captioning sponsored by wnet sreenivasan: on this edition for sunday, april 19: states weigh-in on re-opening for ness. coronavirus exposes the need for programmers of an outdated system. and the popularity of animal fostering during a pandemic. next on "pbs newshour weekend." >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the cheryl and philip milstein family rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment,

to not miss what's right in front of us. mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorro can help you make the most of today. tgroup, retiremrvices andial investments. contract wireless plans that are designed to help you do more of the ings you enjoy, whethe you're a talker, texter, browser, photographer or a bit of everything. our u.-based customer service team is here to find a plan that fits you. to learn more, go to www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: we are again bringing you the news from remote locations both here in new york city where strict social distancing regulations are in effect-- and from across the country. the coronavirus pandemic continues to grow-- slower in millions are known to be others.

infected-- thousands of people ar9e still dying from covid every day. the impact is being felt in more cthan 1ntries, but it is also a personal tragedy for ev aery fami community where the virus is taking lives. let's get started wiew today's top congressional leaders and white house officials say$4n additiona billion to aid businesses, hospitals and communities could be approved as soon t as this week-- coronavirus continues to shut down much of the country's economy. >> we want to make sure that it's reaching alof america's small businesses. and we also want to ma sure that it's operating in a community where our police and fire, our health care workers, our octors, nurses, our teachers, areeing compensatedan fod not fired. and that's why we're asking for the additional funds in the package as well as for hospitals that we can do testing, testing, testing. >> sreenivasan: joining us now is pbs newshour's lisa desjardins. lisa, so what were the big

sticking points in this second round of funding? >> reporter: this is a very unusual disagreem t, hari. neareveryone agrees that this program needs to be expanded and needs to be expanded quickly. both this paycheck protection program and the smaller disastem relief pro but the question was, what else should be expanded now? democrats felt that, and they've been pushing for more money for states and more money for we are told, i'm told by people involved that, in fact, republicans have agreed to more money for hospitals, but the issue of states, it looks like will be pued to another time. >> sreenivasan: there was also a question after the first round of funds came out on how those funduns were distributed a the country, who had access to it, who really just got more and who got less? time to fix that?ing to do this >> reporter: this was a key point for democrats as well, not just how much mone quickly it goes out, but where it goes. they pointedut that the vast majority of the funds or the vast majority of sll

businesses are single owner businesses, sole proprietorships. but that's not where the funding went. most of the funding went to larger of the l bunesses. and in fact, "reuters" did an examination of all the data we have so far, foundut that a quarter of all of this money went to basically 2% of the businesses. so, what democrats have said is more of this money needs to be specifically targeted to small businesses. busess maybe with under ten employees, as well as more money needs to be given to community banks, which are not usually part of such a huge lending program, but which are the lifeblood for a lot of these small, especially rural banks. and they also say minority banks may have been left out as well. so they want targeted money toke sure at all parts of their country are getting this. >> sreenivasan: wveprobably all and know small businesses, mom-and-pop places that are reallygh struggling now to get in line for their funds. and also they realize at the chn restaant down the road

got access to it. you know, one of the other do we protect this from being, well, stuffed with pork f special favors, depending on which senator or coich member of ress wrote it in? >> reporter: it is an unusual prram in that it's being administered entirely by the small business administration. so, it's not the se where they can hand out money to a specific business, not this progr in particular for small businesses. but it does look like some states have been able to get more monn ey thers. that could be a result of how good their relationship is with the s.b.a. or how good their lending program is in that state. so it's something we're going to watch carefully. is a senator able tmake a phone call to help out a constituent? we don't know yet. it's something we're going to watch. i ink the biggest question right now is the next, for the next week, is there are probably ten, maybe 20 million small businesses waiting in line for thison mey, don't know if they're going to get it. and the question is, how quickly can t?hey get

those who have been approved? not all of them have seen the moy yet. businesses in limbo on either side of this program. there could be more help coming as soon as a few days from now if congress acts as quickly as possible, but there will still be a lot of questions. >> sreenivasan: does congress think this is the last time they have to do this? >> reporter: no, it doesn't look like it. this progr, they're hoping at they're going, going toe close with another $300 billion or so, that that will be about enough to get through the next but, as you've been reporting, we don't know how long this is going to last. that's just the small business portion. then thee are corporations with huge numbers of employees. also not clear how much money n they're going d for the long run. and then there are those who've already been unemployed. so, no, hari. i think everyone knows a lot more money is going to be needed. it's not clear h's much, and it not clear when. >> srr'eenivasan: pbs newsh lisa desjardins, thanks so much for joining us. >> reporter: my easure. >> senivasan: the federal funding is designed to help restart and bring relief to businesd ses cal

