captioning sponsored b newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'mdr judy wf. on the newshour tonight, another esim milestone. the u.s. surpa0,000 deaths from covid-1 as gebegins to re-open despite warnings from public health officials. then, to the sprawling navajo nation, ere health is already precarious, and residents can't wait any longer for the u.s. government to help. >> it's tan too long. here in indian country, we're e ways, it seems to me we're always at thbottom of the list when it comes to federal resources. >> woodruff: and it's friday. mark shields and david brooks analyze the latest political response and president trump's dangerous advice. all that and more on tonight's

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a is closi out another week, as parts of the country try to reopen. that process began on a dawhen pe u.s. death toll d 50,000, and whsident trump john yang has our report on the developments of this day. doing?d morning, how's everyone >> yang: in georgia day, businesses opened their doorsme for the first n more than a month. governor brian kemp lifted restrictions on such non- essential operations as bowling alleys and hr salons. geile many small business owners raby the pandemic's economic hit welcomed the move, others were still on edge. >> nervous, anxiety, all that too. but you know, we all want to come back to work. >> yang: with infections and not yet met white houseorgia has benchmarks for beginning to re- open. despite that, the associated press reported tod that president trump had originally told kemp he supported the move. later, though, mr. trump told reporters he was unhappy with the decision, and on twitter

today, he said businesses shou"" take a little slower path" to reopen. r an interview with cleveland's wtio today, vice president mike pence was optimistic about how much longer the virus would grip the nation. >> i think honestly if you look at the trends today, i think by memorial day weekend we will largely have ts coronavirus idemic behind us. >> yang: georgia ihaone of only ful of states poised to in madison, wiscon dozenof protesrs demanded that their governor do the same. michigan governor gretchen whitmer, facing thsasame pressure today she would beginning easing restrictions. ew executive order will now allow some workers to perform lower risk activities j go back on t. we will consider this the preliminary stage economic

re-engagement. >> yang: but, she extended her stay-at-home order, seto expire at the end of the month, through may 15. meanwhile, the makers of lysol and other disinfectants warned people against improper use of their products. it comes after president trump seemed to suggest that researchers look into using disinfectants and ultraviolet light inside the bod those infected with the virus. house speaker nancy pelosi criticized him today for rejecting science. >> clearly and sadly, this ident is not listening t medical experts and i don't know which ones he is listening to if any. america should ignore the liest and start listening to science and other respected professionals. >> yang: and after signing the latest economic rescue package dnto law, the president said he mean it. y i was asking sarcastically, in a vrcastic question to

the reporterhe room about disinfectants on the inside. and it would kill the hands and that would make things much better. aat was done in the form sarcastic question to reporters. >> yang: overseas, as uee virus contto spread, medical workers struggle to secure scarce medical equipment. that includes countries in africa, which this week saw infections surge by more than an%. ile, muslims across the world began ramadan under strict avckdowns. g many to observe the holy month from home, resigned to put off the evening prayers and get- togethers that normally mark the period of fasting,eflection and community.for the pbs newshn yang. e woodruff: as john reported, the whuse today spent some time addressing concerns about the president's seeming conflict with his medical advisors. as yamiche alcindor reports now, its not the first time the medical experts dit appear of

to be on the same page. >> alcindor: yesterday, president trump raised eyebrows when he said this: >> i see the disinfectant that knocks it ouin a minute, one minute. and is there a way we can do mething like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? because you see it gets inside the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that >> alcindor: today the white house says he was joking. ict president trump has repeatedly contrd health officials during the coronavirus ndemic. just a day earlier, the president pushed back on a story in the "washingtcl post" that ed a warning from the director of the centers for disease control. robert redeld said a second wave of the coronavirus in the fall could be even more difficult to hane. >> he was totally misquoted in the media on a statement about the fall season and the virus. >> i'm accurately quoted in the "whington post" as" difficult." >> alcindor: and for weeks,

president ump has repeatedly pushed for wider use of drugs used to fight malaria. though, those drugs have not been fully tested in the effectiveness against covid-19. >> what do you have to lose? they say, 'take it.' i'm not looking at it one way or e other, but we want to get out of this. if it does work, it would be a shame if we didn't do it early. >> alcindor: despite president trump's public support, the science behind coronavirus treatment unproven. a national institutes of health study found an increased death rate in covid-19 patients the n.i.h. said there isg. "insufficient clinical data" to recommend using it.ju today, the food and drug administration agreed and said the drug "can canormal heart rhythms." the trump administration also rtced questions after a leading vaccine exas removed from his job at the department of health and human services. dr. rick bright plans to file a esistleblower complaint. he alle was fired for pushing back on president

