duaptioning sponsored by newshour proions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, after another week of laesffs and closmillions more americans file first time unemployment claims, furth cementing covid-19's economic catastrophe. then, when to reopen. the wrenchinchoice that aders across the u.s. face over loosening lockdowns, as protests erupt demanding an end to social distancing. coronavirus.eative economy and how the pandemic has devastated artists, and how some performers are pivoting in a time of crisis >> we may have had a rainy day like a monsoon fund or a tsunami fund for a moment like this. >> woodruff: all that and more on tonight's pbs newshour.

>> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> carnegie corporation of new york. supporting innovations in education, democratic

engagement, d the advancement of international peace and security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions tyour pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ov>> woodruff: congress isg this evening to send another big batch of aid to ose hit hard by the covid-19 pandemic. it comes as millions mor americans have joined the toll in the u.s. has toppedeath 47,000.an johnbegins our coverage. >> yang: more help is on the way

to american small businesses. today, the house gave fil congressional approval to a $484 billion package aimed at smaller employers and hospitals, sending it to president trump for his signature. house speaker nancy pelosi said it comes at a heart-wrenching time. >> millions out of work. a this is realery, very, very sad day. we come to the floor with nely mber o deaths, a huge nu people impacted, and the uncertainty of it all. >> yang: the house vote came as the labopartment reported that another 4.4 million americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total for the last five weeks to more than 26 ion. at a house small busines mheasteksmmg,e and gloves, democrats said many small employs still desperately need loans from the federal payroll protection program, or p.p.p.

tom malinowksi of nejersey. >> i've been in close touch with small business owners in my district and it is difficult toa acly capture the level of fear, frustration and uncertainty that they are feeling right now. >> yang: some republicans argued the only real help for businesses is reopening the economy. dan bishop of north carolina. >> my biggest obseation is that the federal government cannot provide sufficient relief to substitute for a free and open economy.ta >> yang: m and oklahoma have now joined the growing number of states settingng dates for eaestrictions. michigan governor gretchen whitr said she would likely extend the stay-at-home order beyond april 30 in her state, where nearly 1.2 million people have filed for unemployment nce mid-march. but she told msnbc today she may reconsider if new infections continue to trend downward.

>> it will permit some actifiviy ur numbers continue to go down and our testing continues to go up. but it too early to say precisely what each wave looks like and when it happensan. >> whitmer also criticized u.s. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, who suggested some states may have to consider bankrupt. this as the "new york times" reports that modeling from northeastern university shows major cities like chicago and boston likely had nsexarlier than previously known. health officials in new york city said today as many as a million people may have been exposed to the virus. meanwhile, last nighesident trump downplayed the possibility the virus would return in the a winternd insisted there would not be another national lockdow we went through for the last two months. yang: but his top health officials said americans should be prepared for a resurgence of the virus, and suggested restrictio may again be necessary.

>> we will have coronavirus in the fall. i convied of that. whether or not it's going to be big or small is going to depend on our response. s lawyers for dr. rick bright ousted this week as head of the department of health and human services office seeking a coronavirus vaccine said they would while a whistleblower complaint. bright said he's being punished for questioning an antimalaria drug president trump touted as eatment. h.h. confirmed job transfer but did not offer a reason. overseas, the european union held a virtualtoummit toda discuss aid proposals for the continent that could top a trillion dollars. all this comes as the virus disrupts yet another maj tligious observance. mosques in much world will be closed, as muslims prepare for ramadan.e for s newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: and to walk us through the details of congrespa late rescuage, i'm

joined by our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins. so, lisa, remind us what exactly is in tis lat bill. >> judy, this is an extensionof the cares ac, butn its own, recovery billed inodern largest history just on its own, so let's go over the nearly half trillion dollars of spending to remindwsers again, the biggest item is for small business totaling $380 billion ter the paycheck pion program to keep payrolls going and mone for disaster loans that also ran out of money for small businesses. also in this is money specifically for the smallest banks in this country. inddition there's $75 billion for hospitals and healthcare providers and $25 billion for testing. judy, this money we expect tve hrough congress quickly, in fact overwhelmingly, as i speak to you right now and the president is expected to sign rather quickly, as soon as he

