captioning sponsored by newshourroductions, llc uf >> woo good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, after another week of layoffs and closures, millions more americans file first time unemployment claims, furinther cemecovid-19's economic catastrophe. then, when to reopen. the wrenching choice that leaders across the u.s. face over loosening lockdowns, as protests erupt demanding an end to social distancing. plus, the creative economy and how the pandemic hastated artists, and how some performers are pivoting in a time of crisis. >> we may have had a rainy day fund, but none of us has had f like a monsod 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 of international pndadvancement security. at carnegie.org. >> and with the ongoing supporti of these instis: and individuals. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: congress is moving batch of aid to tht hardther big by the covid-19 pandemic. it comes as millions more americans have joined the jobless rolls, and as the death toll in the u.s. has topped 47,000. john yang begins our coverage.

>> yang: more help is on the way to amerin small busses. today, the house gave final congressional approval to a $484 billion package aimedt for his signature.and hospitalsm house speaker nancy pelosi said itchomes at a heart-wreng time. >> millions out ofork. this is really a very, very, very sad day. we come to the floor with nearly 50,000 deaths, a huge number of people impacted, and the uncertainty of it all. >> yang: the house vote came as the bor department 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 million. at a house small busines committee hearing, with members wearing protective masks as gloves, demosaid many small employers still desperately need loans from the federal payroll protection

program, or p.p.p. tom malinowksi of new jersey. >> i've been in close touch with small business owners in my district and it is difficult to curately capture the level of fear, frustration and uncertainty that they are feeling right now. >> yang: some republicans argued the only real help for i businessreopening the economy. dan bishop of north carolina. >> my biggest observation is that the federal government cannot provide sufficient lief to substitute for a free and open economy. >> yan montana and oklahoma have now joined the growing number of states setting dates for easing restrictions. michigan governor greten whitmer said she would likely extend the stay-at-home orr beyond april 30 in her state, haere nearly 1.2 millionpele ored fmp u fne but she told msnbc today she may reconsider if new infections continue to trend downward.

>> it will permit some activity if our numbers continugo down and our testing continu to go up. but it's t early to say like and when it happens.looks >> yang: whitmer also criticized u.s. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell, who suggested me states may have to consider bankruptcy. this as the "new york times" reports that modeling from northeastern university shows major cities like chicagsto and likely had extensive outbreaks of the virus earlier than previously own. health officials in new york city said todaas many as a million people may have been exposed to the virus meanwhile, last night president trump downplayed the possibility the virus would return in the winter and insisted there would not be another national lockdown. >> we will not go through what we went through for the last two months. >> yang: but his top hlth officials said americans should be prepared for a resurgence of the virus, and suggested restrictions may again be

necessary. >> we will have coronavirus in the fall. i am convinced 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 wle tla whlower complaint. bright said he's being punished for questioning alanaria drug president trump touted as treatment. h.h.s. confirmed job but did not offer a reason. overseas, the european union held a virtual sumt toaiday to discusproposals for the continent that could top a trillion dollars. all this comes as the virus disrupts yet another mor religious observance. mosques in much of the world will be closed, as muslimsma prepare for n. for the pbs newshour, i'm john yang. >> woodruff: and to walk us through the details of congress'

latest rcue package, i'm joined by our congressional correspondent lisa desjardins. so, lisa wremind t exactly is in this latest bill. >> judy, this is an extension of the cares ac, but on its own, this bill is one of the largest recovery lls passed in modern history just on its own, so let's go over the nearly hal trillion dollars of spending to remind viewsers again, the biggest item is for small business taling $380 billion for the paycheck protection program to keep payrolls going and money for disaster loans that also ran out of money for small businesses. in this is money specifically for the smallest banks in this country. in addition there's $75 billion for hospitals and healthcare providers and $2 billion for testing. judy, this money we expect to move through congress quickly, in fact overwhelmingly, as i speak to you right now a the president is expected to sign