trump's promotion of hydroxychloroquine, saying in a statement: "sidelining me in the middlef this pandemic and placing politics and cronyism ahead of science puts lives at risk." questioned aboutr. bright's claims today, president trump said he doesn't know the man. for the pbs newshour, i'm yamiche alcindor. >> woodruff: amna nawaz has re on these concerns around the president's statements and how public health experts see the risks ahead. >> nawaz: judy, we're going to ask one of the leading vois on infectious disease about all of this. dr. michael osterholm is the director of the center for infectious disease research and policy at the university of minnesota. he joins us now. welcome back to the "newshour". >> thank you very much >> reporter: i want to begin by asking you something the president said yesterday that's gotty a lot of reaction tod. io floated the idea of using ultrt lights and disinfectants to possibly combat covid 19. he said day he was being sarcastic, but what did you

think when you first heard the remarks? >> well, i stopped listening to the daily briefings. i thini'm o of many in our business that has. i only heard it secondhand, but my ten yrl grandson wondred what that was all about. about that?: what do you mean >> i think it was obvious these are not realistic or potentially safe approaches, and, so, in understanding the comments, one had to just take them for the non-scientific basis upon which they were stated. >> reporter: can i ask you, though, cause it's not the first time that the president has made statements that either arci't backed up bynce or contradict science, and they do have some effect. m the officeay f of the maryland governor where calls from peopling to the0 state emergency hotline and asking if they could use disinfectant or either ingest it or inject it to combat the virus.

do you worry about the effect of that kind of continued messaging coming from the white house? >> first of all, there are two aspects of this issue about messaging. number one is, iyen fact, we don't want to do harm and throwing o a coment without ts.ing vetted them with exper but i think equally challenge, going forward, is we are in for really rough days coming yet, and that's where credibility ane ership will be important. you have to trust the individual who is telling you how bad things are, how bad they will get, and where is the credibility coming fro we are going to need f.d.rfilike side chats through the course of the next year, 16, 18 months, and these kind of events don't instill any kind of happen.ce those will >> reporter: dr. osterholm, as you said when its to theuture, virus, we're in the second

inning of a nine-inning game. when you look at some of the second and third waves, what is it americans should prepare for ead? >> at this point, we don't know how it will play out, and what i mean by that is that we are going to find a virus ming forward to infect 60 to 70% of it. that's how much infection will have to occur in a population before it will start to shut down that transmission. i just remind everyone that if you lookack on the influenza virus model of the pandemic flu, what we saw were waves. the last infludenza pmic d rough the past 250 years, they emero in the winter, two in the spring, two in the summer and three in the fall. about six months after the initial wave hit, we msaw ah

larger peak, a bigger wave, that hit. and i thinhere we don't know if that's going to do this. it's acting like the flu virus, and people have to aware of this and understand that whatever we're going to do to try to contro it over the upcoming month is not going to be easy and it may take multiple different efforts to do tha, but it's not over with by a long shot. more americans youk willany become sick, do you think it's too early for states to be talkineabout reopning? >> i don't think at this point that whether we open up now or g not ing to dictate what happens. i think we're going to see in some of the states an ticeleration and amplifi of the cases that are occurring now by opening up. but i think, in the end, two months from now, we could see a rdry quiet country, with rega to this virus, and everyone beling, oh, we're fine now, only to coack with a major so i think that's what we have

to be mindful of is that these s starts aps of coming out of lockdown are likely going to be many. >> reporter: you've prevously estimated that the death toll of khe virus could top 800,000. when you l at all the steps that have been taken up untilri t now, do you still believe it could go that high? >> think about it, there's 320 million americans. half of that, 160 million, are very likely to get infected and those are numbers we cancide to change, but that surely is a solid number. of those, about 80%e going to have very mild to moderate illness, not seekimedical care and, in some cases, not the remaining 20%, ability 10% of those, or half, will not need really major medical care, possibly doctors' officesvi ts. the remaining 10% will likely be

hospitalized, and 5% of the total will need intensive care hospitalization, and about 1.5 to 1% of the total willie. you can change the numbers however you like, put them in,re justake you explain how you got what you did. if you look at .5 to 1% of 160 million, that's 800,000 to 1.6 million people. you can see we ha a lot left v go before we're going to see thus end, even with a vaccine coming down the pike. reporter: dr. michael osterholm of the center for infectious disease res arch and polithe university of minnota. thanks for being with us. >> thank you very much. dr >> wf: in the day's other news, the congressional budget gefice warned of a tidal wave of red ink trd by the pandemic. it said economic damage and relief bills wilradrive the