can. from what you saying, lisa, a money goes to the so-calledthis paycheck protection programor smallinuss. bse learned in the last few days, these revelations, a chunk of the money owup till has gone to big businesses on solid ground? >> no, judy. this money really just expands the programs that were already in place. congress has not legislated on this idea as we've seen in the past few days that som companies that are publicly trad multi-million-dollar companies, like shake shack, towere able et millions of dollars in loans through the program meant for small businesses. a report through thewall street journal"'s department of treasury is asking those businesses to give it back and trying to find a way large businesses like this don't get t any more os money. also, judy, i have to say something else that's

this bill, a few things democrats were trying to fight for in this that ey were not able to get, at the top of that list, the's no additional help for states and cities, also not money for additional food aid or food stamps known as snap, and more specific rural aid that crosses aisles including rural broadband as something we'll hear aut in the next debate after what congress says this.>> woodruff: so lisa, as yu were saying, this was a vote ofu thl house, yet we're in the middle of a pandemic, we're in the middle of social distancing. how did they have this vote? >> the full house has not been here for over a month, but theye did his as a full vote. in fact, just 40 or so members were not inttendance today, and it was extraordinary, judy. just about three weeks ago only four members to have the house were wearing masks. today hundreds of members, almost everyember wearing a mask in the chamber. the way they did it was in abc

order, asking representatives to come - look, this video of a committee hearing earlier in the day.this is what we've seen allr the capitol. staffers quickly cleaning up as members leave their seats and return.ta look at theers from the small businesst committee off to the side doing their job. that's what's been happening in that committee room and in the capin the house chamber itself, judy. i about a dozenff srs take about eight minutes to quickly clean the whole chambe as the members came and went. something extraordinary, this meetg of the hou today had roughly 400 people in it. this may have been the largest tthering of any kind in country right now because of the orders we're under. so this really sasething that was extraordinary and needed a lot of precautions to it. >> woodruff: no question. something we thought we would never see separately and, finally, lisa, some news i want to ask you about fromat the s majority leader mitch mcconnell, what he is next, andt

he is saying about where the states are. >> yesterday, senator mcconnell was on the hugh hewitt radio program, and the two men were discussing states and city aid, and senatorne mcc and republicans have a concern that states may have had some fiscal probms befe this crisis. if they don't, he does not want to be bailingut in his words, states that had problems with their pensions before this started. but he says this,o hugh hewitt, on the idea of whether states should be able to go into bankruptcy, he said, i would certainly be in favor of allowing stateto use the bankruptcy route. my guest is the first choice would be for the federal government to borrow money from future generatatns. s not something i'm going to be in favor of. the implication to some people including some republicans like peter king of new york is that senator mcconnell would not use federal money to help states and he's encouraging them to go

bankrupt instead, speaking to a senior republican aide in theey senate, aid, no, senator mcconnell just wants the option of bankruptcyor these states. he's not telling them what to do, but he is concerned about the rising debt and, morph-over, judy, mcconnell says he wants to ta a break before an more spending. not everyone agrees with that. >> woodruff: lisa desjardins t reportingay on everything from the capitol. thank you, lisa. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: in th's other news, wall street rallied for a time, but could not hold its ground. the dow jones industrialvege gained just 39 points to close at 23,515. the nasdaq fell a fraction, the s&p 500 slipped 1.5 points. at least seven people have died nt severe storms rolling across south and south l part of the country. reported tornadoes struck in texas, louisiana and oklahoma

fron wednesday, and the moved east to mississippi and alabama. a barrage of apparent twisters hit southern oklahoma. lyher storms killed three people and destroyed ne0 homes around onalaska, texas, where the county executive surveyed damage today. >> i think there are a lot of us that have never seen anything like this before, thswath from this tornado was huge, it was very wide, and of course part of it as we all ran around with our face masks, is that this n community facing two disaster declarations at the same time. >> woodruff: the storm system already knocked oupower to more than 150,000 customers from texas to georgia. back in this country, the u.s. curb the clean water act, as the trump administration wanted. the 6-to-3 decision said the law includes pollution released into the ground, if it timately

reaches waterways. sepately, by 5 to 4, the cou allowed deportations of immigrants who are permanent residents, if they've committed a crime. it could affect thousands of people a federal judge in chicago has dismissed jussie smollett's lawsuiallegingalicious prosecution. the actor sued the city after being charged with falsely reporting a racist and homophobic beating. the judge ruled smollett cannot bring his claim until proceedings against him have ended.ca and, ameeighth-graders' test scores in u.s. history and geography have declined. the latest assessment, from 2018, shows a drop from four years earlier.on 15% of students were proficient in u.s. history, and only 2 geography. scores could worsen further as the pandemic disrupte crrent school year. still to come on the newshour: hearing from americans who have

lost tir jobs amid social distancing. when to reopen?wr mayors face ching decision. what will the job mark look like once covid-19 has faded away? the pandemic abroad-- how the european union is coping with the crisis. and much more. >> woodruff: the economic toll keeps accumulating to levelsrn unseen in moimes. we are going to fos on that extensively and the tes over what suld be done to ease the pain.e we begin with ories of people across the country out of work. many sufferea big financial hit during the recession of