rather quickly, as soon as he can. >> woodruff: so it's clear from what you're saying, lisa, a lot of this money, some of this money goes to the so-called paycheck proteion program for small binesses. does it address what we've learned in the last few day these revelations, a chunk of the money up tille now has g 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 thatome companies that are publicly trade, multi-million-dollar companies, like shake shack, were able to get milli of dollars in loans through the program meant for small businesses. a report through the "wall 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 any mo of this money. also, judy, i have to say

something else that's not in this bill, few things democrats were trying to fight for in this that they wereleot o get, at the top of that list, there's nalo additi help for states and cities, also not money for additainal foor o more specific rural aid that crosses aisles including rural broadband as something we'll hear about in the next debate about what congress says after th: . >> woodru, lisa, as you were saying, this was a vote of sethe full h yet we're in the middle of a pandemic, we're in the middle of social distancin how did they have this vote? >> the full house has not been here for over a month, but they did take this as a full vote. in fact,r just 40 so members were not in attendance today, and it was extraordinary, judy. just about three weeksgo, only four members to have the house were wearing masks. today hundreds of members, almost every member wearing a mask in the chamber. the way they did it was in abc

order, asking representatives to come -- look, this is video of o ittee hearing earlier in the day. this is what we've seen all over the capitolaf. rs quickly cleaning up as members leave their seats and return. look at t staffers from the small businesst committee off to the side doing their job.ha that'ss been happening in that committee room and in the cartol, in the house cham itself, judy. i about a dozen staffers take about eight minutes to qckly clean the whole chamber as the members came and went.hi som extraordinary, this meeting of the house today hadro hly 400 people in it. this may have been the largest gathering of any kind the country right now because of the orders we're under. that was extraornary andng needed a lot of precautions to it. >> woodruff: no question. something we thought we would never see separately and, finally, lisa, somean news i to ask you about from the senate

majority leader mitch mcco iell, what hes next, and wt he is saying about where thees stare. >> yesterday, senator mcconnella on the hugh hewitt radio program, and the two men were discussing states and city aid, and senator monnell and republicans have a concern that states may have had some fiscal problems before this crisis. if ty don't, he does not want to be bailing out, in his words, states that had problems with their pensions before this started. but he says this, to 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 states to use the bankruptcy route. my guest is their first choice would be for the federal government to br money from future generations. that's not something i'm going to be in favor of. the implication to some people including some republicans likne peter of new york is that senator mcconnell would not usem federaey to help states and

he's encouraging them to go bankrupt instead, speaking to a senior republican aide in the senatethey said, no, senator mcconnell just wants the option of bankruptcy for these states. he's not telling them what tohe do, bus concerned about the rising debt and, morph-overu , mcconnell says he wants to take a break before any more spending. not everyone agrees with that. >> woouff: lisa desjardins reportg today on everything from the capitol. thank you, lisa. >> you're welcome. >> woodruff: in the day's other time, but could not hold its ground. the dow jones industrial average gained just 39 points to close 23,515. the nasdaq fell a fraction, the s&p 500 slipped 1.5 points. at least seven people have died in severe storms rolli across south and uth central part of the country. reported tornadoes struck in

texas, louisiana and oklahoma late wednesday, and the stont moved eao mississippi and alabama. a barrage of apparent twisters hit southern oklahoma. other storms killed three people and destroyed nearly 50 homes around onalaska, tas, ere the county executive surveyed damage today. >> i think there are a lot of us that have never seen anything like this before, the swath from this tornado was huge, it was very wide, and of course part oa we all ran around with our face masks, that this communitis now facing two disaster declarations at the same time. >> woodruff: the storm system already knocked out power to texas to georgia. customerfrom back in this country, the u.s. curb the clean water act, as thm administration wanted. the 6-to-3 decision said the law includes pollution released into

the ground, if it ultimately reaches waterways. separately, by 5 to 4, the crt allowed deportations of immigrants who are permanent residents, if they've committed a crime. it could affect thousands of people. a federal judge in cgo has dismissed jussie smollett's lawsuit alleging malicio prosecution. the actor sued the city afterar being d with falsely reporting a racist and the judge ruled smollett cannot proceedings against him have ended. and, american eighth-graders' test scores in u.s. hiory and geography have declined. the latest assessment, from 2018, shows a drop from four years earlier. only 15% of students w proficient in u.s. history, and only5%, in geography. scores could worsen further as the pandemic disrus the crrent school year. still to come on the newomour:

hearing mericans who have lost their jobs amid social distancing.decion . what will the job market look like once covid-19 has faded away? the pandemic abroad-- how the european union is coping with the crisis. and much more. c toll keeps accumulating to levels unseen in dern times. we are going to focus on that extensively and thdebates over what should be done to ease the pain. we begin with the stories of people across the country out work. many suffered a big financial hit during the recession of