fedeficit to $3.7 trillion. despite that news, wall street managed a rally. the dow jones industrial average ed 260 points to close a 23,775. the nasdaq rose 139 points, and, the s&p 0 added 39. the u.s. navy is recommending that brett crozier bre- instated as captain of the aircraft carrier "theodore roosevelt." the newshour has confirmed the recommendation was made today. crozier was fired after he whpealed to evacuate the ship the coronavirus broke out. the man who fired him, acting navy secretary thomas modly, came under heavy criticism and quit. in yemen, a coalition led by reudi arabia today extended a unilateral ceaseor one month. it said the pause will help to contain the covid-19 pandemic. rebels backed by iran have refused to accept a cease-fire, and both sides blame the other

for continued attacks. meanwhile, the taliban has rejected the afghan government's call for a cease-fire during the muslim holy month of ramadan. the militants said there can be no truce until a peace process is fully under way. and, the hubble space telescope today marked its 30th year in hebit. it was lauon a space inuttle, in 1990, and began sending back stuimages. one of the newest shows two vast clouds of space dust and gas 163,000 light years away. still to come on the newshour: on the front lines with an i.c.u. nurse who has seen more death in the past month than many see in their lives. minnesota senar amy klobuchar the latest response to covid- 19. the pandemic's devastating effect on thuniquely vulnerable people of the navajo nation. mark shields and david brooks analyze the end of another historic week.

plus much more. >> woodruff: since this pandemic began, we've been trying to capture the experiences of people working on the frontlines of this epidemic. william brangham spoke today with a young nurse who's been at the very center of this outbreak, and struggli with his own role in it. >> brangm: that's right. 've been hearing a lot of wories from doctors and nurses and administrato are caring for the sickest patients in this epidemic. but honestly, one of the most has been what k.p.endoza wrotear hecently on facebook. a 24 year old i.c.u. nurse in new york city. this is just a sample of what he wrote."pr

i thought i waared to see death. i had seen enough of it within my first year in the. yet in the last two weeks i have seen more peop die than most peop see in their entire lives. now, i am not so sure if death is something i am prepared to see anymore. death is different now. death could pick me. the writer of those words, k.p. mendoza, is with me now. thank you very much for talking with us. >> thank you for having me, william. i appreciate it. >> brangham: just as i said, this dispatch that you felt like just a sudden ortpouring of what had been pent up long time. what was it that prompted you to write this in the first place? >> yeah. it was the end of a particularly difficult week. so it's been about a month and a half since i've only been seeing covid patients in the i.c.u. where i work.

and that week had been difficult cause i had had three patients again at that point. and i was just kind of really tired of not feeling competent enough to take care of three patients because the typical i.c.u. ratio is two patientso one nurse. so having three patients who are really sick just makes youe eel like youver giving enough and giving enough adequate care. i was just like let me write down how i feel. and i don't want to forget how i feel in this moment. and that's kind of what prompted me to wre all that. >> brangham: we've heard a lot, obviously, about the shortages like yourself and for people you've said it's gotten so bad at times for you that you even considered writing aill, which is not something most 24 year olds do. i mean, is it still like that? >> it's funny. i think a part-- like a part of me also is kind of resigning myself to the fact that either i currently have it, i have had it

or will have it. and then there's this innate fear that if i do get tested for it, for the antibodies, say-- that if i test negative. will, that fear resume or will that panic come back? and i think that's what bugs me. so it wavers waivers, because days i go in fearless and some days i come out like a coward. and it just it it's a it a way. it's a strange wavering between confidence and a fear for my life. at was one reason that i felt ite need to write it. anas mostly for that. i didn't have the heart to tell n' parents how i felt. you know, i want to tell them that i think about time. the last thing i want to do is puthem through that. so ultimately, i knew that they were going to see it, but i did have to say that to them over the phone or over face i don't think i could do it. >> brangham: yout lso wrote abur parents, about how you said when you were in college, you felt like you didn't have enough time to call them and check in with them. het now that you in the i.c.u., you start to see faces metaphorically in some of the