2008 and are now facing a major second blow. here's a sampling ofwe heard from viewers. >> hi, my name is melissa ballowe. i was the head baker for a small local chain of coffee shops. i am sincerely desperately hoping that i can go back to the bakery once this all ends. >> my name is dwinell fenton. we're a solar manufacturing company here in odessa, ouright ide of tampa, florida. and march 25 i was ld off. i believe i've got two financial downturns in my fetime, which is only 35 years. >> my name is rita davis. i live in mckinney, texas. and we have a store in the vibrant square of downtown mckinney.pe our businessd in august so we don't even have ther ve. les have gone down a good 95 to 99%. >> my name is michel du bois. i'm 48. my husband and i live in upstate new york.

so in 08 i had just come off of maternity leave. i retu back to work. six months later i was laid offl i was not ghed. my job was eliminated. fast forward 11 years. i was accepted with the same company again, although this time it was a matter of three or four months, a pandemic happened, and my job has been furloughed with seral other people. it's a little bit of a nightmare all over again. >> the financial crisis of 2008 was, it was it was tough. my father and i bought a home togeth. i lieve we paid 104,000 for that home in 2000 and jaar 2008. and by 2009, the same year, itrt was a fraction of the $104,000. i have my fingers crossed that it's not going to get much worse than this.

>> when i lost my job in the 2008-2009 recession, i got so we had to move forward and just hoping that the next time that we decide to dohing like that, that that's not the situation that we sign onto. but lo and behold, here it is. you know, we're seven months into it and kind of the bottom has fallen out again. >> when i lost my job in the 2008-2009 recession, i got regarding my federal studenteve loans. i would say that it was a nightmare, but that's probably an understatement. i got calls all hours of the day. my family got calls. my friends got calls asking me or asking how i was going to pay when i was going to pay. over 10 years later, i finally felt like i had rebuilt myself. i finally felt that i had started over again. and so here we go again., liat do i do now? how do i rebuild myself after

this? i don't know yet. i don't haven answer to that. >> woodruff: the debare over when ten, pitting economic concerns against public health has taken to thstets. polling data shows the majority of americans support restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavir but there have been some small pockets of protesests against measures. >> open texs now!dor reports. open texas now! >> alcindor: in the last two weeks, cros of people protesting against stay at home orders have popped up across the country. many say they are advocating for personal freedoviamid the coros pandemic. rs s the are there toautomatic support their local economies. liberate colorado! >> open our beaches! es i'm not on house a i refuse. >> aindor: small gatherings

happened in at asle20 states, many at state capitols. michigan h t seen some biggest protests. in the city of lansing, cars created a traffic jam. abigail censky is a reporter with wkar public media in east lansing, and is covering those protests. >> for a lot of protesters i talked to, the were grappling with the fact that, you know,ei counties may have 100 cases or so and they're not really the center of the epidemic here in michigan. so they're asking for regional or industry bas the places that are less affected in the state. >> alcinkyr: cens says at a recent protest, the majority of4 the nearly00 people stayed in their cars. but a couple hundred did get out. >> the people who got out of their cars near the capital, that looked strikingly similar to a president trump rally and they were waving lots of keep america great fgs and wearing make america great again hats.