2008 and are now facing a major second blow. here's a sampling fr what we hear 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, right outside of tampa, florida. and march 25 i wasaid off. i believe i've got two financial downturns in my lifetime, which is only 35 years. >> my name is rita davis. i live in mckinney, texas.d have a store in the vibrant square of downtown mckinney. our busiss opened in august so we don't even have the longevity that a lot ohaour neighbors ve. our sales 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 rk.

so in 2008 i had just come off of maternity leave. i return back to work. six months later i was laid off. i was t furloughed. my job was eliminated. fast forward 11 years. i was accepted with the same company again, althothis time it was a matter of three or four months, a pandemic happened, and my job has been furloughed with several people. it's a little bit of a nightmare all over again. >> the financial crisis of008 was, it was it was tough. my father and i bought a home together. i believe we paid 104,000 for that home in 2000 and january 2008. and by 2009, the same year, it es worth a fraction of th $104,000. i have my fingers crosseitd that not going to get much worse than this.

>> when i lost my job in009 rec2 so we had to move forward and just hoping that the next time that we decide tkedo something hat, that that's not the situation that we sign onto. falllo and behold, here it is. owkne'u again. >> when i lost my job in the 2008-2009 recesgosion, absolutely no support whatsoever regarding my federal student 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.d here we go again.

like, what do i do now? how do i rebuild myself after is? i don't know yet. i don't have annswer to that. >> woodruff: the debate over whti to reopen, p economic concerns against public health has taken to the streets. polling data shows the majority of americans support strictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus. pockets of protests againstall these measures. our yamiche alcindor reports. >> open texs open texas now! >> alcindor: in the last two weeks, crowds of peopleot presting against stay at home orders have popped up across the country. many say they are advocating for personal freedom amid the coronavirus pandemic. some openly cay semi-automatic rifles.ot rs say they are there to support their local economies. >> liberate colorado! >> open our beaches! >> i'm not on house arrest. i refuse.

>> alcindor: small gatherings happened in at least 20 states, ny at state capitols. michigan has seen somprof the biggesests. 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, they were grappling with the fact that, you know, their counties may have 100 really the center f the not epidemic here in michigan. so they're askilng for regio or industry based exemptions for the places that are less affected in the state. >> alcindor: censky says at a ir car protest, the majority oft s.th but a couple hundred did get out. >> the people who got out of their cars near the capital, that looked strikingly similar to a predent trump rally and they were waving lots of keep america great flags and wearing make america great again hats.

>> alcindor: president trump has repeatedly voiced support for the protests. last week, he tweeted, "liberate michigan," "minnesota," and" virginia." he says it is understandable that pple antrs eased. >> no these are people exprsing their views. i see where they are and i see the wathey're working.ve they seem to b responsible people to me. they've been treated a bit rough. >> alcindor: jane coaston covers conservatism and the g.o.p. at vox. she says these protest ars 't as organichey seem. >> that's not to say that people attending them don't also have strongly felt v strongly fieelt vs iewpoints abt the response to the coronavirus pandemic themsels. both things can be true at once, but these protests are very much tied to groups and individuals with ties to bumoth the trp administration and to existing right leaning organizations. alcindor: some groups organizing the protests have

ties to president trump's reelection campaign and republican donrs like education secretary betsy devos. there has also been support from national groups like freedomworks, which w involved in the beginnings of the tea party movement. the group'president says it is not organizing the protests, but it is helping organizers by ing websites ad doing social media outreach. b adndon. >> this is what they came up with.and all we can do is assis. there is no grand plan that we're sitting around with the map saying we need to have an event here or there. >> alcindor: in an associated wednesday, only released spread of coronavirus go too far. a majority of republicans also broay support the restrictions.