people you're carrying for. >>eah, i tnk i tnk if the if they can be called a silver lining, i think one of the few silver linings in this pandemic is that for me a hopefully and i really hope for a lot of people that, we realizhow important it is to reach out to the people we love. and i think that's the one. like i said, beautiful part of teis is that it's going to make people feel conn and that's what i hope for. and it's one that i think we should never forget. and i hope more than anything that it changes things, whether it be for health care or for racial equality or for better access to health, to primary care providers, or just i hope it makes the world better because of how much we suffered. >> brangham: on this if healthcare workers like yourself being celebrated as use. you-- you said many times in your piece that you don't feel like a ro. and you also said, don't mistake my career choice for me wantine tomartyr. i have a future. you wrote that. i want to live out.gr

i want t to be an old man, basically. >> yeah, i'm not gonna lie. you know, we shoul old. to grow we should want to live full long lives and hopefullones that are full of opportunity and happiness. and i've seen so many people, le have said, oh, like a you're a nurse, you should be used to death or be like you should be,ou should be accustomed to putting your life on the line. and i'm like, th isn't that's not health care, you know. and i can only say i sak for myself. but ultimately, i hope other health care workers agree wi this, in that, i signed up to do good work and to come to wk and to help people and i want to wa home. to go home, i want to see a future ahead of myself and want to go back to work the next day. motivated to do good work. >> brangham: as i'm sure you're aware, thehis ongoing debate in the country about the stay at home restrictions too them up?ould wstart to loosen again? we get the economy going

you have a perspective on this pandemic that's unique to almost anyone else in the country. from your perspective, what do you think of that debate? >> i think i think the main aring that bothers me is i just i'm for the people who are going to die who didn't have to die. and i speak on this because as a nurse, i'm still getting, i'm very lucky to have a job. like, i don't want people to think that i'm not aware of oris. i'm verynate because i get to have a job. and i will never say i understand because i don't i don't understand what's life for strugglingamilies who are ving paycheck to paycheck, whose stimulus checks are barely enough to cover three or ff r days worthod and other things that they might need to pride for. but i'm for us opening the economy a way that's safe. if we could bring cameras in and we could show people what's happening. i don't thk people would be as you know, they want to diminish it as a hoax. they wouldn't be so blatantly sweeping it over as nothing more than a flu. and i just wish that i had an

answer, but i can. all i can say is that from my don't want to see rese, i just people die. >> brangham: all right. k.p. mendoza, i.c.u. nurse working in new york city. thank you very, very much for your time and thank you for what you're doing. i appreciate it.aving me. >> woodruff: you can read an open letter mendoza wrote about his experience, and what he hopes we keep in mind when thi is all over on our webte, pbs.org/newshour. >> woodruff: republicans and democratin congress continto ebate whether or not the iaderal government should finay help struggling state and local governments who have seen their budgets balloon ring this pandemic. earlier today i spoke with democratic senator amy klobuchar of minnesota about congress's

role in all of this. amy klobuchar, thank you so much for joining h. yoe state of minnesota, took a look at it, compared toig oring wisconsin, you've got about the samepolation, but minnesota has only about half the number of covid 19 cases. how do you explain that? >> well, i think it's a combination of things. our governor and our elected officials have tried as much to speak as one voice, anwe have rnen very clear about the go has about people staying at home. we've also looked at things like hunting and fishing and keeping that open, as well as some of our home repairs, things like that. think that has helped in trying to figure out,nd no o is going to figure out the right formula, no one's seen anything like this before, but we're trying to do our best. the othething we've done

recently as i've worked hard to get mo's theorem test approved in washington, and now we've reachean agreement, the governor has, with mayo and university of minnesota, so the plan is to test up to 2,000 a day, which for a state of our size is pretty signie ficant. and e thing i would add, though, judy, is what we've seen in our state, li you've seen all over the country in georgia ped other places, the highest capita is metimes rural areas, not the highest gross esnumber of cut the highest per capita, and i am really concernethat we're not prepared for rural america. of course, we have more seniors, ventilators and the like and, so, we really start have to focusing on that. >> woodruff: that's a story that needs to be told. senator klobuchar, now th congress has moved on, passed the fourth package of aid for small businesses, for people who

are out of work, questions have been raised about money tha went to people, organizations, businesses that it shouldn't vw how do you k the next go round that it's not going to ppen again? >> a lot of this will be enforcement and oversight. i actually justrought a bunch of senators together on a letter of unjust enrichment to figure out what's happening here tbecause there's no dohen this kind of money is going out, you have to have heavy duty oversight and enforcement. sign one was when the president fired the inspectore gneral who had vast experience both in the department of defense and the justice department for major oversight of the money going out. >> woodruff: withthe debate beginning for the next round, we know democrats are pushi for billions for state and local governments. the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is saying he wants to put the brakes on that. a report today from the congressionaffcongressional bude