>> alcindor: president trump has repeatedly voiced support for the otests. last wk, he tweeted, "liberate michigan," "minnesota," and" virginia." he says it is understandable that people want to sengsocial distanrders eased. >> no these are people expressing their views. i see where thy are and i see the way they're working. they seem to be very responsible people to me. they've been treated a bit rough. >> alcindor: jane coaston covers conservatism and the g.o.p. at vox. protest arense as organic as they seem. >> that's not to say that people attending them don also have these stay at home orders and strongly felt viewpoisps about the onse to the coronavirus pandemic themselves. both things can be true at o thesprsts e me,ncies b oth the trump administration and to existing right leaning organizations.lc >>dor: some groups organizing the protests have ties to president trump's

election campaign and republican donors like education secretary betsy devos. there has also been support from national groups like freedomworks, which was involved in the beginnings of the tea party movement.e the group's dent says it is not organizing the protests, but it is helpg organers by training, building websites and doing social media treach. adam brandon. >> ts is what they came up with. and all we can do is assist it. there is no and plan that we're sitting around with the map saying we need to have an event here or there. >> alcnr:in i wednesday, only 12% of americans said restrictioent the spread of coronavirus go too far.evprns t a majority of republicans also broadly support the restrictions.but there a ptisad

republicans are oufour times as likely as democrats to say the measures go too far-- 22% compared to 5%. p meanwhiltesters continue to gather as the virus outbreak stretches on. another demonstration is planned in wisconsin fiday.pb for the newshour, i'm >> woodruff: in georgia, the governor says the state will allow some businesses treopen beginning tomorrow-- a week before his stay-at-home order expires. it's a decision president trump so far, georgia has seen more than 20,000 cases and 800 deaths from covid 19. we'll get two v oiehow local communities are preparing to reopen. first from scott james matheson. he is the mayor of valdosta in southern georgia. mayorr matheson, thank you much for talking with us. first of all, did the governor

consult with you? re you surprised when you learned there was going to be this partial reopening this s.wk is t >> so the constant contact along the way, but, no, i was caught by surprised that it went a week we werer the state-wide uearly. order for shelter at hometh throug30th, so i thought the natural walkback in date would be may 31. >> woodruff: what did you think when you heard the governor say we're going to start to reopen gyms, hair b salonsber shops and then places where people go to eat, restaurants, startingext week, some of them? >> yep, i think we're going to go t trestaurants andaters starting on monday, but tomorrow we're on the eve of starting our town again,er and we'll adapt. if he say that's the wayo go, then he's been pretty spot-on most of the way, so we'll adapt. >> woodruff: i'm sure you know, mayor matheson, that health experts are quite mixed

and divided on this question. many of them say, until we know more about who been exposed to covid 19, that it's risky to do this. how are you thinking about making your own decisio onis >> well, when he releases us, once we get out from under that state order on the 30th, it will b. but now the shelter at home still, so we're spending most of o time here. when we come out from under it, we'll move as community together. lowndes county has done wel 132 cases, only 4 fatalities, so a popation of 120,000 city and county, 0.08%, i'v calculated it. so we'll move on the fact we have been doing pretty good fr the very beginning. >> woodruff: did it give you pause when you heard presidt trump say he disagreed do yh,emdeneat u hao yosion?

it puts it back into uryo the cy commsioner chairman and myself have moved responsibly the entire way and wl continue to do so. i think our town has moved regoonsibly. we'lwith that. we have the hotpot in dougherty county, georgia, so we have to keep an eye on the communities arnd us as well. >> woodruff: what kind of steps are you taking in valdosta asyour, again, beauty salons, barber shops, o bowling alin and restaurants and movies next week. different is this. will be >> we'll continue to meet with department of health has done a very good job in the state. our major medical center and sage medical center we meet with them twice daily, believe it or not, and that keeps us up to eed on any developments. in the down, we're just going to

let the business owners realize that people are not going to shelter at home orders still till the 30th. they're going nc get a c to fight for their business and lives. their business is n going to come back anytime soon, so i wish them the best of luck. >> woodruff: are the medical experts you're talking to, the people you trust inthe healthcare community, are they in agrment that this is the right thing? >> i don't think so. as a matter of fact.f caution, we're going to move forward with a balance we're lning toward their advice first and foremost but we have to know the business community -- sit down at the table as well. >> woodruff: mayor scott mathes of valdosta, georgia. thank you for talking wit us. we wish you the very best.nk >> t you, judy.