republicans are about four times as likely as democrats to say the measures go too far-- 22% compared to 5%. meanwhil protesters continue to gather as the virus outbreak stretches on. another demonstration is planned in wisconsinayrid. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> woodruff: in georgia, the governor says thetate will allow some businesseso reopen beginning tomorberow-- a week re his stay-at-home order expires. it's a dision president trump said yesterday he opposes. so far, georgia has seen more than 20,000 cases and 800 deaths from covid 19. we'll get two views on how local communities are preparing to reopen. first from scott james matheson. he is the mayor of valdosta in southern georgia. yo us. first of all, did the governo

consult with you? were you surprised when you learned there was going to be this partial reopening this week is this. >> so the constant contact along the way, but, no, i was caught by surprised that it went a week early. we were under the state-wide order for sheltert hom through the 30th, 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 greops, hair salons, barber shops and then places where peopleo to eat, restaurants, starting next week, >> yep, i think woing to go to restaurants and theaters starting on monday,w but tomor we're on the eve of starting our town again,er and we'll adapt. if he says that's the way to go, then he's been etty spot-on most of the way, so we'll adapt. >> woodruff: i'sure you know, mayor matheson, that

health experts are quite mixed and divided on this question. many of them sayuntil we know more about who's been exposed t' covid 19, that risky to do this. how are you thinking about making your own disions on this? >> well, when he releases us, once weet 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 our time here. when we come out from under it, 'll move as a community together. lowndes county has done well, 132 cases, only 4 fatalities, s a population of 120,000 city and county, 0.08%, i've calculated it. so we'll move on the fact we have been doing pretty good from the very beginning. >> woodruff: did it give you pause when you heard president trump say he disagreed

wi governor kemp's decision? >> yeah, what do you do when the top dog and the top dog in the state are in disagreement? it puts it back into your lap and again i thin the county commissioner chairman and myself have movedesponsibly the entire way and will continue to do so. i think our town has moved responsibly. we'll go with tt. we have the hot spot in dougherty county, georgia, so we have to keep anye on the communities aroundus as well. >> woodruff: what kind of steps are you taking in valdosta as your, again, beautys, sal barber shops, bowling alice open and restaurants and movies nt week. what kinds of things will be different is this. >> we'll continue to meet with our health experts, our department of health has done a very good job in the state. our major medical center and sage medal center we meet with them twice daily, believe it or not, and that keeps us up to in the down, we're just going to

that people a not going toalize rush back. shelter at home orders still till the 30th. they're going to get a chance to fight for their business and lives. their business is not going to come back anytime soon, so i wishem the best of luck. >> woodruff: are the medical experts you're talking to, the people y trust in the healthcare community, are theynt in agreehat this is the right thing? >> i don't think so. i think they still approach it with lots of words of caution, as a matter of fact. we're going to move forward with balance. we're leaning toward their advice first and foremost but we have to know the business community -- sit down at the table as well. >> woodruf mayor scott georgia.of valdosta, thank you for talking with us. we wish you the very best.

>> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: now a >> woodruff: now a different perspective on georgia's planned vireopening: mayor hardie of augusta. mayor davis, thank you for talking with us. what was your reaction when you learned from governor kemp that things will start toin reope the state tomorrow? >> i was surprised, quity,e frans many of my colleagues were across the state of georgia, again,s the mayor of georgia's second largest njcity, someone whoed a strong relationship with governor kemp, i think that when we looked the fact that a week pryer he extended the shelter in place order ti t 30th o april, and the pandemic definition of emergency until the 13th of may, it was, quite frankly, shocking that we would move to that place as w quickly were in light of the fac that we still, in georgia, cannott conduc sufficient enough testing across the state, let alone in aug're t trin sufficient numbers.