ioficit this year, $3.7 tri how do you make the case, enator mcconnell talk about haviates declare bankruptcy, how do you make the state and local government?o >> well, let's start back. the first thing i could have done before we had thi pandemic is not pass that republican tax bill. i know that seems like old news, att that was a trillion dollars and demovoted uniformly against that bill. so there are inequities in oursy em that after this pandemic le must prepare that would help us grewith this deficit. the segment second thing, right now, we are in a national emergency, and the state and local governments need help. a lot of them hav limited budgets. they're not able to basically put more money out like the federal government, and that's why t're focused s. the third thing is, just now, we were the ones that had to push for the testing money,

$25 billion. and if the president had prepared for this earlier and gottenhe testing out, we would have been in better shape with our economy. >> reporter: one other thing -- two other things i want to ask you about ver quickly, senator, one is the bush by you and other democrats for money in the states andnd mail-in early voting. senator maconnellrity leader is saying this can't happen, you can't do it. g het the control in the senate with the majority. >> i'm sure that is a negotiating tactic but maybe he should talk to the people in wisconsin who lstood ine in ilrbage bag and homemade masks the president of the united states was able to vote from the comfort of his home by sending in a mail-in ballot fro florida. democrs and republicans want toee more mail-in ballots. governors in new hampshire, ohio, other states have called

for going to all mail-in ballots. we have to have the polls open for 20 days. we were able to ge over $400 million in the first bill and need to do more. ihat's why senator widen and are leading the effort for the bill to make sure we've got reforms inlace as well as more funding. this is not a democratic issue. it is a united states of america issue. >> woodruff: speaking of the elections, vice president biden said he will choose woman as his running mate. when both senator elizabeth warren and the formergi geor lieutenant governor stacey they said they wefinitelyhis intereed. you said it's a hypothetical, goiit is a decision he's to be making. why not just come out and say one way tore the other whether ecu're interested? >>se i am focused right now on the people of this country and my state in this pandemic, ed i doeve it's a hypothetical, because he's going to be making his o decisi about who to ask, and

no one knows better than joe biden. a he was great vice president with president obama. he was areat vicepresident when it came to -- >> woodruff: but it's clear that you're on the short list. >> -- accountability. well, we take each step at a time and, right now, i doing my job and i'm helping joe biden inross the country. i that's very important, and i'm glad he's been getting ouethere and people are sng him on tv and the like because people have to understand that there is an alternative to a president of the united states that just yesterday gets on tv to the nation keand a joke, now we find out it is, about that you can drink disinanfe or bleach, and that's going to help you. so i jushink we need a leader, and that is what i am focused on, helping joe biden aat's going to be able to bring confiden empathy to the white house, and we don't have

that right now. >> woodruff: senator amy klobuchar of minnesota. thank you so much for joining us. >> all right, thank you, judy. w druff: coronavirus infections and deaths are ripping through the navajo nation. located on three different states, with an already- vulnerable population, ioordinating care and informis not easy. as newshour's stephanie sy reports the community has taken on the challenge of caring for their own people. >> reporter: in navajo country, cod 19 found its grip at a religious revival event in early-march, in the upper western reaches of the reservation. >> we have clan families that come all over the navajo nation to participate in these events. and boy, it justook off like wildfire after that. >> reporter: after the so-called superspreader event in jonathan nez put increasingly

strict orders for social distancing in weace, including end curfews. >> i haven't been le to hug my grandmother. st wait by the door, drop off all thf, i just wave at her, that's it." >> reporter: at least 52 people who live on navajoation have died from vid 19, including one of 18-year old welder n evor tacheene's relatives. >> one persoon the other side of my family has got it and has edssed. i'm very concern about it because i have family membersnd that are youngre susceptible to it. and it's scaring my mother and my father every time we go out. es>> reporter: getting thege out abousocial distancing on the reservation was initially difficult. nez broadcasts updates daily on facebook, but many households tick quality internet access. it's also not prl for many on the reservation to follow stay at home orders. sprawling across three states