governments, but governors are grappling with both public health and financial needs in their states as stay-at-home orders urcontinue. >>actions are working. you know, my stay-home order is one of the nation's more conservative, but the fact of the tter is, it's working. we are seeing the curve start to flatten. and that means we're saving lives. >> sreenin vasan: but e states with fewer cases, like utah, the economic consequences are growing. >> reporter: the ripple effects are, i think, devastating. there are so many people, thousands of people who have applied fymor unempt, this compared to what it is right now and people are just searching for ways to take care of their families during this time and mainin the lives that they h before coronavirus and everything happened. >> sreenivasan: in almost ial states off say they still do not have enough testing to allowpe businesses to r- despite the trump administration's assurances.

>> but at 150,000 tests a day, we think we can double that number while working with goveatrnors to actall the laboratories in their states around the country that can do coronavirus testing. >> sreenivasan: there are now morenf than 722,000 med cases of covid-19 in the u.s. and as of this afternoon there have bmost 34,000 deaths. turning now to coronavirus response around the world. researchers estimate that the number of confirmed cases has risen to more than 2.3-million people. in spain, officials announced the daily death toll was the lowest in nearly a month, but, at the same time, the spanish prime minister is seeking to extend the country's state of l emergency for st two more weeks. in turkey, major cities were under a strict lockdown for the second weekend in a row. officials there announced that more than 82,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus, making inow the country with the most cases in the middle east. in afghanistan, dozens of staff at the presidential palace in kabul tehave tpositive for coronavirus, forcing 70-year-old

president ashraf ghani to limitl physical ntact with staff. but there is no evidence that ghani himself has the virus. and in e israel, prnister benjamin netanyahu announced a gradual easing of the country's coronavis rustrictions. beginning today, some non-food shopping is permitted and workplace staffing levels can increase from 15%-30%. but large gatherings, including for prayer, remain banned. in oklahoma city today there wa the sound of silence. on the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the fred p. murrah federabuilding where 168 people died. there was no public cemony. this year, r the first time, the memorial site with its steel and glass chairs-- one for each olctim-- and a reflecting was empty. a pre-recorded remembranc service was livestreamed and broadcast on local television stations. oklahoma city mayor david lt called for more civil discourse. >> evil acts like the one that occurred behind me depend on the triumph of dehumanization, the idea, first perpetuated through

than me.hat you're differt let this place be a reminder. we must have better conversations, we must reject dehumanization, we must love one another. >> sreenivasan: the names of all 16d-8 victims were read - including the 19 children who died when the bomb went off shortly after 9:00 a.m. >> our brother chase dalton smith, dominique ravae johnson london... >> sreenivasan: timothy mcveigh and terry nichs were convicted of the apr 19, 1995 truck bombing. mcveigh was executed in 2001. nichols is serving a life sentence. if you've missed any of the

wes,end's coronavirus briefi we have a quick five-minute recap on youtube, facebook or twitter. >> sreenivasan: from a lack of ventilators to nurses wearinor garbage bagsrotection, the country was not fully equipped to face e conoavirus. and while most of america is now well aware of the deficiencies in the medical fight, the pandemic is shining a light on several other gaps. se states, as millions head to websites to file for unemployment or relief benefits, the systems are buckling under record demand. that's in part because some state governments and unemploymentystems use a decades-old cong system. so, where do you find the k programmers who spat language? newshour weekend's christopher booker has more. >> reporter: the numbea of mericans who now find themselves suddenly without work in the past four weeks can be hard to fathom. 22 million people-- about one- indu-eight working- are now out of a job.