then the issues given the fact there's no current vaccine id/ therapies for this, think that we're going to move unto a placr the assumption that we've already reached the peak in georgia, iet alon any of these communities that we find ourselves in. >> woodruff: well, given that, are you going to comply with to happen?overnor says is ing i notice he said there's not -- he said local action can't be taken that's more or less restrictive than what he's saying. think all of us across the state will comply with the augusta, we're going to take a deliberative approach in terms of how we complyith that, particularly in terms of 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 gy basiums that are going t opening up, we're working hard

to maketure we're comnicating what the governor's order clearly states and expects of we've also told folks they should be waiting on guidance from the governor's office so they can be v clear about what the requirements and expectations are. the reality of it, as we move forward, is that this will become the norm. i dot even want to use the term "new norm,"ut of social distancing, the requiremonents around sanitiza in places of business, whether staurants on gymnasiums, we're going to do things differently in terms of how duwe c business and as it relates to the people. >> woodruff: heght. yes,re's always the question of personal responsibility, but none of us expected, planned or anticipated covid 19 being the issue of the day. >> woodruff: just quickly, 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 em since monday,

and you've got mixed responses orom people. you've got some say, mayor, we're going to continue to follow your read and not open yet, we don't believe we've met the peak. then you have some who are doing soft openings who are focused around keeping the buildingscl ned, going in and doing a deep cleaning and sanitization. beyond that it's a fairly mixed response particularly because people are aaid,they're concerned about the fact that, one, you could be working with someone who was asymptomatic and carrying the virus, and the infected as well.lleagues are they're proceeding with an -- an abundance of caution. >> wdruff: whatadvice are you getting from the medical community? concer, too, share the around the the fact we haven't reached our peak yet.e they've also identified by the governor as the lead agency for testing for the state of

georgia, and, so, they're asproceeding with cautio well, and that's the guidance th're giving us here in augusta along with my other hospitals. we've got a fairly strongc healre community here, so i think we have those resources available to us, but it's just the ns around testing, who has the virus, and who doesn't. >> woodruff: mayor hardie davis of augusta, georgia, thank you very much, and we wish you the very best with all you're doing. >> thank you much, judy. >> woodruff: it's becoming apparent it will take a great deal of time for a full economic recovery and for unemployment rates o drop back to where they were. a new survey by the pew research center f os. alts outh 43% or someone ndin their household has lost a job or taken a cut in pay due to covid- 19. paul solman looks at the long

and daunting road ahead, part of his relar reporting on economic matters, "making sense." >> i was laid off on march 19.s. >> just gonna get laid off and stay at home all day for weeks on end. >> reporter: tens of millions of americans out of work, many lining up for benefits in their cars. and the official numbers may be low, given lags in counting, and paying. ent planner brandy jackson filed last month. >> i am hapatpy to say yesterday my unemployment benefits did hit from the past three weeks. >> reporter: jackson is relying on assistance for the first time. >> more than anything, its very diffic to be able to swallow your pride and look at other resources that are available that, to be honest with you, i've just ner had to do that fore. >> reporter: resources such as? >> just oufood res is the main thing. i never thought that i would ever go into that category.

i was the persothat always had the, the answers, always figured things out. but now having to be the person that has to stand in that line. >> reporter: the key question fojackson and so many others laid off from bars and restaurants, will those jobs come ba? adrian trujillo is a bartender. >> it's like this double edge sword where ithu like we need n contact, but at the particular moment, human contact could kill you. >> reporter: and so businesses remain closed. >> i think a lot of rest mrants and baht not make it through this. less restaurants and bars, less jobs and you know we've got 22 million people fighting over, you kno, lf the jobs that were there when they left. s reporter: travel agent steven tamasy thie business travel cngoma will be erm. >> i don't know if there's going to be a business to come back to the way it used tbe. you've got skype, you've got zoom. businessnl travel isgoing to be to seal the deal and all the

preliminary ventures or trips >> reporter: what do you envision the job market being like, say, two years from now when you would presumably have to look foea job? >> the are college graduates that are coming out right now. they're younger. their skills are more up to date than mine. retail is dying, so you cact reallyount on that. the hospitality industry, which is usually where travel agents seem to land after they leave a job, is also hurting. so i don't know. reporter: and look, fewer service sector jobs will only exacerbate the decades-long increase in inequality says janitor marvin madriz. >> reporo ter:u think it's going to get worse now after this virus? >> of course, of course, the rich get rher and the poor get poorer, you know. >> we're gonna have greater inequality.ep >>ter: for all lower-wage workers, says economist darrick hamilton. >> we're gonna have greater overall inequality and greater