>> woodruff: now a >> woodruff: now a different perspective on georgia's planned reopening: mayor hardie davis of augusta.r mavis, thank you for talking with us. what was your reaction when you learned from governor kemp that things will start to reopen in the state tomorrow? >> i was surprised, quite frankly, as many of my colleagues wer across the state of georgia, again, as the mayor of s georgia'sond largest city, someone who enjoyed a strong relationship with governor kemp, i think that when we looked at the fact that a week pryer he extended the shelter in place order till the 30th of ail, and the pandemic definition of emergency until the 13th of may, it was, quite frankly, shocking that we would move to that place as quickly as we were in light of the c thawe still, in georgia, cannot conduct sufficient enough testing scross thte, let alone in augusta. we're not able to do contact tracing in sufficient numbers. hen the issues given the fact

there's no current vaccine and/or therapies for this, i think it's very difficult to think that we're going to move to a place under the assumption that we've already reached the peak in georgia, let alone in any of these communities awe find ourselves in. >> woodruff: well, given that, are you going to comply with what the governor says is going to happen? i notice he hesaid's not -- he said local action can't be taken that's more or less restrictive than what he's saying. >> i think all of us across thet will comply with the governor's order. in augusta, we're going to take a deliberative approach in terms of how we comply with that, particarly in termsf giving guidance to those business owners, whether it's our restaurants, whether it's our barber shops, hair salons, nail salons, and, of course, our gymnasiums that are going to be opening up,e're working hard to maketure we're communicating

what the governor's order clearly states and expects of people. should be waiti on guidance from the governor's office so they can be very clear about what the requirements and expectations are. the reality of it, as we move forward, is that this will become the norm. term "new norm," but it's going to be the norm in terms of social distancing, the requirements around sanitization in places of business, whether restaurants on gymnasiums, we're going to do things differently in terms of how we conduct business and as it reles to the people. >> woodruff: right. yes, there's always the question of personal responsibility, but none of expected, planned or anticipated hevid 19 being thessue of t day. >> woodruff: justuickly, what percentage of the businesses affected do you think are actually going to go ahead and reopen tomorrow? >> well, we're getting e-mails, we've gotten th since monday, and you've got mixed responses

you've got some who say, mayor, we're going to continue to follow your re and not open yet, we don't believe we've met the peak. then you have some who are doing soft openings who arfocused around keeping the buildings cleaned, going in and doing a deep cleaning and sanitizyoion. that it's a fairly mixed d,sponse particularly because people are afr they're concerned about the fact that, one, you could be working with someone who was asymptomatic and carrying the virus, and the other thing is colleagues are fected as well. they're proceeding with an --hae you getting from the medical community? >> they, too, share the concern around the the fact we haven't reached our peak yet. they've also been identified by orthe goves the lead agency for testing for the state of georgia, and, so, eethey're

pring with caution as well, and that's the guidance they're giving us here in augustag al with my other hospitals. we've got a fairly stron healthcare community here, so i think we have those resources available to us, but it's just the unknowns around testing, who has the virus, and who doesn't. >> woodruff:ayor hardie davis augusta, georgia, thank you very much, and we wish you the very best with all you're >> thank you so mudy. >> woodruff: it's becoming apparent it will take a great deal of fti a full economic recovery and for unemployment rates to drop back to where they were a new survey by the pew research center found 43% of u.s. adults say they or someone in their househod has lost a job or taken a cut in pay due to covid- 19. and daunting road ahead, part of

his regular reporting on economic matters, "making nse." >> i was laid off on march 19. >> it was march 18. >> just gonna get laid off and stay at home all day for weeks on end. il reporteofenr:lin mths ofron s. and the official numbers may be low, given ls in counting, and paying. event planner brandy jackson filed last month. >> i am happy to say that yesterday my unemployment benefits did hit from the st three wes. >> reporter: jackson is relying on assistance for the first time. >> more vethan anything, it' difficult to be able to swallow your pride and look at other resourcs that are available that, to be honest with you, i've jushat neveto do that before. >> reporter: resources such as? >> just ng. i never thought that i wld ever go in that category. i was the person that always had

ings o having to be the person that has to stand in that line. >> reporter: q tey la onf fof from bars and restaurants, will those jobs come back? adrian trujillo is a bartender. >> it's like this double edge sword where it's like we need human contact, but at the particular moment, human contact could kill you. >> reporter: and so businesses remain closed. >> i think a lot of restaurants and bars might not make it through this. less restaurants and bars, less jobs and you know we've got 22 million people fighting over, you know, half the jobs that were there when they left. >> reporter: travel agent steven tamasy thinks the business travel coma will be long-term. >> i don'tnow if there's going to be a business to come back to the way it used to be. you've got skype, you've got zoom. business travel is only going to be to sehealeal and all the

preliminary ventures or trips >> reporter: what do you envision the job market beingtho they're younger. their skills are more up to date than mine. retail is dying, so you can't really count on that. the hospality industry, which is usually where travel agents seem to land after they leava job, is also hurting. so i don't know. >> reporter: and look, fewere servicsector jobs will only exacerbate the decades-long increase in inequality says janitor rvin madriz. >> reporter: do you think it's going to get worse now after this virus? rsyou know cor, erur, e,ouof >> we're gonna have greater inequality. >> reportweer: for all wage workers, says economist darrick hamilton. >> we're gonna have greater overall inequality and greater racial disparity as well.