and this is weighing heavy on state unemployment agencies. in new jersey, the unemployment office saw a 1,600% jump in claims in just one week-- so many that governor phil murphy recently put out a call for programmers to help support t state's unemplosent computer m. >> we have systemthat are 40+ old, and there'll be lots of postmoems. and one of them on our list will be, "how the heck did we get here where we literally needed cobol prograers?" >> reporter: what is cobol? .t's short for common business- oriented langua co-created by grace hopper 61 years ago, the computer codeas first developed when steve jobs was a four-year-old and computers took up the whole side of a room. many of the world's programmers have moved pascobol, but it's still around in banking and governments.g, and in many state >> cobol fits into almost every government system or agen. >> reporter: bill hinshaw is the founder of the texas-based cobol cowboys, named after the clint

eastwood movie "space cowboys" in which nasa brings back retired astronauts to help fix a broken russian satellite about to crash into earth. >> the only men for the job. >> is anyo still alive who can fix this thing? >> are the boys. ♪ >> i can't fill up a space shuttle with geriatrics! >> reporter: hinshaw's group is a collection of 350 freelance cobol progs who work all over the world with the software. >> today there's about 220 billion with a "b" lines of cobol in use with another 150 n with a "b" that's bein added every year. >> reporter: hinshaw stresses, the problem is not with cobol itself, the problem is with how states have failed to maintain nd upgrade their backe systems. cobol is still common in the financi world. an estimated 95% of all a.t.m. transactions run on the latest hardware and software, but hain cobol runninhe background. >> most organizations still use bol. they may have some of the new

technology on the fronend, dealing with the internet and the iphones, et cetera, but to actually process a transaction, it's a marriage betweee new technology, and the old technologies. >> reporter: new jersey governor phil murphy was asking about cobol programming as it relates ir unemployment system. help me understand where cobol would fit into a government system like that. of>> what the statew jersey they're running with 40-year-old machines and 40-year-old software. the older hardware basically had one processor, i.e. a brain, and the newer technology, hardware and software allows for multiple porrocessorultiple brains. therefore, if one brain gets overloaded, it can share the work with another brain and another brain. so, basically, the fact is that it's older hardware and software

and, unfortunately, it takes a cris like this to point out that the systems can be overloaded. ta>> reporter: so, has the of new jersey sounded the alarm and called in the cobol cowboys? noy. not yet, any but new jersey is not alone.ct kansas and conut are also struggling. >> so many of our der rtments of laross the country are still on the cobolt stem. you know, very, very old technology. yheou know, andwhen you talk about what was it, 12 times as many applications coming in at ne time, 877,000 phone calls in one day, that's going to osyverwhelm a gooem, much less the kind of system that we wk ere stth. >> reporter: do you anticipate that the cobol cowboys will be very busy in the coming weeks and months? >> i expect we may get some business out of the state governments. i hope we don't, to be honest. i hope things are running that

well for them. but'r if needed, we will be there. >> lysreenivasan: rou.5- million dogs and cats enter american shters each year, ere the goal is to find people to adopt them or, at the very st, foster them unti permanent homes can be found. that's suddenly become a little easier in some shelters. newshour weekend'melanie seltzman has the story. >> we're a month in quarantine. you're still smiling, that's a good si. >> yeah. >> reporter: shannon and josephine lorraine have gotten into a pretty regur routine these days. mom shannon works remotely in the kitchen, while josephine prefers the office, where she can be closer to her new iends. >> these guys have given us definitely a daily mission. >> reporter: this is a calico cat named hillie. she has a litter of five, four-

week-old kittens. >> i think anxiety can really ke your head go in circles with thoughts, and when is this gointo end, anwhat's going to happen with school, and-- we just come in here and hold one tm, it feels like that place you can come in, and ignore everything. >> i wish everyone couldave a litter of kittens in their house during quarantine. any feeling that you have, if yliou go in here, it just, , makes everything 100 times better. >> reporter: but the lorraines might not have these cats forever. rifoght now they'rering them. why are you fostering now, eslepecially a witter of kittens and their mom? >> it just felt like it gave us sotomethinocus on. taking on this project as a mom and daughter together, we've really had a fun time. >> we will rely on that network of people who want to foster. >> reporter: risa weinstock is the president of animal car centers, or a.c.c., of new york city. its shelters take in and find homes for more than 25,000 animals each year, housing at least a few hundred at any given time. >> in anticipation of this

crisis, we wanted to get as many animals out as possible, and imm pediate out a call on social media for foster. has soared to 5,000.plications >> reporter: they focused on much easier to find than those who will commit to adoption. and a.c.c. says most of its cages are empty now because it's found aleast temporary homes for 320 animals in the last month. >> well, it doesn't surprise me that shelters are seeing people really terested in fostering right now. >> reporter: philip tedeschais social worker and executive director of the institute for ection at theco university of denver. >> they're some of the most reliable relationships we have. and in this time, when we're required to be distant from one another, they're playing a particularly relevant role in helping us manage isolation, and leliness. >> reporter: loneliness was a huge issue even before the novel >> loneliness and isolation is t single most dangerous mental