racial disparity as well. i think 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 seatems very likely lower income people, less educated people and mig rities are go get especially hard hit. >> reporther: those ar people labor economist francine blau worries moshaabout. >> the less of a cushion, so they're harder hit during the they're disproportionately represented among the unemployed as far as we can tell. in addition, they're disproportionately represented among frontline workers who are facing the greatest hazards of contracting the illness. so they'll be coming out of this period in pelyes >> rorter: even now amid the pandemic janitors like marvin madriz are undervalued.

>> it iseally nice that we recognize all our doctors. it's really nice that we recognize all the nurses, all the people are involved in that everybody that is working on the frontline. but we don't hear and say, what about the janitors? who cleans all that mess, you know? everywhere who goes sanitize the placeshereeople are, you know, in the hospitals or clinics or buildings that people are still working on it. >> reporter: but the federal government is spending $3io trilln or more, much of it on workers earning less than $75,000 a a yearlicy sea change that should lower inequality, says economist hamilton. >> we are now seeing that government can actually make a differenesce in people's liv when government applies themselvesith literally providing income support, literally expanding unemployme 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 trujillo agrees. >> the seeds of change a there, whether it's a

revolution, whether it's some sort of huge policy change. i don't think there's any way go bacto normal, whatever that really is. >> reporter: brandy jason? >> do ithink there's going to be major change? i certainly hope so. but i think i give it a maybe a five out of 10. >> reporter: but travel agent taasy makes the odds a lot lower. >> but i am pessimistic about that, i would really love to see it happen, but it seems that in america we just don't learn from our mistakes. >> reporter: longtime republican economist douglas holtz-eakin is pessimistic too, because of the spending we've already done. >> we've got an enormous bill to pa 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 expanded universal basic income or medicare for all unless some other things go away. and we've never shown as a nat mion great appetite fing other entitlements go away. so i'm not sure that's going to happen. >> reporterhe's not sure and of course, as the economy remains largely shut down,

neither are we. thians is paul so >> woodruff: today european answer the same questions confronting the u.s.: when to reo and how difficult will the road ahead be? here'nick schifrin. >> schifrin: today, european union leaders agreed to create a massive recovery fund to try and rebmiuild eco devastated by covid-19. and individual countries are in germany, some schools started up. in denmark, hairdressers reped. and in slovakia, you can go to flower shops, and bookstores, but there aren't many customers. but much of the e.u. remains closed. a confronts a fundamental challenge as each country reopen, and how best to keep its citizens safe. to talk about that i'm joined by the european union's ambassador

to washington, stavros lambrinidis. ambassador, thank you very much. welcome to the "nehour". washington, d.c. and individual states in the u.s. are confronting the same challenge. how do you coordinate from brussels when countries open >>? ell, it's going to be a tough decision. we face the same challenges you do here in some ways. you relax the measures too soon, you risk a new wave of infections. you take too long, you risk jobs and you risk the recovery. so what we did in brussels, we put g outdance to all our 27-member stes indicating the steps that ought to be take ton make this opening as coordinated as possible. not surprising to hear the number of things we have in place is, first of all, to ensure that there is a significant slowing of the spread, secondly that the hospital capacitiesre adequate, thirdly that there's

enough testing and enough contact tracing to ensure that, if this were to break out again, it could be very easily and quickly contained. >> reporter: this is a major challenge for yound the rest of the world, but really a fourth challenge for the e.u. in the last dozen years. we had the finanal crisis that led to the eurozone crisis, the crisis of migration, brexit and now covid 19, of course. are the ties that keephe e.u. together beginning to fray? >> no, i would say on the contrary. we have been through a number of crises to know it is only when we are united as european states that we can overcome them. it hit different member states at different rates, and we all cla dmped down and tried tol wit individually, 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. proving members supporting the states and whatever they're doing to protect lives. an example is we have collectively as european countries procured t p.p.e equipment that is required. we have also invested in vaccinand treatments at the european level. ve economicwe support to the e.u. that has been unseen up to now. more tha3.4 trillion euros, which is even me than that in dollars, has already been committed to fight the immediate effects to have the crisis to support workers, to save lives and, as you said, we just decided to invest massively in the new marshall plan, you can tall it, after the crisis. >> reporter: so the coordinated response you describe now andoday, the e.u. was criticized early on for being behind the curve for not having to coordinated response,