with a population of more than 173,000, wide swaths of the navajo nation are energy, food, and healthcare deserts. and actual desert, with limited water. >> we tell them to wash their hands, but 30% of ths on navajo nation don't have running water. >> you know, we're a vulnerable ipulation. >> reporter: ofive native americans has diabetes and there's a high prevalence of obesity, both underlying conditions that can make covid 19 particularly dangerous. even the younger people on navajo nation havetcorse health es. >> we are seeing some patients that are not over 60 that are coming in with severe covid illness because they almost all have comorbid conditions. >> reporter: dr. diana hu has w beking at the tuba city regional health care center for more than 30 years.ri the pediward, where she normally works, has been turned much of the hospitnceic as has

covid 19 struck. >> it was actual almost like a tsunami when this first started in the middle of march where we had, younow,ine or 10 people getting sick and a day that had to be flown out for tertiary care we get maybe one or two a day, and it's real obvious when they're sick, unfortunately. r orter: many native american hospitals are not equipped for multiple severe ventilator cases. for now, patients are aiifted to facilities in phoenix and flagstaff. but dr. hu and her cleagues are bracing for an overwhelming surge. love to have them. nurses, we'd >> reporter: this week, the university of california san francisco sent 14 nurses and seven physicians to nava thtion to help. most pressing shortage has been personnel. and this thing has not peaked on the navajo nation. >> we're not sure. if you look at our statistics, which are per capita, it's outrageous. the biggest issue i think that we have with the federal government structure is that the ordination is pitting ti

places like us against states, against other hospitals. and the coordination is being left up to the states, which is very difficult when you have something like the navajo nation. reporter: navajo nation has one of the highest rates in the country of covid 19 on a per cata basis, behind only ne york and new jersey. in arizona, about 20% of deaths from covid 19 have been native americans, when they make up only 5% of the state's population. the cares act granted $8 billion to stabilize tribal communities, but the more than 500 sovereign tribes had collectively asked for closer to $20 billion.na thjo have been the worst affected but other tribes are facing the same threat. in new mexico, multiple native pueblo communities are seeing infection rates of coronavirus higher than big cities. and the red lake community in minnesota declared medical martial law several weeks ago, containing their spread to one person. back on navajo lands in arizona,

president nez described the frustrating press of accessing federal funds. >> it's taken too long. here in indian country, it seems to me we're always at the botto of the len it comes to federal resources. >> reporter: the hs lth disparitid bare by covid 19 have reverberated across thet navajon since the time of european colonization. in 2009, the h1n1 flu was four times as deadly in native s as it was in the gener population. ring the spanish flu pandemic of 1918, a similar story.>> e can't change history. we should just hopefully learn from it. >> reporter: in recent day vital resources have been delivered. k rapid tests that president nez says can give results in less than an hour. the arizona national guard has brought in splies, initially om its own stockpile of masks and other protective gear. anpeople are stepping up t fill the needs of their

neighbors, sewing masks for frontline workers. >> i delivered some to kayentahe th center and they've been >> we definitely see the need to make food and supplies like toilet paper and soap available during this time. >> we came across the an elderly who lives alone and he has no food so we are giving him-- we packed extra so that we are able give in case we run into this type of situation. >> reporter: and navajo coming gether in shared struggle. >> we're encouraging our elders to share their stories, maybe stories of fort sumter in the long war. the stories of our culture, oura tradition annguage so that our young people don't remember this time as a scary moment. this is in a way, what we've been praying for. to reunite families, to reunite couples, to hand down ourr

language, lture tradition to the next generation. >> reporter: it may be an optimisticay of looking at abu pandemicit's the stories the navajo tell that have helped them endure. r the pbs newshour, i'm stephanie sy in phoe >> woodruff:ow we turn to the analysis of shields and brooks. that's syndicated columnist mark shields and "new york times" columnist david brks. so all three of us are at our homes. it's great to see both you, mark, and you, david, staying safe. let's start with president trump's decision to turn over to the governors thewh decision abouther and when to open up. mark, we've seen the state of georgia, other states moving quickly to reverse the

stay-at-home orders. there are questions being raised about whether it's too early. the president himself at point backing down on his support for. this how do you read all this? >> y have to watch it closely, judy. i mean, just last weekend, the president was in bold type tweeting out liberate minnesota, liberate michigan, liberate virginia, to put pressure on democratic governors there to lift t bans and lift the quarantine. so kemp, the governor of georgia,ho is the last in the country to impose stay-at-home rules, wants to be the first to lift them and thought he hada green light from the president, i guess, but the president doesn't forget the f,t that while he is a loyal supporter of mronkemp's, it's an off an thing because kemp, if you'll