health condition that we treat ithe united states. it's about as dangerous as being a chronic cigarette smoker for, in terms of lethality. >> reporter: tedeschi cites numerous studies that have found an association between pet health benefits. range of owners ercise mave fewerhat pet doctetor visits and sleep b and emotionally, pets help increase self-esteem, and a decrease stre feelings of loneliness. >> looking at yr cat in the background, who is having a nice nap right at the moment. when we see another living being, who is able to relax, we're also able to relax. >> reporter: so her being that passutedight behind me is actually serving a function for my own mental health? >> it literally changes your >> this is tootsie roll.ons. >> reporter: kaitlyn standfest has had anxiety for years. she decided to take in tootsie when she saw a.c.c.'s plea for

help. >> i think especially because i do live by myself. i think she definitely provides that sense of structure, which i think is really, really important during a time like this. >> reporayter: every standfest and tootsie wake up for a feeding, then take a long walk together. in the afternoon, tootsie keeps standfest company as she works. after work, they catch up with >> she likes it! >> reporter: what do you think your life would be like right now without tootsie? >> i am honestly kind of rprised at how much it helped having her around i've definitely thought about where i would bavif i didn't her. and i don't think it's anywhere >> reporter: as important as pets are to their owners during thsae pandemic, weinstoc ners need to be ready in case they are no longer able to ph animals.are for their weinstock told us about jennifer arnold, w started showing symptoms of covid-19 last month.

>> we got a callrom a family member who said that their sister was in the hospital and she had two cats. and there was no one to care for them. so our chief veterinarian went into the home and set those two cats up with self-feeders. didn't make it.ely, the woman >> reporter: her cats are staying with neighbors until and as for what's going tos. happen to some animals currently in fteoster homes the pandemic has subsided? >> with this whole pandemic going on, my, my silver lining, i guess, is that i did get to foster her and she came into my life. i can't imagine her ever leaving my home or ever not being mine. this is my girl. >> reporter: so you'vedopted he >> i've adopted her! >> reporter: and as for shannon and josephine lorraine, they say they can't keep all six of their foster cats. >> i ban't imagine not keeping one.

we'rove g very attached. ( meowing ) >> sreenivasan: last week newshour weekend's christopher the new normal looks like forhat him and his family. asked you to tell us how you're spending your time during this difficult period. here'swe what one family i virginia told us. >> reporter: the story of the wolford's familwindmill in slanesville, west virginia starts as many a storymily contraptions do. a friend called up, she had se scrap metal. >> and as soon as i saw the scrap pile, i saw the angle iron, uh, and it was just like it clicked. it's like, this would be perfect for a windmill. >> reporter: the original plan was to build the windmill last summer, but robert the dad had a continuing education class to take. and robbie the son had a vacation in florida to go on. so, no windmill. >> and it just didn't get done.

>> reporter: but in march when they started sheltering in , rob the dad could longer teach west-virginia studies at the local middle school and robbie the son could no longer go to ninth grade. father and son, like most of us, w had time. >> the whole structure weighs a scotchpo over 52ds. it took perhaps the better part of a half day to get it actually raised >> reporter: the plan is to put a turbine on the top of the 16' high structure and use the wind to power a pump, that will push air into a nearby pond and keep the algae away. they also hope the turbine will be able to power a ger, providing a little bit of electricity for the house. what do you think this project means for you in this time? >> stronger bonding. >> what do you mean, t h >> i get to spend time wu. >> oh, you got to spend time with me. thank you. experience.s certainly a bonding

it's a physical representation of something i hope in the fuure will be a memory for robbie. and if it powers nothing else but, you know, the thoughts of a good relationship with his dad. andou certainly i would ege everyone at this time to, you know, find the lemons and make lemonade out of them under these circumstances. >> sreenivasan: finally tonight, isr orthodox christians th is easter sunday. d in ukraine, where coronavirus restrictions prevent people, priests went house to house to offer blessings today. traditional eter baskets were ft outside and everne wore masks and observed social distancing while still celebrating. that's all for this edition of" pbs newshour weekend." isa'm hari sreeni

thanks for watching. and for the latest news updates go stay healthy and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet umedia access gt wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by:

bernard and irene schwartz. e and edgar wachenheim iii. the cheryl and plip milstein family. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. charles rosenblum. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front ofl s. at mut america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: stnd by the corporation for public broadg, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. ha you. you're watching pbs.

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