already skeptical of the e.u.ce percentage points.u. dropped 2 so how do you deal with the challenge of europeans, especially in the south,g questione very notion of the e.u. at the same time you might have to deal with, for example, a bail out in testament u. in the future. >> you have to speak to people's hearts, not just their minds, and we're doing this. opthe en president came out openly and apologized to italyd ain, in particular, for the e.u. being at the beginnin, still in these collectives. respon but what you ao need to do is what we've done since which is to have that collective response. it will say now in italy that there are other european member states that have given million of masks, protective equipment and everything else italy needs. doctors are coming into it from other countries. you see a collecve solidarity,

european solidarity now in full swing, and, you know, maybe you can accuse europe of being sometimes slow off the bat, but you cannot, at this stage, accuse it of being anything other than a solidarity super power supporting a number of states a also trying to support other countries around the world. >> reporter: and h did th 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, create a global response in an era of america first? >> i think we have a responsibility towards not just ou citizens but also citizens around the world as we are ming collectively now to containment of this to support them as well. the european union has pout putt together a package of 20 billion euro to support other countries. the u.s. is doing similar things. we are funding the worldza healh

orgaon that is at the front lines of many poor cotries around the world who don't have the health capacity to deal with t health crisis supporting them. so solidariy is not charity. the fact is that it is in our this virus has shown it's a world virus, so we have to be very consistent, americans and europeans together, to show that solidarity does not stop at our borders and that we're outhere supporting the world, including with transparency, no strings attached, making sure that growth can come, thator l rights can be respected, that the environment will not be destroye all these things are not little things, that the challenges of the future and we can be there together, 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 dithe ce isn't there? we look to the arts for entertainment, comfort, pleasure, but they are also an icimportant econngine. now, many face a crisis. jeffrey brown onports for our going "american creators" series on rural arts and canvas. >> brown: across the nation, the financial and psychological hit is pfound, as the performanc everywhere have stopped. new york's metropolitan opera, the country's largest cultural institution, cancelled the rest of its season and furloughed its orchestra, chorus and other union workers, citing losses of up to $60 million. a prominent regional troup the oregon shakespre theater, has suspended shows through labor employees.idff 80% of its 500

most individual artists, like people we've talked to this week, are freelance workers, building careers through a patchwork of performances, shows, teaching, waiting tables, whatever it takes. boston-based vlinist 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 protection but the fact that we have a diverse portfolio, you might say, of work options means that like, if something goes wrong in one group, you're insuted because you have so many other enseles in which you work. so we may have a rain nday fund, bue of us has had, like a monsoon fund or a tsunami fund for a moment like this when everything has ceased. >> brown: now there's just remote teaching, including and like gig workers across the economy, winterstein is learning the complexities of the the cares act has offered some relief, but, she says, it's a continuing struggle for many. >> the system is not equipped really to understand our kind of come. almost everyone i know has gotten different answers from

this stem. n> brown: across the country portland, oregon, the august wilson red door project uses theater to address pressing social issues like the cminal justice system. last year the newshour profile"" evolve," its play featuring voices from law enforcement and the local community. in march, the company was set to take the show on tour. ar 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. and have to, you know, we took ite a hit. we lt abou$300,000 of income. we paid out about $80,000 in salaries to actors and crew. >> brown: now, project team members meet on zoom. but 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 victims are black or people of color. and what does that really meou? is it race? is it about culture? is it about class? i rtink all of these things, is built for. >> brown: for arts groups everywhere now, the outreach is all in the digital, not physical ace. to stay connected, many are making archival performances the metropolitan opera offers free daily encore presentations. some groups offer classes and other activities. livestream performancer also offer otys to raise a bit of money. released the record and so we had like a small tour planned. we were gonna head out to different midwest states. i think it was supposed to be our first time going to nebraska, actually. brown: instead, 26 year old conor lee, based in moorehead, minnesota, performed virtually