recall, justt a petty political point, instead of appointing johnny icicsson's vacancy in the united states senate, doug collins, the congressmafrom georgia who has been so close to the president,t he app kelly loeffler, and donald trump was told, according to reports from cnn by antony fauci, dr. anthony fauci thatule not support and would not defend the lifting of the quarantine in georgia, so he backed off.to it appeare a cynical, political ploy with the that improves the economy, theg president gets credit, for any increase in the pandemic, ine incidents of dase and death, that ha has been the decision o vernor. >> woodruff: so, david, i mean, the president, by doing this, is passing on responsibility to the governors,

for better or wors >> yeah, and i'm happabout it. i don't want life or death decisions made by a guy who thinks this can be solved by andrinking disinfe so we're getting it into safer upand better hands. there's a division of powers here. federal government is there to dole out money and organize testing and things like that. so far it's done a reasonably od job at doling out a lot of money. but the states are there to make decisions about their own states. if you had people in wyomingki th that washington was going to determine their life or death, they'd rebel against washington. if you had a lot of progressive areas thinking donald trump was going to determine life or deah aicisions, they'd rebel nst donald trump. so i think it's much better to do this on the local levethl. one final thing i will say, i think we're overstating how much conflict there is in america. americans are amazingly united now. democrats and 82% of

republicans support the cial distancing.an 90% of amer complete bipartisan consensus, believe if we loosen too much there will b. a second w 76% of americans say even if their governor did looen, they would gotten out. to me the big story is we're rt of hanging together through this. woodruff: evidently so, if you believe those polls. but, mark, going ba to wt david mentioned a moment ago and that is the president's statement yesteriny about inje ultraviolet light or disinftant into ourselves. saying that was ju joke,as they didn't mean it, but there have been other statements he's made abendorsing this timalaria drug that the experts are saying can't be relied on. what are the american pele to make of all this? >> judy, i think the most unreported story of the week is piers morgan, the prichett

television journalist who is friend othe president, one of the 47 people on twitter thes ent has access, to has given three interviews toon british televiall his presidency, all three to pierser morgan, and morgan went public and said what an awful lot of trump supporters and critics have been saying and that i m president, you're really hurting yourself in these television daily conferences, that you're coming across asin self-aggrand as self-interested, as really not a leader, you're concerned more about your own reelection than the health and well being of pee le who elected you. i really think that that crystalliz the criticism, a number of republicans have followed, and i think you will see the president backing off. yesterday's performance was the worst. i mean to say lysol was a possibility for inhalation

sarcastically -- he's not wil roge, he's not jry seinfeld, he's not a man known for his sensef humor. it wasn't sarcasm, it was donale trump beinkless and irresponsible, and i think you've seen numbers drop and i think the daily press conference has been a principal contributing factor to it. woodruff: and, david, just in the last hour, the white house has let it be known that they are now going to be cutting short these daily briefings, some of which have gone on for two hours and longer. so, i mean, how much in the end does it matter what the presidt is saying at a te like this? the americanpeople, how much do they need to hear from their political leader and how much d they n hear from medical experts? >> they need medical experts. it's tough on morale, it's al drain on a of us. even supporters feel drain about his foolery. but i don't think it's damaged

the way people act. the funny thing, i noticed in my local grocery store, about a month ago maybe 5% of the people were wearingasks, then 30%, then suddenly flipped and was %, and starting two weeks ago, if you weren't wearing a maske even before law came down, need to go get a mask.d said you that shows to me a community setting new norms, moral standards, having expectations of how to protect one another. when i see a community acings one like in the grocery store and we all see it, then we see a community where people understand the oigations they have to each other and that was not automatic going into this most plagues, that's not how people behave. i think it hus our morale what trump does but i wouldn't say it destroyed it. >> woodruff: intereingch you say people at the grocery store, thing.seeing much of the same doffed, mark -- david, mark, i

want to come what congress was able to do, passing legislation provide more sut for small businesses, some for hospitals d others. how much difference is this aidm going e? how much more will be needed? we're seeing worry about the size of the deficit, the debt that the country is going to owe when it's all over. where does the argument land there? >> i don't know how much make.rence it wants going to i'll say this, judy, the referred to them, ways and sins of the cold-hearted and the sins of the warm-hearted on a different scale. in other words, this is reaching out to people who had been left out of the first aid to w minorities, toen, to small businesses, not puicly-traded companies, which hundreds of millions of dollars of small busine aid went to, to hospitals, the people who are on