i ink the previous last great recession taught us that. and we also know the structure of the u.s. economy is one where blacks are generally the first fired and last hired. >> it seems very likely that lower income people, less educated people and minorities are going to get especially hard hit.eporter: those are the people l>> st francinei blau wort.ries most ab >> they have less of a cushion, so they're harder hit during the crisis. disproportionately represented among the unemployed as far as we can tell. in addition, they're disproportiately represented among frin contracting the illns. so they'll bcoming out of this period in especially weakened position. >> reporter: even now am the pandemic janitors like marvin madriz are undervalued.

>> it is really nice that we recognize all our doctors. it'seally nice that we recognize all the nurses, all the people are involved in that everybody that is working on the frontline. but we don'ar and say, what about the janitors? who cleans all that mess, you know? everywhre who goes sanitize the places where people are, you rnow, in the hospitals clinics or buildings that people are still working on it. >> reporter: but the federal government is spending $3 trillion or more, much of it on workers earning less tha $75,000 a year, a policy sea change that should lower inequality, says economist >> we are now seeing that government can actually make a diffence in people's lives when government applies themselv providing income support, literaexly nding unemployment compensation to include gig workers, which sets a precedent where we no longer can say we can't do these things. >> reporter: laid-off bartender adrian trujlo agrees. >> the seeds of change are there, whetht it's a revoon, whether it's some

sort of huge policy change. i don't ink there's any way to go back to normal, whatever that really is. ter: brandy jackso >> do i think there's going to be major change? i certainly hope so. but i think i give it a maybe a five out of 10. >> reporr: but travel agent tamasy makes the odds a lot lower. >> but i am pessimistic about that, i would really love to see it happen, but it seet in america we just don't learn from our mistakes. >> reporter: longtime republin economistouglas holtz-eakin is pessimistic too, because of the spending we've ready done. >> we've got an enormous bill to pay and that enormous bill to pay comes on top of an existing federal debt that was enormous. and there really just isn't any money for a vastly expandedi versal basic income unle some other things go away. and we've never shown as a natiogreat appetite for making other entitlements go away. so i'm not sure that's going to happen. >> 'sreporter: heot sure and of course, as the economy remains largely shut down, neither are we.

this is paul solman. >> woodruff: today european leaders met virtually to try and he same question confronting the u.s.: when to reopen? and how difficult will throad ahead b here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: today, european massive recovery fund to try and rebuild economies devastated by covid-19. and individuacountries are beginning to open up again: in germany, some schools started . re goo ark, hairdressers flower shops, and bookstores, but there aren't many custors. but much of the e.u. remains closed. and confronts a fundamental challenge as each country dec fid itself, when to reopen, and how best to keep its citizens safe. the european union's ambassadory to washington, stavros

lambrinidis. ambassador, thank you very much. welcome to the". "newsho washington, d.c. and individual states in the u.s. are confronting the same challenge. how do you coordinate from brussels when countries open up? >> well, it's going to be a tough decision. we face the same challenges you do heren some ways. you relax the measures too soon, you risk a new wave of infe tions. you to long, you risk jobs and you risk the recovery. so what we did in brussels, we put out guidance to all our 27-inmember statecating the steps that ought to be take ton coordinatedening as as possible. not surprisingo hear the place is, first of all, to ensure that there is a significant slowing of the spread, secondly that the hospital capacities are adequate, trdly that there's enougtesting and enough

contact tracing to ensure that, if this were to break out again, it could be very easily and quickly contained. >> report: this is a major challenge for you and the rest of the world, but really a fourth challge for the e.u. in the last dozen years. we had the financial crisis that led to theoze crisis, the crisis of migration, bdrexit now covid 19, of course. are the ties that keep the.u. together beginning to fray? contrary.would say on the we have been through a number of crnlses to know it is when we are united as european states that we can overcome the it hit different member states at different rates, and we all clamped down and tried to deal wit indivually, and we realized quickly it wouldn't work. so we all jumped in and got a collective response by the e.u. that has been remarkable, compared to the other crises you