at a livewire concert. 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 evything has dried up. >> that's definitely going to cover rent and, you know, just trying to maintain. >> brown: that fund was set up by "springboard for the arts," a minnesota group that supports smaller urban and rural arts groups and their communities-- difficult even in the st of times, says executive director laura zabel. >> yeah it's fragile all the time. i tt hink we're s having this collective awakening in this moment of just how fragi that ecosystem is and just how fragile so many artists' livelihoods are d how the rug can be pulled out. >> brown: last year we joined zabel and representatives of rural arts groups from around e country at a conferenc now, the urgent challenge is survival.

>> it's anxistential crisis for artists, for arts and culture organizations, for our whole sectwe're hearing numbersh and lional ocally that between 60 and 70% of our creative workforce is unemployed right now. and i think it's not just about place where a lot of people's survival and ability to be housed, to feed their family, you know, we're at that level of crisis economically, for sure, >> brown: other relief efforts are underway as well. there are grass-roots, newly- formed projects such as the tist relief tree. it's given out more $200,000 to some 900 individual artists. the moneraised through nations and an online benefit concert that featured prominent artists including j'nai bridges eland raarton pine. and bigger, more established efforts like "broadway cares/ aiequity fight," now turned pito helng entertainment professionals wi covid-19 related eds.

a coalition of major foundations fand arders put together a $10 million relief package to provide unrestricted $5000 cogrants to artists ananies. what are they all seeking to preserve? thdartists we talked with s it goes beyond their individual plights. >> our job is to gather people meaning.nect and to add and i hope that when we come back out of our houses, we are hungry for that again. >> brown: theater dictor kevin jones in portland. >> for me it defines the culture in so many ways. it defines who we 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: gns of solidarity are keeping pace with the spread of the virus.

ngit started with g from open windows in italy. now cheers for essential workers are heard around t world, from madrid, to canada, to new york. the latest trend, howling, is echoing through neighborhoods across oua country. monts' breanna mccabe lets us listen in on what has become a nightly ritual in missoula. (howling >> ah, gives you chills. >> reporter: health care worker sh an paul is in the middle two-week quarantine after returning from an out-of-state work trip. it's not uommon to hear howling in this dog-loving neighborhood, so the first night heeard it he was about to dismiss it. ayt something about it the it sounded, drew him outside. >> i poked my head out and o of our neighbors was out there leading the charge, so i obviously came out and supported >> reporter:y the next night, more neighbors heard about the 8:00 o'clock howl through social media or sidewalk messages

for health care woandows support first responders. and neighbors, like the lewis family, started to add to the chorus. co>> it feel, 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: carrie lewis works in the intensive care unit at hothe locaital. she's one of three nurses on this block. >> i've heard that it's to support health care workers and thi'd like tk 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. dog some tough stuff but housekeeping, security, laundry, scary now. cafeteria, dietary. eoi hopee know that it's everyone that their howling for. (howling) back porch but last night was the first time we came to our front porch and we could see all

our neighblis howling. (h) whoever thought being isolated closer.ring us all a little ling) >> it's more and more every night. >> reporter: for montana pbs, i'm breanna mccabe. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. join us online and again here for all of us at the pbs newshour, thank you, please stay safe and see you soon. newshour has been provided by: >> the ford foundation.

working with visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide. >> and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. >> and with the ongoing support and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs thank you.wers like you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> you never know where

you're going to find me. today, it's the california wine country, and i'm visiting dry creek valley in sonoma and harvesting one of my favoritengredients from a tree that's more than a century old. just look at this goeous fruit. today's show is all wine country style, with figs. in my kitchen,pi we'll maked panforte bursting with dried figs. we'll visit a winery garden with friends and me a salad with foraged greens, dried figs, and marcona almondse we'll alsoe a beautiful board with local cheeses,ed prosciutto-wraigs, vermouth figs, and a fresh fig spread -- perfect for entertaining. mmm! yum! so good.