart. >> reporter:n erbbock, texas- rasmussen and his five siblings across the country have crhted a new version of chu on video chat. >> it's the home whe a we learn mout forgiveness and kindness and love and compassion and those things that taught in the church building.

and now we're really able to put those in to practice.or >> rr: rasmussen, a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, says it provides calm in a turbulent e me. >> the more thatcus on kind of those core beliefs and those core practes here at home, i'm learning that there i a way to face even when we're kind of in the midst of the storm. >> reporter: even if the satuary isn't in a house o worship. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> a british photographer tries to capture a moment taking reports ofdepeople over vio conferencing and telling their stories. find an ionterview of her our web site pbsou.org/new pbs.org/newshour.'s and thhe newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us on-line and again here

tomorrow evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, stay safe and see you soon. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: f >>inancial services firm 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 supporting sciencenology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions >> this program was made

and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by wg media access group a access.wgbh.org >> several years a,

i was in greece on the island of santorini and came across a bush growing in the cracks of the ancient stone walls my friend asked me if i recognized the plant. i was so surprised when she told me they were capers. i'd never seen them growing in the wild. today is all about capers. i'm here on the island of syros overlooking the aegean sea and i can't wait to show you and then with my f anna, we'll share her family secrets on how to preserve them. we'll make parchment-roasted fish with fennel, capers, and herbs, smashed potatoes with fried capers,eb and to cte this humble ingredient, we'll make this beautiful salted caper martini. yassas, which, in greek, means "cheers."lo i ve to travel the globe in search of new food and wine dier