mentioned, not close.g the states and whatever they're doing to protect lives. an example is we cohave lectively as european countries procured the p.p.e. equipment thais required. e have also invested in vaccines and treatments at the european level. of c erse, we havenomic support to the e.u. that has been unsee up to now. more than 3.4 trillion euros, which is even more than that in dollars, has already been committed to fight the immediato effectave the crisis to support workers, to save lives and, as you said, we jt decided to invest massively in the new marshall plan, you can tall i after the crisis. >> reporter: so the coordinated response you scribe now and today, the e.u. was criticized early on for being behind the curve for not having to cesrdinatednse, and specifically italy, a place

already skeptical of the e.u. approval in the e.u. dpped 20 percentage points. so how do you deal with the challenge of europeans, south,ally in th questioning the very notion of the e.u. at the same time you might haveo deal with, for example, a bail out in testament u. in the future. >> you have to speak to people's hearts, not just ther minds, and we're doing this.e th european president came out openly and apologized to ita e. b a theti paracul beginning, still in these collective responses. but what you also need to do isw hat we've done since which is to have that collective response. itill say nown ita that there are other european member states that have given millions of masks, protective equipment and everything else ita needs. doctors are coming into it from other countries. you see a collective solidarity, european solidarity now in full

swing, and, you know, maybe you can accuse europe of being yonns, stage,w off the bat b accuse it of being anything other than a solidarity super ber ofsupporting a n states and also trying to support other countries around the world. >> reporter: and how e u.s. and e.u. work together, when the u.s. is questioning multi-lateral institutions like the world health organization, president trump, of course, called the e.u. an economic foe, how do you work together and create a global response in an era of america first? >>hi ie t citizens but also cis coming collectively now to containment of this to support them as well. the european union has pout pugt er a package of 20 billion euro to support other countries. things.. is doing similar re funding the world health organization that is at the

front lines o many poor countries around the world who don't have the health tocapacity eal with the health crisis supporting them. so solidarity isha notty. the fact is that it is in our collective interests this virus hashown it's a world virus,o we have to be cary consistent, ames and europeans together, to show that solidarity does not stop at our borders and that we're out there supporting the world, including with transparency, no strings attached, making sure that growth can come, that labor rights c, be respectedat the environment will not be destroyed. all these things are not little things, that the challenges of the future and we can be there tother, holding hands, and making it happen. >> reporter: stavros lambrinidis, e.u. ambassador to the united states, thank you very much. >> thank you.

>> woodruff: what happens when the audi tsnce?nmheen't rt,e pleasure, but they are also an importenant economic engine. ffrebrrepoy fari a cs ouanw, ms. >> brown: across the nation, the financial and psychological hit is profound, as the performances everywhere have stopped. new york's metropolitan opera, the country's largest cultural institution, cancelled the rest ghof its season and furlou its orchestra, chorus and other ssunion workers, citing loes of up to $60 million. a prominent regional troupe, the oregon shakespeare theater, has suspended shows through labor day and laid off 80% of its 500 employees.

most individual artists, like people we've talked to this weekare freelance workers, building careers through a patchwork of performances, shows, teaching, waiting tables, whatever it takes. boston-based violinist katherine winterstein has had a successful life as an artist for decades, before seeing it crash in one 36 hour period last month. >> we don't have a lot of fiscal protections. but the fact that we have a diverse portfolio, you might say, of work options means that normally we are a liit like, if something goes wrong in one group, you're insulated because you have so many other ensembles in which you work. so we may have a iny nd, but none of us has had, like a monsoon fund or a tsunami fund for a moment le this when everything has ceased. >> remote teaching, including and like gig workers across the economy, winterstein is learning the complexiples of the unment system. the cares act has offered some relief, but, she says, it's a ugcontinuing stre for many. >> the system is not equipped really to understand our kind of .inco almost everyone i know has gotten different answers from this system.