the front line and dealing with this terrie tragedy every day, and, you know, to me, it showed an awareness and an understanding. i don't think anybody understandthe gravity economically. it's going to be -- it is enormous. it will ber enomous. but right now, what we've seen is st of a bait a switch on the part of republicans who said, oh, you can do t aid to local cities and states, and the next one, said kevin mccarthy, the republican house leader and mitch mcconnell, republican leader, says there will be no next one. >> woodruff: so david, in a few words, how much s the worry about the debt, theeficit going to be part of this going forward as people ar hurting? >> yeah, i don't think it should be. in wtime, even fiscal conservatives believe in spending. they've done a good thing, this paycheck protection act for small businesses, it's

impressive how much moneytt they've out the door. smale's some people in the business administration that are working 18-hour days to get that much money. i'm impressed at how much money they've en gotten out the the door. they've spent hundreds of millions of dollars and passed a difficult piece of legislation on a bipartisan basis, members good, they can't take a victory lap, they're just so used to bickering. >> woodruff: in 45 seconds we have left, i want to ask each oo yow you're doing staying at home all the time or almost all the time. mark, how is it going? >> i'm rereading tolstoy for the third time -- no, i'm not. rearranged my sock drawer and i'm doing fine. i have a wonderful roommate and i've had the same one for half a century and am finding new andgs wonderful thbout her every day. >> woodruff: pretty good roommate, we know anne shis.

david, how are you holding up? how are you doin ig? blessed. i have a fine group of people in my family and i'm ping my on in ping-pong ferociously and hoping to develop baa hand by the end of this. so there are little blessings amid the great worry we'e going through. there are many blessings even in these days with family. woodruff: i feel the same way, so much more to be grateful for thanhe other way around. we're grateful for the two of you. david brooks, mark shields, thank you and please stay safe. >> thank you, judy. >> woodruff: again on this frway night, we remember a of the tens of thousands ofha americans wh passed away from the virus, part of our continuing effort to honor the public servants and community leaders we have lo.

robin hardy became a pastor when she was 25 years old and served as vice president of her church in baton rouge, louisiana. her children remember a unifier, both in church and as the founder of a mentorship program for girls, where they say she reached mo than 1,000 women, and did so in style. hardy was 56 years old. pediatric neurosurgeon dr. james goodrich of new york's montefiore medical center garnered international acclaim for successfully separating 10 twins conjoined at the head, and advising dozens of other such outside the operating room, the 73-year-old was a bonsai tree enthusiast. he had library of rare, andd was an aayer of the australian aboriginal instrument

the didgeridoo his friends dubbed him "the most interesting man in the world." vitalina williams loved gardening and cooking with her husband in salem, massachusetts, when s wasn't working her two jobs at the local grocery store and walmart. bold and principled, williams was known as the "c.e.o. and c.f.o." of her famy. she came to the united stes from guatemala in the 1990's, an spoke to her family there on the phone every day. she was 56 years old. 61-year-old quinsey simpson, a correctional officer at new york's rikers island, was known for his calm demeanor, great sense of humor, and hard work ethic. when he contracted covid-19, quinsey called in sick for only the second time in his 18 years on the job. he was a mentor to the basketball players he coached, neighborhood school kids, and

his six-year-old son, ayden. karen ketcher dedicated her career to serving native american tribes in oklahoma and across the country. karen loved to sew, including memorable prom and wedesng s, and spent all of her free time with her family, hers grandkd great grandkids. in tahlequah's cherokee nation,s she was knowveryone's" everyone in the community like they were her owrs she was 70 yld. and on the newshour onlinegeight now, mesof hope and appreciation are appearing on sidewalks around the country. we talked to artists, both amateur and professiabout how they're connecting with others through chalk art. that's on our web site,

pbs.org/newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. have a great weekend. thank you, please stay safe, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> life isn't a straight line, and sometimes you can find yourself heading in a new direction. fidelity is here to help you work through the unexpected, with financial planning and advice for today, and tomorrow. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world.rg at www.hewlett. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the world's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org.

>> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned me a access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org hello, everyone.

>> with coronavir dominating headlines, we look at a deal forged in isolation as israel finally ge a unity government after three rapid fire elections. i speak to an mp in the coalition party that feels left at the altar. then the world's most important heritage sites closed, keeping culture and education alive under lockdown. union he is co-'s director gentle joins me. -plus- >> a deeper look into a ajor crisis. why coronavirus is falling most heavily on america's minorities. and -- >> looth