>> brown: across the country in portland, oregon, the august wilson red door project uses theater to address pressing social issues like the criminal justice system. last year the newshour profile"" evolve," its play featuring voices from law forcement and the local community. in march, the companwas set to take the show on tour. artistic director and co-founder kevin jones. >> this was going to be our best year. quite frankly, we were looking at producing 20 shows around the country.ite a hit. we lost about $300,000 of income. we paid out about $80,000 in salaries to actors and crew. m> brown: now, project tea the art itself is missing, at a moment when the pandemic is exposing disparities jones and his company wish they could address. >> we spend a lot of time on

and, you know, we're looking at what's going on with 70% of the is it about race? mean?nd wh is it about cultur is it about class?al i thinof these things, art is built for. >> brown: for arts groups treverywhere now, the ch is all in the digital, not physical space. y to stay connected, me making archival performances available online. the metropolitan opera offerse free daily encesentations.her t. solivestream performances offer other ways to raise a bit of money. >> the bd i'm in had just released the record and so we had like a small tour planned. he tnnwegoade oi think it was supposed to be our first timeoing to nebraska, aclytu.>> brown: instd conor lee, based in moorehead, at a livewire concert.irtually

lee, who earns income from teaching, also received an emergency $500 grant from a relief fund set up for artists. it's not much, but helps when everything has dried up. >> that's definitely going to cover rent and, you know, ju >> brown: that fund waset up by "springboard for the arts," a minnesota group that supports smaller urban and rural arts groups and their communities-- difficult even in the best of times, says executive director urzabel. >> yeah it's fragile all the time. i think we're sort of having this collective awakening in this moment of just how fragile that ecosystem is and frst how ile so many artists' livelihoods are and how the rug can be pulled out. >> brown: last year we joined zabel and representatives of rural arts groups frun around the y at a conference now, the urgent challenge is survival.

>> it's an existential crisis for artists, forrts and culture organizations, for our whole sector. we're heing numbers both national and locally that gheative workforce is unemploy and i think it's not just about psace where a lot of peopl survival and ability to be housed, to feed their family, you know, we're at that level of crisis economically, for sure, there are grass-roots, newly- formed projects su r as the artiief tree. it's given out more $200,000 to some 900 individual artists. the money raised through donations and an online benefit concert that featured prominent artists including j'nai bridges and rachel barton pine. and bigger, more established efforts like "broadway cares/ equity fights aids," now turned to helping entertainment professionals with covid-19 related needs. a coalition of major foundations

and arts funders put together $10 million relief package to provide unrestricted $5000 grants to artists and companies. what are they all seeking to preserve? the artists we talked with said it goes beyond their individual ights. >> our job is to gather people and to connect and to add meaning. and i hope that when we come back out of our houses, we are hungry for that again. or>> brown: theatedireevin jones in portland. >> for me it defines the culture in so many ways. it defines whoe are. the things you can't necessarily put your finger on and quantify and pull out a lot of data for. but we notice when it's gone, for sure. >> brown: for the pbs newshour, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: signs of solidarity are keeping pace with the spread of the virus.

it started with singing from enindows in italy. now cheers for essential workers ldare heard around the w, from madrid, to canada, to new york. the latest trend, howling, is echoing through neighborhoods across our country. montana pbs' breanna mccabe let us listen in on what has become a nightly ritual in missoula. (howling) ll>> ah, gives you c >> reporter: health care worker shawn paul is in the middle of a two-week quarantine after returning from an out-of-state work trip. it's not uncommon to hear hog wlinin this dog-nghe heard o dismiss it. but soing about it the way it sounded, drew him outside. of our neighbo was out there leading the charge, so i obviously cameut and supported >> reporter: by the next night, more neighbors heard about the 8:00 o'clock howl through social media or sidewalk me saying the gesture shows support for health care workers and

first responders. and neighbors, like the lewis family, started to add to the chorus. >> it feels cool, cause you just feel a bunch of noise and it's all around you. the dogs have been howling, so that's funny too. >> reporter: carris works in the intensive care unit at the local hospital. she's one of three nurses on this block. >> i've heard that it's to support health care workers and i'd like to think that that encompasses everyone. i mean, nurses and physicians of course on the front lines, e.r. on the front, front line, i.c.u. doing some tough stuff but housekeeping, security, laundry, scary now. cafeteria, dietary. i hope people know that it's yoev that their howling for. >> we've beeg it off our back porch but last night was the first time we came to our front porch and we could see all our neighbors howling. (howling)

whoever thought being isolated would brinus all a little oser. (howling) >> it's more and more every night. >> reporter: for montana pbs, i'm breanna mccabe. joi wn drus a ooonlf:inhae ufane tomorrow evening. for newshothanyoleasst alat ul s sabsfe and see you soon. >> majording for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> the ford foundation. working with visionaries on the frontlines osocial change worldwide.

>> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and final literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made atpossible by the corpn for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. anu.k thyo inewshour produ, llcd by captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org